Helmet Cams ?

[J4CKO]

Interested at the major motivating factor at wearing one, is it mainly for evidential purposes as per Archies thread or are there other reasons, I am quite interested after some dozy woman pulled out on me last night and to be honest its worth the effort to have any small advantage over some of the complacent, lazy, agressive knobhead sthat inhabit our roads, though conversely it would be nice to see some well done and thanks videos going on Youtube rather than just close overtakes and the likes.

How much are they, are they a major faff, are they reliable ?

 

[BentMikey]

Well done and thanks videos are usually boring, that's why you don't see them. It's the exciting stuffups that we all make that make for good viewing.

That or Magnatom's comedian moment "The pavement's for 5 year olds!" video. That comment, and the explosive response are probably his best video IMO.

 

[magnatom]

That or Magnatom's comedian moment "The pavement's for 5 year olds!" video. That comment, and the explosive response are probably his best video IMO.

Have you noticed that I've made that video live on youtube? I thought as time has passed that it would be nice to anonymise it a little!

Originally I got mine for evidence, but it has ended up being a more powerful tool than that:

1. Capturing evidence
2. Educating yourself
3. Educating other cyclists
4. Educating Drivers
5. Prevention
6. Campaigning
7. It creates my own Zen bubble
8. Amusement
9. Debate

 

[Eat MY Dust]

Here are the reasons I may get one:

1. I could have showed you the person driving the Honda Civic last night watching TV. (that's the 2nd one in as many months)

2. I could have showed you the 2 fire engines approaching me this morning on my side of the road, and the WVM who must have thought I was pulling in to let him past, who then went on to nearly have a head on collision with said fire engines.

3. I could have showed you the Fiat driver that I ran off the road this morning who must have thought "well he has right away, but he's on a bike so I'll just drive towards him" As he hit the kerb and came off the road, I caught a quick glimpse of his head hitting the roof. It made me smile!

Hopefully Santa will bring me a camera!

 

[thomas]

Definitely worth it IMO. It's not that much of a faff, only changing batteries, taking videos off...adjusting the position (takes a few goes).

I think a few people do give you more space because of it, but you always get idiots!

 

[goo_mason]

I gave up after a few weeks as I had such a faff getting the camera attached to my helmet and facing the right way. The headband didn't work as the helmet comes down too low on my head; I bought a doo-dah from dogcamsport which consisted of a rubber block and some alternate-sided-velcro strap, but I can't work out how to attach it and even when I do, the camera still isn't pointing ahead - so that was abandoned too. (I've emailed them for help, but they had no instructions and said they could talk me through it on the phone, but I'm one of those people who needs visuals to do something like that).

In the end I bodged it using rubber bands so the camera was poking out through a front vent from the inside of the helmet, almost like a Dalek's eye-stalk. But faffing about trying to get the recorder inside my rucksack without it moving and disconnecting the leads / switching itself off was the final straw. It came off and has never been used again.

Bear in mind though that this is one user's experiences - Magnatom has no bother with his and can get it attached and working in minutes (as I witnessed first-hand in September). You may have no bother at all. I guess it depends on:

(a) your head shape
( your helmet
(c) the type of camera and/or recorder you get

I'll be giving mine another go once I'm commuting in daylight again (Archos 605 WiFi + Archos Gen5 Helmet camera). One day I might get it right !

 

[downfader]

I use the helmet cam incase of an accident and I need to prove I've done nothing to cause it, or if I'm hit and unable to tell others whats happened as a result.

I have also used it as a cheap camcorder, for youtube - educational videos (but not in the same league as Mags tbh) and the general get-things-off-my-chest style ramblings for the internet...

...I would like to see them become a lot more compact and improved sound and vision and wireless like the atcs. Where the atcs fail its their bulk an weight.

 

[HLaB]

I was asked what I wanted for Christmas and I said a helmet (bar) cam. It something I wouldn't have got round to my self but as a gift I think its a good idea. My intentions initially were just to fit it occasionally to film rides, like this one. Its packed away till Christmas now but I'm not sure.

 

[Tynan]

it has to be worth it for the one time it proves that the person that knocks you off caused the accident

 

[soolrider]

My 2p'worth: only really got it as an insurance policy/evidence in case the worst happened.

It's no hassle. ATC2K, bar mounted so treat like a light. Delete memory after 3 commutes as I've got bored of collecting minor incidents now. No problems after a year of daily use.

Agree with previous comments on faff of attaching it to helmet, and also on bulk - just how safe is it to attach (a bulky ATC2K) to my head??? The downside to bar-mounting though, is you can't prove where I was looking.

Night/winter commute footage is a bit crappy, though as I never bought it for serious movie-making, it would do.

 

[summerdays]

Does anyone make a two way facing camera? to capture front and back simultaneously.

 

[HLaB]

Does anyone make a two way facing camera? to capture front and back simultaneously.

I think Dog Cam do one recorder that can attach to 2 or more cameras, magnatom will probably know more.

 

[downfader]

I think Dog Cam do one recorder that can attach to 2 or more cameras, magnatom will probably know more.

Yep, and the setup costs a fair ol bit.