Action Cameras, Which do I choose? Front or rear?

[GmanUK65]

I am thinking of buying a camera for when I commute to work so I can film inconsiderate drivers passing me but, I'm thinking which do I choose, front or rear camera?

When a vehicle passes, if it is too close it will be seen better from the rear because it would be seen that the driver had no intension of giving you room. At the front, the incident would have already happened and at the rear the incident would be about to happen. Personally I think better proof is if an incident is about to happen than after (if a vehicle is too close it will already be caught on camera from the rear (it is very unlikely that a driver from behind giving you room will get closer while passing you), from the front there may be little evidence that the incident had occurred). So in my view a rear camera would be better.

I'm thinking of price here. I could do both but that would mean spending about £300 on a decent front camera (thinking of GoPro or Cycliq) and about £200 at the most (thinking of Cycliq Fly 6 at £180) for a rear camera making a total of between £400 and 500; a bit too pricey I think.

Am I looking into this too much or are my thoughts kind of correct?

 

[mythste]

Having used a front Cycliq Fly 12 for the last 2-3 years, I think you are over thinking the need for a rear.

Sure, if finances allow, grab both to be sure, but as you said, it's a big outlay. Ultimately the front camera will allow authorities to see what you can see, and that's really what matters. I actually find that drivers cutting back in because they have mis-judged an overtake far exceeds drivers being too close from behind.

 

[Vantage]

One of the gopro lookalikes from amazon are astoundingly good for their low price these days. Around £40 - £50 plus a good memory card. That way, if filming your rides turns out to be more trouble than it's worth you haven't wasted so much money. That's what happened to me anyway.
I'd go for recording on the front as that'll catch close passes just as well as the rear and it'll also catch those idiots with the smidsy condition. Whether you survive those smidsys to report them is another issue.

 

[rivers]

I've been really happy with my chilli tech cam. They have a deal on their FB, £33/each if you buy 2 or £39 if you buy one. Good quality, have submitted a few videos already

 

[mjr]

I think for police to act upon a dashcam close pass, it'll be so close that it's obvious on a front-facing camera. The front-facing will also catch left hooks, right crosses and jumping out of side roads, as well as some road rage attacks including brake tests - and to be blunt, my camera gets used to report stuff like potholes far more than any road misbehaviour.

Also, I would advise not to spend more than you can afford to lose because cameras do die in surprisingly many unexpected ways (as I've enjoyed and also seen on other people's bikes - I've also dropped mine in a taxi and a B&B while on tour, but got it posted back both times).

 

[Bazzer]

Fly 12 user here. I find it excellent for both images and battery life. I understand the later CE version has a shorter battery life.
As to close passes, as @mjr says, a front facing camera picks these up, as it does most other road knobbery which could endanger you.

 

[Pikey]

I've been really happy with my chilli tech cam. They have a deal on their FB, £33/each if you buy 2 or £39 if you buy one. Good quality, have submitted a few videos already

+1 for these, great for the money.

 

[steveindenmark]

Not forgetting that if you post clips on here. Some forces will not use them for evidence

 

[cosmicbike]

Not forgetting that if you post clips on here. Some forces will not use them for evidence

That's an interesting one. My local force asks you to put on youtube and provide a link. Once they have seen it/downloaded it they email you for it to be removed pending and outcome.

 

[stoatsngroats]

I’ve not used this, but may be worth a look?
https://www.nextbase.com/en-gb/national-dash-cam-safety-portal/

 

[Arjimlad]

I would sooner have just a front camera than just a rear. You can certainly pick up close passes with a bar or helmet mounted camera and there are lots of other ways for dangerous drivers to make a nuisance of themselves which a rear camera won't pick up.

For the rear, as the Aldi Maxtek camera I use is not available any more I would look at this one if I ever needed to replace it.

https://www.velozone.co.uk/products...camera-with-rear-light?variant=31636020002898

The spec looks pretty good.

I use a Drift Ghost XL on my helmet or bars which is RRP £150 but can be had for a little less if you ask Drift for a discount code on Twitter.

The majority of GoPro-like cameras will do fine on the bars but I wanted to have it on my helmet to catch phone users as well as close passing drivers and suchlike. I bought it because of its super battery life which should last 8 hrs or so.

These days I tend to have it on the bars if I am on a pleasure ride or on the helmet during commuting duties. It does not have image stablisation though.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4LzIlb_nF3qoH9hoHWr8Ow has examples of footage I have captured over the years.

 

[BoldonLad]

One of the gopro lookalikes from amazon are astoundingly good for their low price these days. Around £40 - £50 plus a good memory card. That way, if filming your rides turns out to be more trouble than it's worth you haven't wasted so much money. That's what happened to me anyway.
I'd go for recording on the front as that'll catch close passes just as well as the rear and it'll also catch those idiots with the smidsy condition. Whether you survive those smidsys to report them is another issue.

Would agree with this.

A number of years ago (ie 8+ years), I bought a Drift HD170, for it's time it was good, and certainly, robust, it only gave up the ghost about a year ago. But, 8+ years ago, it was over £100.

To replace it, I bought an AKASO EK7000 (off EBay, but Amazon have them too). It was £39, and the video quality is very good. Remains to be seen how long it "lives" for of course.

At present, I am using a Chilli-Tech as a rear view camera, but, not 100% happy with it. Main problem is, the "on" light is so dim it is hard to tell if it is on or off.

I plan to buy myself another AKASO EK7000 and mount it rear facing, in place of the Chilli-Tech.

 

[GmanUK65]

Well considering nobody agreed to what I said I need to get a front camera. There is one thing I need to do this. I do not want a camera that has to be put in a waterproof case making it stick out like a sore thumb. The Cycliq fly12 looks good but it comes with a light and I already have a decent light. So something about the size of this without a light would be perfect. Battery life of 2hrs would be adaquate and would be willing to pay up to £250 but nothing cheaper than £100.

Anybody got any ideas?

 

[Lovacott]

Well considering nobody agreed to what I said I need to get a front camera. There is one thing I need to do this. I do not want a camera that has to be put in a waterproof case making it stick out like a sore thumb.

I've just bought a cheapy off Amazon "ThiEye I60+" and the camera works well. £39.00 not including SD card.

The app that is supposed to control it though is pants.

However, it's a simple case of powering it up and it starts recording in five minute segments until you power it off (once your card is full, it overwrites the oldest files). To download video without the app, simply connect a micro USB cable.

Comes with loads of mounts and uses 3M adhesive pads. There is also a handlebar mount. It has two batteries.

It is mounted in a waterproof case which bulks it up a bit and it will stick out like a sore thumb on my helmet, but that is intentional. I don't want to film someone getting too close to me, I want to dissuade them from getting too close in the first place.

Maybe you could rear mount a cheapy like the one I bought as a deterrent and go for something top range for your helmet?

 

[Bazzer]

Well considering nobody agreed to what I said I need to get a front camera. There is one thing I need to do this. I do not want a camera that has to be put in a waterproof case making it stick out like a sore thumb. The Cycliq fly12 looks good but it comes with a light and I already have a decent light. So something about the size of this without a light would be perfect. Battery life of 2hrs would be adaquate and would be willing to pay up to £250 but nothing cheaper than £100.

Anybody got any ideas?

You do not need to have the light on when recording. - At least on the Fly 12, but you would need to check about the CE.
Speaking from personal experience, the light is really handy as a backup. But I suppose it depends on your journeys. Prior to the arrival of the plague, when commuting I would be leaving home at 5.30 am. So lights were on my bike pretty much all year round. Even so, the light on the Fly 12 has bailed me out a few times.