Nearly hit a kid about an hour ago... need camera recommendations!

[Matthew_T]

Got insurance through CTC but that isn't always the best plan, especially if I did hit somebody and end up in court.


I'm looking at a dogcam bullet, or a Contour Roam. Really depends on funds for me, is the contour (which about 40-50 quid more) worth the extra?

I think it is a safer option. It is a better company to go with (like EasyJet instead of RyanAir). I havent had any direct experience of using a dogcam, but the Contours come with better features and if you look around, can be found for the same price as a dogcam (mine was £100 from here).

 

[sabian92]

That is why many cyclists on here can rightly claim to have insurance.

I've got 3rd party through my CTC membership - don't have specific insurance with them but at least if somebody wants to claim from me they can.

I think it is a safer option. It is a better company to go with (like EasyJet instead of RyanAir). I havent had any direct experience of using a dogcam, but the Contours come with better features and if you look around, can be found for the same price as a dogcam (mine was £100 from here).

Where do you think I should look? I know it sounds like a really naive question but I've seen them for £200 on Evans, £150 here, £170 there... I really don't know where to look.

 

[BSRU]

I've got 3rd party through my CTC membership - don't have specific insurance with them but at least if somebody wants to claim from me they can.



Where do you think I should look? I know it sounds like a really naive question but I've seen them for £200 on Evans, £150 here, £170 there... I really don't know where to look.

Amazon and DogCamSport are two good internet retailers for helmet cameras, also I recently had a good experience with JensonUSA but it is a US based company and worth thinking about the expense if you need to return a faulty item.
I have a Contour Plus, GoPro Hero HD2 and a DogCam HD miniDVR bullet camera system, all three produce excellent quality HD videos but my personal opinion is the Contour Plus is far superior(except in low light conditions).

 

[Jdratcliffe]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/VholdR-Cont...SYZ4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332269997&sr=8-1
This is what I use but there is a slightly better one for a little more
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Contour-ROA...FSYQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1332269997&sr=8-2

looking at a cam my self due to some v close calls both peds and cars both of these look great and seeing your vids is a help but they both say up to 4hrs batt life i have 1.5 hrs commute each way i'd like to be able to charge the cam each night rather than at work can you advise on the true "real world" battery life?

 

[BSRU]

looking at a cam my self due to some v close calls both peds and cars both of these look great and seeing your vids is a help but they both say up to 4hrs batt life i have 1.5 hrs commute each way i'd like to be able to charge the cam each night rather than at work can you advise on the true "real world" battery life?

I do not know about the Roam but the 1080p does not last 4 hours, the battery life depends on the quality of the recording, the higher the quality the shorter the battery life, might get 2 hours at 1080p max quality.
My solution is have a spare battery or have a portable battery charger, I have a Duracell battery charger.

 

[jonny jeez]

for what you need ...this will do fine

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Veho-VCC-00...3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1332327168&sr=1-3

or possible even cheaper
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Veho-VCC-00...4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1332327273&sr=1-4

its not HD but is very good, light, cheap, and tiny.

I used a veho muvi for a couple of years... and for riding, it was great. If you NEED HD then the HD version is not the same quality as some makes like the contour or the go pro (my current weapon of choice)... personally I think HD is a little overrated for cycle filming as the movement and shake doesnt often warrant the investment...I tune down my go pro to a lower res setting when on the bike as the file sizes are vast in HD and the benefit in higher quality is negligible.

My youtube channel has quality from both cams on it if you are interested.
http://www.youtube.com/user/jonnygeez?feature=mhee

 

[sabian92]

I've had a look at them and I used to have one but didn't really like them - maybe it was just me but it didn't do it for me, or mine was faulty.

I'm pretty set on the Contour Roam - I've seen some footage on youtube that looked pretty clear, which is what I want. I just need to sell some stuff now and buy one!

 

[Crackedheadset]

Kid would have not been laughing if you'd hit him (with your bike).

 

[sabian92]

[QUOTE 1775157, member: 45"]I had a near-miss a few days ago. A family waiting at a crossing, for some reason the dad decided to walk out in front of me. A couple of seconds later his daughter, suddenly realising that her dad was crossing, ran after him without looking. I called out, he turned and reached out for his daughter, increasing the size of the obstacle. I managed to get around them.

Idiot father here. First to just walk out, but second to forget that his daughter was with him. We teach our boys to look for traffic regardless of what we say and to not trust that we've seen everything.

Having a recording of the incident would have made no difference.[/quote]

I want one simply because this isn't the first time it's happened to me (something potentially dangerous on the road) and I basically don't want to get blamed if I do have an accident. Isn't that why everybody else has one, to make sure they aren't unfairly blamed?

Kid would have not been laughing if you'd hit him (with your bike).

Indeed. My 16 stone lump + 10kgs of bike wouldn't have done him much good. Part of me wishes I had hit him just to teach the moron a lesson for running out and thinking it was funny.

 

[Leodis]

Read the title and thought it was a baby goat...

 

[gambatte]

Read the title and thought it was a baby goat...

be baaaa king on about the nanny state next!

 

[cloggsy]

I'm buying one of these as a new forward facing helmet cam'



Currently £81.99 here + postage (normally arrive in 10 days!) - Now Sold Out

Great bit of kit IMHO!

 

[sabian92]

Have you actually used/seen footage from one? I may be swayed by that price!

Edit: Ignore this, my college has banned youtube in the library and now i'm in a lesson I can see it... d'oh!

 

[BentMikey]

Having a camera might make no difference to the incident or an actual collision, but it could make a huge difference in the aftermath. Other road users can lie pathologically to avoid taking any blame. I've direct experience of this myself, and the camera sorted out the truth rather nicely.

 

[gambatte]

Having a camera might make no difference to the incident or an actual collision, but it could make a huge difference in the aftermath. Other road users can lie pathologically to avoid taking any blame. I've direct experience of this myself, and the camera sorted out the truth rather nicely.

As I remember it also helped out Bollo a couple of years ago. The oncoming volvo that turned straight across his path, infront of witnesses?
If I remember correctly, he tried to blame it all on Bollo, denied what the witnesses said, till the coppers said "Have you seen whats attached to the side of his helmet?"