What is the best sub-$200 helmet mount action cam?

[samgab]

In my commuting, I live by the mantra of "situational awareness", and always expecting car drivers to do the wrong thing, so I'm prepared and not surprised when they do...

That being said, the stuff I see when commuting to/from work in Dorkland boggles the mind.

So I've been considering getting a helmet-mount action cam type of thing. In the GoPro stylie, but less expensive.
I'd like to get something in the sub-$200 range, waterproof obviously, with a very wide angle of view, and actual Full HD (not just a 960x540 sensor "upscaled"), so number plates aren't just a grey schmear on the screen when playing footage back. I've tried using my iPhone 6+ mounted to the bars, but it's not wide-angle enough, and the vibrations make the footage pretty much unwatchable, and it keeps hunting for focus.

Any suggestions for makes/models of suitable action cams? I may have to opt for the entry level GoPro Hero, but it's lacking a few useful features.

[Ulsterkiwi]

JBHiFi usually have a few deals going on action cams for that money. You will be looking at a wannabe GoPro. Maybe try and pick up a 2nd hand GoPro of slightly older vintage from someone who has upgraded?
IMHO The GoPro and similar have the worst possible form factor for helmet mounting, the resulting mount is usually less than sleek.

[The End]

The entry level GoPro can be bought on the official site for $199 http://shop.gopro.com/APAC/cameras

Otherwise I have heard good reviews about the SJ4000 Camera (mostly found on eBay).

[samgab]

JBHiFi usually have a few deals going on action cams for that money. You will be looking at a wannabe GoPro. Maybe try and pick up a 2nd hand GoPro of slightly older vintage from someone who has upgraded?
IMHO The GoPro and similar have the worst possible form factor for helmet mounting, the resulting mount is usually less than sleek.

Thanks, I'll check out TM and JBHifi... I totally agree with you about form factor. A square block is seriously the best gopro could come up with? The Contour Cams are a much better form factor, IMHO, but the price is up around the $500-700 mark for the ones of those that are any good.


The entry level GoPro can be bought on the official site for $199 http://shop.gopro.com/APAC/cameras

Otherwise I have heard good reviews about the SJ4000 Camera (mostly found on eBay).

Thanks, I'll check out the SJ4000 as well.

[Ulsterkiwi]

Thanks, I'll check out TM and JBHifi... I totally agree with you about form factor. A square block is seriously the best gopro could come up with? The Contour Cams are a much better form factor, IMHO, but the price is up around the $500-700 mark for the ones of those that are any good.

Beg to differ, picked up a Roam2 for $239 and am very content with quality. Was not that hard to get at that money. Depends on what you want feature wise I suppose.

[1zero]

In my commuting, I live by the mantra of "situational awareness", and always expecting car drivers to do the wrong thing, so I'm prepared and not surprised when they do...

That being said, the stuff I see when commuting to/from work in Dorkland boggles the mind.

So I've been considering getting a helmet-mount action cam type of thing. In the GoPro stylie, but less expensive.
I'd like to get something in the sub-$200 range, waterproof obviously, with a very wide angle of view, and actual Full HD (not just a 960x540 sensor "upscaled"), so number plates aren't just a grey schmear on the screen when playing footage back. I've tried using my iPhone 6+ mounted to the bars, but it's not wide-angle enough, and the vibrations make the footage pretty much unwatchable, and it keeps hunting for focus.

Any suggestions for makes/models of suitable action cams? I may have to opt for the entry level GoPro Hero, but it's lacking a few useful features.


These are pretty good, got one myself and a bit sleaker than the G-pro type.
http://www.harveynorman.co.nz/cameras/action-cameras/garmin-virb-action-camera.html

[samgab]

These are pretty good, got one myself and a bit sleaker than the G-pro type.
http://www.harveynorman.co.nz/cameras/action-cameras/garmin-virb-action-camera.html

Actually, that does look pretty good. In fact, the Elite model for a hundred dollars more is tempting, cos the GPS, Speed, and Altitude data would be useful too, especially if they provide tools to make use of the data... Cheers for that suggestion! :niceone:

[samgab]

I had the exact situation on my ride into work this morning, where a camera recording everything would have worked in my favour.
I was riding down a road in Auckland CBD which has a (very wide) bus lane. A woman on a bicycle was riding down the dead centre of the bus lane, and I approached, also in the bus lane.
I saw her in front of me from basically the time I entered the street, so I planned ahead to give her heaps of room, and well before I passed her I moved to the extreme right of the bus lane, I was riding the line dividing the bus lane from the regular part of the road. Now, remember, this lane is wide enough for a BUS, plus room to spare, so with me on the line at the far right of the bus lane on my slender motorcycle, there should have been HEAPS of room for a cyclist riding in the dead centre of the bus lane, right? Well, apparently she didn't think so. As I pulled up to work, she rode up alongside me to have a go at me as I waited for the roller door to open, saying that I had passed her dangerously closely.
Honestly, if she's that nervous of other vehicles sharing the public road, she probably shouldn't be in control of a vehicle...
Anyway, that's another matter. Fact is, she grabbed a cop who had the misfortune of passing by at that time, to give him her point of view on matters. He and I exchanged understanding glances as I explained to him our relative positions on the bus lane as I passed her, and he and I each continued on with our day.
Oh, that's right, my point: If I'd been recording the whole incident, it would have come in handy if anything further had come of that situation.

[Scuba_Steve]

Pricespy is showing you can pickup Sony's older model, the HDR-AS20, for 199$

[Reckless]

Pricespy is showing you can pickup Sony's older model, the HDR-AS20, for 199$

Hasnt got a very good review http://www.cnet.com/products/sony-action-cam/

There are a few Contours on T/me for about $130

[Muftin_]

There are a few Contours on T/me for about $130

The roam 1 (running 60fps @720) is barely passable if you want to read number plates, road signs and stuff are alright though. Going through some of my vid's, plates become clear around 2-3m straight on and stationary.

[Reckless]

The roam 1 (running 60fps @720) is barely passable if you want to read number plates, road signs and stuff are alright though. Going through some of my vid's, plates become clear around 2-3m straight on and stationary.

Would the previous model the Contour HD be ok?
Few of those on there :)

[Muftin_]

Would the previous model the Contour HD be ok?
Few of those on there :)

By the looks of it the HD is the same as roam 1 (contour roam, model 1600)

[samgab]

The roam 1 (running 60fps @720) is barely passable if you want to read number plates, road signs and stuff are alright though. Going through some of my vid's, plates become clear around 2-3m straight on and stationary.

Ah bummer... While I was reading this post a Contour Roam 1 that I'd placed an autobid on was relisted with a fixed price offer, and because it was the same price as my previous bid bidbud.co.nz automatically bought it for me.
Well, I'm sure it will do the job for $93. And better than some of those cheap junkie units which go new for over $100 no doubt. All good.

Thanks for all the assistance, everyone.

After I pick it up and use it a bit I'll do an update with how I get on.

[Muftin_]

Ah bummer... While I was reading this post a Contour Roam 1 that I'd placed an autobid on was relisted with a fixed price offer, and because it was the same price as my previous bid bidbud.co.nz automatically bought it for me.
Well, I'm sure it will do the job for $93. And better than some of those cheap junkie units which go new for over $100 no doubt. All good.

Thanks for all the assistance, everyone.

After I pick it up and use it a bit I'll do an update with how I get on.

Its is still a great camera for the price.

[kiwi-on-wheels]

I have the sony hdr-as 20, nice piece of kit, very happy with it. Bqttery life is 2 hours, which is about my max distance atm lol

[nerrrd]

...So I've been considering getting a helmet-mount action cam type of thing...

Odds are pretty slim, and motorcycle helmets would be a lot tougher I'm sure, but I gather the camera mount on Michael Schumacher's ski helmet is what gave him a much worse head injury than he might otherwise have had in his accident. Maybe consider mounting it somewhere else?

[Brainflex]

any thoughts on the polaroid cube?

http://polaroid.co.nz/polaroid-cube-black/

[samgab]

any thoughts on the polaroid cube?

http://polaroid.co.nz/polaroid-cube-black/

Yeah, I looked into that because of the price, but it didn't seem that great. I watched a youtube video that had a Polaroid Cube, a GoPro Hero 3 or 4, silver or black, and a couple of other action cams all side by side through a bunch of stuff, and the Cube didn't perform too well, I thought. It is already available http://www.nzcamera.co.nz/cameras/polaroidcube.html . But it only has a 124 degree angle of view, and I was wanting more like 170 degrees. And only 90 mins battery life. On a good ride, that wouldn't cut it.

I've been playing around with my Contour Roam which I just picked up. Turns out you can trick it into loading the firmware from the Contour Roam 2, and you get all the features of the Roam 2, such as more settings in the program to alter, and 720p with 60fps. I upgraded, but the down side is you loose low light performance quite substantially. I went for a great ride out to the lookout point at the top of the Waitakere Ranges this afternoon/early evening, and as I rode down through the bush, the view was great IRL, but the footage is unusable because it's too dark. So I've downgraded back to the early Roam 1 firmware, and the low light performance is markedly better, it must drive the CCD harder, with more gain. It's a little bit noisy in really low light, but that's preferable to just black video IMO. I also had a few bugs which I had to up and down grade the firmware several times to get ironed out, but I think I've got it all back to square one again with no bugs.
I'll do some more rides with the Roam to find settings and mounting positions that I prefer.
1080p 30fps is only 125 degrees angle of view, whereas I can make it do 60fps in 720p and it's 170 degrees angle of view, but you lose a lot of sharpness in 720p, but motion is blurrier at 30fps, so it's swings and roundabouts, and tradeoffs in each setting. And if it had a setting for 1080p 60fps, the tradeoff would be storage space and battery usage. You can't win. Or at least, there's no perfect solution. Yet.

[MarkH]

I recently bought a SJ4000, just the basic model without WiFi.
Here is a quick video from it:
http://youtu.be/-RcN3XaB5RE
It is a bit shaky due to the mounting, it would be better mounted on the helmet or possibly with a Ram mount.
Youtube did lower the quality, it looks better on the original files. The original files are 1080p at 30fps.

It may not be the best but it cost under $100 total to my door!
I think it is pretty decent for the price I paid.

[Muftin_]

I upgraded, but the down side is you loose low light performance quite substantially.

I never knew this, the first thing I did was mod it :mellow:


I went for a great ride out to the lookout point at the top of the Waitakere Ranges this afternoon/early evening, and as I rode down through the bush, the view was great IRL, but the footage is unusable because it's too dark

Might be worth playing around with the exposure, white bal, sharpness, and contrast.

[kiwi-on-wheels]

My sony cam does 1080p 60fps, surprising quality at night too

[f2dz]

I recently bought a SJ4000, just the basic model without WiFi.
Here is a quick video from it:
http://youtu.be/-RcN3XaB5RE
It is a bit shaky due to the mounting, it would be better mounted on the helmet or possibly with a Ram mount.
Youtube did lower the quality, it looks better on the original files. The original files are 1080p at 30fps.

It may not be the best but it cost under $100 total to my door!
I think it is pretty decent for the price I paid.

That's an awesome price for the quality - this is probably the goer right here.

Where'd you pick that up from?

[f2dz]

Odds are pretty slim, and motorcycle helmets would be a lot tougher I'm sure, but I gather the camera mount on Michael Schumacher's ski helmet is what gave him a much worse head injury than he might otherwise have had in his accident. Maybe consider mounting it somewhere else?

As far as I know that was only hearsay originating from comments made by a French journo. There were talks that GoPro might sue him actually.

With the type of mounting systems that these cameras have, in all likelihood, they will probably snap off on impact - I know my one will. It's sturdy enough to stay in whilst riding but if it impacts with anything then it's gonna go.

[MarkH]

That's an awesome price for the quality - this is probably the goer right here.

Where'd you pick that up from?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Black-Color-HD-1080P-SJ4000-Helmet-Waterproof-Action-Camera-/111466352792?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19f3e99098

Free international shipping, total price under $100, took 2-3 weeks to arrive.

[f2dz]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Black-Color-HD-1080P-SJ4000-Helmet-Waterproof-Action-Camera-/111466352792?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19f3e99098

Free international shipping, total price under $100, took 2-3 weeks to arrive.

Awesome, ta. Might pick one up.

[samgab]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Black-Color-HD-1080P-SJ4000-Helmet-Waterproof-Action-Camera-/111466352792?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19f3e99098

Free international shipping, total price under $100, took 2-3 weeks to arrive.

Yeah cheers for that, it looks good. I was worried it might be the "fake" SJ4000, but the website mentions the fake ones out there and shows a comparison of "real" vs "fake"... I think it's pretty funny that China has reached the point where they are making fake products of items which are already ripoffs of another product.
For anyone's info that is looking to buy an SJ4000, current stock of the real SJ4000's have the "SJCAM" logo on the exterior of the camera on the front under the lens. Of course, not having that logo doesn't mean it's necessarily a fake, as it might be older stock, like in this listing. And also, Just having the "SJCAM" logo doesn't mean it's genuine either, as it's just screen printed on the exterior, and if they can fake the whole camera, I'm sure they can manage to fake a screenprinted logo. The whole thing is fairly ridiculous.

But the camera looks like it has some pretty handy features, and the quality looks better than the footage I'm getting from this Contour Roam.

This is the home website for the real SJ4000's, for comparison: http://www.sjcam.com/en/cameras/9-sj4000-full-hd-1080p-waterproof-action-camera-sport-dvr.html
I see they also have a WIFI version (http://www.sjcam.com/en/home/27-sjcam-sj4000-wifi-1080p-full-hd-action-camera-sport-dvr.html), which would be handy so you can use an iPhone or other smart phone to check your framing before setting out.

[MarkH]

I see they also have a WIFI version (http://www.sjcam.com/en/home/27-sjcam-sj4000-wifi-1080p-full-hd-action-camera-sport-dvr.html), which would be handy so you can use an iPhone or other smart phone to check your framing before setting out.

So far I've been able to use the LCD on the back to check framing, but the view is so wide you can get away with just pointing in the general direction you want.
I considered the WiFi version but decided to go with the cheapest option and see how things work out. Now I'm thinking that if I'd gone with the WiFi version I'd have spent more and gotten exactly the same results.
Better to spend the price difference on Ram mounts IMO.