My new Mten3!

[Esper]

43 minutes ago, Marty Backe said:

I do want to clarify, and you probably know this, that I've always said it's my favorite... 

Sorry, you lost me at favorite.

[Esper]

10 minutes ago, Rehab1 said:

 

Congratulations @Esper on your purchase! Here are a few photos of my mods. Sometimes I go overboard.

 

I used a carbon vinyl wrap on my Mten3. I purchased the material on Amazon. The stuff is pretty fairly inexpensive for the size sheet you get. https://tinyurl.com/yckpukez

There are tons of vinyl wrap installation videos on the Youtube. I experimented at first by heating and stretching the vinyl over a small bowl to gain some sense of the molding and shaping characteristics. 

I saw this earlier! It looks great, and I may even do this some time down the road with a patterned vinyl wrap. But I think I'll go for paint when I get it and wrap it next spring. 

[maltocs]

2 hours ago, Rehab1 said:

 

Congratulations @Esper on your purchase! Here are a few photos of my mods. Sometimes I go overboard.

 

I used a carbon vinyl wrap on my Mten3. I purchased the material on Amazon. The stuff is pretty fairly inexpensive for the size sheet you get. https://tinyurl.com/yckpukez

There are tons of vinyl wrap installation videos on the Youtube. I experimented at first by heating and stretching the vinyl over a small bowl to gain some sense of the molding and shaping characteristics. 

Nice mods. Your FOAM pads are in great shape. How do you baby them? even without falling, they seem to "rub" off. Foam is the worst material they could have used for pads. I was thinking of removing them, puting some vinyl or pleather wrap around them, and putting them back on. 

[Marty Backe]

33 minutes ago, maltocs said:

Nice mods. Your FOAM pads are in great shape. How do you baby them? even without falling, they seem to "rub" off. Foam is the worst material they could have used for pads. I was thinking of removing them, puting some vinyl or pleather wrap around them, and putting them back on. 

One of the lower ankle pads started to get ripped during the first couple of weeks of riding my Mten3, but after that I've had zero further degradation. I chalk that up to riding technique.

As I've been preaching lately, don't squeeze the wheels while you're riding. As with anything, practice your technique to continue to improve.

Look at yourself in a mirror as you ride (aka camera). Are your legs for the most part straight or do you see yourself bending your knees inward to cocoon the wheel? They should be straight unless you are in a turn.

This is why pads are only needed (with good riding technique) with some wheels to soften the hard edges of the shell as it gently bounces between your legs or when performing strong turning maneuvers. You should never be squeezing or cocooning the shell as you are moving more or less straight.

[maltocs]

6 minutes ago, Marty Backe said:

One of the lower ankle pads started to get ripped during the first couple of weeks of riding my Mten3, but after that I've had zero further degradation. I chalk that up to riding technique.

As I've been preaching lately, don't squeeze the wheels while you're riding. As with anything, practice your technique to continue to improve.

Look at yourself in a mirror as you ride (aka camera). Are your legs for the most part straight or do you see yourself bending your knees inward to cocoon the wheel? They should be straight unless you are in a turn.

This is why pads are only needed (with good riding technique) with some wheels to soften the hard edges of the shell as it gently bounces between your legs or when performing strong turning maneuvers. You should never be squeezing or cocooning the shell as you are moving more or less straight.

I actually don't squeeze or cocoon much. I learned on a padless Ninebot S1 so squeezing was not an option. But nowadays, I feel like I need the pads more NOT because I feel the need for squeeze, but because I ride the trails and as I bounce around to a point my feet start to slip off the pedals. I need to "ride on one foot" which involves using the pads to reposition the OTHER foot. When I first got the MCM5, and I tested it on the hilly streets in my neighborhood, I felt it was great without pads as it made it easier to do (close to) pedal scraping slow turns, but now I feel, at least on the bouncy dirt trail, I can't do without my pads.

But the foam based pads on the MTen3 rub off naturally. Everytime I put it on its side like in my car or when I don't feel like turning the unit off if i'm taking a short break, or even in my backpack, it's rubbing. And it doesn't take much to start eating away at the foam. It's like a nerf football the dog plays with.

Check out the pads on my MCM5. YES, those are modified Ninebot pads made for the S1 I bought but never used until now. Call it my poor mans Z10.

[Marty Backe]

57 minutes ago, maltocs said:

I actually don't squeeze or cocoon much. I learned on a padless Ninebot S1 so squeezing was not an option. But nowadays, I feel like I need the pads more NOT because I feel the need for squeeze, but because I ride the trails and as I bounce around to a point my feet start to slip off the pedals. I need to "ride on one foot" which involves using the pads to reposition the OTHER foot. When I first got the MCM5, and I tested it on the hilly streets in my neighborhood, I felt it was great without pads as it made it easier to do (close to) pedal scraping slow turns, but now I feel, at least on the bouncy dirt trail, I can't do without my pads.

But the foam based pads on the MTen3 rub off naturally. Everytime I put it on its side like in my car or when I don't feel like turning the unit off if i'm taking a short break, or even in my backpack, it's rubbing. And it doesn't take much to start eating away at the foam. It's like a nerf football the dog plays with.

Check out the pads on my MCM5. YES, those are modified Ninebot pads made for the S1 I bought but never used until now. Call it my poor mans Z10.

Take a look at where I set the timeline in this video. This kind of 'grabbing' of the wheel seems like it could prematurely wear away the pads, particularly if they're cheap pads like what Gotway sometimes uses. I don't mean to criticize your riding style - everyone rides differently, and whatever works to allow you to enjoy riding is OK by me. Just wondering if this can contribute to pad wear or potential knee problems over time? 

I haven't felt the need to put pads on my MCM5, but again, whatever works...

[maltocs]

8 minutes ago, Marty Backe said:

Take a look at where I set the timeline in this video. This kind of 'grabbing' of the wheel seems like it could prematurely wear away the pads, particularly if they're cheap pads like what Gotway sometimes uses. I don't mean to criticize your riding style - everyone rides differently, and whatever works to allow you to enjoy riding is OK by me. Just wondering if this can contribute to pad wear or potential knee problems over time? 

I haven't felt the need to put pads on my MCM5, but again, whatever works...

 

First of all, I absolutely encourage your "criticism" and critiques of my riding style. Definite grabbing on my part in the video! That vid seems so long ago.... good times. I think it has to do with how tall the V10F is and the bumpiness of that trail as we were speeding down. I know when i'm going fast esp downhill trail riding, I squeeze more for general stability in case I hit a bump funny. Maybe that will go away with time, or maybe that's my riding style, who knows. On the MCM5 and the MTen3, esp on the flats, I feel like I stand perfectly upright. I only bend my knees when I see or anticipate bumps. Here is the RAW 360 pannable video of some more recent rides. You'll definitely recognize the 2nd ride! You'll also discover the real reason I ride electric unicycles.... cheating on Pokemon Go.

MCM5 https://photos.app.goo.gl/DfWNCi99uhBuKH1S7 

MTen3 https://photos.app.goo.gl/FUtw4scgisJCSYw2A El Segundo Beach

[Marty Backe]

24 minutes ago, maltocs said:

First of all, I absolutely encourage your "criticism" and critiques of my riding style. Definite grabbing on my part in the video! That vid seems so long ago.... good times. I think it has to do with how tall the V10F is and the bumpiness of that trail as we were speeding down. I know when i'm going fast esp downhill trail riding, I squeeze more for general stability in case I hit a bump funny. Maybe that will go away with time, or maybe that's my riding style, who knows. On the MCM5 and the MTen3, esp on the flats, I feel like I stand perfectly upright. I only bend my knees when I see or anticipate bumps. Here is the RAW 360 pannable video of some more recent rides. You'll definitely recognize the 2nd ride! You'll also discover the real reason I ride electric unicycles.... cheating on Pokemon Go.

MCM5 https://photos.app.goo.gl/DfWNCi99uhBuKH1S7 

MTen3 https://photos.app.goo.gl/FUtw4scgisJCSYw2A El Segundo Beach

Much better leg form in those videos 

I'll be riding that El Segundo path tomorrow - I feel like I was there 

Your son is cute riding the Mten3. You need to lay down some more $$$ and get a better 360 camera so that you can capture these fleeting father/son moments in hi-res. You'll enjoy them 20-years from now 

[maltocs]

1 minute ago, Marty Backe said:

Much better leg form in those videos 

I'll be riding that El Segundo path tomorrow - I feel like I was there 

Your son is cute riding the Mten3. You need to lay down some more $$$ and get a better 360 camera so that you can capture these fleeting father/son moments in hi-res. You'll enjoy them 20-years from now 

Thanks! You obviously haven't done enough research on 360 cameras if you think there exists better 360 cameras that you can put at the end of a stick. 4k spread over 360 degrees looks horrible. If you watched the video using 360 googles, it would look even worse! I recall you either in a post or on the duf webcast saying the quality isn't there and you would be correct.  Even with $$$, the quality isn't there... yet. Give it a couple of years when 16k video comes out. RIght now i'm all about capturing the moment, even if it is in low resolution.

btw, sorry i've been MIA lately, work and new schedule due to kids school is taking all my time. Probably be a couple months before things slow down, hope to join you guys on more rides soon.

[Jon Stern]

30 minutes ago, maltocs said:

Thanks! You obviously haven't done enough research on 360 cameras if you think there exists better 360 cameras that you can put at the end of a stick. 4k spread over 360 degrees looks horrible. If you watched the video using 360 googles, it would look even worse! I recall you either in a post or on the duf webcast saying the quality isn't there and you would be correct.  Even with $$$, the quality isn't there... yet. Give it a couple of years when 16k video comes out. RIght now i'm all about capturing the moment, even if it is in low resolution.

btw, sorry i've been MIA lately, work and new schedule due to kids school is taking all my time. Probably be a couple months before things slow down, hope to join you guys on more rides soon.

It's not just about the number of pixels. It's also about the sharpness of the lens and the quality of the processing.

Not all 360 cameras are created equal even when capturing equal number of pixels.

[maltocs]

4 minutes ago, Jon Stern said:

It's not just about the number of pixels. It's also about the sharpness of the lens and the quality of the processing.

Not all 360 cameras are created equal even when capturing equal number of pixels.

that is true for all cameras! I'm just saying for selfie stick 360 action cameras, there aren't many options out there, and of those options, none are remotely comparable in video quality to a standard action camera. The insta360 camera I'm using at least has excellent stabilization, which is half the battle. Give it a few more years, hopefully, they can get the quality of those 16 camera soccer ball sized cinema quality 360 camera at the end of a selfie stick.... I'm dreaming.

[Marty Backe]

7 hours ago, maltocs said:

Thanks! You obviously haven't done enough research on 360 cameras if you think there exists better 360 cameras that you can put at the end of a stick. 4k spread over 360 degrees looks horrible. If you watched the video using 360 googles, it would look even worse! I recall you either in a post or on the duf webcast saying the quality isn't there and you would be correct.  Even with $$$, the quality isn't there... yet. Give it a couple of years when 16k video comes out. RIght now i'm all about capturing the moment, even if it is in low resolution.

btw, sorry i've been MIA lately, work and new schedule due to kids school is taking all my time. Probably be a couple months before things slow down, hope to join you guys on more rides soon.

Believe me, I understand the weakness of 360.

I didn't realize that you are using the Insta360. Now I'm confused. I was about to buy one. Yet (no offense), that beach video looked much worse (low-res) than other Insta360 videos that I've been looking at here.

Are you exporting the video in a lower resolution or lower bitrate than what's possible?

Yeah, family life and EUCs don't always mix. I understand. Hope to ride with you more in the future. We have an epic Cogswell ride in a few weeks, but you would need a higher capacity wheel for that ride. Maybe one of those will be in your future too 

[maltocs]

57 minutes ago, Marty Backe said:

Believe me, I understand the weakness of 360.

I didn't realize that you are using the Insta360. Now I'm confused. I was about to buy one. Yet (no offense), that beach video looked much worse (low-res) than other Insta360 videos that I've been looking at here.

Are you exporting the video in a lower resolution or lower bitrate than what's possible?

Yeah, family life and EUCs don't always mix. I understand. Hope to ride with you more in the future. We have an epic Cogswell ride in a few weeks, but you would need a higher capacity wheel for that ride. Maybe one of those will be in your future too 

I've been listening to the livestream on the way to work, and this morning I finally get to the part where you mention your interest in the Insta360. The poor quality is probably my processing and the online medium (google photos) at which I shared it with you. I process the raw video using the phone app. I basically set it to 16:9, freemotion gyroscope capture, and then sit on a swivel chair and point the phone to what I want to capture. I export the processed video to 1080p and then process the edits on a computer. I also process the RAW 360 file with ONLY stabilization enabled for archival purposes and everything gets uploaded to google photos. Maybe it would look better on a more powerful computer using the InstaStudio, but you can't do the free motion capture.

For some reason, google photos in 360 don't look great viewing on a computer, but looks fine viewing from the google photos app on your phone. As a matter of fact, 360rumors (youtube) recommends on a iPhone, to view your video using google photos and do a video screen capture for free capture. This is general 360 files if you don't have an app like the insta360 app which of course works only with their own media.

If you get into it, I know you mentioned getting a long stick to do the EddieMoy drone shots. You'll see it'll be fun for a special effects video clip here and there, but you won't' really want to watch a whole video like that. For 360 video you really want to "get in there" as 360rumor guy recommends. I would get the shortest stick that you can hold your arm/hand naturally. I actually carry a 3ft and a 4ft and "stack" them if need be. Remember, you are using a 180-degree ultrawide angle lenses. If you want to "zoom in" during the freecapture, you are losing valuable pixels. You only have 4k spread across the whole spherical 360.

I know you'll learn all this your first few days playing with the camera, I'm just trying to give you a primer to jumpstart you.

Last thing, I got mine from Ebay seller  worshipperwin for $250 minus a 15% off ebay coupon. so I paid about $220 only. It only took 8 days to get here. It was brand new in a sealed box. Just wait for another 15-20% sitewide coupon and just pull the trigger already! It's only money.

 

[Esper]

Lol. This is so off topic, I love it. I can feel the excitement in the air between you two and the camera. I too was thinking about getting a Insta360. It would either be that, or a gyro for my phone.

[maltocs]

1 hour ago, Esper said:

Lol. This is so off topic, I love it. I can feel the excitement in the air between you two and the camera. I too was thinking about getting a Insta360. It would either be that, or a gyro for my phone.

I'm a camera nerd. You name it, I probably have it. each has it a different purpose. The gimbal for the phone is awesome for taking vids of others, it's so drone like. It is a horrible selfie camera. even if you could get the proper mounts to get it upright, it would be heavy at the end of a selfie stick. You'll need an action camera or a 360 that stabilizes like the insta360, rylo, or the gopro one. Drones are really far and you have to worry about them all the time, unless you get that $2500 model I forget the name. I would HIGHLY recommend a $100-$120 camera gimbal just to have. your phone videos will dramatically improve. I have a zhiyun smooth Q I bought for like $90. Do it!

[Esper]

38 minutes ago, maltocs said:

I'm a camera nerd. You name it, I probably have it. each has it a different purpose. The gimbal for the phone is awesome for taking vids of others, it's so drone like. It is a horrible selfie camera. even if you could get the proper mounts to get it upright, it would be heavy at the end of a selfie stick. You'll need an action camera or a 360 that stabilizes like the insta360, rylo, or the gopro one. Drones are really far and you have to worry about them all the time, unless you get that $2500 model I forget the name. I would HIGHLY recommend a $100-$120 camera gimbal just to have. your phone videos will dramatically improve. I have a zhiyun smooth Q I bought for like $90. Do it!

Tell me. How good is the Lytro really. I've always wanted one. Never got one though.
Edit: In case you don't know what camera I'm referring to.

Edited September 20, 2018 by Esper

[Marty Backe]

2 hours ago, maltocs said:

I've been listening to the livestream on the way to work, and this morning I finally get to the part where you mention your interest in the Insta360. The poor quality is probably my processing and the online medium (google photos) at which I shared it with you. I process the raw video using the phone app. I basically set it to 16:9, freemotion gyroscope capture, and then sit on a swivel chair and point the phone to what I want to capture. I export the processed video to 1080p and then process the edits on a computer. I also process the RAW 360 file with ONLY stabilization enabled for archival purposes and everything gets uploaded to google photos. Maybe it would look better on a more powerful computer using the InstaStudio, but you can't do the free motion capture.

For some reason, google photos in 360 don't look great viewing on a computer, but looks fine viewing from the google photos app on your phone. As a matter of fact, 360rumors (youtube) recommends on a iPhone, to view your video using google photos and do a video screen capture for free capture. This is general 360 files if you don't have an app like the insta360 app which of course works only with their own media.

If you get into it, I know you mentioned getting a long stick to do the EddieMoy drone shots. You'll see it'll be fun for a special effects video clip here and there, but you won't' really want to watch a whole video like that. For 360 video you really want to "get in there" as 360rumor guy recommends. I would get the shortest stick that you can hold your arm/hand naturally. I actually carry a 3ft and a 4ft and "stack" them if need be. Remember, you are using a 180-degree ultrawide angle lenses. If you want to "zoom in" during the freecapture, you are losing valuable pixels. You only have 4k spread across the whole spherical 360.

I know you'll learn all this your first few days playing with the camera, I'm just trying to give you a primer to jumpstart you.

Last thing, I got mine from Ebay seller  worshipperwin for $250 minus a 15% off ebay coupon. so I paid about $220 only. It only took 8 days to get here. It was brand new in a sealed box. Just wait for another 15-20% sitewide coupon and just pull the trigger already! It's only money.

 

All great info. Many thanks. I think I'll go for the 360. Just looks like there are lots of options for processing the video. Should be interesting to experiment.

Yeah, the 10-foot selfie-stick is just for fun. My Sony X3000 will still remain my primary camera, but it's nice to have options (just like wheels).

This will be a birthday gift from my wife  so it'll have to be full Amazon price, but thanks for the purchase suggestion 

 

[maltocs]

4 hours ago, Esper said:

Tell me. How good is the Lytro really. I've always wanted one. Never got one though.
Edit: In case you don't know what camera I'm referring to.

1

i do remember that lytro, i think it was really lo res in today's standards. Gimmicky if you ask me. In today's world of digital bokeh, i don't even see the need anymore. 

[Jon Stern]

Whoops! Wrong thread. How do I delete?

Edited September 20, 2018 by Jon Stern

[Marty Backe]

56 minutes ago, maltocs said:

i do remember that lytro, i think it was really lo res in today's standards. Gimmicky if you ask me. In today's world of digital bokeh, i don't even see the need anymore. 

I think you missed the humor in his question - you said that you had every camera, so he want you to tell how good it actually was (since you must own one of course) 

[Jorge RT]

This is another good reason for getting the troley. It's a perfect stand for parking it. Here, on the train... 

[Esper]

7 hours ago, Jorge RT said:

This is another good reason for getting the troley. It's a perfect stand for parking it. Here, on the train... 

ok ok. I get it. I am considering getting it now. All this peer pressure is getting to me. I just don't want the trolly handle to be the reason it wont fit into my bag.

[Scully]

My M10 has gone off to Speedyfeet - so Ian's MTen review should be up in a couple of weeks,

 

Regarding painting - I work in a car dealership, so get my wheels sprayed in the bodyshop - never had a problem, and some of the wheels have had a lot of abuse.

[Marty Backe]

16 minutes ago, Scully said:

My M10 has gone off to Speedyfeet - so Ian's MTen review should be up in a couple of weeks,

 

Regarding painting - I work in a car dealership, so get my wheels sprayed in the bodyshop - never had a problem, and some of the wheels have had a lot of abuse.

I thought (assumed?) that he had a Mten3. I guess it was only the Luffy that he got.

I would have thought Ian would love the Mten3. I've told him a few times to get one. His commentary on the wheel should be great.

[Scully]

1 minute ago, Marty Backe said:

I thought (assumed?) that he had a Mten3. I guess it was only the Luffy that he got.

I would have thought Ian would love the Mten3. I've told him a few times to get one. His commentary on the wheel should be great.

I think he sold them all without the time to do a review. 

His review might be a little delayed - I lent my M10 out, and it came back with a non standard inner tube which catches all around the rim. I think (and hope) Ians going to replace it with a proper inner tube before doing his review.