Easy camera for riding?

[jorxster]

hey fellow bikers!

I commute to work on an SV1000, and often deal with ignorant or illegal driver actions on the road. Was thinking about getting a helmet camera- just to record while I'm riding and provide evidence if anything ever goes down.

Just the other day I was at the north end of Fanshawe (and Hobson St.) in Auckland. I'm in the left lane next to a lady driving a blue SUV in the right lane. Light goes green, and we curve to the right. Lane markings on the road clearly indicate where the corner should be taken, yet in the middle of the corner she cuts me off and moves right over. I lay on the horn, but she just ignored me and carried on.


Pretty incredible. Anyway, can you recommend a camera that's easy to switch on for routine recording?

cheers,
Jordan

[Stirts]

I lay on the horn

:eek5: Are the Mentos Ice Man?

<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/adfreak/nipples.jpg"></img>

[Erelyes]

Pretty incredible. Anyway, can you recommend a camera that's easy to switch on for routine recording?

cheers,
Jordan

I can assure you your story is totally credible. :msn-wink:

I'd be looking for 720P at least (you want enough resolution to capture a plate and if possible the driver), and at least a 16GB class 10 memory card to go in it, although the extra $40 odd for a 32GB wouldn't be money badly spent.

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php/159330-Are-Go-Pro-cameras-the-best-option
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php/159181-Why-do-people-video-their-daily-commute

Or just search GoPro

[chasio]

Just the other day I was at the north end of Fanshawe (and Hobson St.) in Auckland. I'm in the left lane next to a lady driving a blue SUV in the right lane. Light goes green, and we curve to the right. Lane markings on the road clearly indicate where the corner should be taken, yet in the middle of the corner she cuts me off and moves right over. I lay on the horn, but she just ignored me and carried on.

Pretty incredible. Anyway, can you recommend a camera that's easy to switch on for routine recording?


I can assure you your story is totally credible. :msn-wink:

I'd be looking for 720P at least (you want enough resolution to capture a plate and if possible the driver), and at least a 16GB class 10 memory card to go in it, although the extra $40 odd for a 32GB wouldn't be money badly spent.

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php/159330-Are-Go-Pro-cameras-the-best-option
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php/159181-Why-do-people-video-their-daily-commute

Or just search GoPro

Always nice to have an adverse camber corner that is frequently coated with diesel made more interesting by a numpty, hey?

I do the same turn daily. My bugbear is earlier on: the red light runners on Halsey Street across Fanshawe St. I would love to catch a few of those buggers on "film", especially the bus drivers off for a smoko. I have wondered about one of those cameras with a "last 30 seconds" function i.e. when you press a button, it saves the most recent chunk of cached video. But I doubt they are 720P so may not get plates clearly enough..? Also no good if you just got taken out and are in no state to hit "record".

Sadly $450 or so for a Go-Pro is a bit spendy for me just now. But decent camera tech is getting cheaper all the time, so I'll watch the thread and see if someone comes up with a cheap but effective option!

[argada]

I bought a contour roam2 recently. Pretty straight forward, used one of the sticky mounts that came out of the box, chucked it on the side of my helmet and.. that's basically it. Idiot proof big sliding button, slide forward to record, and that's pretty much it. More than happy with the video quality using 720p during daylight hours, 170 degree wide angle gives a good view, pretty much covers everything your eyes can see.

Also if you plan to record daily - the contour looks slightly less retarded mounted on the helmet compared to the GoPro, imho.

A bit cheaper than the cheapest GoPro, should be able to get one for under $300, this looks like a decent price:
http://www.trademe.co.nz/electronics-photography/digital-cameras/other/auction-631781171.htm

[jorxster]

awesome, thanks for the replies guys. I'm definitely looking at duct-taping a second-hand Contour to my helmet.

[cbfb]

i got a contour i hardly ever use if you're interested, been thinking lazily about sticking it on TM for a while.

[Muppet]

Get a Drift HD 1080 or Drift Ghost. Got mine (Drift HD 1080) off Trademe from Water Proof Cameras, cost $360 approx. Very happy with it. Does 1080p and you can rotate the lens so it doesn't matter where you put it. It comes with two stick on brackets which allow you to slide the camera into place, a remote control which goes on your sleeve (or anywhere you like). I bought an external mic which goes inside the helmet. This cuts out wind noise and allows you to yell out 'fuck!' without any interference! Don't know how people use the Go Pro with all it's little bits and pieces frankly. And no I don't work for Drift.

[rastuscat]

Get a Drift HD 1080 or Drift Ghost. Got mine (Drift HD 1080) off Trademe from Water Proof Cameras, cost $360 approx. Very happy with it. Does 1080p and you can rotate the lens so it doesn't matter where you put it. It comes with two stick on brackets which allow you to slide the camera into place, a remote control which goes on your sleeve (or anywhere you like). I bought an external mic which goes inside the helmet. This cuts out wind noise and allows you to yell out 'fuck!' without any interference! Don't know how people use the Go Pro with all it's little bits and pieces frankly. And no I don't work for Drift.

Garmin have a new entry to the market.

http://sites.garmin.com/virb/

[R650R]

Just remember that unless you have one of those 'event' style recorders that all your ride is on the vid... or if you forget to press stop etc and enter fun riding mode.
I'd check what the startup time is on the cheaper cams as even some expensive ones have quite a lag time in relation to how fast a critical incident might unfold.
I'm sure Rastus and his colleagues will happily download the card while your trundled off into the ambo and whoops there's that big launch away from the last set of lights at ???km/h.
What I notice in a lot of the cyclist videos is that the 'innocent' party often fails to take early defensive action as they are hellbent on capturing the moment.
Before filming ask yourself are you riding in the same manner as you would if a patrol car was behind you?

[paturoa]

Have a look at this site. He gives you some good reviews. Based on that i got a RD32II for less than half the price of a go pro. It uses the cheaper class 4 memory too. Down side is less than stellar battery life, so I've wired it to power from my bike.

http://www.techmoan.com/

[chasio]

Just remember that unless you have one of those 'event' style recorders that all your ride is on the vid... or if you forget to press stop etc and enter fun riding mode.
I'd check what the startup time is on the cheaper cams as even some expensive ones have quite a lag time in relation to how fast a critical incident might unfold.
I'm sure Rastus and his colleagues will happily download the card while your trundled off into the ambo and whoops there's that big launch away from the last set of lights at ???km/h.
What I notice in a lot of the cyclist videos is that the 'innocent' party often fails to take early defensive action as they are hellbent on capturing the moment.
Before filming ask yourself are you riding in the same manner as you would if a patrol car was behind you?

Agree that prevention through defensive riding is the only way to go. My use would be for ADV riding and the bee in my bonnet about buses running red lights. Can't speak for the OP :)