Helmet Camera info

[schleppp]

Does anyone have an opinion on the best setup for a helmet camera? Should I mount a regular camera or go for a "lipstick" camera? Thanks...

[genusmtbkr5]

Go for the lipstick cam. I used to mount a Sony camcorder to my helmet, works great but the weight of it gets to you, of course my camera I was using was a super high 8 camcorder and kinda bulky. I have a lipstick cam now and keep the camcorder in my camelbak.

[schleppp]

what type of camera are you using now, and how is the video quality??

[genusmtbkr5]

I still have that camcorder but want to replace it with a smaller more compact digital one that will fit better in my camelbak. BTW the quality is pretty good, you just have to be sure that the angle is right or you get too much ground or sky.

[mcgyver0302]

I'm using the Viosport 3. I like it a lot. The only problem I have is setting up the focus on the fish eye lens. People have told me that you've got to go big bucks for a camera that does clear fish eye. It's good enough for riding though. Here's a little video I did the other day. Enjoy!

http://s68.photobucket.com/albums/i1...l100707web.flv

[PacMan]

Maybe check out: http://www.goprocamera.com/

I have no personal experience with it, I've just seen their ads in several MTB magazines. The site looks pretty cool too. The price is pretty good if it does what it claims it can.

[genusmtbkr5]

Try this link, this is the one I have:

http://www.helmetcamera.com/?OVRAW=Helmet%20Cam&OVKEY=helmet%20cam&OVMTC=stand ard&OVADID=1296198021&OVKWID=10589457521

[mcgyver0302]

Here it is!

http://s68.photobucket.com/albums/i1...=DSC02436a.jpg

...or this.

http://www.viosport.com

[schleppp]

Cool, thanks for the insight and links. I will be sure to check them out...

[stinkyrider]

Dude it's all about the Archos portable DVR with integrated bullet cam. 640X480 resolution. 30 GB capacity. Records in MPEG 4 format. One full charge usually lasts me all day. The whole setup probably weighs about 3/4 of a pound. This thing can record from any analogue input and also hook it up to your Tv and play your vids on the TV. Also has USB for easy file transfer for editing. It completely bridges digital and analogue. Everything from mic, remote, camera, and power is all integrated onto one single wire and I can easily fit the DVR in a pocket much like an ipod. I've had it since January and I'm completely in love with this thing. http://www.archos.com

Some examples

[Ladd Jasper]

Winston has been doing excellent video and photographic work for some time now. Hopefully he'll jump in here soon, but if not, drop him a PM. I'm sure he'll share his setup, or at least make some decent suggestions.

[mtnbikej]

Originally Posted by schleppp

Does anyone have an opinion on the best setup for a helmet camera? Should I mount a regular camera or go for a "lipstick" camera? Thanks...

Ask Winston......he seems to be the helmet cam authority around these parts.

[dstepper]

MTBBill's and Pete Fagerlin have info one their websites about hemet cams. Both have moved over to Hi-Def cameras and the videos are outstanding. You will never get the quality out of a lipstick camera, big problem going from the shade into the light they not do well. Check out their most recent work...beautiful! Problem...editing High-def takes a screaming computer.

[El Salt]

[SIZE=2]My vote is for the lipstick style cam. Maybe slightly less resolution than the sensor / lens in your camcorder, but much easier to mount in unique locations, etc. (BTW, WAY better quality when output is to DVD, etc. - posting to Vimeo or YouTube cuts the quality / file size to nothing).[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]http://vimeo.com/296132[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]http://youtube.com/watch?v=IVDE9CnDsxQ[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]These are shot w/ the VioSport Adventure Cam 3 and a Sony MiniDV (digital tape) camera. Mount the lipstick cam where you like, tuck your camera (or other recording device) in your pack, and go, go, go![/SIZE]

[~ Pakiha ~]

Dude the new toy from IB was the GoPro Hero.

Video Sample (Keep in mind the quality is less after being uploaded to youtube) LINKAGE

[mtnbikej]

Originally Posted by genusmtbkr5

Try this link, this is the one I have:

http://www.helmetcamera.com/?OVRAW=Helmet%20Cam&OVKEY=helmet%20cam&OVMTC=stand ard&OVADID=1296198021&OVKWID=10589457521

I had one of these for a few years. Great camera.....just didn't like having to carry the Video camera around in my pack. Guess I could have solved that problem by getting a smalller camera.

[BrewMaster]

Where is KeepsWhatHappens? He needs to chime in on this one since he is a pro photographer and does great helmet cam work.

[Flat Broke]

If you don't want to do "production quality" videos where you want the line beteen helmet cam footage and hand/zip line/dolly held conventional cameras to be seamless, go with the lipstick style cameras.

The Archos solution is nice for a complete video viewing, capturing, dvr capable solution. But it costs substantially more than the GoPro. They both essentially capture at the same rate. Archos puts out an MPEG4 file, GoPro gives you AVI.

The bottom line is If you already have a DVR at home, an Ipod to take vids on the road, and are just lookin to capture helmet cam footage, you'd probably be better off saving the $$ and getting the GoPro and DIYing some mounting solutions.

In case you were curious about the differences between MPEG4 and AVI; AVI is a liniear stream of information about the position of each color in each frame. MPEG4 works by comparing one frame against the next, seeing what information has changed in the picture, and only keeping the information that is different. As an example, if you had your camera on a tripod and were recording your kid's christmas recital or something, the background would be relatively static, while the kids might move a bit. MPEG4 would only update the part of the image that has changed, and by not writing the "static" portion of the image, saves on file size. Change the scenario to something like helmet cam footage where the "background" is always moving, and you have a small portion (like the visor or hadlebars right in front of the camera) that won't move, and the filesize savings between MPEG4 and AVI become much smaller. Most good video editors like Premier, Vegas, etc. can handle either, so it's really a moot point.

Something that has already been brought up about ALL of the solutions available is that you should not judge them by the videos you see on YouTube. Since you'll be manipulating the raw footage in an editor before compression, you want to judge the output of whatever your shopping for based upon the uncompressed/reduced size versions of the video available.

Jared,
I didn't see anything new on the GoPro Hero 3 in the IB coverage I read. Are they going to have a true lipstick cam and base unit config, or was it just the standard Hero 3 that is available on their site? http://www.goprocamera.com/dh3mp.htm

One other thing to consider is that if the O.D. of the lens ring on the Hero 3 is a std size, there would be slip on filters and lenses available which would greatly improve it's versatility out of the water.

Sorry for the long winded post, but I've been really curious about this stuff for quite a while and doing a bit of research here and there for when I had some spare $$$. Having a kid, being out in the dunes and on the water, I was looking for something where at the very least I could keep the recording portion of the setup in a Pellican case to protect the larger part of the investment. I know there are lots of folks here in similar situations, so I figured I'd share what I knew. Any way you go, it's downright awesome when you think about the relatively low cost of electronics and how easy it has become for people to share quality video with their family and friends.

Chris

[Kid A]

i believe all the above has been posted before in RR's and all shot with samsung sports cam. had lens on h-bars not helmet so path follows front tire (not where i'm looking)...vid Q compromised via significant file compession for upload to sites. unit works okay. battery could be better