Helmet Cam



wiredued

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Aug 17, 2004
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I mickey rigged a camera to my helmet to get some ride videos but they are a bit shaky even with some internal optical image stabilization in the camera. Would using a full suspension bike solve the problem? Thanks
 
Probably not, some camera's just aren't designed to handle what you are trying to do.
there are camera's like the VHoldR ContourHD (720), that is nice and small and easily mounts to your helmet. An example of the video ability is shown here
The Ride Video Thread.
 
I tried the same experiment and couldn't get it to work. i think it needs an action camera designed specifically for the job. i could never get rid of the vibration and jumping no matter what i tried.
 
wiredued said:
I mickey rigged a camera to my helmet to get some ride videos but they are a bit shaky even with some internal optical image stabilization in the camera. Would using a full suspension bike solve the problem? Thanks

I'm using a Kodak Zx3 Playsport as a black-box, crash camera (it faces backwards) : 1080p video, 3 MP stills, digital zoom. One battery and 8 GB SDHC chip yields about 1Hr, 20 min of HD video. It's submersibly waterproof to 10 feet, and there's and IR remote available.

The image stabilization isn't perfect, but it records license plates of overtaking cars, and I've also captured some really nice candid stills of my riding companions.

I tried to make a crude "steady-cam" arm from parts off one of those spring-balanced desk lamps. The result was worse than having the camera rigidly mounted on the seat-stay. I haven't given up on the idea, but the mount needs to be made to higher standards than my first crude prototype.
 
Update:
A few weeks ago, a riding buddy was run off the road. I was too far ahead to catch the act on video, but the same vehicle, a unique, restored, antique pickup, passed us again. Politely that time, but I had him on video to get the plate.

The initial report to the state police was met with apathy. A still photo of the offending vehicle, emailed to the same cop, was met with hostility. He accused us (thru my buddy) of looking for trouble.
Apparently people with video cameras are making it hard for cops to get away with stuff in that state, so the cops are prosecuting people for "wiretapping" when they record police actions.

What a jerk.

I guess the only way to get justice is to catch the actual offense, and use it to file a lawsuit.
 
You definetly need an action camera designed for this. there's plenty of great ones about.
 
Originally Posted by decca234uk .

You definetly need an action camera designed for this. there's plenty of great ones about.
The Zx3 produces evidence quality video that allows me to read license plates. Not suitable for a cinema production, but it's small and affordable as insurance goes. If somebody hits and kills me, the cops will have to destroy the evidence in order to claim it was a "fell off bike", or cyclist-caused accident. Not to harp on it, but we had one of those so-called "fell off bike" deaths, just a few miles from home, in 2007.
 
check out the 808 keyring camera on ebay. it's super small and light weight, but the battery life and video quality depends on what model camera you get, and theres no way to tell what model it is on the outside because they all look alike. here's where I've been buying them from. Battery life of the ones I got (model 8) has been an hour and a half at the most. You need a microSD card. The cameras are very cheap but they do 30 fps at like 640 or 720x480. I use a handlebar flashlight mount. My flashlight broke so I took it off and just attach the camera to it with a couple elastic bands (that's how light it is). You could easily attach this to your helmet. probably the cheapest helmet cam out there (seriously, I ordered 4 cameras for like $30).