Helmet cams

[rebelbanshee2]

I think having a helmet cam would be slick. Ive been looking around alittle and my main question is, i see 380 res ones for 100 bucks less than the 480 res ones. is ythe 480 worth it. i dobnt want crappy quality, but dont want to pay 100 bucks for a marginal difference. Do they hold up good? dont want something i can break either....

[.]

got mine from helmetcams.com and I got the 480 res one. I'd say the extra resolution was worth the extra 100 bucks. Got the little lan thing so I can turn it off and on as well. I'm running a sony trv330 camcorder and it does a wonderful job for me.

 

I've got it all set up in a Ironman backpack that has a waist strap and chest strap. It came with little earphone thingies for a cd player that came out of the shoulder straps in the front. I pulled them out and ran the microphone through it so the microphone is nicely exposed. I ran the remote out the other strap so its easy access to turn it on and off. It takes a while to get used to riding with one on. Instead of just plain riding the whole time, you have to remind yourself that your also filming, try to keep your head steady and dont whip it around real quick or things get disorienting when your trying to watch it.

 

I got sick of taking my camcorder, or camera to shoot stuff and was to busy riding and never stopped for footage. Now I just look where I want to shoot, and I've got video. I dont have zoom, but if we find a sweet spot we're gonna ride for a while, I'll pull the camcorder out, switch it to camera (with the helmet cam you have it on the vhs mode or whatever), and you can shoot that way as well with zoom and such.

 

Having the whole setup isnt cheap though, I've got extended batteries for the camcorder, lots of tape, camcorder used on ebay goes for like 300-350, helmetcam was 450 or something like that. It adds up quick.

 

Lol, and then the first time I really used it, I rolled my shee, bent an a-arm, and my grab bar. 1000 bucks later in shocks and a-arms, and another 300 for the camcorder I busted (850 new a buncha years back), and I'm back in business again finally.

 

Now just to upgrade to my newer computer I have sitting here so I can start uploading footage and editing it.

Edited August 2, 2004 by .

[Meat]

I seen a video that JKJK filmed with a helmet cam and all I can say is.... I WANT ONE !!

 

I seen some setups that use a small LCD screen\8mm tape player\recorder that Sony makes, instead of using a camcorder. Its called a Sony Videoman..... remember the sony Walkmans, well this is for video. You hook up one of those 480 ressy cameras to it and the Vid-man fits in a backpack or whatever.

 

The only benifits I can see using a Videoman over a camcorder is the size of the vid-man is smaller compared to any older normal sized camcorders. The videoman comes with a 6 inch LCD screen so it got a bigger screen than most camcorders..... and the price of videoman is around $180 bucks compared to a low end camcorder at 299. Gotta remember to buy a camcorder with audio and video inputs that makes the camcorder worth more. The videoman has A\V inputs, and it records on 8mm tape. It folds down pretty slim too, easy and lightweight to carry.

Edited August 2, 2004 by Meat

[rebelbanshee2]

I already have a digital sony handicam, 2, 4, and 6 hr batterties, ands tons of tape so im set there. Theres a 480 kit on ebay for 230 buy it now, so it sounds like they are cheaper again...seems like everyone wants one of these as bad as i do

[bigboybanshee]

I just got one about a month ago and absolutely love it!! I bought the 380 res cam and it does the job great for me. When I play it back on the TV it looks as good as any show you would watch on TV...really durable too. I got mine off of ebay for 165 shipped, came with a cam, microphone, battery pack and velcro with the helmet mount. All I had to provide was the camcorder! I have some video I made with it but I never posted it because 1. the file is like 14MB and I figured no one would want to download it and 2. I don't have a server to host it from Definitely get one, I love being able to show people videos of what it's like to ride without actually getting them dirty Then they usually wanna go

 

Here's a link to the same one I got from the same seller...had it in 3 days after buying!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...item=3824100431

Edited August 2, 2004 by bigboybanshee

[rebelbanshee2]

so you think the 380 is good? does it work good in the woods and in low light?? The vidoes on the web sites are i assume 480 and they look great in low light...id really like to see a vid of the 380

[bigboybanshee]

If you want to I have the "good" version of the video I made that you can download...it's 50MB because I didn't want to hack it down too small, the smaller you make the video (size wise) the poorer the quality is...Even this one doesn't show how good of quality it can be...let me see if I can make the link work out.

 

http://24.165.149.194/programs/Helmet%20Cam.wmv

 

right click and save target as....

[rebelbanshee2]

thatnsk alot for that vid man...i think you sold me on the 380, that isnt bad quality at all! My brother had been telling me to get the 480, so i just played the video and asked him if he thought it was good enough..he said yes and was quite surprised when i said it was 380 I just wish the deal you got was still on ebay...

[bigboybanshee]

Cool! I'm glad it worked out for you!! I didn't think you'd want to download a big file but I knew if you saw that the quality isn't bad, you'd save some money and go with the 380. By all means believe me when I tell you the quality is even better before you capture it from the camcorder and make a video with it...if you were to just watch it from the camcorder on your tv it's amazing; just as if you were riding again. Anyhow, I'll quit rambling, I'll keep an eye out for the same camera/setup and post the link or PM you if I find one. Glad you liked the vid!

[rebelbanshee2]

i just orderd the 380 res from helmet-cams.com paid alittle more that your kit, but i couldnt wait anymore! Hopefully ill hvae it for next weekend, and will be able to figure out how to get some vids up soon!