Helmet Camera advice

[Tizone]

I have been riding for many years but have never had any experience with a bike/helmet camera. I would REALLY like to buy one and start catching some rides on camera.

 

It seems that there are many out there. Can anyone reccommend a great camera? I am more concerned about quality and durability and less concerned with cost.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

[skinny_tom (aka boney)]

I have a little advice, but there seems to be a bunch of different models on the market, making selection difficult.

 

You get what you pay for.

 

 

I'm now using a ChaseCam(.com) PDR100 and their 520 line camera. It's expensive, requires you buy expensive CF cards and took a bit of fiddling to get it right. 2 wires. One for power, one to the camera (and one for the remote that I use)

 

I've used Greg H's HelmetCam.com setup. I really like the aluminum housing for the camera. The rest had too many wires and moving parts for me. Batteries here, batteries there, or plug it all in with more wires (but the camera always ran on batteries anyway) It records to MiniDV tape, so the overall quality is a bit better, and encoding into the computer is "real-time" slow. I bet some of the higher end cameras a faster now.

 

There are other systems out there that I haven't used that are less expensive that people have made good review about.

 

The Oregon Scientific or Tony Hawk $100 camera is not so good.

 

I was lucky, I was able to borrow one and find out what I did/didn't like and look for a model that met those requirements.

[Tizone]

Thanks Boney... I just checked it all out on their website. It certainly looks like a nice system. Can you tell me if you have been satisfied with the results? Is the video worth the money that you spent on the unit?

 

I was also wondering what mounting system you used for your RT. The helmet mount looks good, and the suction cup mount (looking through the windscreen) seems good too.

 

I would love to hear some of your personal thoughts about this camera system.

[skinny_tom (aka boney)]

Thanks Boney... I just checked it all out on their website. It certainly looks like a nice system. Can you tell me if you have been satisfied with the results? Is the video worth the money that you spent on the unit?

 

Value is in the eye of the beholder. I like gadgets. I like computers. I like motorcycles and video. It was a no-brainer for me. Other's probably balk at dropping a G on a toy. (let's call it what it is.)

 

I was also wondering what mounting system you used for your RT. The helmet mount looks good, and the suction cup mount (looking through the windscreen) seems good too.

 

I have the helmet mount, but I may buy a helmetcam.com aluminum housing. Either way I can rotate to camera to level it no matter what I stick it to. On the RT I've stuck it to the shelf on the dash, the saddlebags (on top and under for some interesting perspectives) and just about anywhere else I can.) I don't have a suction-cup mount.

 

I would love to hear some of your personal thoughts about this camera system.

 

As with everything, there are some changes I might make. But this system is completely usable and I can't complain about it. Also, the firmware is updatable, and the manufacturer regularly updates it with little bits here and there to make it more user friendly. Newer versions have a nice features that required a hardware update that mine doesn't have.

 

The CF cards make transferring the video to the computer easy. They're encoded in MPEG2 format so you just drag and drop them from the CF reader to your hard drive. It still takes a few minutes, as video files are large, but within minutes of getting home you can be editing your stuff.

 

I thought I was having trouble with the unit for a while I was troubleshooting power supply, loose fittings and stuff and it turns out that I have a CF card that's bad. BTW, it requires the very expensive very fast ones. Also, do yourself a favor and buy at least a 300 gig hard drive- you'll begin to fill it fast.

 

Oh, Check the Mondays S--- thread in tales to see some of the latest.

[sundaeman]

I got myself the Chasecam recorder for Christmas. Played with it in the cage for a week or two, with a 580 line camera I had. I was pleasantly surprised with the video quality (which is adjustable). It's a bit pricey but electrically/interface wise it's basically a plug and play setup.

 

Other than the mechanicals (recorder in the back, camera off the front fairing) for my install, it was pretty straightforward. A tankbag/helmetcam setup would be easier.

[Tizone]

I am also looking at this one. The setup costs around $700 and seems to be a nice option. I especially like the small LCD screen on the recorder so that you can check your camera aim or preview recordings before getting home to a computer.

 

Helmet Cam

[Sidmariner]

I can suggest one to avoid.

 

I bought the Motocomm DSR-100 unit last year and was pretty disappointed in the results. The lens had pretty low resolution and the battery duration was horrible.

 

I decided to invest in some better equipment, so I bought a Sony HC-32 Mini-DV camorder, a couple of 520 lines-per-inch bullet lenses, a LANC control and an A/B switch on eBay. The whole rig will be put to the test on my upcoming road trip to San Diego, but I'm confident it will produce better results than the Motocomm.

[sfarson]

Have recorded many ride vids using a bulletcam from http://www.helmetcamera.com/ feeding a Sony MiniDV sitting in a fanny pack or tank bag. The downside is a spaghetti network of cables. The plus is high quality and flexibility.

 

Here was a ride from just last Saturday... a scoot up a cold canyon.

 

http://www.farson.com/video/hmsbear.wmv

[Sidmariner]

The video is very sharp and has convinced me that helmet mounting makes sense for perspective and clarity. I was tempted to re-mount my camera on the shelf behind the windshield but I was never really happy about the amount of vibration this picks up. Looks like our good old noggin has the best suspension system underneath it afterall.

[USAF1]

This is a short video clip from a HERO 3 video camera sold by BESTRESTPRODUCTS.COM. Coppola would be proud to have this on his bike.....if he had one......

 

PAT

[JerryMather]

Take a look over here. It's not cheap but it looks sweet.