Head mounted camera hints and tips

"Peter Fox" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

BBC h2g2 web page has new article on the subject.

<http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A23499237>

"Extreme sport" sounds much better than "commuting by bike"!
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Peter Fox said the following on 11/06/2007 13:16:

Quoted message said:

BBC h2g2 web page has new article on the subject.

<http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A23499237>

This sort of thing has been ambling through my mind recently, although a
helmet-cam does require the use of a helmet, presumably!

Apart from the things mentioned in that article, what else should we be
looking for specifically for bike riding? Lux? Recording time vs size
of memory card? Weather-proofing? Ruggedness for those unexpected
over-the-bars-and-land-on-the-camera moments?

OK then, what make and models do people use that are still working? :-)

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

In article said:

Peter Fox said the following on 11/06/2007 13:16:

Quoted message said:

BBC h2g2 web page has new article on the subject.

<http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A23499237>

This sort of thing has been ambling through my mind recently, although a
helmet-cam does require the use of a helmet, presumably!

I believe some of them get used with headband/strap arrangements with
no helmet. Certainly some people use handlebar mounted ones on bikes -
but of course if you want to use the head-mountedness to point the camera,
that doesn't work.

"Paul Boyd" <usenet.dont.work@plusnet> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Peter Fox said the following on 11/06/2007 13:16:

Quoted message said:

BBC h2g2 web page has new article on the subject.

<http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A23499237>

This sort of thing has been ambling through my mind recently, although a
helmet-cam does require the use of a helmet, presumably!

Apart from the things mentioned in that article, what else should we be
looking for specifically for bike riding? Lux? Recording time vs size of
memory card? Weather-proofing? Ruggedness for those unexpected
over-the-bars-and-land-on-the-camera moments?

OK then, what make and models do people use that are still working? :-)

As a semi pro in the world of photography / video, I can say that when a
full sized video camera is not an option, the second best method I've used
for "extreme" video capture (ski, mountaineering, MTB) has been by means of
a bullet camera (Sony 520 lines horizontal) attached to an Archos AV560 or
504 series. These things are hard drive based - the unit goes in a pocket
with the camera on a head band. Supplementary battery packs mean you can
record for long periods of time without problem. To give you some idea of
quality when using this method, when interspersed with pro DV footage (after
rendering to DVD first), most clients don't spot the change in camera! We
record sound by Minidisc - but again, the Archos has mic direct recording
and even a built in mic - if that's simpler.

On the other hand I know some people only want any old res to upload to
u-tube or whatever and so a cheapie option may well do. Even so, the golden
rule with any video is always work at the highest quality and drop down to
DVD / Web streaming or whatever only after all editing is completed.

As for ruggedness, I have to admit one unit which was not cased, got
rendered useless by a relatively small drop. These things have to be
protected. It was the hard drive that got junked - and Archos are a PITA -
they have locked the unit to its original HD so you cannot simply swap it
for another. I have 3 units in bits now waiting for some clever soul to hack
the firmware so I can drop in standard 2.5 inch 160GB HD's. I now make sure
the units are well protected in both a thick purpose built leather case and
some additional padding - with breathability.

Like any bullet cams the Sony are not brilliant in very low light. It's a
function of the light gathering capability of the lens and the sensor. But
in daylight or with some decent supplementary lighting (even bike lights at
night!!!!) they can give excellent results.

HTH

Rob

Quoted message said:

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/