As action cameras have improved and the popularity of sites like YouTube has boomed, the barrier to film high-quality videos of your BMX sessions has never been lower.
With the abundance of riders now filming their routes, tricks or skateparks it’s becoming harder and harder to stand out. Other than managing to send the biggest tricks of the year the best way to do this is by improving your camera angles and filming techniques.
GoPro and other action camera companies provide such an abundance of camera mounts it’s possible to mount your camera almost anywhere on your bike. In this article we’re going to go over some of the most aesthetically pleasing camera angles and how best to get them when out filming.
How to Get Sponsored Riding BMX
Using action cameras and making an impressive personal video is very important when trying to get sponsored. These two articles go hand in hand to make you a more successful rider.
What is a GoPro Action Camera?
Action cameras are digital cameras that are designed to film action sports without getting in the way or needing a lot of attention. Typically very durable, waterproof and easy to use with few confusing buttons.
GoPro and other similar cameras are usually worn or mounted to achieve a camera angle impossible to achieve for a handheld camera operator. As you will read in this article, roll bars, helmets, handlebars and chests are the most common location for a camera mount. These angles keep a viewer immersed in an activity like no other.
In recent years the quality of the top has easily surpassed 8k resolution. Complex features have quickly been implemented on these same cameras.
It’s also not just GoPro that makes accessible, super high-quality cameras anymore. DJI, the drone manufacturer and Sony have released their own products.
Why Attach a GoPro Camera to a BMX?
Being good on a BMX is very hard. While watching a handheld biking video is exciting, there’s nothing like feeling like you’re actually riding the bike.
You can see the minute movements the rider makes to make their bike dance in the air. Take a look at the GoPro video below of a BMX rider.
Best GoPro Chest Mount
The only bad thing I can say about a chest mount is that it’s annoying to wear the elasticated strap. Having a chest view will always show the track or jumps ahead without you messing up the shot by turning your head or bars would when using other mounts.
You can easily check and reposition the camera angle and settings when it’s on your chest. Having the camera on your body automatically increases stabilisation, reducing the load on the in-built stabilisation technology.
As you can see in the image in this section, the chest mount has two shoulder straps and a thicker strap going around the chest. The base sits flat to the chest and is quite large. You attach the GoPro in the same way as all other mounts.
Click Here to Check Best PriceHelmet Mount
Helmet mounts are one of the most common GoPro mounts. They’re cheap, easy to install and always get a great shot. These mounts are also popular because the head stabilises the camera very well.
There are two main types of helmet mount for an action camera. The first is a sticky mount. These are slightly curved mounts a couple of inches long. The sticky part of the mount is usually produced by 3M so providing you stick it down properly there’ll be no ripping it off.
Other than that some mounts are designed to be attached through the vents of your helmet. These mounts are relatively simple, going through your vent and attaching via a form of screw on the other side.
I prefer the sticky helmet mounts as the placement is much more amenable. Using a vent mount you have to deal with different-sized vents in different areas of your helmet. This can be an issue if you use something like a 360 GoPro and want to place your camera somewhere you don’t have an applicable vent.
This is currently my favourite helmet mount for a GoPro. As you can see on their website, this sticky mount can be placed almost anywhere on a helmet. On a full-face helmet with limited vents, you can place it on the side, top or back. On a visor-less helmet, it’s easy to place this mount on the very front of the helmet.
Click Here to Check Best PriceI have included an image and link of a vented helmet mount to show you how much more difficult it makes it. Granted some helmets are weirdly designed and don’t take well to the sticky pads but I think it’s just far too difficult to figure out how these mounts are best used.
Plus there’s absolutely no flexibility. You can mount your camera facing forwards or backwards and that's it. You can’t show a side view that includes the rider's helmet or a POV view from the front of the helmet.
Handlebar Camera Mount
Bar mounts get great views of many different angles but they’re much more susceptible to a bumpy clip. When you mount a camera to yourself the clip automatically gets the stabilisation from your body and your bike's suspension. On a handlebar, your camera is only stabilised by your forks.
With a quick-release GoPro mount, you can record your front wheel, rider view, side view or the good old front view within a few seconds.
The final thing I love about the handlebar GoPro mount shown here is the options it gives you. It’s not just your handlebar you can attach it to. Seatposts, handheld poles, certain parts of your BMX frame and even your crank arms could hold this mount.
Click Here to Check Best PriceFrame Mounts
In a lot of ways, frame mounts are very similar to handlebar mounts. They both use very similar mounts, just with differing sizes.
Frame mounts are usually used to get more of the rider or the bike in the frame. It’s great to see the small movements and adjustments a professional rider makes when performing incredible skills.
It will be different depending on your action camera, bike and mount but in terms of GoPro they offer a large tube mount specifically for this type of angle. It’s built exactly the same as the handlebar mount but with more space in the middle. You can see this clearly in the image above.
Click Here to Check Best Price360 Camera Mounting
First launched in 2017, omnidirectional action cameras are awesome. The technology and the angles you’re able to film are incredible. The Fusion camera was the first to be launched with the capability of 360-degree footage. Surprisingly they were still able to capture footage in 5.8k resolution.
Only 2 years later they came out with the GoPro MAX, a slightly better model that’s been impressive ever since.
These cameras record in full 360 degrees. When you go to edit your footage you can choose any camera angle for any period. It effectively does the work of 5+ cameras in one. Wingsuit flying is a great example of where this can be used well. Pilots will attach this camera to the top of their helmets. Where they once had to have at least two cameras to capture a front and back angle they can now just switch between the front and rear angle of the GoPro max.
Due to their larger size and need for a clear angle, the mounts for these cameras are a little more restrictive.
Best Action Cameras 2024
GoPro Hero 10 Black
It’s not surprising that GoPro would dominate a list like this. They basically invented and dominated this market for years. The yearly models aren’t packed with insane improvements like in the early 2010s but this is a very polished and high-quality camera.
The GP2 processor is the biggest change in this milestone product. This processor allows the new HyperSmooth 4.0 stabilisation to work on the device. I have used a GoPro Hero 8 many times and the stabilisation there was out of this world.
3D noise reduction, Local Tone Mapping and next-generation image quality are other important features that have been improved in this version.
Other than those features mentioned above, most of the device is similar to the Hero 9. The high-quality LCD screen on the front is a useful addition for us BMX riders. Many helmet mounts obscure the rear of the camera so being able to see the angle from the front makes things much easier.
Click Here to Check Best PriceDJI Action 2
DJI has been making waves in the drone market for years. Their products are widely used and insanely advanced. Recently they released a small, modular camera that can be used in a variety of ways.
The main camera is square and a couple of inches in size. Each side then has magnetic mounts that allow the attachment of the myriad attachments DJI have made for this product. Displays, microphones, lights and many types of mounts quickly and easily attach to the Action 2, allowing you to create a camera of practically any size depending on your shot requirements.
A 12 MP camera, 4K camera with multiple frame rates, 32GB of built-in storage, integrated touch screen and a long battery life are just some of the features included in this product.
Click Here to Check Best PriceGoPro MAX
As I mentioned earlier in this article, the GoPro 360 camera is an incredible piece of technology. Still using a relatively small housing, they’ve managed to engineer a camera where you can record in a full 360 degrees. You can then choose any viewpoint from that recording in your final clip.
As well as this you can release the full footage, allowing viewers to view an interactive video. While the clip is playing users can pan around in any direction. In my opinion, this is one of the most immersive mediums of content.
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