Helmet cams

[T.J.]

Well I finally got the bug to get a helmet cam after visiting Hockings Hills in Ohio for the second time this year. Went down the 11th, 12th and came back on the 13th of this month. What a great place to ride. Took 3 other riders with me this time. Just the guys and no wifes. They all want to do it every year. We road 200 miles in the area before coming back home.

 

Anyway I would like to get a helmet cam. Been looking and reading about the "Replay XD 1080" and "Go Pro HD Hero 2". Anyone have one of these? Any thoughts.

 

Thanks

[KeithR]

Drift makes a nice camera as well. I have the older model but they just released a HD small version.

 

Keith

[etcswjoe]

I bought a Go Pro 2 this weekend from Cycle Gear for $199 guess they are clearing them out and from the videos I did Sunday I really like it.

[T.J.]

Drift makes a nice camera as well. I have the older model but they just released a HD small version.

 

Keith

 

 

Thanks Keith.

 

Do you use your's much?

[T.J.]

I bought a Go Pro 2 this weekend from Cycle Gear for $199 guess they are clearing them out and from the videos I did Sunday I really like it.

 

That price is better than the Replay. $299. The replay is round and just looks nice and easy to use.

[Bummer]

I have the second version of the GoPro Hero. I use a Ram mount attached to the right mirror base. The mounting system places it just to the right of the windshield. There are a few issues but nothing really major. GoPro has listened to their customers and have fixed some, if not all, of the problems on their latest version.

 

I've taken quite a few videos. At first I posted them on YouTube, but after a while that became too time consuming, mostly because of editing issues. I've had problems getting editing software for the computer OS I use.

 

I have enjoyed having and using the GoPro, but it can be a time and hard drive space consuming side hobby.

[Trader]

I got a Drift.

It's a "clear out" but at $99 that's fine.

 

I haven't had much of a chance to play with it yet....but it seems OK.

 

Like I said .....the price is right.

[Redneck]

I have a go pro hero 2 and it takes great video. I have a stick on mount on my helmet one on the hood of the pu on the fender of the bmw on the front if the yamaha rhino. Every one that has seen the videos is very impressed with the quality of the videos. A splattered bug can ruin a video so check the lens often.

[friesman]

Ive got the drift 170 hd and I love it, it takes good pics and vids and I like the fact that it has a remote control that i leave strapped on the handlebars. It also has the turnable lens so you can mount the camera in different positions ans still orient the picture right side up. And the lcd screen is very helpful when setting up and viewing vids and pictures. (someone else mentioned about HD space and how much space any video uses up,...to give you an idea, this video filled up a 2gig SD card and it was the only thing on the card.)

Here is a sample filmed in medium resolution that was taken a month ago.

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2H_CZmfx9U]Ride around Wascana Park in Regina SK - YouTube[/ame]

 

Brian

Edited October 22, 2012 by friesman

[Michael_Bishop]

I have the Go Pro HD. I see they are coming out with the GoPro 3 in Nov. I did not upgrade to the GoPro 2. But I think I will pick up one or two of the 3 in Feb of 2013. Bummer is right on the hard drive space. What I do is I added a 2 TB USB driveo and after I edited I copy them of c: drive to the USB drive. The edited version then I delete the raw video clips.

Edited October 22, 2012 by Michael_Bishop
To add to.

[KeithR]

Thanks Keith.

 

Do you use your's much?

 

I did use it first when I bought it but havn't used it much this year if at all. I haven't done alot of riding this year. Its nice to have I guess but I dunno if I would invest a big amount of money unless I had something specific I needed it for.

 

 

Keith

[Bummer]

A splattered bug can ruin a video so check the lens often.

 

This is unbelievably important. Nothing like taking a video of a place you may never get to visit again and finding that there's a bug fuzzing it all up.

 

 

What I do is I added a 2 TB USB driveo and after I edited I copy them of c: drive to the USB drive. The edited version then I delete the raw video clips.

 

My camera eats up 25 megs every time the button gets pushed. I have two batteries for the GoPro. Each battery will allow me to take 7 gigs of video. I have a 32 gig SD for the GoPro and 4 8 gig SD cards for the camera. Plus various spares.

 

I never delete the raw videos or photos. Different strokes and all that. Of course that has a serious price. I build my own computers and started this box with 2.4 TB of space. I filled it up and added a 3 TB drive. Plus I have 2 TB of external drives and a box I swap old hard drives in and out of, then stack the drives on a shelf. That allows me multiple copies. One may die, but all of them won't at the same time - and if they do I'm really not likely to care - end of the world and all that.

 

Not a cheap hobby, but then I have a few videos of riding the Dragon, and a couple of driving my 370Z Roadster there as well. Videos of riding with Dano and others on the Beartooth Pass. Videos of rides with Leadwolf and Tinkerbell. Videos with Squid and Lonna. Lots of memories I truly cherish. In the end it's more than worth it.

[T.J.]

Thanks for all the info. I am still looking. It would be nice to relive some truly good rides that we go on. Some day we can look back and show our grandkids some of the roads we road and share our memories with others.

 

Man I had a good time in Hocking Hills Ohio. What a nice place to ride.

[Michael_Bishop]

I rode over to Hocking Hills Ohio back in 2008. Spent 4 days over there. Good riding. One day when we was over there my friend and I rode 7 to 536. They call 536 The Ohio Cousin of the "Tail of the Dragon.

Edited October 22, 2012 by Michael_Bishop
spelling

[T.J.]

Well today I ordered a Sports-Vue 360HD for $185. on sale. Reg. $265. I have done a lot of looking and reading after getting info from some of you, and other places.

It just seems like the right one to get. Time will tell but it has good reviews. I plan on using it for hunting with the grand kids and what ever else comes to mind.

 

I will give my reviews after I get it. They say it has already shipped.

[paysaw]

I have at Drift 170. I mounted it on my helmet.I love it.easy in the wind and lots of storage space.Easy on the battery too.

[Snaggletooth]

I've got the Drift HD170 also. One of my concerns with where I mount the camera was lens damage. I found one of these that eliminates that problem. Not to mention easier to clean the bugs off.

 

 

Mike

[Bummer]

Wow, I hadn't seen the OLIX...

 

Seriously, I think about any camera is better than none. I started with a Samsung sports cam and got a lot of great videos with that before it died and I got the GoPro. (Which isn't perfect either.)

 

T.J., and anybody else who hasn't figured this part out yet, you're going to want to ride at the back of any groups now, so that you can get other bikes into the video. It just looks better than the open road, which isn't actually bad in it's own right.

 

As an additional thought, I'd like to come up with a way to mount the camera directly to the bike. I find I don't care for the motion it gets when mounted on the handlebars, and from what I've seen I wouldn't like the helmet mounting much either.

[Snaggletooth]

There are a bunch of ways to mount cameras. Just consider the view you would like to see.

 

I used a "Snagglestud" with an old clamp off a set of Hiway bars and mounted the stud to the crashbars. Gives a low view point that adds to the impression of speed when shooting vids. Having the front tire in the shot enhances the shot with movement.

 

I see Brian used the same perspective in his video.

 

And why run at the back of the pack to catch the other bikes when you can shoot them from the front. I used the same mounting point with the camera reversed on the stud.

 

(It's favored by the 1st gen guys so they can keep track of the 2nd gens they pass.) There, it's done. Had to get the jab in there someplace.

 

Mike