Some time ago I bought, in a moment of weakness, an Oregon Scientific ATC2K action camera for bike use...
I mounted it, initially, on the bar end weight. Where it was quite stable, easy to point and control but where it was subject to interference from the engine or whatever - suffice to say the pictures were always wavy...a vertical line always looked as though it had waves moving through it. Apparently this particular camera is known for this problem when mounted on a V-Twin...(don't ask me why). Check out any of my vids on Ewe-Choob if ya wanna see the effect...(you probably don't actually).
So I stopped using the thing. But since I still wanna try the odd vid, I decided to try the helmet mount instead.
The camera comes with a long silicon rubber strap that you can wrap round your helmet and mount the camera holder on. So I tried it this morning...well last night is when I put the strap on...
Trouble is, helmets curve don't they...and really tight rubber straps have a habit of sliding to the point of least resistance, haven't they. 'Specially when mounted on something smooth, shiny and wet.
Fortunately I had mounted the strap on the lower half of the helmet. (I couldn't have mounted it up top anyway because of the visor movement).
When I went out in the rain this morning, all appeared well initially, although I had no idea what direction the camera was pointing (down at the road as it turned out or at best, at the left hand rear view mirror...) I hadn't gone far when I noticed that something was choking me to death...some bloody thing had a death grip on my neck. It didn't take rocket science to work out that the strap had slipped off the bottom of the helmet on the side where the camera was mounted and was now being supported by my neck. Those straps sure do hang on tight, huh? So I stopped and pulled it all off before I expired all over the road.
Back at base, I checked the footage that I had - all ten minutes of it. Wonderful views of the road zipping by below with the odd roadside scene thrown in when the strap slipped off. No wavy lines this time though! So the camera is OK if not mounted directly on the bike. But how the hell do I mount it on the helmet without it doing what it did this morning? I have no idea frankly. Unless I stick the strap down somehow and I don't really want to get spooge all over the helmet and besides who knows what solvents in glue would do to the integrity of the helmet..?
So has anyone done a helmet mount with one of these cameras? If so, pleeeeeese tell me how you did it. Before I kick the camera through the wall...
Thanks team.![]()
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