A good helmet camera?

[Rezillo]

Yes I did the test before the recent improvements in the GPS.

I know you have used dashware (nice piece of software) however, I'm having a problem with it. I have some Contour GPS data that I recorded in Tall Hd mode (960p) and I want to add a speed dial. It all works fine except when I try to save it in HD mode it squashes the image (stretched horizontally). Do you have any idea if I can save it as 960p in the correct aspect ration on Dashware?

Your best bet is to ask on the Dashware forum - they can be a bit slow to respond but usually help out in the end.

You can edit the video profile xml files that control the final output. For example, I wanted options to resize videos that weren't there by default and the authors gave me instructions for this. They worked fine in v1.1.66 but give a vertically stretched image in the current 1.1.81, so there may be some issues generally with aspect ratio at the moment.

John

 

[little_tiny_kev]

got a quick question... Does anyone use their camera's simply to capture the scenic route on a weekend ride? or do you guys use them incase of accidents so you can prove who was responsible for the accident?

 

[MrHappyCyclist]

got a quick question... Does anyone use their camera's simply to capture the scenic route on a weekend ride? or do you guys use them incase of accidents so you can prove who was responsible for the accident?

Yes.

 

[Rezillo]

got a quick question... Does anyone use their camera's simply to capture the scenic route on a weekend ride? or do you guys use them incase of accidents so you can prove who was responsible for the accident?

Mine's primarily for recording the ride but that automatically requires me to have good quality video (which would also assist its use as evidence) and a long recording time, which ups the price.

The muvi-type cameras are great value for shortish commutes and for the price, the video quality is good, but if I was concerned about accident recording and regular day-in day-out use, I'd value reliability as well. On the other hand, you can buy 20 muvi looky-likeys for the price of a Gopro or Contour and my Contour has just failed!

John

 

[G4WYZ]

When I came to this section I had hoped there would be an article to help the cyclist on which camera to buy, the pro and cons. Not just I have x and y.



I brought my first camera over two years ago, after being frustrating submitting letters to the Police about dangerous drivers and the only response was did anyone else see the incident, that all changed with the camera.



I had initially looked at cameras which fitted on the helmet, but you needed a separate video recorder and there where wires,(they always tangle). Anyway about the same time CPC in Preston had an offer on the Oregon Scientific ATC3K it was at a good price so I brought one. The batteries, SD card where all contained in the same unit.



Although it’s marketed as a helmet cam, basically I thought it was too heavy for the helmet, although I attached the camera to the helmet it was heavy and uncomfortable, so the camera was mounted on the handlebars.



Within the first week it paid for itself, as I had a 4x4 pickup miss me by inches, the driver had passed me close as possible, but moved out to the correct distance when passing a parked car, (I was using a sub-standard width cycle lane). I recognised the registration number from a previous incident, (doing the same stunt) I reported the incident to the Police and the response was “Do you want the driver to be prosecuted”, WOW.



There are draw backs with the handlebar mounted ones, i.e. you miss a lot, such as the drivers who squeezes pass you at pinch points (refuges) and its not good in low light ie ok in well lit roads. Anyway I used the Omega for two years and decided to invested in a lighter weight helmet cam which had good low light visibility, the MiniDVR 3 Bullet Camera which is based on the Sony HQ5 Bullet camera, supplied by Dog Cam Sport.



This works in extreme low light levels, the only drawback (during the dark winter commutes) is the rear number-lights tend to blur the figures out on the plate. Otherwise I ‘am very impressed.



One of my colleagues brought one of these £10 helmet cameras, the instructions where hit and miss and it’s not waterproofed, so you get what u pay for. I supposed its designed for the Californian Winter.





Michael Prescott.

CTC Right to Ride, Chorley and South Ribble.

 

[magnatom]

It might be worth checking out part 1 of my Four Helmet camera review, even if only to see a picture of me wearing 4 helmet cameras!

 

[gaz]

There are many pro's vs con's articles out there about helmet cameras. You probably bought it at the wrong time though, the amount of different cameras out there now is vast.

 

[megamega]

Like the pic Magnatom. I haven't posted on here for a while but i still record my commute each day. My helmet currently has the veho muvi with waterproof casing and also my new kodak playsport zx5, so although i don't look as bad as your pic, having 2 on the helmet still looks stupid lol. i have posted 2 videos recently, 1 showing a comparison of both those cams and one showing the zx5 with a fish eye lens on. now saying that the zx5 is waterproof, dustproof, and shockproof it suits the bike rides. It also has image stabilisation and has the ability to do full 1080P at 30fps but also 720P at 60fps. At less than 140 quid if you can mount it on your helmet its a good buy. here are my 2 vids.

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9atFyfJdF6k

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7v1gdS9D1w&feature=related
for quality and sound i dont think its far off what you tested even better in my opinion on a couple of them. The zx5 was plagued with freezing but a new firmware has fixed that issue. It will also take 32gig class 10 cards. battery life is about 2.5 hours, has a screen so i can delete vids and also crop them on the fly. It can also do a lot more.

 

[snailracer]

I also like the idea of loop mode, where it records 10 mins to a buffer, but only saves it (and then continues to record to SD card) when you push a button on the remote.

The drawback with loop mode is that, if you get knocked off, you might be too incapacitated to push the save button and so your video evidence gets overwritten.

 

[xxmimixx]

Hi
been reading this thread with interest and can see the benefit of having a cam. However dont want to spend hundered of pounds for it.
A quick google search bought up this camera http://www.retailgadgets.co.uk/Raider-Action-Helmet-Camera-Ten-Black.html which is a price I would be happy to pay. What do you think? Or can you recommend any others for this sort of price?
Thanks

 

[gaz]

Hi
been reading this thread with interest and can see the benefit of having a cam. However dont want to spend hundered of pounds for it.
A quick google search bought up this camera http://www.retailgad...-Ten-Black.html which is a price I would be happy to pay. What do you think? Or can you recommend any others for this sort of price?
Thanks

See if you can find some clips which show it in action. Without that you have no idea what is going to be like.
You can probably get a Veho Muvi for around £50, which is used by a lot of people and gives good results.

 

[cloggsy]

If you're on a budget, look at the '#11 808 Cameras' on eBay...

These No. 11 cameras record in full 720p HD and the quality is superb for the £30 odd quid they cost...

Have a look at this review on YouTube...

 

[magnatom]

For anyone interested part 2 of the review is up. It contains night time video. Interesting results and probably not what you would expect....

 

[BSRU]

For anyone interested part 2 of the review is up. It contains night time video. Interesting results and probably not what you would expect....

It's amazing how bad three of them are even with lots of street lights, especially the most expensive one.

I know the Contour is helped in total darkness by using halogen lights but the other three look beyond help.

 

[BSRU]

For anyone interested part 2 of the review is up. It contains night time video. Interesting results and probably not what you would expect....

The POV.HD is not CCD it is 1/2.7” HD CMOS sensor, according their website.