on bike camera

[GSART]

I currently use an on bike camera system with 2 bullet cams from rf concepts with a switch to select from 1 camera to the other. These connect to a sony video camera which i operate remotely from the bars and all works very well. My problem is that i can only record for an hour at a time and the screen on the video camera is too small for effective playback at the roadside.

I have been advised that the large screen (7") archos is the way to go and would like to ask if anyone else is using such a product, if its any good, what the quality is and an i record for up to 6 hours at a time?

thanks in advance

 

[zerocool]

I looked at an archos but they dont record at maximum resolution, playback is great on the screen but not for DVD.

I use a imported Sony HDD camcorder as over in Japan they do HDD camcorders with AV in, from my research I found no HDD with AV In available in the UK so had to import.

I have 30 Gb which is hours and hours and with a long life battery I get up to 7 hours recording.

I use a mini inverter on the bike that goes up to 65w to power the camcorder for long journeys. I use a Sony lenses bullet cam in a helmet mount. The quality is incredible and perfect for DVD and large screen TV playback.

I also have SWMBO on the back with a second old camcorder in my backpack.

It would be good to get some feedback on the equiptment they use on LWR and LWD as it looked good and the video footage was ok nearly all the time. It was made by Sonic but I have no idea of costs.

 

[Loiq]

erm if the record resolution can be set to 720x576 or higher with a frame rate of 25-30 per second it's good if not then don't bother or accept the lower quality. There's trade off's in all directions the cannon HD20 is a hardisc recorder with AV in very high quality but it's got some wierd codec and colours are too vivd for my liking makes me look like david dickenson

the problems are more based around what you film rather the method used...

hope that makes some form of sense

 

[Berin]

Saw this at the dirt bike show. Looks very neat but I'm not a photographer so I don't know about the quality. It appeals to me as I'm a diver and this is depth rated to 100m, and is very self contained.

 

[Loiq]

I asked them for a demo unit to evaluate but no dice yet, looks good but you can't ever tell till you see it against a known system.

 

[mike wright]

Saw this at the dirt bike show. Looks very neat but I'm not a photographer so I don't know about the quality. It appeals to me as I'm a diver and this is depth rated to 100m, and is very self contained.

The cost of each unit is £849.95 (incl. of VAT)
The deposit per unit is £200.00.

 

[MikeP]

I currently use an on bike camera system with 2 bullet cams from rf concepts with a switch to select from 1 camera to the other. These connect to a sony video camera which i operate remotely from the bars and all works very well. My problem is that i can only record for an hour at a time and the screen on the video camera is too small for effective playback at the roadside.

I have a similar set-up.

The problem of limited battery time was an issue for me too. I solved the problems by taking advice from others here.

For the camera, I bought another battery and a charger cradle. I swap the batteries over every hour - one is on the camera and one re-charging in the tank bag.

The bullet cams are now powered from the bike using one of these...

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=37423&doy=3m1

I use another to connect to the camera battery charger.

I use Mini-DV tapes. I find the quality better than the Memory Stick Duo. It does mean carrying plenty of tapes.

After trying different arrangements, I've got the system sorted. I use Powerlet bits and pieces to tidy-up the cables and connections.

On the recent Moto-Morocco trip, I used the set-up for the whole trip. I brought back ten hours of film and have just finished turning that into three hours of DVD.

When it comes to on camera playback, all I do is just check it through at the end of the day.

If you have your bullet cameras set-up correctly, you can be fairly certain that you will be filming what you want anyway. The only real problem is with dust etc on the lenses.

 

[Marks adventure]

Mike that looks good.

 

[GSART]

video

Thanks for all the help, just to clarify I use my system to capture video whilst training.

What i am finding is that the Mini-DV tapes only hold an hour of video, which means swapping them out through the day. I then have the problem of reviewing the video with the students at the roadside as the camera screen is too small. i carry a 7" LCD screen for this but once again it is a bit of a faff at times.

I was just sounding out as to whether there was a simpler system and a affordable price?

for now i will work on wiring things up a little more permanently and securely into a top box rather than my tankbag.....

 

[(RIP) Geriatric Germ]

Mike just reading your blog 2005 Spain. Listening to I tunes 50's and 60's great reading thanks.