SAIL VIDEO SYSTEM REVIEW
If you are not sure which mount you should choose for your self, I believe this episode will help you out.
My name is Petar Pavlovic, and in this episode I want to share with you my experience with the Sail Video System mounts, which I have been using for almost a year now.
SAIL VIDEO SYSTEM MOUNTS REVIEW
- How they look.
- How practical and durable they are,
- Tips on how to use them in order to get the best shots.
HOW THE MOUNT LOOKS LIKE
Both mounts are looking pretty much the same. The harness mount you should screw on your harness first. It is super easy, you can check the tutorial of Sail Video System on how to mount it.
The shoulder mount comes with straps which you wrap around your body and connect the straps together right in front of your chest.
With the harness mount you will get 2 aluminum poles which you connect together. I have the one with the clap system, but you can get also the ones which you should screw one on top of the other.
The pole on top has the screw on which you can easily connect the insta 360. You can also connect the aluminum GoPro mount that you get in the Sail Video System Package.
On the bottom of the pole there is a piece of plastic in the shape of a star that you can easily connect to the mount on your harness. You will also get a leash which I like to connect just around the handle of the harness. That way, in case something brakes you don’t loose the pole and your camera.
The shoulder Mount comes with 1 short pole which you connect on the mount exactly like on the harness mount. Unfortunately this time the pole doesn’t have the leash in case something brakes so I added one my self.
HOW PRACTICAL ARE THE MOUNTS?
Of course you have to fix the harness mount on the harness and many people are wondering if the screws are in contact with your skin and uncomfortable. I always use at least the Lycra before putting the harness on and I never felt the screws.
Honestly I didn’t try to ride with this harness directly on my skin so I cannot tell you if in that case you might feel them.
I also always wear the shoulder mount over a lycra at least and I never felt any discomfort. I believe that for some people could be uncomfortable to wear it directly on the skin, because the edge of the straps might irritate the skin
If you are already kitesurfing and you want to mount the pole on your harness it is possible but quite difficult.
With the shoulder Mount you can do it easily.
I don’t have any difficulties riding and performing my jumps with any of those mounts but I had some problems while landing to blind. Often my camera got tangled with the lines. That’s why I’m not going again for some Blind moves while using the Sail Video System mounts
HOW DURABLE ARE THE MOUNTS?
I broke the connection star around 5 times with the harness mount and once the mount plastic broke. It always happened after a hard crash. It happens because the stick is quite long, it has strong leverage so it’s quite easily breaking.
You will get the spear star connections if you buy a harness mount. So Now I’m using this mount just for easy tricks that I’m sure I can easily land.
I never broke the shoulder mount, even after a super strong crash the mount was handling it without any damage
TIPS ON HOW TO USE THE MOUNTS FOR BETTER SHOTS
In my opinion you get a bit better shots with the harness mount. You have better view as the pole is longer and you cannot see where the pole is connected.
With the shoulder mount you can also get really good shots but maybe not as good as with the Harness mount. The shoulder mount is also quite visible on the clips. What you might do, is to make a hole in your t-shirt or lycra and put it on top of the shoulder mount. That way it will not be easy to understand where the stick is connected.
I have never tried to use just a normal GoPro camera to make kitesurfing videos with Sail Video System mounts. I don’t believe it would be worth it as the stick is visible.
So I recommend to use just 360 cameras, like insta 360 which you just screw on top of the stick and you are good to go. A GoPro Max, would be a good alternative. You will have to use the GoPro mount for that one.
However I recommend screwing it super tight with a screwdriver. In case the camera changes just a bit the angle the pole would be visible so the shot would not look so epic.
MOUNT ANGLE AND POSITIONING
You can change the angle of the pole however you want. With the harness mount you have to make sure that you are not leaning it too much. That’s because, while riding and leaning back, the pole would be touching the water which might as well break the mount.
I like to angle the pole at 45 degrees, I choose the side depending on the spot, the sun and the tricks I have planned.
EXAMPLE! if you put the pole on the left side and you perform a trick with your right leg out of the strap, it will not be really visible.
You could also keep the pole straight up. With the shoulder mount I do not like to keep the pole straight up because the legs are hardly visible and it can creates distortion while editing the shot.
When you put the stick on the side with the harness mount, since the camera is reachable you can turn the camera on and off while riding. With the shoulder mount I’m not able to reach the camera while riding so I just leave it on during the whole session
SUMMARY
The shoulder mount, more practical, more durable, you might use it for many other activities.
Harness mount, might give better shots, reachable to turn it on and off while riding.
Now should be easier to decide which mount fits you better, anyway I’m happy to have both so I can use them depending on what shots I want to take.
You can check the Sail Video System link and use the code “KE5” to get at least -5% discount.
Which camera is better GoPro Max or Insta 360, I should create another episode to share my experience in detail. However, recently I prefer the GoPro Max as I find it easier for downloading and editing the footage. Anyway the quality of the clips is really good on both cameras.
