HELMET CAMERAS

[aprilMember]

Right guys

Am looking to get a helmet cam. I’ve missed too many classic stacks time to get them on video.

The go pro’s look a bit odd ontop of the helmets and have heard they are shaky.

There seem to be a few cheap options on ebay anyone tried the under 100 cheapy?

Otherwise what about the ‘drift’ sony one?

[Damien BonoraMember]

Hi oldgirl,
I have one of the older drift 1080’s that is still going strong. It has been through plenty of crashes in the 3 years that I’ve had it and still works fine.
On a recent ride I thought it might be fun to headbutt a tree right on the camera at low speed (about 15 kph) :pinch:
It busted the catch that holds the battery door closed but that was it, still working fine I couldn’t believe it. I had a fair head ache afterwards.
One of my mates got the newer drift at christmas time, you cant put the big battery in it so he needs to use 2 – 3 of the normal batteries for a days riding ( 8 hours).
But again, it has already seen a couple of minor offs with no drama.

They are very simple to use, have a remote control to start/stop the filming and a viewing screen to check that you have it lined up properly before you head off.
Footage it very clear and it smoothes it out well so its not shaking around everywhere.
It does take stills as well but the are not great compared to a normal still camera.

I think they are great and when mine does finally give up I will be buying another drift. :cheer:

[Scott SouthwellMember]

Oldgirl you could give the $100 dollar cheapy a go but from what I remember you started with a cheapy bike and that didn’t work out so well.

All the sports cameras will be a bit shaky. The only one with any form of image stabilisation is the Sony Action Cam but it doesn’t do IS at the widest point of view setting.

I have a Liquid Image EGO and Gopro Hero 3 Black. The EGO does a good job at a cheap price but it can struggle with high contrast lighting changes that are common riding dirt bikes like when riding through trees on a sunny day with the sunny patches shining through. The image quality is not a sharp as the Gopro either.

As for mounting there are other ways than just on top of the head which I hate and wont do after near being pulled of the bike and getting a neck strain from one mounted this way. They will get hooked in bushes and the like.

This is my current mount setup which is working well.

I like the Gopro and there are a range of models to suit you budget. There are others on here with some of the other camera like the Contour and the Drift hope they can give some information on those.

[AndrewMember]

I like the set up Scotty. I have also been caught out by branches and vines with the camera on top of the helmet :ohmy: .
What attachment have you used there? I can’t see it with the black on black.

[jamieMember]

Oldgirl,
No need to get a no name cheap these days,i got a contour roam from the good guys for $180 last year.

Pros.
slim mounting you wont know its there
easy to turn on and off slide switch
(this helps with having lots of smaller clips later when you get into editing and uploading)
audible beep goes through your helmet easy to hear when starting recording
you can rotate the lens to mount in any angle

Cons
fixed battery
wind noise can be a prob
if you use 1080hd it narrows the degree of the leans down to cope. 720 is best
you cant swap a battery mid ride
hard to get the angle right,due to no viewfinder (this means mucking around setting it up and going back to the pc for a look)
you can’t change any setting when your away from your pc

I gave the cons a good go so you can see i’m not one eyed,i thought the battery issue would be an issue but being able to stop start the recording so easy i don’t record anything thats a waste and it has lasted easily.

Image quality wise a mates got the last model gopro and i think it has the edge on the contour,he mainly does 1080 but it looks perfect.

I was a bit peeved when i recorded a full ride on 1080 to discover the narrow vision (170 deg to 110 deg),no mention in the instruction manual. Had to google and was hard to find, apparently its a way of cheating when you switch up to the higher resolution.

I would still buy one though it’s been good.But the remote switch and viewer app for the gopro sound good.

Happy shopping.

[scott bockingMember]

Hi Oldgirl,
Go the the GoPro HD2. There are some killer deals going now the 3 is out and they are a great camera.

STM

[Steve ParkesMember]

I went with the Go Pro too. Although purchased originally for snow found it handles the bike no problem. Friend had a contour and while image was ok, a little trickier to mount somewhere suitable that was not going to catch a branch/rock.

FWIW I use a chest harness for the Go Pro. Which works well when up on the pegs, buts gets a nice view of the bars when tired and sat down. Certainly would not put on the top of the helmet. Worst case it’ll catch and rip your head off. Best case it’ll get knocked off and you’ll never know.

[Nathan HeatherMember]

I mount mine on top and have had no near death experiences in the past 18months or so. I know of a bloke who lost his on a ride hey scott due to a broken mount but after he sussed out the details we should replace those helmet mounts every 12months i think he said. Its still out there filming wauchope min min lights of a night time id say.

[GregMember]

Nato wrote:

I mount mine on top and have had no near death experiences in the past 18months or so. I know of a bloke who lost his on a ride hey scott due to a broken mount but after he sussed out the details we should replace those helmet mounts every 12months i think he said. Its still out there filming wauchope min min lights of a night time id say.

Yeah I have been using top mounts since I got my first GoPro in 08 I think it was :huh: Helmet rear and helmet side never had a problem, I also mount it anywhere now as I have roll bar mounts, bar mounts, grab arms, chest mount and so many arms and bits and bobs :laugh: I use the tethers on ALL MY MOUNTS old or new. As far as the 12 month thing goes I still have and use some of my 08 mounts so I don’t know if maybe the one that failed on Scott may have had a knock and fractured or in fact they do go off :blink:

TB

[terryjhaynesMember]

I just drilled a hole in the peek on my helmet and screwed my old digy cam on it :laugh: worked fine. Wasn’t to shakey,and the sound was perfect,,great for narratives :cheer:

Teza.

[Scott SouthwellMember]

I seen these iPhone covers the other day. I’m just about to update my phone might use my old iPhone 4S and try it out. Turns your iPhone into a 170 degree POV waterproof sports cam and apparently the iphone has image stabilisation but id have to look that up to confirm it. Could be interesting I may just order one for fun would be a handy waterproof case when I’m out on my kayak anyway. Of course no good if you ain’t got an iPhone. Just another option.

http://www.optrix.com/

http://www.torpedo7.com.au/products/XZPHINNAS/title/optrix-action-sports-camera-iphone-case

[glennMember]

I have the drift HD 1080, it has crystal clear footage , a 180 degree rotating lense so you can just turn the camera around on you helmet and record the stuff happening behind you. it also comes with 2 helmet mounts and a goggles strap attachment. The best feature is the wrist remote control, easy to operate and very sturdy in construction. I would be choosing this one, hey even seen the police force are using them on their police bikes now.

Boony

[Scott SouthwellMember]

Boony wrote:

hey even seen the police force are using them on their police bikes now.

Boony

They may be personal issue not police issue. I use my Gopro for work I have a mount for the load bearing vest. Handy to have your own footage sometimes when the public like to video us and oh what a handy tax deduction.

[aprilMember]

You see thats why I ask you guys questions. I could have spent a week researching all that info but after 2 days I have all the information I need.
Plus a bunch of other stuff about resolutions thingys and wide angles that frankly goes totally over my head :blink: I was just concearned that the go pro looks stupid mounted up on peoples heads. Oh and considering that my head frequently comes into contact with the ground and or trees my helmet is NOT a safe place for $300 bucks worth of kit. hmmm actually maybe I should mount MY camera to the OTHER riders. Would probably be safer for it.

PLUS if I mount it to my helmet or chest you’ll be able to hear me talking to my bike….and thats embarrassing. :blush: 😆

I like the look of the drift HD but seeing as the GoPro3 is out I might see what deals are around
Need something kid proof too.

They tried to video mummy killing itchy grubs with lots of petrol and a lighter yesterday. Unfortunately they couldn’t work the vid on my phone, not to matter they were too busy on the bucket line putting out a small bush fire to worry about recording it. Thank god I had 4 kids 2 wouldn’t have been enough man power :whistle:

Um yeah not my best moment. yes petrol does kill spit fire grubs just as well as kero. I had no idea that petrol soaked into the ground and half way up a tree is STILL flamable 10min after you apply it!

Also found out that white ladies can jump pretty high when they light a little tiny grub on fire whilst standing in the middle of about 10lt of petrol (whilst holding an open jerry can containing MORE petrol, not wearing any shoes either, with feet covered in petrol….um and maybe bottom of very expensive jeans as well….that may have caught on fire too).

That cool whoosh noise you hear in action films is actually REAL. :whistle: :whistle: :pinch:

Yeah its one of my husbands away weeks….

[GregMember]

oldgirl wrote:

You see thats why I ask you guys questions. I could have spent a week researching all that info but after 2 days I have all the information I need.
Plus a bunch of other stuff about resolutions thingys and wide angles that frankly goes totally over my head :blink: I was just concearned that the go pro looks stupid mounted up on peoples heads. Oh and considering that my head frequently comes into contact with the ground and or trees my helmet is NOT a safe place for $300 bucks worth of kit. hmmm actually maybe I should mount MY camera to the OTHER riders. Would probably be safer for it.

PLUS if I mount it to my helmet or chest you’ll be able to hear me talking to my bike….and thats embarrassing. :blush: 😆

I like the look of the drift HD but seeing as the GoPro3 is out I might see what deals are around
Need something kid proof too.

They tried to video mummy killing itchy grubs with lots of petrol and a lighter yesterday. Unfortunately they couldn’t work the vid on my phone, not to matter they were too busy on the bucket line putting out a small bush fire to worry about recording it. Thank god I had 4 kids 2 wouldn’t have been enough man power :whistle:

Um yeah not my best moment. yes petrol does kill spit fire grubs just as well as kero. I had no idea that petrol soaked into the ground and half way up a tree is STILL flamable 10min after you apply it!

Also found out that white ladies can jump pretty high when they light a little tiny grub on fire whilst standing in the middle of about 10lt of petrol (whilst holding an open jerry can containing MORE petrol, not wearing any shoes either, with feet covered in petrol….um and maybe bottom of very expensive jeans as well….that may have caught on fire too).

That cool whoosh noise you hear in action films is actually REAL. :whistle: :whistle: :pinch:

Yeah its one of my husbands away weeks….

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Back on topic :whistle:

Get a go pro, you can mount them anywhere and you should see some of the impacts and stuff mine have lived through, you cant break the camera. I have smashed a case and the camera was fine. Batteries and accessories are cheap and the choice is endless. They are the industry standard look around at action shows and programs like Top Gear its all they use.

TB

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