On bike or helmet cameras settle the debate ?

[betaboy]

I'm looking at buying a camera to either fit on the bike or a helmet camera,but I haven't got a clue where to start.
I want something thats easy to operate and doesn't require a degree in electonics to work it.
Which makes provide the best picture quality for the best price.
Are on bike cameras better than Helmet cams.
Betaboy

 

[Jonny_L]

I've dabbled with the idea. Lots of people seem to be getting good results with just a half decent digital camera that can take video (see the littlehampton rideout vid in the south east section). You really want solid state, i.e. memory cards, or possibly mini DV tape but solid state=no moving parts so not as much gubbins that can get messed up from vibrations.

I was worried about waterproof cameras for a while, then realised that I really don't plan on doing any filming in the rain anyway so just settled with a standard camcorder. I must say I've got a problem with it though, I went for one of these rather smart little "gun" type cameras, which you hold vertically. Being vertical and thin I've had loads of problems with vibrations, it's just unwatchable really.

Helmet cams, they're good as your body takes most of the vibration away, but every time you check your mirrors or do a lifesaver, so does the camera

I've seen a couple of decent test vids on youtube, just find the camera you like and search for it there. The Oregon Scientific one at first seemed good, but when you see some of the wavey videos, you'll see why I didn't bother.

 

[Fanum]

Don't get the little SD card ones that suck onto the side of your lid- you'll be dissapointed.

Do a bit of a search here and you'll find loads of threads on stuff from the past- personally I'm very happy with my Archos/Helmet cam setup, MikeP has a very neat (if rather complicated) setup that he uses to good effect and it's worth reading that reprobate Lo-Iq's posts on the subject as well.

HTH

 

[karnevil]

I have a two camera set up from
www.4kam.com/

I have only used it once so far on a recent trip to the Alps.For my first attempt im pretty please.Quality not too bad i guess.Had a camera on the bike and on my helmet.The helmet cam was ok looking forward but one does not look sideways long enough to get panning shots i guess.I am currentkly working on getting the whole lot into a box to mount on the bike,to make use easier.

 

[MikeP]

Bike or helmet?

Both is the only real answer.

Helmet is good. As said, there's a certain amount of damping built-in but you will surprised at how much you move your head the first time you review the resultant video. I'm not just talking about mirror and 'lifesaver' checks either.

The slightest movement is magnified on film.

Then there's the problem that it tends to give a false impression because most riders keep their head upright when cornering.

Both of these problems can be overcome with practice but it does take a fair bit of concentration on the filming. Many people just want to set the camera running and forget it. If you do that, you will either end-up with hours of virtually unwatchable stuff or you spend days editing it down to something usable.

Bike mounted is good. It gives the real perspective of the dynamics of a bike but a constant, fixed, single point of view is boring after a short while.

Finding a vibration-free mounting is a problem.

Of course, two cameras brings its own problems. As Bill has alluded to, it can be a bit complex because you need to have a method of selecting the camera in use. The alternative is Picture in Picture (PiP). I've tried that. Fine in small doses but no good if the PiP renders one image too small to see properly.

Once over the complexity issues (and that is not too bad), you soon learn with practice when it's going to be best to use which camera view, select that camera and get on with riding that section.

I've modified a tank-bag to take the gubbins. There's a Powerlet connection to power it all. That's one quick release plug. I can mount one camera rear-facing instead of helmet mounted, if that's the case, there's nothing to unplug when getting off the bike. If that camera is attached to my helmet, there's one connection to unplug.

Removing it all, there's the Powerlet plug and two camera connections.

 

[atka]

The system I've now got is :

http://www.actioncameras.co.uk/Archos_Helmet_Camera_Packages.html

But I bought them separately as they come with all in the package,

ARCHOS 405 2GB @ comet
£69.99

The 2GB Archos portable media player can hold up to 1000MP3 tracks, 20,000 photos or 2 movies. SD card slot for additional memory storage.

Camera :
Play.Com-
Archos Helmet Camcorder Generation 5
£79.99 Free Delivery


Don't get the 30GB player as it's not compataible with the camera

used it on the Tour of Britain Bike race fixed to the bike. a compressed version of some film is

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=J8uNpxPZYHI

and http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=foZS-9TgAd8

 

[Spikehammer]

I have a two camera, switchable, system on my bike. Powered off the bike it also has a stereo mike that is attenuated so that it only picks up noise over a certain dB (loudness).
The switch is mounted near to the left hand swtich gear and flicks between the cameras instantly.
The cameras have a zoom feature, but I don't use it.
The rear camera is fixed but the front can be helmet mounted if needed.
All of the wiring is hidden and the cameras and recorder are all powered through the bike. The recorder (currently a Nat Pan mini DV jobbie) is carried in a small tankbag which the video and sound leads go to.



Rear camera

Front camera (now moved to the side of the fairing)

Mic and camera connections (the mic controller is the small black box with tiny writing onit)

 

[Loiq]

I've built camera systems for applications like para gliding, investigative journalism etc. we've made a systems work for filming on the bikes both mountain bikes and motorbikes. the key is power, duration of filming and what you want from the footage these are things to consider and these are my views so take'em with a pinch of salt.

main points

DVD quality and what you should aim for is 720x576 resolution there are lots of cameras which promise it but can't deliver some of the small SD range get close 640x480 but that's the full area. We're now in the realms of underscan and overscan another debate.... for another day.

What do you want from the camera? holiday shots, just bits on the bike? what do you hope to achieve?

It might be best to have 2 cameras one for bike one for general footage....

formats.... HD SD 4x3 16x9 or 5x4....

So here we go

1. small cameras need more light to work well and give results
2. helmet mounted cameras as the name suggests are on your head and your head moves around loads even with the natural dampening... so you may not get the results you want. Or you may put yourself in hospital trying to get a shot.... done that...thanks.
3. mounted systems are nice but again watching hours of vignetted (cropped) footage of the front wheel going round is slightly more boring than watching paint dry.
4. whatever system you get you need to consider what you want to do with it.
5. Once you've worked out how your going to deal with the material you've captured to turn it into a record of your trip. It will become apparent which camera is the best for the application.
6. Tape Versus Tape-less good argument tape is a physical thing which you can look at and touch tapeless is more frightening. I've deleted a number of really good stuff by accident....
7. HD (high def) versus SD (standard def) I love HD whats best you can do more with it in post production when you auther down to SD...
8. cheap versus expensive the more you spend the better the footage, cheap is less painful when you drop the thing into water.

All small cameras can ever be is part of the overall solution look at any... production....

what you see is never what actually happened in order of events, locations and words spoken.

I love the idea of shooting good stills and video on one camera you might want to consider that as well.

So to be honest there's no direct answer to your question an on bike systems whatever it is will not make the story for you. that bit the creative idea is yours and yours alone.

hope that helps I'm now going to cause hassle else where....