Viewing 31 posts - 1 through 31 (of 31 total)
  • Recommend me a HD helmet-cam
  • kevtoo
    Free Member

    Like the title says. I’ve got a standard def “Veho” cam from Amazon at the moment and an HD camcorder. Needless to say the camcorder footage puts the headcam to shame but also the mounting bracket on the headcam is not all that secure. So what HD helmet cam should I upgrade to? Is GoPro still the top option (and if so which model?) or should I look at the DogCam Bullet Wide or something similar? GoPro is about the most expensive I really want to go, but what I’m really bothered about is quality and ease of mounting/ use. Any thoughts from the Singletrackworld collective brain most welcome!

    Vortexracing
    Full Member

    I have a contour roam, really easy to use, water resistant and good quality.

    http://contour.com/products/contour-roam

    [video]http://vimeo.com/29412171[/video]

    Yetiman
    Free Member

    Another vote for Contour here. I don’t own one myself but two friends have them and the image quality is fantastic.

    footflaps
    Full Member

    I have the Contour GPS – very happy with it.

    Hob-Nob
    Free Member

    The standard default (but wrong IMO) answer is, as always, the latest & greatest GoPro Hero 2 HD blah blah. £300 and you won’t get any end result thats any better than a second hand basic Contour HD which you can pick up for about £70.

    For most people, even recording in 720 is more than enough to view on a decent PC, and between the Contour, and the GoPro neglegable, having used both.

    The reality of the situation is, unless you have a monster PC & a lot of spare time, your videos won’t look great. Also there is very little point in in looking at YouTube comparisons, as most video’s are compressed to such a level to make them even a remotely sensible to upload they are nothing like the raw data. Bear in mind the pretty video’s you see on the manufacturer sites will be filmed in perfect conditions, and then edited by people paid a lot of money to make them look very good indeed, with little or no regard to the file sizes they are working with. For your average person, making a few basic videos to stick up on Youtube you will end up compressing your files so much so they don’t take days to upload, that any difference in quality from the higher res raw data will be lost in the compression.

    What it comes down to really, is personal preference. For some the GoPro has the edge with the chest mount, I dislike wearing it, so it’s discounted for me. With the GoPro the trouble with wearing it on top of your helmet is, due to it’s very wide angle lense it has a habit of flattening the image a lot as well, so you lose a lot of features on the video.

    The Contour is a bit more limiting in it’s mounts, but if you use the standard ‘tripod’ mount, there are a lot of options to explore for custom made options. I have made a mount that goes through the visor bolt on my full face lid. Very secure, no wobble & a great POV.

    I know everyone wants the ‘latest & greatest’ – even more so with technology, but 99% of people out there don’t have the hardware, software, time or inclination to process it at even 50% of it’s potential.

    Reasonably impartial, as i’ve had both. I’m back with a basic Contour HD now.

    kevtoo
    Free Member

    Thanks all- v.useful.

    HobNob- I doubt they will even get on YouTube- all for personal enjoyment really! Half the fun for me is editing the video and arranging soundtracks etc etc- the riding “skill” will be nothing to write home about (hopefully some good scenery tho…)! Really about the mounting options and finding something which is comparable to what I’m getting from my camcorder so that the disparity is not too obvious in editing. That and I don’t want to spend a fortune on “prosumer” stuff… It is sounding like the Contour!!!

    composite
    Free Member

    Personally I use a GoProHD. You can get the GoProHD for £160ish now the GOProHD2 is out. There are million mounting options and generally I really like it. It is poor in low light though.

    In comparison to other cameras I have no idea as I haven’t used any.

    Finished this video this week, all self shot on the GoPro.
    [video]http://vimeo.com/39667530[/video]

    tracknicko
    Free Member

    that video makes me sad

    composite
    Free Member

    ?

    kevtoo
    Free Member

    Very nice. What did you edit that on? I’ve just moved to an iMac (from Wintel laptop and Premiere) so contemplating options at the moment (and playing around with iMovie in the meantime which is good but v.v. basic!).

    composite
    Free Member

    I used Mpeg stream clip to convert the .mp4s to Apple ProRes422 .movs, then Final Cut Pro on a 2008 Mac Book Pro to do the edit. Generally this edit was all cropping and scaling, with a bit of colour correction here and there.

    Milkie
    Free Member

    I have a ContourGPS and access to a GoPro HD.

    Both have advantages and disadvantages. If you want chest mount, you have no choice but to go for the GoPro as the bullet styles like Contour are not chest mountable.

    The advantage of the ContourGPS is you are able to overlay the GPS data giving your video maps/speed/etc data. If you already have a GPS logger like an Edge, you can already do the overlay.

    Checkout my video below, filmed with the ContourHD and the GoPro chest mounted. Contour is on a 100mm Hardtail and the GoPro is on an Orange 5.
    [video]https://vimeo.com/31575455[/video]
    I think there is very little difference, they both output great footage at the same rate 720p@60fps and are easy to use.

    Hobnob makes some very good points! I had to buy a new Pc to edit the footage and spent a long time editing a weeks footage, to make 5 short clips!
    I also agree that the ContourHD for £70 is a steal, at least you can always upgrade if you find you have the video/video editing bug. 😉

    Composite: Love your different angles and effects (1 minute in) and the beat editing! Great video!

    composite
    Free Member

    With the over lays how do you get that info out of the camera? Do you tell the camera to output the file with the over lay on or is it something you do in the computer “later” with software?

    ads-b
    Free Member

    After a lot of research i went for a Drift HD170. Much cheaper, better fixings and availability of fixings, doesnt look like a toaster flying out your head…….. (scroll to about 2:10 to see some nice pictures)

    [video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDgNpml1LHQ[/video]

    composite
    Free Member

    Is it the Drift that gives the saturated colours in the sunny shots, or were they colour corrected at all? Nice look to it however it was achieved. Does the Drift do 60fps? One of the main 3 doesn’t do 60fps but gets far better results in low light than the GoPro.

    Interested to know what you mean by “better fixings and availability of fixings”? I would certainly agree that the GoPro mounts aren’t really great value but there are a load of official ones plus a big market of better value for money 3rd party ones. I have heard people complain about the plastic mounts not being strong enough but like any bolt on the bike you pretty much never have to tighten them to braking point for it to be as tight as it needs to be.

    ads-b
    Free Member

    Havent done anything to edit the colour. Im not that clever. Yep, does 60fps at 720, 30fps at 1080.

    It has a standard tripod screw mount. So you can use any number of standard camera fixings available on the market (clamps, tripods, bike mounts, pole mounts….if you were so inclined). All available on ebay for peanuts. Plus it comes with them as standard anyway (strap mount, helmet mount, bike mount). If you wanted to be clever you could even make your own, all you need is a screw to attach to the camera at one end.

    Oh, and it takes standard Cannon batteries. You can get after market cheapies off ebay for £2.
    Also like the way the lens rotates, which means you can mount it at any angle and still get a straight shot.

    But the main real advantage is being able to see what you are and have recorded on the screen. The remote control is a bit of a gimic if i am honest, but can see it would be useful if mounted on the end of an airplane wing or something.

    I would say however that it does appear bulky. But as it sits relatively flush to the helmet its not as noticable as a gopro, but the contour is obviously better. But there is the newer drift hd out which is much, much smaller. But 3 times the price for the same thing in a smaller box. I got mine for £120 off amazon, so am pretty happy with the added bulk over the newer one that is £300ish.

    ads-b
    Free Member

    double post

    rkk01
    Free Member

    Local camera shop has been trying to get stock on another option..

    Swann Freestyle HD

    Have been trying to find some independent opinion on what it is like.
    I get the impression that it is similar to the GoPro in many ways, but with the “pay extra” bits included in the box.

    I’d be interested if anyone has any knowledge of this unit

    Big-Dave
    Free Member

    I’ve got one of these. It shoots in 720p and is pretty good for the money

    ATC Mini Cam

    The footage and sound can get a bit jittery at speed but the only real downside is my awful editing of the footage I get.

    Northwind
    Full Member

    All the quality cameras are good, so it just comes down to usability and mounting, and nothing else has as many good options for mounting as a Gopro- nothing else even tries tbh.

    rumbledethumps
    Free Member

    Been using a Drift Stealth for a while. I could’nt afford a GoPro so this had to do. Its a great camera for the money in my opinion. Below is a test I did with it strapped to my fork at 30fps 720p. Nothing fancy mind, but gives you an idea of its exposure handling and stabilisation. As Northwind says, any of the HD action cams are great.

    It will also do 60fps @ 720 and 30fps up to 1080.

    [video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTVmMJJCLHU[/video]

    wisepranker
    Free Member

    I agree with Hob Nob, I’ve had both and have gone back to the Contour HD.

    If you go for the Contour, make sure you get the Flex Mount as it’s pretty versatile and can fir almost anywhere on your bike!

    kevtoo
    Free Member

    Great advice and thanks for the links… Some thinking to do before I splash the reddies…

    kevtoo
    Free Member

    Contour Roam now ordered. Thanks all 🙂

    Shibboleth
    Free Member

    First proper try with a GoPro HD last night at Gisburn on the chesty mount. I’ve got to say, the chest mount is brilliant, you really don’t know you’re wearing it. Only complaint is that the angle isn’t calibrated so it takes a bit of guesswork to get the angle right.
    Need to spend a bit of time experimenting with iMovie to some nice clips…

    One query, when you upload to YouTube it asks you if you want to remove camera shake. Can you do this in iMovie? Or do I need to use a full sus instead of my Soul? 🙂

    [video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eGaDH8d-qo&context=C4c89941ADvjVQa1PpcFMB3ul3Z0ceMcGBjn7udDeD-x3xyQjtor8=[/video]

    fourcrossjohn
    Free Member

    The top model drift camera, our lifeboat is sponsored by them and they piddle on go pro and contour in terms of quality and customer suppoer!

    madmojitomonkey
    Free Member

    Has anyone bought an HD helmet cam from ebay that looks like this? :-

    It’s sold as an “HD 1080P Pro Bullet Waterproof MTB Sport Helmet Action Camera Camcorder Cam DVR”

    It seems a good price at £62 with p&p from Hong Kong but is it too good to be true for a 1080 HD waterproof helmet cam?
    The link to the product is here.

    Any views would be most helpful before I buy something I end up regretting!

    Thanks.

    nutsnvolks
    Free Member

    I tried similar cheap cams off ebay and they were not worth wasting time with IMO
    I ended up buying a gopro hd hero 2 for our trip to morzine last year, and can’t really fault it, it was great, although I still have a heap of unedited video from it!!

    At the time I was very tempted by on of these…

    http://www.evomtb.co.uk/gobandit-race-gps-hd-action-camera-grey

    The quality seems very good on the camera itself, and the recording quality seemed as good as any of the other big brands…however, this cam overlays your altitude, speed and other data onto the film in the corner or top of screen ect, I really liked the idea, but when I purchased I needed the cam that day and unfortunately the shop that showed them to me had none in stock, hence going with the gopro. I have a mate that has brought one since and he seems really pleased with it!

    trout
    Free Member

    I settled on the sony action cam after trying out the go pro 1 and 2 due to the low light capability and the sony steady shot which is excellent

    First try here and it is a lot darker in those woods than the video suggests

    the only bad bit on the sony are the mounting options are a bit poor
    but with some bodgery it is possible to get a good solution

    thickens
    Free Member

    Dont forget Hed camz

    Swansea

    2012

    Pierre
    Full Member

    Another vote for Contour here – I’ve got a Contour GPS and it’s been superb for MTB and snowboard videos. The iPhone app to adjust the settings and frame the shot is superb, it’s a very configurable camera. Also it takes Nokia BL-5C batteries, they’re about £2 each off eBay and last for hours. Plus you can get lens kits for them to fit standard camera fittings – I tend to have a polarising filter on mine for snowboard stuff, and I’ve seen wide-angle lenses fitted too.

    I don’t edit the video, a friend of mine is a total video editing geek, but he prefers my Contour footage to his own GoPro footage because the bandwidth is higher (that, too, is adjustable) at the highest settings, in other words the pictures have more detail and the colour depth is better.

    I’m trying to avoid the “I’ve got one so I think it’s best” cliche, but I do recommend the Contour over the GoPro.

    edit: I don’t actually bother with the GPS bit, you can turn it off in the settings – it just runs the battery down faster anyway!

Viewing 31 posts - 1 through 31 (of 31 total)

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