Helmet mounted cameras, what is out there?

[AceOfHearts]

Do many people here use gopro's or similar cameras? I have seen some great footage and really fancy one, but am a bit clueless as to what's out there and what mounts are needed etc?

I've found a few threads but all were a couple of years old. Is it possible to get a half decent setup for a modest budget?

[Yazza54]

Drift or camsports HD Max (which I have), both have built in screens and rotatable lens, laser for levelling and can have an external mic which is essential if you want decent audio. IMO much more versatile than a go pro but everyone seems to just jump on that bandwagon...


I have the older model of this

http://www.dogcamsport.co.uk/camsports-hdmax-extre...

Edited by Yazza54 on Tuesday 5th February 23:25

[Apriliaer]

Yazza54 said:

Drift or camsports HD Max (which I have), both have built in screens and rotatable lens, laser for levelling and can have an external mic which is essential if you want decent audio. IMO much more versatile than a go pro but everyone seems to just jump on that bandwagon...


I have the older model of this

http://www.dogcamsport.co.uk/camsports-hdmax-extre...

Edited by Yazza54 on Tuesday 5th February 23:25

I recognise that!

They're pretty damn good. Can't comment on pic/sound quality compared to Go-pro, as I don't have experience of those, but got given these at work and I was impressed with how they captured busy moments. The laser thing is very useful for helmet mounting, minimal messing around. Robust too.

[mrmarcus]

I have just gotten a drift hd 1080p. I am very pleased with it. Does everything I wanted it to

[Klippie]

How about this one as an alternative - http://www.koonlung.net/pro_show.asp?id=108 - I use it in the car and on the bike it came from Ebay for around £120.

The camera is mounted on the front of the bike with the recorder under the seat also there is a external mic plugged in with a windshield fitted (no wind noise) and the record / stop button on the handle bars.

Here's a clip click on 1080p...Youtube seems to have compressed the file a lot it looks much sharper normally.

http://youtu.be/-pgaexIZQE8

Edited by Klippie on Wednesday 6th February 01:35

[ylovebuffalo]

I've got a replay 1080XD. Brilliant resolution/footage. The only problem is it could do with a screen to help line it up quickly (you can plug a field monitor in to do this but wud be better if u cud use ur phone which i'm trying to work out whether u can). The best thing about it is its shape. Small black and very discreet....

[shadylee]

Go pros are good but if the intention is to use one every day they are abit big and daft looking,drift...pov hd or the replay seem the best for everyday.

I run a drift hd720 as a black box recorder on the commute,

If you check out action cameras.co.uk. Enter the code baron10 for 10% off.

Good luck!

[mopman94]

GoPro will give you the best quality, however its very big and bulky. I use the Contour Roam 2, it small and bullet shaped and easy to use. Only has one switch on it and only has 2 modes (off or on and recording) can have up to a 3.5 hour battery life however that is recording on the lowest settings. Realistically I expect its about 2 hours. Can record up to 1080p at 30fps or 720p at 60fps. It also have a rotatable lens with a laser to align it.

This is where I got mine from, it comes in black red and blue.

http://www.actioncameras.co.uk/contour-roam-2-blac...

Its also water proof up to 1m and you can buy a water tight case if you want to go deeper.

[Yazza54]

The quality of all these 1080p HD cameras is the same. All very good. Go pro is not better at all.

[Spanna]

I have a Drift HD170. Good quality, loads of attachments, mounts and extras available, easy to use and the videos are also good quality. Best to get an external mic for better sound quality, which is about £19.99.

[mrmarcus]

[Golgarth]

Yazza54 said:

The quality of all these 1080p HD cameras is the same. All very good. Go pro is not better at all.

really?? 4k or 2.7k video, up to 120 fps, 30fps shooting mode (photo). The GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition shoots in cinema quality, never mind HD.

If you just want a commute cam, then don't spend the big bucks, if you want PRO quality, then get a GoPro. The Drift Ghost HD is worth a look, but still big money. The contour HD +2 is a good buy. smaller and has GPS built in. The mounts are pretty much all interchangeable, bit of GoPro, bit of Drift.

If you want a helmet cam then the Drift or the Contour are the ones I would prefer.

Remember that the GoPro guzzles batteries so 2hrs is a stretch sometimes, the Drift and Contour have better battery life.

If you are a YouTube person, a 720p Drift will do you. If you want to do time-lapse, high speed shooting/slow motion capture or more arty stuff, buy the Black Edition GoPro.



Oh, and to combat the above, check out http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5... that's one hell of a deal.

[Mad Dave]

Klippie said:

How about this one as an alternative - http://www.koonlung.net/pro_show.asp?id=108 - I use it in the car and on the bike it came from Ebay for around £120.

The camera is mounted on the front of the bike with the recorder under the seat also there is a external mic plugged in with a windshield fitted (no wind noise) and the record / stop button on the handle bars.

Here's a clip click on 1080p...Youtube seems to have compressed the file a lot it looks much sharper normally.

http://youtu.be/-pgaexIZQE8

Edited by Klippie on Wednesday 6th February 01:35

That's actually pretty good, especially for the money! I've got a GoPro HD hero2 but its so bulky and obvious on the bike- a nice little hidden bullet camera would be so much more discreet!

[dibblecorse]

Another vote here for the Drift, i'm on my 3rd, destroyed one, and just acquired a HD720 for trackdays

And actioncameras,co.uk are great

[Yazza54]

Golgarth said:

Yazza54 said:

The quality of all these 1080p HD cameras is the same. All very good. Go pro is not better at all.

really?? 4k or 2.7k video, up to 120 fps, 30fps shooting mode (photo). The GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition shoots in cinema quality, never mind HD.

If you just want a commute cam, then don't spend the big bucks, if you want PRO quality, then get a GoPro. The Drift Ghost HD is worth a look, but still big money. The contour HD +2 is a good buy. smaller and has GPS built in. The mounts are pretty much all interchangeable, bit of GoPro, bit of Drift.

If you want a helmet cam then the Drift or the Contour are the ones I would prefer.

Remember that the GoPro guzzles batteries so 2hrs is a stretch sometimes, the Drift and Contour have better battery life.

If you are a YouTube person, a 720p Drift will do you. If you want to do time-lapse, high speed shooting/slow motion capture or more arty stuff, buy the Black Edition GoPro.



Oh, and to combat the above, check out http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5... that's one hell of a deal.

Even so once you've actually compressed it down to enough that can be actually uploaded somewhere they're all the same. They're all better than anyone really needs and cameras like the drift and HD max offer other advantages that for me make them a much more versatile option.

[Klippie]

Mad Dave said:

That's actually pretty good, especially for the money! I've got a GoPro HD hero2 but its so bulky and obvious on the bike- a nice little hidden bullet camera would be so much more discreet!

I mounted it under the lights and once painted black virtually invisible...



As you can see in the clip the camera is suffering from high frequency vibration I know how to fix this so it will look like the images when in the car.

[shadylee]

Golgarth said:

Yazza54 said:

The quality of all these 1080p HD cameras is the same. All very good. Go pro is not better at all.

If you are a YouTube person, a 720p Drift will do you. If you want to do time-lapse, high speed shooting/slow motion capture or more arty stuff, buy the Black Edition GoPro.



.

I disagree, go for the older 1080p drift for £140,the 720 is ok but the internal mic is useless and captures nothing but wind noise with no output for a external mic to be plugged in.

[BaronVonGrumble]

If you want the best camera for a 'budget' - then i dont think you can beat a DRIFT HD (1080). Action cams are selling them for £180 (using BARON10 code). Thats a lot of bang for your buck.

Great mounting options, great versatility and solid as a rock.

Drift Ghost is better - but £270 (using code) is steep.

I'd love a GoPro hero 3 for 'arty' shots - but i hear there are issues with them at the moment...

[AceOfHearts]

Thanks for the great replies, the Gopro in Argos looks a good deal, but it does look like a great big lump and a screen would be a bonus. I would ideally only be looking to spend up to £200 with mounts etc.

Would this be the Drift to go for, I have a power socket on the bike so it might be a worthwhile bundle?

http://www.actioncameras.co.uk/drift-hd-motorcycle...

£207 with discount I can probably justify.

Is it worth the extra money going for a 1080 over a 720?

ETA

I like the look of this one too:

http://www.actioncameras.co.uk/contour-roam-2-red-...

Would both of these come with all the mounts I would need?

I think i am getting an idea now of each cameras plus and minus points. I think the things I would like are a bullet camera shape so its a bit more discreet, a mount for helmet and fairing / tank (would a suction be ok for all of these?) and a 12v charger so i can have it plugged in for the car or Multistrada

If that Drift bundle will do all of that i think i will order that one up as they seem to get good reviews across the board

Edited by AceOfHearts on Wednesday 6th February 22:21

[Mr2Mike]

Can the Drift HD do continuous recording (i.e start overwriting old video automatically when it runs out of space)? If not, can any of them do this?