Very lightweight camera

[tenohfive]

Bit of an unusual one and may well turn out to be a rubbish idea. I'm quite into my off-road running and some races take me some rather pretty places. So it'd be nice to either take some photo's or video's - not to show off, just for me to remember the event by. The issue with that idea is weight - I begrudge even taking a smartphone with me as the extra 150-200g is something I've spent a lot of money trying to shave off elsewhere.

So I'm looking for a very lightweight camera. First thought was a GoPro at around 100g, but a) I'm being a wimp but it's a bit heavy, and b) cost - waaay too much for my budget.
For my needs the ideal would be around 50-70g weight and smartphone quality camera. Some sort of weatherproofing preferable. I'm not overly fussy about either stills or video, I just want something to remind myself in greater detail than my hazy memory of the day.

Does anyone have any experience of something like the Veho Micro or something similar, or another bright idea? I know I'm going to sacrifice quality and that bouncing around without a gimbal isn't going to look fantastic, I'm trying to be pragmatic on that front.

[Otispunkmeyer]

I completely misread your post for a moment and wondered what the hell you were driving off road that would notice an extra 200g! Then I re-read it and realised you actually do running.... off road.

What about this:

http://www.gitup.com/en/home/12-gitup-git2-pro-act...

essentially a GoPro clone but from what I have seen, its very decent and is packing a good Sony Made 16 MP EXMOR sensor. If you look at the spec sheet it is listed as 64g for the camera but you'd have to forego the protective case.

Heres a review:

http://www.techmoan.com/blog/2016/1/22/the-fully-l...

[noell35]

Mobius? Not sure on quality vs gopro but very small.

[Jakdaw]

noell35 said:

Mobius? Not sure on quality vs gopro but very small.

[tenohfive]

Some decent options there but I've ended up ordering an SJ4000. Now trying to work out the cheapest/lightest way to add some form of IS - it won't be used all the time, but it'd be nice to have the option on the days when weight isn't as much of a factor.

[Simpo Two]

What weight is the Tx for a self-following drone?

[rich888]

Bit late in the day to post this but I have to say I've been thoroughly impressed with the Mobius which I've been using in my car as a dashcam for over a year now, it's highly versatile so can be used as dash-cam, helmet-cam aka action-cam and the 1080p video quality is very good indeed in the daytime.

You won't see much glossy advertising in the magazines or TV because the manufacturer has focused their expenditure on quality components and lenses, rather than flash advertising and fancy packaging.

Techmoan reviewed this camera a few years ago: http://www.techmoan.com/blog/2013/7/8/the-mobius-c...

Ought to mention that it's also used by the RC community because of its light weight.

I purchased mine direct from the Mobius eBay shop which was delivered in approx 7 days from Hong Kong. Link is: http://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/eletoponline365

[Otispunkmeyer]

tenohfive said:

Some decent options there but I've ended up ordering an SJ4000. Now trying to work out the cheapest/lightest way to add some form of IS - it won't be used all the time, but it'd be nice to have the option on the days when weight isn't as much of a factor.

The GitUp I posted was gyro-stabilized. Not perfect but decent stabilization without adding anything.

[tenohfive]

True, but it was also at least £45 more than what I've paid for the SJ4000. Likewise the Mobius. Either look like they'd do the job well but I went for the cheaper option for now. I'll keep both in mind for future.

[tenohfive]

Any advice for actual use of this thing? Am I better with lower res and higher FPS for any action shots or the other way round?

I've done nothing with video before - rarely even on my mobile.

[fido]

I know it's a different price range but the Hero 4 Session is tiny and fantastic video quality. Bought directly from Go Pro website and it comes with a micro SD card & case. Used it karting a few times and the weight is negligible (74g).