Video and Helmet Cameras

[tonykiwi]

A few of the guys on the site have posted links to their video recordings. I wonder if some of the ideas around equipment could be shared on the forum.

I have only researched on the internet but am getting some ideas now. My original belief was that the helmet cam part would be fairly small, almost just a camera and the it would be linked to the unit by cable and the unit stored somewhere else. Is this sort of thing available?

The ones I have found on the net seem to have the entire unit attached to the helmet or bike. From the pics I have seen, these do not seem to be particularly small units.

I also wonder whether there is an option of an integrated camera which serves the purpose for both video and still photography. I know my small point and shoot panasonic can record a small amount of video so I am sure that the concept is out there somewhere.

Any help or guidance could be apprecated.

Cheers

T

 

[pseacraft]

Tony - I use two different helmet cams for both my biking and offroad driving.

VIO POV1 - this is a bullet cam with controller connected via a cable. I mount the cam on either the bike or my helmet. When on the bike the controller is also on the bike. When on my helmet the controller is in my pocket or pack it also has a remote control.

Pros: Durable, bullet cam is easy to mount almost anywhere; near DVD quality; 4 double AA batteries (~4+ hours) or 12vdc source (option); made for racing and tactical operations; mine is 110 degree field of view - others optional; did I say Durable?; very easy to use;

Cons: Cable can be annoying; only 8GB SD card capacity; controller can be bulky; loose power before video is recording is halted you will loose the video clip (done this lots!); price - its expensive;

http://www.vio-pov.com/

GoPro HD - this is a self contained unit, it looks bulky but it really is not. This is the one most people see being mounted to helmet for the EMX stunt riders. It does video in HD (1080p/96p/720p), stills, and programmable interval stills.

Pros: 32GB SD capacity; comes with water proof housing; flexible mounting options; saves video clip prior to shutting down on low battery; field of view is 127 degrees for 1080p and 170 for other modes; price US$299.

Cons: ~2.5 hours battery life; limited to the lithium battery for power source; audio could be better;

http://www.goprocamera.com

I like them both alot. I use the VIO the most as its more familiar to me and easy to operate. Just make sure your computer and editing tool can hand huge video files, the HD files are monsters!

Eric

 

[tonykiwi]

Thanks heaps Eric, this really givs me something to work on now. Done a bit of research and the costs in New Zealand and UK seem pretty much the same (I am visiting UK before my June riding time in GT region) so all I need to do now is research the cost in Thailand.

Thinking about that, it would probably be better to get one here in NZ and do some practice first.

Can these be used succesfully for still photography too? It would save carring two cameras.

Cheers

T

 

[TonyBKK]

Just found a little camera at Pantip in Bangkok for only 1800 Baht- Looks very similar to this (but not identical)-

30FPS and 720x480 resolution. Advertised 2.5 hour battery life.

Bought it on the ground floor at Pantip (left side as you enter) for 1800 Baht with 4Gb memory card included.

Sure it's not HD and definitely has it's limitations, but for 1800 Baht, well, I really can't complain :mrgreen:

Will try to take some sample video later today so you can judge the quality for yourselves.

Happy Trails!

Tony

 

[mbox999]

TonyBKK wrote: Just found a little camera at Pantip in Bangkok for only 1800 Baht- Looks very similar to this (but not identical)-

30FPS and 720x480 resolution. Advertised 2.5 hour battery life.

Bought it on the ground floor at Pantip (left side as you enter) for 1800 Baht with 4Gb memory card included.

Sure it's not HD and definitely has it's limitations, but for 1800 Baht, well, I really can't complain :mrgreen:

Will try to take some sample video later today so you can judge the quality for yourselves.

Happy Trails!

Tony

wow tony, that looks like a nice find...let us know how's the picture. Wouldn't mind to have one like this...the other mount what i have is ok but this seems much nicer and smaller.
happy trails,

mbox

 

[pseacraft]

Tony - the VIO is video only. The GoPro will do stills, its a 5M pixel ccd, it also does interval stills which is a neat feature. Something I forgot to add the VIO Controller has an LCD display for realtime viewing and playback, the GoPro does not provide a view capability.

When I do my offroading here in the desert I tend to carry both video cameras and my Sony cybershot. On my bike in LOS I just use one video cam and my cybershot.

Eric

 

[tonykiwi]

TonyBKK wrote: Just found a little camera at Pantip in Bangkok for only 1800 Baht- Looks very similar to this (but not identical)-
........

Sure it's not HD and definitely has it's limitations, but for 1800 Baht, well, I really can't complain :mrgreen:

Will try to take some sample video later today so you can judge the quality for yourselves.

Happy Trails!

Tony

Just wondering why HD would be a benefit for the bike rider. I am guessing it would be a larger storage capacity however a drop, fall or severe shake could create HD problems which if I understand ocrrectly wouldn't be the case with SD card.

Looking forward to your videos Tony

Eric, thanks for the extra information, it is starting to make sense now

T

 

[LivinLOS]

I am guessing he meant High Def not Hard Disk.

 

[TonyBKK]

LivinLOS wrote: I am guessing he meant High Def not Hard Disk.

You are correct sir! :mrgreen:
It records to MicroSD cards- not sure what the largest card is these days- I think I've seen them as big as 16Gb.
T

 

[guenillero]

I've got the Go Pro HD Motorsport pack , and i think that's the best quality you can find today for a motorcycle/helmet cam .

You can order it direct from www.goprocamera.com

 

[ray23]

Cool I really thought they would cost a lot more then that. New wish list :lol:

 

[tonykiwi]

guenillero wrote: I've got the Go Pro HD Motorsport pack , and i think that's the best quality you can find today for a motorcycle/helmet cam .

You can order it direct from www.goprocamera.com

Does the motorsport pack allow for helmet mounting? I am not too sure of the difference between the motorsport pack and the advertised helmet cam. Any ideas?

anyone got an idea of the cost in Thailand?

 

[ray23]

A heck of a lot more I would assume if you can find them here. I wouldn't want on my helmet weighs enough as it is. Looked like it would work ok in a handle bar mount. Did show n much vibration at least on the Bicycle.

If you could get it mailed you might just skip the import tax I can't remember it either 20% or 30%. Shipping cost are much lower that way as well.

 

[pseacraft]

The weight of the GoPro is insignificant unless you are hypersensitive about the things on your noggin. Honestly I doubt anyone will notice that it is there. if anything you will notice a slight more wind drag depending on the position of the mount.

The GpPro HD handles up 32GB SD cards. I have two that I use but I have learned that one is good enough and two batteries are a better idea.

The GoPro also is available in several different mounting packages visit the website. The same holds true for the VIO.

 

[Deano747]

TonyBKK wrote: Just found a little camera at Pantip in Bangkok for only 1800 Baht- Looks very similar to this (but not identical)-

Tony

Bought one of these just before christmas on e-bay and fiddled around for 2 days with lots of different mountings on my Ducati.

Works perfectly with a really nice picture until you start the bike, the vibrations from the bike and the road cause a shake in the picture that is bad enough to render it unusable. I made up maybe 5 different mounts and tried different locations to try and get the mount firstly soft enough to smooth out the vibrations, then rigid so the unit stayed rigid. No difference.

Then played for another day with my BMW (smooth 4 cylinder) and again no difference.

It worked best just clipped to my jacket, but I couldn't keep it pointed where I wanted it. Maybe attached to the helmet may work, never got to try that.

Eventually the unit itself gave up the ghost and died, it couldn't handle the vibration I guess.

Shame as it is a really nice compact self contained unit, but you get what you pay for I guess.

I hope you have more success, looking forward to a report.

For Sale: I slightly used spy camera........cheap.

 

[ray23]

Thanks good to know.

 

[Blue Max]

I use the Tachyon XC 2010 for all my biking work.

It's a good bit of kit and hasn't let me down yet.

I speak about it here:


And here it is getting reviewed compared to the Oregon Scientific.


Pretty much indestructable.

Here:


Some footage goin' around mountains:


I will say that I prefer to have it mounted on my tank, as when I'm riding around it's too big to tuck inside the helmet securely and gets buffetted about quite a bit when riding at high-speeds of above 100 kph.

 

[TonyBKK]

Picked up a new MiniDV camera last week and finally managed to get out for a test ride and get a movie uploaded to YouTube... Image quality is ok IMO, but I'm not very fond of all the movement from the camera being attached to my helmet. Next time I'll try and attach it to the bike and hopefully it will be a better image. Ride On! Tony

 

[ray23]

Boy you named that right, I think I would turn off the communication system with the wife to ride that one :lol: Looked really bumby?

 

[tonykiwi]

TonyBKK wrote: Picked up a new MiniDV camera last week and finally managed to get out for a test ride and get a movie uploaded to YouTube... Image quality is ok IMO, but I'm not very fond of all the movement from the camera being attached to my helmet. Next time I'll try and attach it to the bike and hopefully it will be a better image. Ride On! Tony

Hi Tony

Was that done with the little piece of kit you bought at Pantip? If so the video was great quality to me as an observer. I see what you mean about the movement though, I wonder if the more costly cameras have some form of anti-shake system integral in them.

Regarding the memory card, do you have any idea if it is expandable with larger capacity cards? Can you get spare4Gb cards if you can't include bigger capacity ones.

How does the battery charge, is the battery removable to separate charger or is it integral.

lastly, can it run from power socket on bike?

regardless, that one looked ok to me and for the price was well worth while. Nice video

T

 

[ray23]

Sorry meant the road was bumpy

 

[Deano747]

Hey Tony,

Yeah, I actually got a little smoother attached to the jacket, but that's pretty good for the helmet mount. I wish I had tried that earlier in my trials. I hope you have a lot more success than I did with a bike mount. With my bike mount(s), the picture kept moving up and down, sort of a bounce but in a fluid motion. It is a really nice little bit of kit. Looking forward to the videos.

 

[TonyBKK]

tonykiwi wrote:
Hi Tony

Was that done with the little piece of kit you bought at Pantip? If so the video was great quality to me as an observer. I see what you mean about the movement though, I wonder if the more costly cameras have some form of anti-shake system integral in them.

Regarding the memory card, do you have any idea if it is expandable with larger capacity cards? Can you get spare4Gb cards if you can't include bigger capacity ones.

How does the battery charge, is the battery removable to separate charger or is it integral.

lastly, can it run from power socket on bike?

regardless, that one looked ok to me and for the price was well worth while. Nice video

T

Hiya T!

Yes, no doubt the more expensive cameras have image stabilization built in. Will try again with the camera attached to the bike to see if I can get a more stable image.

This little camera has a built in rechargeable battery and recharges via USB, either connected to computer or plugged into a wall. I suppose there must be a way to wire a USB charger to a bike, in fact now that I think about it, I've seen 12V automotive USB chargers for use with smartphones. Would just have to wire the female end of a cigarette lighter to the bike- shouldn't be too difficult.

Camera came with a 4Gb MicroSD memory card:

I'm not sure how many minutes of video will fit on one 4Gb card. Flash memory is pretty cheap these days so I may pick up one more card as backup. Can also use them in my smartphone.

Ride On!

Tony

 

[TonyBKK]

Ah- this is a bit better. Test #2 with the MiniDV camera I've attached it to the bike and it's giving a much more stable image. Would be nice if it had a wider angle of view and image stabilization, but once again, can't be too picky for only 1800 Baht :roll:


Also note that I did not upload this video to YouTube in High Def as my internet connection remains F'd up... :?
Whaddya think?
Ride On!
Tony

 

[tonykiwi]

How complicated is she process of editing the video, adding music etc and uploading. What extra software is needed

T