Fanum
Toubab
I've been meaning to get around to this for ages, but the next Moto-Morocco trip in September is one I really want to film so I finally got around to sorting out a helmet cam setup.
Step 1. Getting the equipment
I bought a second hand Archos Av500 from Ebay, complete with remote control bullet cam....Prices go for between £150 for the AV500 upwards....they have also appeared on QVC a couple of times for £164 new (and then no doubt appeared on Ebay the next day with a +£20 reserve)
The bullet cam itself is about £125, but I was lucky enough to get a perfect condition AV500 with the camera (and an FM tuner remote controller as well RRP £19ish* for a sensible sum.....
(as a matter of interest, they're new from Archos for 299 euros right now.)
I got the 60gb Av500.....I like the fact that it's got a USB host, so I can take photos straight off a digi camera and store them.....and it plays films etc as well so when I'm stuck on the ferry for a couple of days a month shipping bikes to Spain, or stuck in Spanish Hostels, I've got something to entertain me
60gb is also plenty of space.....at the highest resolution and with a 4;3 aspect ratio, one of the sample clips I made this morning is 4:13 long and is 53.1mb ....so that's roughly 12 mb per minute...50gb would give me over 70 hours of continuous filming, so I'm happy with that
STEP 2 The camera holder
The headband that came with the camera won't fit around a helmet...it's literally just a headband, so I needed to find a way of attaching the camera to me or the bike........
The obvious place to mount it is on the helmet....high up ,it's also insulated from shocks and can be directed at where I'm looking.......but I also decided to try mounting it on the bike as well to see what results I get.
Enter two leather elbow patches, 10 inches of heavy duty velcro, 8 inches of heavy elastic (think seatbelt webbing but elastic) and a sewing machine (ably piloted by Rosie
)
We cut a velcro width piece of leather out, double it over and sewed a loop of the elastic on...then to give the base a little rigidity we put a bit of tupperware plastic on the back, sewed another piece of leather arm patch on the back of it then finally stuck the velcro to it.
Good job......and the camera itself is nice and secure in there.
STEP 3 The mounting points
The more waterproof side of the velcro was left for the helmet....I trimmed a patch for the side and a bit for the top......positioning was done with a bit of live action on the camera screen (that's another thing I like about the archos rather than a helmet cam like the Oregon....you can see the picture on the screen as you set things up so you know it's not off at an angle or something)
For on the bike, I just used a RAM camera mount with the scre thread removed and a bit of the velcro stuck on top..the long arm is on a mirroe mount that's attached to the screen mounts, and allows me to position it in all sorts of ways....
Ok, twat shots........
It's not stuck on properly here..it actually attaches very nicely, and securely too......I tested it at, er slightly more than legal speeds and it was solid
On the bike......
That's it really.....the remote control clips onto my 'stich pocket and is usable whilst gloved and movingeek: 
)
The results are ok......not brilliant, but certainly fit for purpose (which will be for short film clips online).
The sound TBH is shyte......at anything over 15mph, the wind roar cuts everything out (the mic is on the remote which was on my chest) so I'm going to try a bit of foam over that.)
The positions.....on the top of the helmet looked best, closely followed by the slightly more discreet side of the helmet position....when mounted to the bike on the RAM arm though it was too shaky, which I rather suspected.
I'll edit a few bits of the clips and stick them up on You tube later, but basically, I'm happy with the results and can film safely from the bike now
Step 1. Getting the equipment
I bought a second hand Archos Av500 from Ebay, complete with remote control bullet cam....Prices go for between £150 for the AV500 upwards....they have also appeared on QVC a couple of times for £164 new (and then no doubt appeared on Ebay the next day with a +£20 reserve)
The bullet cam itself is about £125, but I was lucky enough to get a perfect condition AV500 with the camera (and an FM tuner remote controller as well RRP £19ish* for a sensible sum.....
(as a matter of interest, they're new from Archos for 299 euros right now.)
I got the 60gb Av500.....I like the fact that it's got a USB host, so I can take photos straight off a digi camera and store them.....and it plays films etc as well so when I'm stuck on the ferry for a couple of days a month shipping bikes to Spain, or stuck in Spanish Hostels, I've got something to entertain me
60gb is also plenty of space.....at the highest resolution and with a 4;3 aspect ratio, one of the sample clips I made this morning is 4:13 long and is 53.1mb ....so that's roughly 12 mb per minute...50gb would give me over 70 hours of continuous filming, so I'm happy with that
STEP 2 The camera holder
The headband that came with the camera won't fit around a helmet...it's literally just a headband, so I needed to find a way of attaching the camera to me or the bike........
The obvious place to mount it is on the helmet....high up ,it's also insulated from shocks and can be directed at where I'm looking.......but I also decided to try mounting it on the bike as well to see what results I get.
Enter two leather elbow patches, 10 inches of heavy duty velcro, 8 inches of heavy elastic (think seatbelt webbing but elastic) and a sewing machine (ably piloted by Rosie
)We cut a velcro width piece of leather out, double it over and sewed a loop of the elastic on...then to give the base a little rigidity we put a bit of tupperware plastic on the back, sewed another piece of leather arm patch on the back of it then finally stuck the velcro to it.
Good job......and the camera itself is nice and secure in there.
STEP 3 The mounting points
The more waterproof side of the velcro was left for the helmet....I trimmed a patch for the side and a bit for the top......positioning was done with a bit of live action on the camera screen (that's another thing I like about the archos rather than a helmet cam like the Oregon....you can see the picture on the screen as you set things up so you know it's not off at an angle or something)
For on the bike, I just used a RAM camera mount with the scre thread removed and a bit of the velcro stuck on top..the long arm is on a mirroe mount that's attached to the screen mounts, and allows me to position it in all sorts of ways....
Ok, twat shots........
It's not stuck on properly here..it actually attaches very nicely, and securely too......I tested it at, er slightly more than legal speeds and it was solid
On the bike......
That's it really.....the remote control clips onto my 'stich pocket and is usable whilst gloved and moving
eek: )The results are ok......not brilliant, but certainly fit for purpose (which will be for short film clips online).
The sound TBH is shyte......at anything over 15mph, the wind roar cuts everything out (the mic is on the remote which was on my chest) so I'm going to try a bit of foam over that.)
The positions.....on the top of the helmet looked best, closely followed by the slightly more discreet side of the helmet position....when mounted to the bike on the RAM arm though it was too shaky, which I rather suspected.
I'll edit a few bits of the clips and stick them up on You tube later, but basically, I'm happy with the results and can film safely from the bike now
