Helmet cams - trip to china

[cheese]

Ok so I'm meant to be going in about 2-3 weeks to China for a few weeks. Its meant to have been happening for ages. BS with the recession and dealers in the US etc....

I'm going to Shenzhen which is like an electronics mecca. So I've wanted to get a helmet cam for a while now so that is one think I'll have a look for.

Anyone here keen for some of them? I can get a bunch and ship them back of if there is only a few I can probably bring them back with me. Any tips on specs etc would be great.

I did find some recently that were about $200 USD that looked the go. The recoding unit had a 4inch display that you could play it all back and recorded to a sd card.

Any other shit anyone is after let me know and if I can get it, or if its small enough i'll try to sort something (no promises). I can store it in out office there and ship back in time.

[honda_power]

the sd ones are apparantly not that good quality wise... and whats the point of having a sceen on a helmetcam when its on the top of your head?

Back in the old school days i took a film and tv course and we conned the teacher into buying one. The quality was great but the only downside was you had to carry a camera in a backpack. I think it was the "NZ Helmet Cams" model.

But hey who knows, China might have some crazy quality sd camera over there. have ya got a intenet page of the one your looking at? Been looking at them for ages, could be keen.

[barty5]

the better one tend have have the stoage device seperate make for a smaller camera sticking out from your helmet easyer to mount. Wound get any that dont have good mounting kits with different methods of attachment.
the screens are good at least you can check what you have filmed you would be gutted to go out for the day only to find out ya camera has been point down at your tripple clamps all day ( it happened to me real piss was i).

[scott411]

i use a motocomm one, and imported them from the states, they have a 4" screen and come with a selection of mounts, records to a sd card,

https://www.rflimited.com/Site.asp?CID=3

can do the last one for $450

[takitimu]

Mmmm, I think it needs to be wide angle or zoom, remote on/off is a good thing ( with led indicator would be better ).
My biggest issue is you don't perceive speed or height well with my tests & I think wide angle would help.

[cheese]

I found these two.

I wasn't meaning and all in one unit. I meant a separate camera and DVR unit.

[barty5]

in saying that this will be the camera i try next as i can get at a good price. They come with lots of fittings and are real easy to use dosnt have a screen but dose ahve dual lasers to line up your shot which makes it easy to set up on helmet.

[NordieBoy]

in saying that this will be the camera i try next as i can get at a good price. They come with lots of fittings and are real easy to use dosnt have a screen but dose ahve dual lasers to line up your shot which makes it easy to set up on helmet.
Does look good that one.
Only takes a 2Gb card max though.

I'd be looking at the GoPro Hero Wide or that one myself.

GoPro for the extra features or that one for the size/convenience.

[ruphus]

You'll want to look for something with a decent resolution. 640x480 @ 30fps min (like the Vholdr above) anything less and it looks crap.

[noobi]

just throwing it in the mix , I use this one
http://www.goprocamera.com/index.php?area=2&productid=5

for the wide angle camera
http://www.goprocamera.com/index.php?area=2&productid=2

[Hoon]

I've been to Shenzhen and it is great for gadgets and electronics, even cheaper than Hong Kong. I hope your Mandarin is up to scratch though as hardly anyone speaks English and many don't even speak Cantonese. Best to get a local to show you around and barter for you.

[barty5]

Does look good that one.
Only takes a 2Gb card max though.

I'd be looking at the GoPro Hero Wide or that one myself.

GoPro for the extra features or that one for the size/convenience.

i like the idea that you can operate with your gloves on the no off is just one switch.

[barty5]

just throwing it in the mix , I use this one
http://www.goprocamera.com/index.php?area=2&productid=5

for the wide angle camera
http://www.goprocamera.com/index.php?area=2&productid=2

Quazi had one of those fitted to his bars at the battle of the streets mount broke off and camera bounced accross the track in the second motard race it did keep running all the way till stewart pick it up and he managed to get it back form the officals, robust but the mount is a concern for off road.

[noobi]

Quazi had one of those fitted to his bars at the battle of the streets mount broke off and camera bounced accross the track in the second motard race it did keep running all the way till stewart pick it up and he managed to get it back form the officals, robust but the mount is a concern for off road.

weird, never had a problem with the mount, the bit that sticks to the helmet is not gonna come off from vibrations, the thing that clips the camera case to the base on the helmet could, but i seriously doubt that it would
probably gonna record some of the beach run on sunday if we go
how did quasi mount it on the bars?

[barty5]

weird, never had a problem with the mount, the bit that sticks to the helmet is not gonna come off from vibrations, the thing that clips the camera case to the base on the helmet could, but i seriously doubt that it would
probably gonna record some of the beach run on sunday if we go
how did quasi mount it on the bars?

As far as i could see it had a factory bar mount kit. The bikes get knocked around a bit on the track but nowhere as bad as off road. He ended fitting the helmet mount kit for the 3rd race which i guess most of us would do anyway. Last time i did bar mounted video it turned out to be shit made you feel ill watching it and i dont get motion sickness in any form you just dont realise how must your bars move till you see it on video (explains way people get arm pump)

[NordieBoy]

i like the idea that you can operate with your gloves on the no off is just one switch.

Only downside I see is that it's weather resistant rather than waterproof.

The GoPro is a 5mp still camera as well and has a setting that takes a 5mp shot every 5s.

You'd almost want 2. One for video and another on the other side of the helmet doing stills :D

[honda_power]

I found these two.

I wasn't meaning and all in one unit. I meant a separate camera and DVR unit.

second ones better, the first one has 320x240 res video recording which is very poor and nowhere near dvd quality like they advertise

[flyingcr250]

in saying that this will be the camera i try next as i can get at a good price. They come with lots of fittings and are real easy to use dosnt have a screen but dose ahve dual lasers to line up your shot which makes it easy to set up on helmet.

thats the exact camera i have, make sure you use a good quality SD card,

[honda_power]

thats the exact camera i have, make sure you use a good quality SD card,

how much did that set ya back and how much time do you get on 1 card?

[flyingcr250]

how much did that set ya back and how much time do you get on 1 card?

i bought it two years ago and it cost 650. i usually get about 100 minutes of footage on a 2 gig card. the only thing letting it down is its not wide angle

[honda_power]

wide angle - widescreen? i dont think theres many widescreen ones out there. if thats what u mean

[flyingcr250]

wide angle - widescreen? i dont think theres many widescreen ones out there. if thats what u mean

wide angle lenz gives you more panoramic view. the quality is pretty good too youtube doesnt do it justice.

[honda_power]

oh yup. its waterproof eh?

[flyingcr250]

oh yup. its waterproof eh?

its water resistant

[barty5]

how much did that set ya back and how much time do you get on 1 card?

if your talking bout the vholdr let me know ill price up for you

[honda_power]

if your talking bout the vholdr let me know ill price up for you

could be keen but it would have to be a lil cheaper than the $650

[Reckless]

Just got this from Cycletreds 2 mins ago they are having a special on them!
$549-00 dunno how special that is but just for your info!

[Keithf]

my two cents worth.

I recently destroyed my helmet cam and spent a bit of time researching what to buy next. I found this article quite useful (http://helmetcamreview.wordpress.com/)

If you want to buy a reasonably priced helmet cam that gives you a 640X480 resolution then the best of this group is the tachyon. (http://www.tachyoninc.com/main.html) I wouldn't have any concerns about ordering something like this direct over the interweb

Not a bad looking unit and reasonably priced. The picture quality looks ok. The drawback to this style of camera is that you have a big lump on your head that can easily get knocked. And it is hard to tell until you finish filming and download the video whether you had the angle of the dangle right. It can be a real pissoff to find that after a great day out riding all you filmed was your front wheel or the sky.

I thought one of these things would be ok especially for the bucks but then I decided that there were better options for me-it is really a matter of how much you are prepared to pay.

The integrated options look good-especially the purpose built cameras. These units are powered by the recorder-much simpler than some of the helmet cam systems that you hook into a camcorder and have to have a separate power supply. Unless you already have a compliant camcorder I would steer away from these systems.

I ended up spending a chunk of cash on the vio pov 1.5 (http://www.vio-pov.com/) because I decided that
spending the extra money and getting a superior image was important to me-the other cameras like the tachyon are ok-and a cost effective option.The POV gives a much better quality image, wide angle view, which means you can get some good video even if the angle isn;t quite right

It is very robust, waterproof, runs on 4 AA batteries, and records to big SD cards. Did about 3 hours filming the other day on a high quality setting and there was still plenty of juice in the camera-this is the result. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hioFMab3Eo)

The mic is very sensitive and I had a lot of wind noise. I will have to play with the settings and the placement to get more of the bike noise. The unit records using the divix codec for compression which is a pain to edit so I am not all that pleased with my editing effort here....I also realized when I started editing that I hadn't been using the highest quality setting.

One of the things in life I have discovered to my cost is that if you go for the cheaper option when you buy a toy you're normally disappointed and end up spending even more money later to get what you really want.

[Ktmboy]

That footage is the best yet.Great. I found myself riding the track whilst sitting here having a beer, no sweating...LOL and I think that's why you guys are striving to perfect the video work, to capture the moment.

I now know who digs holes in the red tracks...the bill is in the mail.

In all honesty that is very good footage Keith. The wide angle is great.

[clmintie]

Once the great unwashed masses see this vid, you'll have to extend the car park...

Great vid, best helmet cam footage (I guess that terms a bit out of date, not much celluloid used now) I've seen. :2thumbsup

The Sandpit's cool eh?....:Punk:

[oldguy]

Get what you pay for, well worth the money spent, bit out of my reach thou. awesome picture wide angle view with good sound. watching that, I want to go to the sandpit now.

[NordieBoy]

That footage is the best yet.Great. I found myself riding the track whilst sitting here having a beer, no sweating...LOL and I think that's why you guys are striving to perfect the video work, to capture the moment.
For $1100US it'd better be good.
The vHoldR looks to be a good step up from the ATC2K though.

[Keithf]

Wasn't quite that expensive........The tachyon looks a better and cheaper option than the vholder



For $1100US it'd better be good.
The vHoldR looks to be a good step up from the ATC2K though.

[Keithf]

Thanks-still need to do some playing with the camera setup but I am really pleased with it.



That footage is the best yet.Great. I found myself riding the track whilst sitting here having a beer, no sweating...LOL and I think that's why you guys are striving to perfect the video work, to capture the moment.

I now know who digs holes in the red tracks...the bill is in the mail.

In all honesty that is very good footage Keith. The wide angle is great.

[Keithf]

Thanks -the Sandpit is a great place to ride
I might have to ask KTM Boy for some kind of commision............:banana:



Once the great unwashed masses see this vid, you'll have to extend the car park...

Great vid, best helmet cam footage (I guess that terms a bit out of date, not much celluloid used now) I've seen. :2thumbsup

The Sandpit's cool eh?....:Punk:

[oldskool]

I found these two.

I wasn't meaning and all in one unit. I meant a separate camera and DVR unit.
I'm with you Cheese. Splitting the unit into a recording device and an imaging device allows for more flexibility in regards to recording quality, image quality, device protection and robustness. For a recording device I would like to see a PAL 720x576 25fps version not NTSC 640x480 29.97 fps and also it should come with variable compression settings. Most of the specs I've read so far only has one crap compression setting. An RCA socket would allow me to pick and choose my own image sensor and lens setup too. With this setup I should then be able to edit and output to DVD.

[NordieBoy]

Wasn't quite that expensive........The tachyon looks a better and cheaper option than the vholder

$1,145.00 from launchhelmetcams.com

[Keithf]

Yep thats where i got mine from and roughly what I paid.....$1145AUS looks a lot better than $1100 US!



$1,145.00 from launchhelmetcams.com

[camchain]

Excellent vid keithf. Seems I made a brief appearance on it at 1:22. Amazing to be able to relive that moment - I chastised myself for being a tad too close when I went by. Sorry about that! Been wanting a helmet cam for a while, pity bank account says no.

[cheese]

What do those good ones cost?

[Keithf]

No worries, when I hear someone come up behind me I try to pull to one side and then let them by....and then try and keep up. Couldn't keep up with you.


Excellent vid keithf. Seems I made a brief appearance on it at 1:22. Amazing to be able to relive that moment - I chastised myself for being a tad too close when I went by. Sorry about that! Been wanting a helmet cam for a while, pity bank account says no.

[Keithf]

I did a few calculations and decided it was slightly cheaper at the time to buy from Launch Helmet cams in Perth. Roughly AU$1140.


What do those good ones cost?

[NordieBoy]

Yep thats where i got mine from and roughly what I paid.....$1145AUS looks a lot better than $1100 US!

Saw .com and thought USA.

[ruphus]

my two cents worth.

I ended up spending a chunk of cash on the vio pov 1.5 (http://www.vio-pov.com/) because I decided that
spending the extra money and getting a superior image was important to me-the other cameras like the tachyon are ok-and a cost effective option.The POV gives a much better quality image, wide angle view, which means you can get some good video even if the angle isn;t quite right


Can I get a copy of the raw footage sent to me on a DVD. I'm looking at getting one of these but all the examples that are available on the next are so compressed that you lose the quaility. I'm happy to flick you some money for your time.

[cheese]

I actually found that a MPS player my dad got me about 2 years ago can record AV input. I'll try throwing a camera on it and see how it looks.

[cheese]

Just digging this thread up again.

I got a couple of good little DVR units form China. One has wireless + AV input (via cable) and the other one is a MP4 player that can record. Both are pretty good, but the wireless one can do 30FPS and records in AVI. So Oldschool is grabing that off me and I've going to order some more.

Here is a vid I made testing with one of the cams i got. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IBI_Hdju84&feature=channel_page

The cams I got are made for car reversing cameras so they are made for darker areas and so this video lets too much light in. I need to experiment with some more cameras and maybe a sun visor...??

[B0000M]

the minx the cat video is best

[oldguy]

thought it was going to be on a bike:doh:not from the dash of a car going down Queen street.

[kezzafish]

the minx the cat video is best

I like the jack goes poo video... My fav. quote from it would be "gaheeeyck, I is maykin a video" "I see's what i whittles an' i whittles what i see's" (I may have added that last quote)

The vid looks good. Doesn't look too bright i don't recon. What's the setup that your selling worth cheese the slack jawed yokel?

[cheese]

The DVR unit is $250 and the Cameras are $50.

I forget the other videos on there. The one with Katrina getting her knickers taken off is very funny.

[oldguy]

got any pics of the DVR unit and camera, could be keen, means I will have to flog something off on trade eee to gets some cash.

[cheese]

Not sure if anyone is interested, but I found the manufacturer of the 4k and 5k helmet cams as found int he review listed on page 2 http://helmetcamreview.wordpress.com

I grabbed a 4k and a 5k so I'm looking forward to testing it out when I get home and am in NZ long enough to ride my bike......

Oh I can get the 4ks at a good price, but I'd have to get 2000 of the 5ks to be a good price... I can't believe the 5k has a MOQ of 2000 units...... Nuts!

[LittleJohn]

See you still can't drive cheese.

[cheese]

What? Are you talking about the youtube vids?

[sxyrx7]

im ordering one of these once they some into stock

http://www.vholdr.com/contourhd/overview


specs:
1280x720 30fps or
848x480 60fps

first real HD helmet cam

records on up to a 16gb sd card

[slofox]

im ordering one of these once they some into stock

http://www.vholdr.com/contourhd/overview


specs:
1280x720 30fps or
848x480 60fps

first real HD helmet cam

records on up to a 16gb sd card

Where you getting it from? How much moola they want? I'd be keen (if I can afford it)

[NordieBoy]

Finally.
Wide angle, big buttons, laser, 16gb and water resistant.

That looks very nice.

[flyingcr250]

Finally.
Wide angle, big buttons, laser, 16gb and water resistant.

That looks very nice.

ive got one of the models before the HD one.
id hasnt even lasted a year.
make sure you use a real good quality sd card and dont use it when its too cold or too hot. lol

[NordieBoy]

ive got one of the models before the HD one.
id hasnt even lasted a year.
make sure you use a real good quality sd card and dont use it when its too cold or too hot. lol

The new one looks to be a bit more tolerant of the conditions.

[sxyrx7]

they are just under $300US so around $580NZ

im wating to see if anyone in nz sells them

[flyingcr250]

they are just under $300US so around $580NZ

im wating to see if anyone in nz sells them

i got mine from boyd motorcycles in hamilton

[honda_power]

wow. that new hd one looks great even better than a analog one plugged into a video camera. i think i might just get one

edit:

nothern acc. is the NZ distributer. Not gonna be to hard to find one - most bike shops. maybe even barty could do one

go here to find nearest dealer

http://www.northern.co.nz/content/kernel_public_dealer_list.aspx

[oldskool]

http://www.revolutionproducts.co.nz/vholdr/

[NordieBoy]

http://www.revolutionproducts.co.nz/vholdr/

Wonder when they'll get a price for the new one.

[oldskool]

Wonder when they'll get a price for the new one.
New kit is called ContourHD. http://www.vholdr.com/contourhd/techspecs
Looks good on paper, interesting to see it writes the video footage to SD using H.264 codec.
Good codec, almost 1/4 the size of older codecs with similar results, ie; artifacts. Will be interested to note users experiences editing with the H.264 codec tho'. It's very new and processor intensive, more suited for final delivery.
Exotic battery isn't AA or AAA which might be a nuisance.
IMO expensive kit.

[NordieBoy]

But being able to throw a 16Gb card in it instead of the 1Gb and a nice wide angle too.

[cheese]

16GB is huge!! Gosh I just got a 8GB and thought it was huge!

[oldskool]

Hey Steven,
Do you think you can find the time to mod the SV-AV100 Pantysonic, you know, rip the dodgy lens out and replace it with a RCA video input, before you go down to Napier? I'm really keen to test it out with all these lenses I have laying around.

[cheese]

yeah I'll try to do it. I don't go away till the 27th or so.

Hang on do you want me to fix it or mod it? Meh we can work it all out....

[oldskool]

yeah I'll try to do it. I don't go away till the 27th or so.

Hang on do you want me to fix it or mod it? Meh we can work it all out....
Nah don't wanna to fix it, apparently it's a common fault with that model, the iris jams up because the light machine oil gets too hard on the iris leafs. Too many moving parts, I just want an infinity focus lens with no iris control. I'm sure the pantysonic has trick circuitry for white balance and shutter speed, thats good enough for me. Also I think it should have electronic image stabilisation built in to the mobo/firmware which will be a bonus. I just want it modded for external video input. It only cost $35 on TM so if I can get Video input it will make an excellent high quality SD ADC DVR unit.

[Sidewinder]

i use a motocomm one, and imported them from the states, they have a 4" screen and come with a selection of mounts, records to a sd card,

https://www.rflimited.com/Site.asp?CID=3

can do the last one for $450

could be keen, do they have a hard cover for the screen?