Matthew_T
"Young and Ex-whippet"
- Location
- Prestatyn, North Wales
A good helmet camera?
- Thread starter Peter91
- Start date
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For me, desirable new features would be image stabilisation and something to minimise rolling shutter, especially at 1080p.
The JVC Adixxion claims to have both but I've not been impressed with the overall image quality of some of the user videos. The Sony has image stabilisation but nothing to counter rolling shutter. The Gopro3 has neither but its 60fps 1080p should counter rolling shutter fairly well, the downside likely to be some very large file sizes. Upping the frame rate can reduce the image quality somewhat so it will be interesting to see how the new GoPro fares with this.
The JVC Adixxion claims to have both but I've not been impressed with the overall image quality of some of the user videos. The Sony has image stabilisation but nothing to counter rolling shutter. The Gopro3 has neither but its 60fps 1080p should counter rolling shutter fairly well, the downside likely to be some very large file sizes. Upping the frame rate can reduce the image quality somewhat so it will be interesting to see how the new GoPro fares with this.
gaz
Cycle Camera TV
- Location
- South Croydon
And yet less than 5 cameras have a screen on them :P
I imagine the GoPro3 will need lots of big high speed memory cards, when I use the GoPro2 with ProTune 1080p30fps it uses 2Gb every 7 or 8 minutes, it means I need two 32Gb cards instead of just one 32Gb card to record a days commuting.
Would not be surprised in the future that a camera is released with wireless storage in a separate unit.
I just got a Contour Roam this week, having previously used a Veho Muvi, pro's and con's for both:
ContourRoam:
Pros: Wide angle lens (captures more content); HD (better quality); waterproof; PC access to the memory card is a lot quicker than the Veho; Very easy to change the orientation of the lens; very reliable (so far)
Cons: More expensive than the Veho; Bigger than the Veho; Have to purchase a seperate mount, the one supplied isn't great.
Veho Muvi:
Pros: Small; light; cheap
Cons: Very unreliable, failed to record approx. 1 out of 5 times; not waterproof
ContourRoam:
Pros: Wide angle lens (captures more content); HD (better quality); waterproof; PC access to the memory card is a lot quicker than the Veho; Very easy to change the orientation of the lens; very reliable (so far)
Cons: More expensive than the Veho; Bigger than the Veho; Have to purchase a seperate mount, the one supplied isn't great.
Veho Muvi:
Pros: Small; light; cheap
Cons: Very unreliable, failed to record approx. 1 out of 5 times; not waterproof
Tried out the new Sony HDR-AS15 this morning.
Despite the camera being very small and light I do not think at the moment it is suitable as a helmet camera.
Any chance of rain and you need to use the waterproof case, currently the non-waterproof mount is not available.
The waterproof case is very sturdy and well made, as is the headband mount but they are a little heavy so when the camera, case plus headband mount are combined the extra weight is noticeable, after 90 minutes riding this morning it became unpleasant.
Also Sony have seemed not to have learned from GoPro's problem with a fully enclosed waterproof case and it suffered from fogging, I do not know when it occurred, only noticed when I took the helmet off at work.
So far the comparison with my Contour+ is not favourable, the C+ is basically waterproof enough not to need it's waterproof case, so significantly lighter and no fogging problems, plus it can be mounted flat on top of the helmet, my preferred location.
As for video quality that is something for later.
Despite the camera being very small and light I do not think at the moment it is suitable as a helmet camera.
Any chance of rain and you need to use the waterproof case, currently the non-waterproof mount is not available.
The waterproof case is very sturdy and well made, as is the headband mount but they are a little heavy so when the camera, case plus headband mount are combined the extra weight is noticeable, after 90 minutes riding this morning it became unpleasant.
Also Sony have seemed not to have learned from GoPro's problem with a fully enclosed waterproof case and it suffered from fogging, I do not know when it occurred, only noticed when I took the helmet off at work.
So far the comparison with my Contour+ is not favourable, the C+ is basically waterproof enough not to need it's waterproof case, so significantly lighter and no fogging problems, plus it can be mounted flat on top of the helmet, my preferred location.
As for video quality that is something for later.
That looks pretty good - other than the known issue about accentuated blue sky.
At least it doesn't suffer from the Contour+'s problem with blurring of grass and vegetation, something that plagued the previous gps model until fixed in firmware but still not wholly absent in the +.
At least it doesn't suffer from the Contour+'s problem with blurring of grass and vegetation, something that plagued the previous gps model until fixed in firmware but still not wholly absent in the +.
The 1080p 30fps looks excellent, unfortunately cannot produce a daylight comparison video with my C+ as the C+ had a smudged lens,some road spray I think.
But in my opinion it is superior to the C+.
Hopefully later, when the upload finishes, I will add a link for a low light comparison.
From viewing footage during editing the Sony is several leagues above the C+ in low light conditions.
There is a rumour a new Contour is out soon which is supposed to compete with the new Hero 3 black edition, hopefully it will compete on price as well as features.
gaz
Cycle Camera TV
- Location
- South Croydon
They just released two new cameras :S
The Contour Plus 2 is not really a new camera, it is basically the Plus with new firmware and the lasers working again.
I hope the fact the Plus2 and "new" Roam are not major changes indicates that they have been working hard on a "real" new camera, something with more than 5M pixel sensor
.A low light comparison, the Sony is vastly superior to the Contour Plus even with the C+ settings maxed out.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sspRQL3HW-M
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sspRQL3HW-M
mr_cellophane
Legendary Member
- Location
- Essex
Any opinions on the HD96 Extreme ?
Looks like a nice camera, always good to have a rotating lens so it can be place flat on top of a helmet.
Does look a little big, relatively speaking and this time of year it's low light capabilities are unknown.
At that price though I might consider an EBay Sony HDR-AS10 or AS15 as a "US seller" is selling them cheaper from Brighton, UK.
My only concern is they are selling the US camera which is exactly the same but I am not sure about the Sony warranty.
