JonesCAM was recently featured in the January 14th issue of Thoroughbred Times where Michael Jones talks about the advantages of putting helmet cameras on the jockeys.

Click here to read the article.
Reprinted with permission of Thoroughbred Times 

JonesCAM knew its “ION” HD Advantage helmet camera would change the way action, extreme sports and recreational users “Capture the Experience” in HD has been featured by the International award winning magazine, Adirondack Life in their January/February issue, now on stores magazine racks.

Adirondack Life named “Magazine of the Year” at the International Regional Magazine Association Conference first contacted JonesCAM in August during its JockeyCAM product development at Saratoga Raceway. The 40-plus-year-old magazine, based in Jay, New York, won 13 other awards: seven gold, three silver, two bronze and one award of merit and JonesCAM couldn’t be prouder being recognized by this prestigious, award winning magazine.

Having just finished working with top jockey’s Johnny Velazquez and Javier Castellano on the Saratoga thoroughbred tracks added to the excitement JonesCAM was experiencing as the article was being discussed. Knowing the article was scheduled to be released months later, when skiers, boarders and snowmobile riders/racers would be using the device around the world took JonesCAM’s Founder back 17 years earlier when JonesCAM first started, on the slopes of the Adirondack Mountain.

Back then JonesCAM envisioned user created and shared POV videos and their uses as seen today on TV, in movies and sporting events worldwide would be welcomed by all. From AMA SportBike racers like PJ Jacobsen to Monster Trucks drivers like Dennis Anderson to ISOC Ski Doo racer Robbie Malinowski and Gold Medal Olympic Champion bobsled driver Steve Holcomb have used the JonesCAM. But you don’t have to be a competitor to use this tiny HD recorder as so many hunters, fisherman and other outdoor sports enthusiast have discovered. Because the camera is so small, it can be worn on a baseball cap or helmet to record family outing, kids school sports and even whitewater and snorkeling adventures because it’s also waterproof. JonesCAM $189.00 products are now available at many motor and recreational sports dealers or on the web at www.JonesCAM.tv . Users having “Captured the Experience” videos are also found here: http://vimeo.com/user1924362/videos

I have been using the JonesCAM products for over four years now, and have seen the product progress at a phenomenal rate. I now use the JonesCAM HD Advantage for all my outdoor activities from hunting and fishing to motorcycle riding and now winter activities. Let me tell you, this is the real thing, it not only put up with my personal abuse, but it stood up to every test, through all kinds of weather, and might I say, I am not kind to my equipment. If it isn’t rugged and easy to use, I don’t use it. The JonesCAM that I use for my hunts is a real work horse, it never fails me at all and best of all, the video quality is outstanding, It’s light, clips to my hat’s visor and helmets and with a touch of a button, your recording and forget about it. The HD video is crystal clear and really detailed, and when played on our big flat screen TV, wow…. This past hunting season was the best, I had lost a deer I knew I shot, looked everywhere but could not find him, the buck of my lifetime. If it wasn’t for the JonesCAM and being able review the video that night and to clearly see the direction the huge buck ran, I thought I would never find him. Thank god I had the JonesCAM because the next morning I found my 8 point buck. He wasn’t that far from where he was shot, piled up in the thick. I highly recommend the JonesCAM to anyone who like’s simplicity and quality at a great price. Those of you who think they have a hot set up, you have no clue. Once you try it you’ll never regret it.

Brian K

My name is Nathan V Greenman. I am the VP of Sales and Marketing at a new Video Production company in Bentonville Arkansas called Toy Robot Productions. I wanted to write you to say “Thank you for the amazing ION HD Advantage! We are getting shots from the most unique perspectives and having a ton of fun doing it! For example we produced a 30 second spot for a paintball field and were able to capture the intensity and excitement of playing by mounting two of your cameras “on gun”. One looking down the barrel AND one looking back at the players face while they were playing. No “fake” staged shots here! We also produced a spot for a bar and grill where we literally placed your camera in a large tub of ice and beer looking up, so that we have a “cool” shot of a beer bottle being pulled out of the tub. Did I mention that your cameras are water proof? We also placed one of your cameras on a pool stick for an amazing perspective of a pool table. I have a new found respect for the pool sticks and the force with which they impact the cue ball! My favorite shot so far was when we put one of your cameras on a beer tap looking down into the glass as it was being filled. It was like being sucked into a “whirlpool” of beer! My team and I are like kids at Christmas with a new toy that we just can’t wait to play with! Bottom line is that your cameras are allowing us to get shots we could never get with traditional video cameras. The ION HD Advantage is helping to set our production company apart from our competitors, and for that I truly thank you. By the way, your service is excellent as well!

Nathan V Greenman

SARATOGA SPRINGS – If you ask Mike Jones how he sees the future of horse racing, he will tell you he’s looking at it from someone else’s perspective.

Jones is the owner of Fort Edward-based JonesCAM and the creative mind behind the JockeyCAM, a tiny, high-tech technology that captures horse racing from a jockey’s point of view.

The micro-camera helps Thoroughbred trainers and jockeys perfect their stride, and Jones is confident it will double as an attraction for new fans to the sport and a moneymaker for the industry.

Jones is not the first to introduce the helmet camera, but his high-definition device is the smallest on the market. At 3-ounces, this micro-cam is no bigger than a lipstick; it is easily Velcroed to a jockey’s helmet, and used to record a bird’s-eye view of their warm-ups and races.

Jones, a retired ski coach with an Olympic track record, began making micro-cams 15 years ago for athletic training purposes. It wasn’t until 2005 that he applied the concept to horseracing, a sport for which the micro-cams act as not only an excellent training tool but also bring something new and stimulating to the industry.

This summer, after six years of research and modifications, Jones revealed his JonesCAM HD JockeyCAM, to top trainers and jockeys, who have already put it to use at the Oklahoma Track. He’s currently in discussions with representatives from five American race courses that are interested in filming live races on their tracks.

For trainers, the JockeyCAM is invaluable. They can still view performances from the rail, and then watch the same run from the jockey’s perspective in HD. That POV footage offers a unique opportunity for analysis, especially when coupled with traditional video.

Click here to see Javier’s Video

“You can see things you can’t see from binoculars; you can hear the horse breathe; you can tell how he handles the rail or other horses – was he aggressive, did he drift?” Jones said.

Prominent trainer George Weaver said the POV footage is also an excellent tool for owners, who sometimes cheer for their Thoroughbreds from afar.

“Owners put up a lot of money,” he explained. “It’s a different perspective; they get to see and feel [their horse] train from a bird’s-eye view.”

Weaver said the whole game is about excitement; that in his over 20 years of horse racing involvement, he never thought this type of technology would be available.

“But, I’m glad it is,” he said.

Like Weaver, Trainer Gary Contessa of Gary Contessa Racing sees a great benefit to using the POV footage.
He has already used Jones’s camera during a dozen or so workouts in Saratoga Springs.

“Why? I use them because it makes sense,” he said. “It’s a great training tool; I would like to use it every day.”
At this point, the cameras are not approved for race use in New York, which is unfortunate for Contessa, who said the technology is a great way to see a horse in action, but would be even “better in race mode” – and not only to the athlete’s benefit.

Jones proposes integrating footage into the action at the race course, via onsite screens and streaming videos that can be easily accessed through smartphones.

“I think the public would love it,” he said. “The only way of explaining it is NASCAR. Look at what cockpit cams have done – a quarter of a million people logged on across the world for the Indy 500. Horse racing needs to come up to speed.”
Picture people all over the world watching races from two angles, the jockey’s perspective and regular race footage: “This could open the game to a new group of thrill-seekers, to people who don’t want to go to the track,” Contessa said.

Current top jockey and Jockey Guild President John Velazquez and racing hall-of-famer Angel Cordero, both pointed to the technology’s value for spectators.

Velazquez said POV footage “is the way to go” – “It will impact the sport. People will see the ins and outs; how close we get how fast [we go].”

From Cordero’s perspective as a retired athlete who has witnessed a half-century’s worth of Thoroughbred industry ups and downs, the cameras are a logical next stop.

In his last 10 years watching football and other sports on television, Cordero said he’s noticed an increasing use of video
technology.

“All the other sports are moving forward with it, so I don’t see the reason why our sport isn’t,” he said. “I have tested it before myself, the majority of riders I have talked to agree with it; think it’s a great idea; it could attract a new crowd.”
For Jones, the potential to reach new audiences and attract more fans is the most exciting feature of the JockeyCAM, and it’s exactly what the industry needs.

He explained that industry stats point to an older population of fans, and a younger generation that isn’t “filling the void.”
“Something has to be done to keep this business alive,” Jones said.

For more information about JonesCAM’s HD JockeyCAM, visit www.JonesCAM.tv

By Christine O’Donnell

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – A new technology may revolutionize the way we watch horse racing.

A Hudson Falls man has worked six years to create a high definition camera small enough for jockeys to wear during a race.

A thoroughbred race horse accelerates at 45 miles per hour in just four seconds. This is something the camera’s creator Mike Jones, nicknamed “Jonesy” has wanted to show people for a long time.

By JAMES SHERRILL
jsherrill@saratogian.com

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Think leaning on the rail at Saratoga Race Course is the closest you can get to the action this summer?

Michael Jones thinks you are wrong.

And he’s pushing hard to get you closer.

Cuddebackville, NY- Principles Keith Jacobsen, Michael ‘Jonsey’ Jones, and John Michalman are proud to announce the formation of National X-Stream, LLC.

The new company will allow youthful participants in extreme and action sports to broadcast live video over the Internet and on their Smart Phones. It will also provide unlimited archive space of video, an easy way to publish photos and articles, and most importantly, the ability to connect with friends and family across the globe.

JonesCAM first introduced its helmet mounted JockeyCAM over 6 years ago, long before JonesCAM’s competition started making their much bigger cam’s with features the horse racing world, along with many other applications will ever use or need. Serious product development began back in 2005 for horse racing on the world famous Oklahoma tracks at Saratoga Raceway with some of the worlds best jockeys like Angel Cordero to mention just one. In 05’ the concept worked but until recently, the set- up was too large to be safe and practical. JonesCAM’s newest lipstick sized HD cam has proven its perfect for the horse racing industry needs and the timing is perfect. Weighing less than 3 ounces, being very small thus safe to wear, aerodynamic, delivers high quality HD videos and the Saratoga tracks are perfect for its official launch.

Sick of not recording your entire race or ride because of mud, dirt, snow or slush from others, no problems,JonesCAM’s patent pending model with tear away or auto rolling clean screen film solves that problem. Are you a high speed end users needing a safe, aerodynamic model besides high speed recording capabilities,JonesCAM’s new Aero HD Advantage model is the product for you. JonesCAM’s soon to be released5 mega pixel HD recorders are only ½” thick; offer both 1080p @30fps and 720p @60fps recording capabilities and record for up to 4+ hours in HD for less than $250. Our new patents pending remote head model will change how, when and where helmet, cap and on board cams are used forever. Our 3ounce aerodynamically remote head model, tucks in behind or on the sides of a helmet where it capture everything @ 60fps via its remote, micro sized 5 mega camera head. Wear them on top of your helmet, on your visor OR under it and get this, later that day; use it on your baseball cap while you fish. Try that with any other HD device, you can’t.