Garmin edge 500 / Garmin VIRB

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David_widnes

Veteran
Location
Widnes
I'm looking at buying a sports camera and I have noticed Garmin have brought out a camera ,the Garmin VIRB, and I would like a bit of feedback from other CC members , the main plus point with this camera for me would be its connectivity or not as the case maybe with my Garmin Edge 500 and any feedback good or bad is really appreciated.
 

T.M.H.N.E.T

Rainbows aren't just for world champions
Location
Northern Ireland
The 500 doesn't allow virb remote, but having recently delved back into the helmet cam game I'll offer my thoughts.

Go-Pro - feasibly cheap with lots of mount options. No ability to preview what the cam is seeing wouldn't work well for me swapping between bikes.

Virb/Virb Elite -It's huge and the mount is one of the most impractical I've ever seen for a helmet cam.

Shimano Sport Camera - These were used a lot on the protour last year to provide descent/neutral service and sprint train video. Although not in a live capacity.

I actually own one ^ and so far having ridden road and MTB with it bike mounted I'm very impressed with the resulting footage from full HD recording. It also shares the gopro mount system so any current go-pro mount ( I spent no more than £5 on each of mine on ebay) work perfectly.

The other benefit over the gopro and virb. If you have ANT+ hardware paired the Shimano saves a data file for the length of the video clip, this means there is no syncing of data files/GPX and the like, so if you're rendering video with speedometer gauges and such, it's very much straightforward.

It also comes with (although waterproof out of the box (gopro is not) a curved lens to allow it to focus underwater. This appeases me as a somewhat keen angler, I can rod or landing net mount it for underwater shots.

But camera choice does somewhat depend on their intended use.
 
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I got a virb elite cheap just before xmas, wasn't a great deal more than the bottom gopro. Theres a review of it here
I wouldn't say the Virb is massively bigger than the gopro but the format is different which will make a difference to how you can use it. I've got a friend that highly rates the GoPro chest mount for mtb - I wouldn't use the Virb in the same way. I have mine mounted on the bars but then I don't wear a helmet anyway. There is a low profile mount available that looks to be better than the supplied one. Bar mount is solid enough and does the job

Virb elite will as @T.M.H.N.E.T says connects to ANT+ stuff and if you're just using the Edge 500 for recording rides you won't need to take it along as it will do .gpx and .FIT files and sync them to Garmin Connect. I'm now thinking of it more as a cycling computer that can record video than an actioncam.
My use of it so far has been so boring that I've only looked at a few bits of the videos and had a brief play with Garmins editing software before deleting the files. Footage I like, even bar mounted it doesn't seem to suffer from much vibration. The editing software is nothing fancy but fine for YouTube clips, and it comes with a variety of speed/heart rate/mapping overlays data that it pulls straight off the camera.
 
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David_widnes

David_widnes

Veteran
Location
Widnes
I got a virb elite cheap just before xmas, wasn't a great deal more than the bottom gopro. Theres a review of it here
I wouldn't say the Virb is massively bigger than the gopro but the format is different which will make a difference to how you can use it. I've got a friend that highly rates the GoPro chest mount for mtb - I wouldn't use the Virb in the same way. I have mine mounted on the bars but then I don't wear a helmet anyway. There is a low profile mount available that looks to be better than the supplied one. Bar mount is solid enough and does the job


Virb elite will as @T.M.H.N.E.T says connects to ANT+ stuff and if you're just using the Edge 500 for recording rides you won't need to take it along as it will do .gpx and .FIT files and sync them to Garmin Connect. I'm now thinking of it more as a cycling computer that can record video than an actioncam.
My use of it so far has been so boring that I've only looked at a few bits of the videos and had a brief play with Garmins editing software before deleting the files. Footage I like, even bar mounted it doesn't seem to suffer from much vibration. The editing software is nothing fancy but fine for YouTube clips, and it comes with a variety of speed/heart rate/mapping overlays data that it pulls straight off the camera.

Thanks for this post really helpful , am I right to assume I don't actually need to have both a Garmin 500 and a VIRB elite as they both record ride data ??

If so does anyone want to buy a Garmin Edge 500 ??
 
Got a virb elite and use the supplied adaptor for the GoPro mounts am pleased with it battery life seems good that I'm only thinking of taking a charger and not a spare battery for a London to Paris trip this year also have a garmin 800 which can operate the camera remotely as well as the iPhone app useful for setting up and viewing camera angles rather than the Chroma display on the virb
 
I have the virb elite bar mounted and been really happy with it; it lasts my 1.5hour commutes no problem and give me quite good quality stabilising the image well (probably get better if I helmet mounted but I prefer bar mounted) and the stats are good to play with too :becool:. The only criticism of the Elite its white rubber case got grubby quickly :thumbsup:

This is some of the footage I've recorded. PS mute the last one if you are in a public place, the language is NSFW but it proves the mic works :whistle:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9eUBeaccq0



View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpQfyRmWIkw



View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKuqvLYkpmw
 
Thanks for this post really helpful , am I right to assume I don't actually need to have both a Garmin 500 and a VIRB elite as they both record ride data ??

If so does anyone want to buy a Garmin Edge 500 ??
Doesn't the 500 do some basic, breadcrumb trail, mapping too? The virb elite doesn't - it only records But if it was just for a regular route you use, say a commute I'd only use the Virb.
 
Thanks for this post really helpful , am I right to assume I don't actually need to have both a Garmin 500 and a VIRB elite as they both record ride data ??

If so does anyone want to buy a Garmin Edge 500 ??
I run my virb elite with a 200 or an 800 technically I don't need them I just prefer the longer battery life the give me (the virb is good for two hours at least though). Oh and I also prefer reading the stats/time on the 800 and having the temperature recorded ;)
 
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