Go Pro or similar

[Spiderweb]

My friends wife is wanting to buy her hubby a helmet cam for when he’s cycling and has asked my advice. I know nothing about Cams and as far as mounting one I’m not sure I would want anything fixing to my helmet in case I had an accident! Are there better/safer methods of mounting a cam?
What would you all recommend, they often buy quality gadgets so not necessarily looking for a budget option.

Thank you in advance.

 

[iluvmybike]

Depends on what you wnat it for. If it just to capture close passes, bad driver behaviour etc then the Chilli Bullet cam is excellent and comes with a handlebar mount. Go Pro if you want to produce quality vids & have plenty of money - handlebar mount comes with that.

 

[rockyroller]

hmmm ... shopping for someone else is tricky. even for ppl buying their own stuff, there's lots of "buyers remorse" friends & cousins seem very happy with the square shaped go-pro brand & chest mounts. their latest models have better in-camera vibration/image stabilization. also that setup can accommodate the addition of a gimbal. if I had to start over I might go that route.

View: https://youtu.be/5HU-6KnOF3g

 

[BoldonLad]

Personally, I prefer to have the camera mounted on the bike, rather than me. I have two cheapo GoPro shape Cameras (AKASO EK7000). They are about £40 on Ebay/Amazon, complete with numerous mounts and two batteries. I have one mounted on handlebars, pointing forward, and, one mounted under saddle, pointing to the rear.

Sample footage from front facing camera here, and, from the rear camera here.

In the past I have had a Drift, and a Chilli Cam Bullet Camera. The Drift was good, very robust, the Chilli I was not impressed by.

But, as someone else has said, shopping for someone else is fraught with problems Good luck

 

[HobbesOnTour]

I tried out a go-pro clone and the only advice I can offer is to pay good attention to any reviews to do with the video editing software. On cheaper units they will make or break the usefulness of the device.
(Also helpful to know what platform the husband will be using).

 

[rockyroller]

My friends wife is wanting to buy her hubby a helmet cam

is he aware of her intentions?

 

[Spiderweb]

is he aware of her intentions?

I’m pretty sure he knows nothing, I am tempted to mention her plan to him as he knows his gadgets then get back to her with my (his!) suggestion.
I think she has a habit of getting him stuff that he doesn’t really like! He likes cornflakes so she bought him a cycling top with the big Kellogg’s cornflakes logo all over it ..... I’ve never seen him wear it!

 

[LJR69]

I use GoPro and get on well with it, but there are definitely other great options such as the DJI Osmo Action

 

[Big John]

I've got an early generation GoPro. I've had it a few years now and use it quite a lot both on the bike and off it. I bought a bike mount off eBay as opposed to the ones you get in Currys. It's a lightweight metal one. The plastic ones kept breaking after a few months. Mine is pretty basic, I believe, and the modern more expensive ones do fancier things but I'm still happy with the one I've got. The GoPro software is pretty good once you get the hang of it but I also use a free Microsoft one (Movie Maker I think it's called) that's easy to use and achieves good results. I post stuff on YouTube and as an uploader you get access to their music library for your background music. I appreciate there are a lot of GoPro clones out there, both good and bad, but I can only comment on what I've got. They're not cheap but they're reliable and robust. Mine came off after a plastic mount broke and the camera bounced on the road at speed. Eventually found it in long grass at the side of the road, intact and hardly a mark. Works fine despite years of abuse lol.

 

[rockyroller]

YouTube and as an uploader you get access to their music library for your background music.

really? can you elaborate?

 

[rockyroller]

oh ... my ... gosh ... you don't want to watch this without something to clench between your teeth!

View: https://youtu.be/x76VEPXYaI0

 

[Arjimlad]

I have a Drift Ghost X on the side of my helmet, it's not too tellytubby looking. Supposedly weatherproof, although mine failed a month ago after very heavy rain & Drift replaced it without quibble. The image quality is OK but not GoPro level, but where it scores is 8-9 hour battery life. There are bar-mounting options too.

If they want the best quality footage, bike-mounted & are happy with shorter battery life then the latest GoPros are meant to be the best available, but I like having my camera on my helmet for commuting duties. Drift cameras are popular with motorcyclists.

 

[Arjimlad]

really? can you elaborate?

https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UC4LzIlb_nF3qoH9hoHWr8Ow/music is what I use.

 

[rockyroller]

https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UC4LzIlb_nF3qoH9hoHWr8Ow/music is what I use.

thanks but that link doesn't work for me. maybe it's linked to your account? no worries, I'll poke around

found it - audio library on bottom left THANK YOU

 

[Arjimlad]

@rockyroller it's pretty limited, I'd love to find a broader source of music which doesn't need attribution.