Helmet cameras

[pea]

I've been reading the thread started by corpusluteum about cameras and it's got me thinking about getting one. Does anyone have any recommendations? My laptop is slowly but surely dying so I'm after something that can be used with an ipad, I suppose it's going to have to have wifi or bluetooth, being idiot proof is a must!

Pea

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Mount it on the handlebars. Then you don't look so daft.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bike-Bicycle-Motorcycle-Handlebar-Mount-Holder-for-Mobius-Action-Sports-Camera-/161084872166?pt=UK_SportGoods_CyclAcces_RL&hash=item25816815e6

 

[pea]

On my helmet it will record what I see so I'm thinking that's going to be better.

I look daft to start with so a camera stuck on the top is going to be like the icing on the cake really, lol!

 

[Gubbins]

I bought a gopro hero 3 White and it works just fine. Control, view, delete by wifi from phone or tablet/ipad. I found it a bit confusing at first but I soon got my head around it. Not cheap though.

 

[Backin5]

I have an SJ4000 mounted on my bike handle bars. It's a gopro copy at a fraction of the price. Camera, 32gb card, 2 batteries and all the mounts cost me £125 delivered from UK within 48 hours.

Check out Techmoans review.

I do have it set up for front of helmet mount, which is better than top, which makes you resemble a telly tubby. Handle bars is much more discreet.

Put the money you save towards a new laptop - an ipad will be useless for editing or otherwise processing any video you make.

Although I love mine, I've always thought iPads are for consuming, PC's for creating. Mac book air if you're made of money.

 

[eHomer]

I've been a sucker for action cams for some time, spending (wasting) far too much money in the elusive quest for the ideal camera, that none of them ever measured up too.

There was always something not quite right.

The unbranded Chinese cameras offer great value and most give high quality images, but the after sales service if you have a problem is worrying, and there does seem to be a high percentage of units failing.

I finally bit the bullet and was almost ready to splash out on a Gopro when the Sony AS range came out.

As someone has already mentioned on here, the "Techmoan" blog reviews were a big help, impartial, detailed reviews by an independent guy who really knows how to test them and show samples, rather than just giving his impressions.

His reviews got me interested in the Sony AS15, and then the AS30 came out, which is the one I bought. Best price was just over £200, and just over £100 for the wrist remote control.

Yes, fairly expensive, but for me it really is the perfect setup at last.

The same wide variety of mounts and accessories as the Gopro, but it also has "steadyshot" stabilisation and built in GPS.

The steadyshot feature alone justifies this camera for me, riding, walking, canoeing, sailing, it makes all the difference, automatically removing most of the jerkiness during the initial recording stage.

The GPS is great for bike rides, recording speed and location synchronised to the video, so that the Sony editing software can then overlay a virtual dashboard and route diagram on to the video which is then saved at 1080p for playing on anything as a conventional 274 video file. The example screenshot shown below from youtube is one of the more brash "video game" themes, but they do have more reserved layouts that overlay the data without blocking out so much screen!

The camera can be monitored and controlled via wifi remotely via my android phone, but I've now bought the wrist remote which is much more convenient to use, and with much longer battery life.

http://www.sony-asia.com/productcategory/cam-action-cam

 

[amigafan2003]

I've just got a ContourHD to use with my Westfield and on my bike - very happy with it and simple one touch recording on/off. If you keep your eyes open they come up for about £130 on ebay/Amazon.

I don't want speed shown on the vids of me driving my Westfield ;-)

 

[eHomer]

......I don't want speed shown on the vids of me driving my Westfield ;-)

yup... so many guys being so helpful to the Cops, uploading exhibit "A" to youtube themselves....

 

[pea]

Thanks for all the replies.

What I'm after is something to record journeys too and from work, I'm coming across an increasing number of idiots out there, and that doesn't include me!

Can you turn the sound off them? Listening to me huffing and puffing is going to amuse my daughter no end! And I'd be somewhat embarrassed to listen to what I've been saying, lol!

Pea

 

[eHomer]

......Can you turn the sound off them? Listening to me huffing and puffing is going to amuse my daughter no end! And I'd be somewhat embarrassed to listen to what I've been saying, lol!
Pea

Strange though it may seem, I don't believe you can turn the sound off on most of them. You could re-dub without the sound track on, but that would be a lot of hassle.

With most of the cameras I've had, the microphone was behind a very distinct small hole in the casing, so I guess a blob of blue tack over it would muffle it almost to silence.

 

[Aushiker]

Whatever software you are using should allow for the removing or changing of the volume of the sound.

As I am on a Mac I use iMovie which allows for the sound to be turned off and/or music etc added. You also have editing options in You Tube.

Regards
Andrew

 

[Aushiker]

Oh in terms of cameras I use a GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition up front and a Contour HD1080P out back. Both are simply turned on when I start the ride and turned off when I finish. I don't bother with the remote control or the app for the GoPro. It is not that hard to get them pointing in the right direction.

The Moibus is another good option and at a really good price. I got lots of good service out of an early version, the HD808 #16.

This is the Contour HD1080p mounted ...

and the GoPro Hero 3

Andrew

 

[Gubbins]

Just tried plugging my bar mounted gopro into the bosch console. Works a treat., powers it whilst recoding so no more battery woes...

 

[Willber G]

On my helmet it will record what I see so I'm thinking that's going to be better.

I look daft to start with so a camera stuck on the top is going to be like the icing on the cake really, lol!

Have you considered video camera glasses? Lots of choice from £6 to £100.

 

[Aushiker]

Just tried plugging my bar mounted gopro into the bosch console. Works a treat., powers it whilst recoding so no more battery woes...

What housing are you using?

Andrew

 

[eHomer]

Have you considered video camera glasses? Lots of choice from £6 to £100.

I bought a pair of 1080p video camera glasses last year from a UK ebay seller for about £60.

Nice wide 150 degree view and excellent video quality, though a little jerky because of no steadshot smoothing.

Funny thing though, like I said, there's always a frustrating "gotcha" with so many of these gadgets. With the glasses it was battery life. The tiny inbuilt battery is not interchangeable, only has a life of just under two hours, and I've never found a way to power the glasses externally.

They have a bespoke micro USB socket for charging, with a dedicated lead, but I've found no way to video with them while charging or powering them.

In also tried a much cheaper pair of 640x480 video glasses, but the video quality was absolute rubbish.

 

[Willber G]

I bought a pair of 1080p video camera glasses last year from a UK ebay seller for about £60.

Nice wide 150 degree view and excellent video quality, though a little jerky because of no steadshot smoothing.

Funny thing though, like I said, there's always a frustrating "gotcha" with so many of these gadgets. With the glasses it was battery life. The tiny inbuilt battery is not interchangeable, only has a life of just under two hours, and I've never found a way to power the glasses externally.

They have a bespoke micro USB socket for charging, with a dedicated lead, but I've found no way to video with them while charging or powering them.

In also tried a much cheaper pair of 640x480 video glasses, but the video quality was absolute rubbish.

Thanks for the review, I think I'll wait until they've matured a bit.

 

[eHomer]

I've now been using my Sony AS30V for quite a few rides now, and I'm relieved to say that unlike most of my previous action cam impulse purchases, it works quite well.

The built in GPS enables the final videos to have speed and track overlays, and the steadyshot processing while shooting makes a big difference to smoothness.

I use the american "RAM" system to mount the camera on my handlebars, very firm and shake free.

Here's a down scaled still frame from a one and half hour 1080P video of one of my 20 mile bike rides. The quality on a 40" full HD TV is really good.

 

[pea]

Thanks for that, I'll have to go and look that up

 

[eHomer]

I've been discussing the actioncam mounting options with Pea and needed to post a photo of my DIY velcro cage. I couldn't find a way to do it in "conversations" so I'm posting it in this forum thread.

I bought quite a few of the Sony mounts but found them a bit on the cumbersome side, and I prefer to use the camera without the waterproof case to avoid the condensation problems and get clearer sound.

This DIY velcro cage is very "minimal", so far less obtrusive and lighter.

The ability to twist the camera to get the horizon straight was an accidental bonus, making it quite versatile on most of my outdoor hats and my bike helmet. It fixes quickly to a small square of velcro felt eitherv sewn to the hat or stuck on the helmet.

I fitted a short 6" safety lanyard of thin strong cord to the bottom of the camera. I loop it round helmet or hat straps, just in case !

I carefully took the bottom flap off the camera (two screws, and it could be put back), as it makes external power and microphones much easier to connect. I think it's still fairly "weatherproof" with all the plugs underneath.