Using a bike cam on your commute..?

[outlash]

No and never will. The only pictures I need to take are of scenic vistas or interesting things and my mobile does that.

 

[Hip Priest]

I can see their usefulness in terms of evidence, but for me the cost / benefit analysis doesn't add-up, so I'm out.

 

[G3CWI]

Curiously a few weeks ago my wife suggested getting me one for Christmas as it would "make me safer". Apparently she saw something on TV that made her think thus. Anyway after a brief discussion I am pleased to advise that it is no longer on her list of things that might "make me safer".

 

[Mile195]

I have front and rear cameras which I tend only to have on for commutes rather than leisure rides. When the memory cards get full I wipe them and start again. I've never uploaded a video to YouTube from them.
Hopefully I'll never need to use anything I record, but it's just there in case I do.

I do copy just one video every 4 months or so to my PC... Just because so much changes in London. You never know - It might provide 15 minutes of interest to someone in 200 years or so!

 

[ufkacbln]

Curiously a few weeks ago my wife suggested getting me one for Christmas as it would "make me safer". Apparently she saw something on TV that made her think thus. Anyway after a brief discussion I am pleased to advise that it is no longer on her list of things that might "make me safer".

They do though!

The number of times I have someone about to pull in on you and a knowing smile and point to the camera prevents these stupid manoeuvres

Also work with left hooks

 

[G3CWI]

They do though!

I'm safe thank God.

 

[Mile195]

They do though!

The number of times I have someone about to pull in on you and a knowing smile and point to the camera prevents these stupid manoeuvres

Also work with left hooks

Interestingly I also found that people seemed to give me more room when passing immediately after I installed a rear camera. Maybe it's just psychological though.
What makes that more laughable though is that half the time the rear camera isn't recording as it only covers 2/3 of my journey. It's a cheap Chinese Go-pro rip off from eBay that only does an hour or so on a full battery. Sometimes I even forget to turn it on. But if it gives me more space as people pass then it's 25 quid well spent!

 

[mjr]

I do if I'm riding through certain trouble spots or if there's reason to think something interesting might happen.

I got a camera after I suffered a minor road rage attack years ago and Avon and Somerset Police wouldn't act because of a lack of witnesses. I've just upgraded to HD for £10ish with a MD80 clone and an external battery pack (because the internal batteries on the clones are usually poor, as described in an old topic on CC somewhere).

 

[jonny jeez]

I used to but found it a it a chor to, download and clear the card.

I used to ski with one too but found myself playing to the camera on the slopes and was worried I may, even subconsciously do so on the road.

In a few years (about 7 I think)"I've never had the "need" for a cam and only used one as a black box....which I no longer feel the need for either.

I did notice that people treat you differently and have seen disputes dissolve as soon as people realise they are being filmed. I've also seem them escalate...all on you tube. I would be interested if one day they became as small as a buttonhole and could link directly to the cloud to save pc storage and the faff of uploading manually.

 

[Neilsmith]

The main reason I want a camera is for my Mtb runs, it's a pain to stop and take shots, and not convenient to stop in some places. I may also be interested in using a camera to create rides for virtual training in the future.

 

[simon the viking]

I tried a cheap one of Amazon for a while... when I watched them back they were really boring..... I was almost waiting for something dodgy so I could either post it on you tube... with subtitle T**T in Audi/BMW/Mercedes/4x4 (etc) or use in evidence against said driver or hit a pot hole and send the footage to my M.P......

After a month of (luckily) nothing much happening I put it in a drawer..... Yes I have close passes every now and again.... but I mutter 'Twonk' and forget about it....

 

[Tin Pot]

Feel free to elaborate on your philosophy of bike cam use in general - for commuting or otherwise...

Wife asked me to get one for insurance and to discourage attackers.

How cheap can you get a small helmet cam that runs for up to three hours, USB charging, preferably recording in a loop..?

 

[Mile195]

Wife asked me to get one for insurance and to discourage attackers.

How cheap can you get a small helmet cam that runs for up to three hours, USB charging, preferably recording in a loop..?

contour roam 2 does about 3.5 when new, on low quality, 720, 25fps. Unfortunately it doesn't loop but takes a 32gb card which does about 10 hours of video. Unfortunately it doesn't charge while recording, but with 3 hours odd out of a charge I just plug it in when I get home from work overnight and that'll do the return trip the next day.

 

[Tin Pot]

contour roam 2 does about 3.5 when new, on low quality, 720, 25fps. Unfortunately it doesn't loop but takes a 32gb card which does about 10 hours of video. Unfortunately it doesn't charge while recording, but with 3 hours odd out of a charge I just plug it in when I get home from work overnight and that'll do the return trip the next day.

Cheers.

I'll see if I can justify it via my sons skiing antics.

 

[HLaB]

I bought one mainly for capturing leisure rides, its easier for capturing pictures than struggling to get a phone out of my pocket. The video camera takes better pictures than the phone any way. That said I took it off for some reason months ago, probably to clean the bars and haven't got round to refitting it.