Which helmet cam
Author
Discussion

funkyrobot

Original Poster:

18,789 posts

254 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
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Can anyone recommend a decent helmet cam for use when cycling?

Just need something to record my rides.

Thanks all.

interstellar

4,879 posts

172 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
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New GoPro session 4 is what I have. Unlike to other GoPro cameras its very small (size of an ice cube) so you cannot feel it when its on top of your head.

At £159 I think its well worth it.

http://www.johnlewis.com/gopro-hero-session-camcor...

funkyrobot

Original Poster:

18,789 posts

254 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
quotequote all
Thanks.

What is the quality like (could it show a car reg) and how do you aim it (with no viewfinder)?

V8mate

45,899 posts

215 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
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I browsed bike/helmet cams a few weeks ago. Battery life put me off buying any of them. They're fine for a sub-hour commute, but no good for a even a half day out and about.


Black can man

31,973 posts

194 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
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V8mate said:
I browsed bike/helmet cams a few weeks ago. Battery life put me off buying any of them. They're fine for a sub-hour commute, but no good for a even a half day out and about.
I've just invested in Cycliq fly 12 , 1080p camera & 400 lumen light integrated.


They claim that without using the light you can get 10 hours out of one single charge & i don't doubt their claims, seems decent so far.

it's a bit bulky for a helmet cam but it sits on the bars impressively.

interstellar

4,879 posts

172 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
quotequote all
funkyrobot said:
Thanks.

What is the quality like (could it show a car reg) and how do you aim it (with no viewfinder)?
Definitely you could see a reg. Once its loaded onto iPad etc. you can pause the clip and zoom in too. Its very clear. From the chest position I have it in, its possible to zoom in and read my Garmin to see the speed I am doing on my mountain biking adventures.

Battery life is about 2 hours but I never leave it on all the time as I ride off road. If someone wants it on permanently for commuting they may want longer battery life.

The quality of the picture is excellent. The normal go pros are slightly better but they are much bulkier and I wanted something I couldn't feel I was wearing.

V8mate

45,899 posts

215 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
quotequote all
Black can man said:
V8mate said:
I browsed bike/helmet cams a few weeks ago. Battery life put me off buying any of them. They're fine for a sub-hour commute, but no good for a even a half day out and about.
I've just invested in Cycliq fly 12 , 1080p camera & 400 lumen light integrated.


They claim that without using the light you can get 10 hours out of one single charge & i don't doubt their claims, seems decent so far.

it's a bit bulky for a helmet cam but it sits on the bars impressively.
thumbup

Thanks for the tip; I hadn't heard of the one.

Black can man

31,973 posts

194 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
quotequote all
V8mate said:
thumbup

Thanks for the tip; I hadn't heard of the one.
They retail around £250.00 but Freeborn are doing them for £200.

They film in 5 minute loops & you adjust all the settings on your phone, the light is really good.

If you are interest you the quality of the film i did this the first i used it in Battersea park, i now have a posh K-Edge out there do now there are no bike parts on Show whilst filming

It takes a maximum of a class 10 64gb micro sd card & i'm planning to use it for the whole of the London ride 100 .

Shame this was an overcast day.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-fUjlf3Udg

V8mate

45,899 posts

215 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
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Shame the video is set to private too biggrin

Black can man

31,973 posts

194 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
quotequote all
oops. i found a better one give me a few mins

anonymous-user

80 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
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Another for the GoPro Session Hero 4. I won it last year and already had the hero 3+ silver. The Hero 3+ silver quality was fractionally better quality but the ease of use when bombing down rivers was a real selling point for me, so I sold the 3+ and haven't looked back. It is significantly lighter as others have mentioned as well and this makes a big difference when its on your head.

funkyrobot

Original Poster:

18,789 posts

254 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
quotequote all
bulldong said:
Another for the GoPro Session Hero 4. I won it last year and already had the hero 3+ silver. The Hero 3+ silver quality was fractionally better quality but the ease of use when bombing down rivers was a real selling point for me, so I sold the 3+ and haven't looked back. It is significantly lighter as others have mentioned as well and this makes a big difference when its on your head.
Thanks.

How do you aim them as I don't think they have a screen on?

anonymous-user

80 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
quotequote all
funkyrobot said:
bulldong said:
Another for the GoPro Session Hero 4. I won it last year and already had the hero 3+ silver. The Hero 3+ silver quality was fractionally better quality but the ease of use when bombing down rivers was a real selling point for me, so I sold the 3+ and haven't looked back. It is significantly lighter as others have mentioned as well and this makes a big difference when its on your head.
Thanks.

How do you aim them as I don't think they have a screen on?
You can either link it up to your iPhone for a preview, or just guess by looking behind it at where it is pointing.

V8mate

45,899 posts

215 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
quotequote all
Black can man said:
Sorry, but I'd cry if I'd spent £200+ and got that output.

Black can man

31,973 posts

194 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
quotequote all
V8mate said:
Black can man said:
Sorry, but I'd cry if I'd spent £200+ and got that output.
Yeah it's bks i agree, it's not like that on my PC .

I've obviously done something wrong, it's pretty crystal on my machine.

anonymous-user

80 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
quotequote all
Between us, my friends and I have pretty much used all the available makes of camera on the market and everyone who doesn't go for gopro in the beginning, gets pissed off eventually and goes off and buys a gopro.

The_Jackal

4,854 posts

223 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
quotequote all
Just remember with the Session its battery is not removable, so once it runs out that's that unless you can wait an hour to charge it somewhere.
Also, I would find it a pain in the arse having to use the app to change settings all the time.
Hero 4 Silver is best bang for buck GoPro and the screen is more useful than you think.

anonymous-user

80 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
quotequote all
The_Jackal said:
Just remember with the Session its battery is not removable, so once it runs out that's that unless you can wait an hour to charge it somewhere.
Also, I would find it a pain in the arse having to use the app to change settings all the time.
Hero 4 Silver is best bang for buck GoPro and the screen is more useful than you think.
The update allows you to change the settings without the app.

Pot Odds

290 posts

262 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
quotequote all
Black can man said:
V8mate said:
Black can man said:
Sorry, but I'd cry if I'd spent £200+ and got that output.
Yeah it's bks i agree, it's not like that on my PC .

I've obviously done something wrong, it's pretty crystal on my machine.
Just remember there will be quality loss if you edited prior to upload as well as due to youtube compression. I recorded this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xrookj8DNw on a go pro session (front) and garmin virb (rear) - raw footage was crystal clear. I then edited in final cut pro x where footage was still good but gets some compression. The real killer was the upload to youtube. My vid is only 1/2 acceptable when played in 720 on youtube and best left to buffer a little if you have a slowish connection.

You tube compression really seems to compromise footage where you have fast changing dark colours - quality of my vid is less good in the trees early on compared to in brighter sunshine later.

I rate the session - i have it front mounted on a k-dege out front bar mount when i use it. It was also a handy camera to have on holiday as it really is pocket sized - I was happy letting the kids throw it around in the salt water pool and it was fine. When I used it on a longer ride round the New Forest I just chucked a usb battery pack in a small bar bag i use for jelly babies and got another 2 hours recording out of it (records whilst charging).

Another bonus for the cycliq is the ability to overlay strava telemetry as well as easily posting bite sized clips to social media via the app which connect to the camera (can't recall if its bluetooth or wifi).

Edited by Pot Odds on Tuesday 21st June 22:13

funkyrobot

Original Poster:

18,789 posts

254 months

Wednesday 7th March 2018
quotequote all
On the lookout again.

Thinking of Cycliq Fly 6 and Fly 12. However, would be useful mounting something on my helmet (errmmmmm...).

Looked at Gopro Hero 5 Session but battery life doesn't look great. Any other ideas?

Thanks.