The Chainlink

What's the latest on affordable helmet cams?

Please let me know if this is a duplicate thread and I'll close this one... a few recent experiences have left me thinking it would be good to keep a video log of my ride.

Who's got experience with these and what can you recommend?

Views: 2341

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jim Freeman on February 27, 2013 at 8:22pm

If you get one of these you have to let me know.  I've been intending to get one for years now.

I'd probably just end up taping myself assaulting soccer moms...

Permalink Reply by Brendan Kevenides on February 28, 2013 at 8:58am

I use The Epic Carbine HD.  Love it!  It is small, about the size of a front facing bike light, light, and very easy to mount on handlebars and helmet.  It is also not terribly expensive.  I used it to record my first ride in the Dearborne bike lane.

Permalink Reply by blair on February 28, 2013 at 10:05am

Thanks, Brendan!  I've been thinking about investing in one of these, but hate how bulky some of them are.  Love the size of this one.

Permalink Reply by Duppie on February 28, 2013 at 10:08am

How long do 3 AAA batteries last?

How many hours can it record on a card?

Also, does it have an automatic overwrite functionality once the card is full?

Brendan Kevenides said:

I use The Epic Carbine HD.  Love it!  It is small, about the size of a front facing bike light, light, and very easy to mount on handlebars and helmet.  It is also not terribly expensive.  I used it to record my first ride in the Dearborne bike lane.

Permalink Reply by Thinman on February 28, 2013 at 10:16am

After exhaustive research (which could be valid for about 3 months tops), someone found this: 

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=108&cp_id=10...

It is due out in March.  I have worked with MonoPrice before, they are very reliable, great return policy!!

The specs on the camera are really good.  I read a pre-release review which suggested the GoPro is a bit better, but it is twice the price.  I saw the video example and could not tell the difference between the two.

I have a small not waterproof video cam, for documenting the commute, which was ok.  I will probably move up to the MonoPrice, if reviews hold up.

Permalink Reply by JeffB on February 28, 2013 at 11:52am

I'd like to know more too.  BTW, has the illegality of recording cops been reversed yet?  If not, are you legal if you turn off the audio recording on these?

I'm often asked if my helmet light is a camera.  I think seeing a camera, or what they think is a camera, changes behavior in certain drivers.

Permalink Reply by Jenn_5.5 mi on February 28, 2013 at 12:56pm

For under a hundred bucks this might be worth 'playing' with... Only real down side is the only 3 hours of continuous recording. (But I don't know what the Go-Pro has or any other for that matter.) For a typical daily commute it is perfect, I was just thinking of having it for a long tour as well.

Stuart said:

After exhaustive research (which could be valid for about 3 months tops), someone found this: 

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=108&cp_id=10...

It is due out in March.  I have worked with MonoPrice before, they are very reliable, great return policy!!

The specs on the camera are really good.  I read a pre-release review which suggested the GoPro is a bit better, but it is twice the price.  I saw the video example and could not tell the difference between the two.

I have a small not waterproof video cam, for documenting the commute, which was ok.  I will probably move up to the MonoPrice, if reviews hold up.

Permalink Reply by M.G. on February 28, 2013 at 3:23pm

I just bought an 808 Keychain Camera and mounted it to my bars. It is fairly cheap and probably not waterproof..but Im sure it will be easy enough to seal up. The video quality is pretty decent. The entire thing + a cheap microSD card cost less than $20 and set up was a breeze. It is rechargable and there are not any drivers to install on your computer to view the files.

Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on February 28, 2013 at 6:44pm

Thanks, Brendan.

How easy is it to activate it on the fly?

What is "flip mode?"

Brendan Kevenides said:

I use The Epic Carbine HD.  Love it!  It is small, about the size of a front facing bike light, light, and very easy to mount on handlebars and helmet.  It is also not terribly expensive.  I used it to record my first ride in the Dearborne bike lane.

Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on February 28, 2013 at 6:45pm

Thanks. I signed up for notification when it's back in stock.  Would definitely want to read others' reviews before the $100 experiment.

Jenn_5.5 mi said:

For under a hundred bucks this might be worth 'playing' with... Only real down side is the only 3 hours of continuous recording. (But I don't know what the Go-Pro has or any other for that matter.) For a typical daily commute it is perfect, I was just thinking of having it for a long tour as well.

Stuart said:

After exhaustive research (which could be valid for about 3 months tops), someone found this: 

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=108&cp_id=10...

It is due out in March.  I have worked with MonoPrice before, they are very reliable, great return policy!!

The specs on the camera are really good.  I read a pre-release review which suggested the GoPro is a bit better, but it is twice the price.  I saw the video example and could not tell the difference between the two.

I have a small not waterproof video cam, for documenting the commute, which was ok.  I will probably move up to the MonoPrice, if reviews hold up.

Permalink Reply by Eric R on February 28, 2013 at 6:53pm
Liquid Image EGO 727. It cost around $180, comes with a rain shield and a mount but I bought the Minoura VC 100.

Pros- Holds a two-hour charge and accepts a 32 gb card, which allows for around 12-16 hrs of footage when recording in 720p.I used it when stormed a few weeks ago and it still works so it must be pretty water resistant.

Cons - PCs reformat the card to ms-dos (or NTFS, I forgot), which basically crashes the camera. Ex-fat is the preferred format. The mic picks up - every - vibration.

Other - A 20 min 720 video is about 1.5 gbs and it also records a super-grainy video that is around 50mbs.

I've had it for a month, use it basically everyday on my 20 min commute and for occasional weekend rides. At this point I've recorded nothing exciting... Will post a meteorite video when I record one.
Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on March 1, 2013 at 1:20pm

Thanks, Eric. I'm a mac user so I expect I wouldn't have the reformat problem.

Got any video to offer up? There's not a lot out there on this specific model.  How did you choose it?

RSS

Groups

© 2008-2016   The Chainlink Community, L.L.C.   Powered by

Disclaimer  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service