help buying helm and bike mount camera

[compensation]

All the stuff that has happened to me i want a helm cam.
Then for gits-n-shiggles i want a front wheel action cam.

I seen people talk about them but didnt see any advice on what to buy. The helm cam needs to be high quality and last for at least 30 mins. Night vision would be sweet as well. The wheel action just needs to be clear and nothing special.

Thanks in advance.

 

[MotoRick]

All the stuff that has happened to me i want a helm cam.
Then for gits-n-shiggles i want a front wheel action cam.

I seen people talk about them but didnt see any advice on what to buy. The helm cam needs to be high quality and last for at least 30 mins. Night vision would be sweet as well. The wheel action just needs to be clear and nothing special.

Thanks in advance.

I bought a Contour HD first. Nice picture, no external mic. So I bought a Drift HD170 Stealth. Easy to use, ok picture quality. I have a GoPro Hero2 on order. I should have bought the Hero2 first, I think. I really need an external mic AND great picture quality. You didn't say whether you want to use an external mic for inside the helmet speaking or not. The Hero2 seems to be good at night, and should have no problem lasting over 30 minutes (battery wise) if you have a 16 gb or larger sim card.

There is a whole forum dedicated to on-bike video at motovlog.com

 

[compensation]

Mic.? I don't know if that would be a good idea with my mouth As for sound i would sub in music. I just want to catch the things that I see; hitting a deer, being blasted by a fire hydrant, people trying to kill me, etc... The wheel cam is just to show fun and skill. I don't like driving wild with people around me. Not just my safety but I don't want to involve someone else if something happens.

Out of those 3 you listed, are they all helms or can they be mounted to the bike? I am new to these so fell free to talk to me like i am stupid. I count on your experiences.

 

[MotoRick]

They all have mounts for your bike. Probably have to buy them separately but you may find a "bundle" deal. They all have good websites where you ought to check out the mounting options before you buy. One advantage of these cameras is that they have wide angle lens, which is a must for motorsport on-board video. If you don't care about it having a mic jack then you can probably find versions that are cheaper, for example the contour roam vs. the contour+, or the GoPro Hero vs. the Hero2.

Here are some links:
GoPro
Drift Innovation
Contour

 

[JSP]

I have the GoPro HD and love it! I use the suction cup most of the time. On the bike, on my helmet, etc. Also use it out fishing, playin with the kid, and other things. I have a little pole mount for it and a home made hat that it clips to.

My YouTube vids:

http://www.youtube.com/user/jspansel/videos

 

[MotoRick]

You mentioned the importance of video quality. I just checked and it appears the Hero2 has the best sensor at 11megapixels. The plain Hero is 5 megapixels. The Roam is 5, and the Drift HD is 9.

I just bought a Hero2 on Ebay (new, motorsports edition) for $249, free shipping for a top of the line, do-it-all vidcam. Or the Roam might be all you need at $199 MSRP. Look for deals on Amazon or Ebay.

 

[MotoRick]

I have the GoPro HD and love it! I use the suction cup most of the time. On the bike, on my helmet, etc. Also use it out fishing, playin with the kid, and other things. I have a little pole mount for it and a home made hat that it clips to.

My YouTube vids:

jspansel's channel - YouTube

You have a video about "upside down mode". What does that mean? I thought you couldn't rotate the lens on the GoPro.

 

[JSP]

You have a video about "upside down mode". What does that mean? I thought you couldn't rotate the lens on the GoPro.

This is so you can have the camera itself upside down and the GoPro will automatically flip the video for you when in Upside down mode so you do not have to do it in video editing software. I love it, because it allows me to have many more options of mounting the camera.

 

[MotoRick]

This is so you can have the camera itself upside down and the GoPro will automatically flip the video for you when in Upside down mode so you do not have to do it in video editing software. I love it, because it allows me to have many more options of mounting the camera.

Ahhhhh. I see.

 

[Harrywz]

All the stuff that has happened to me i want a helm cam.
Then for gits-n-shiggles i want a front wheel action cam.

I seen people talk about them but didnt see any advice on what to buy. The helm cam needs to be high quality and last for at least 30 mins. Night vision would be sweet as well. The wheel action just needs to be clear and nothing special.

Thanks in advance.

As most of the previous posters, GoPro Hero2. You can helmet mount, frame mount using stikies. I have a bicycle mount so I mount mine on my mirror shaft. These come with a waterproof case. The case has a replaceable back, this back has openings for getting sound (comes with camera). Still not the best sound but more of it. As well as having higher res than the Hero, the menu system is a bit better to use as well there are 4 blinking leds when in record mode in the top, bottom front and rear so u know u are recording. One other neat feature....u get a second camera and get the 3D case. Put the 2 camera's in the case and you can do 3D HD recording. The editing program allows you to save in anaglyph format (red/cyan) for viewing with red/blue lens glasses or side by side 3D for viewing on a 3D tv. Generally lasts about 2.5 hours on a charge and video length is dependent on your memory card. Can use up to 32g SDHC at minimum 4 speed. As well camera likes name brand SD cards. Its well worth it with all the mounts that are available. I also have a chest mount for it.

 

[compensation]

Wow! It is hard to process as fast as you guys post it! I have decided on gopro hero2. I have to check my local shop since they have it, but will be searching for prices elsewhere. They seem to have super solid mounts also like in jspansel's video of rear view on the r6. No vibration! I don't know about attaching that to my head going down the road though. Seems a little too big for that.

Tell me more about the 3d setup! You could make movies with this camera if you had different lenses.

 

[Harrywz]

Wow! It is hard to process as fast as you guys post it! I have decided on gopro hero2. I have to check my local shop since they have it, but will be searching for prices elsewhere. They seem to have super solid mounts also like in jspansel's video of rear view on the r6. No vibration! I don't know about attaching that to my head going down the road though. Seems a little too big for that.

Tell me more about the 3d setup! You could make movies with this camera if you had different lenses.

Problem with this camera is that it has a fixed focal point. Has a wide angle lens so for sport shots its good has great depth of field, not so good for close ups as you get a "fish eye" image. In 1080p mode you have two different choices of field of view, 170 and 127 degree's. At certain RPM's, you will get vibrations in the recordings. I did a 3D recording with my previous bike a warrior. Had a custom mount made but that sucker vibrated so bad I couldn't watch the video. Ended up using the chest mount. The way 3D works with this system is you need to get two cameras and the 3D kit. The 3D kit has a double sized case. One camera fits right side up the other upside down and they are connected with a harness that syncs them for left and right recordings. When you upload the videos to your computer you have a left recording(s) and right recording(s). The software that you get from GoPro will combine the L & R recordings and if you use side by side you will get a video with side by side video tracks. If you play these back on a tv that supports side by side the video will be in the 3D effect but you need to wear the 3D glasses to watch. If you use anaglyph you can watch on any tv or computer monitor but you need to wear the cardboard glasses that have the red and blue lens. Its preety neat to have a 3D recording system for under $1000.00

 

[compensation]

Just got the gopro hero2. I am going to pop it on the bike for my ride home.

Any suggestions or cool tricks with this cam? I have only charged it and put a 32gig card in. That's all the further I got

 

[highoctane]

Gotta love the toys. I kinda wanted one but I don't have the patiants to figure it out. Cool more vids watch, post em up!


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

 

[Mrpacis]

Just got the gopro hero2. I am going to pop it on the bike for my ride home.

Any suggestions or cool tricks with this cam? I have only charged it and put a 32gig card in. That's all the further I got

Mount it on the tank your helmet. The side of your helmet mount it on the rear and get away from a police chase

 

[BLAZEX09]

I have the Gopro Hero 2, love it to death. remember that mounting it somewhere on your person, helmet or using the chest harness, will usually result in less vibration. I personally like the chest harness mount, makes you feel like your riding the bike when you watch footage from it, since you can see the instruments and the controls working.

I also bought an external mic ($5 from ebay) and wired it under my passenger seat, it really captured the exhaust note well, and no wind noise. Even if you add music to your videos it is always a huge plus to hear the bike screaming through sometimes my

enjoy the camera!

 

[compensation]

Ok. Just watched my first video from it. Its pretty much amazing picture and the fact it only took up 2.2gig for my trip tells me that 1 min is about .1gb.

Now the picture isn't anything like in gopro's sales video but still impressed me. On their video did they edit the crap out of it to make it look that clear and crisp or what? Is it their free software?

Also my suction cup mount vibrates pretty bad. What other bike mounts would clean that up? Thinking about the roll bar clamp for the forks. I will get the chest mount and already have the helm mount but I want a solid bike mount.

 

[MotoRick]

I have had the same problem with vibration when I use a suction cup mount. Seems like the more rigid the mounting point the better.

 

[FZER]

Cool stuff. I've been trying to find videos of my recent rafting trip. A couple of folks had them in other rafts.

 

[Harrywz]

Ok. Just watched my first video from it. Its pretty much amazing picture and the fact it only took up 2.2gig for my trip tells me that 1 min is about .1gb.

Now the picture isn't anything like in gopro's sales video but still impressed me. On their video did they edit the crap out of it to make it look that clear and crisp or what? Is it their free software?

Also my suction cup mount vibrates pretty bad. What other bike mounts would clean that up? Thinking about the roll bar clamp for the forks. I will get the chest mount and already have the helm mount but I want a solid bike mount.

You will still get some vibes from the bike mount. I mount mine on the stem of my mirror. You can see the difference while running up the RPM's on the bike. The best mount I have found is the chest mount. Very little shake with it. The only drawback is that you get to capture the front of the bike, handlebars and guages. Sometimes that may not be something you want to show in a video especially where Ytube is concerned.