Helmet Cam advice for Motorcycle/ Moto action camera use?

[motomasher]

======= HELMET / MOTORCYCLE CAM TEST CONCLUSIONS======

After a couple of weeks of testing both the Adrenaline Systems Superbike Cam and the Oregon Scientific ATC2k sd camera I can safely give reasonable review on their performance:
(check out my original posting below)

The Adrenaline Systems Super Bike Cam Sport model which I purchased comes with all the mounting you will need for your helmet and bike (sportbike or regular motorcycle) . Included in the kit is A Sony 580 TVL Exview HAD ccd camera which produces great images. It easy to connect and weatherproof (it rained on me a couple of times and it held up just great). Also included in the kit is an extreme sports microphone which is sturdy and has a wind guard to minimize the noise.
Hook up was a easy. You connect the camera to the microphone and power source. I then used the included cable to connect it to my sony camcorder.
For my first run I mounted it on my helmet with their extreme helmet cam mount which attaches very well to the helmet with no play. In the next run, I used the Moto Mount sport. This mount is made of impact materials. You just bolts the helmet camera to the mount and with a suction mechanism, attach it to any smooth surface. I secured the unit to the windguard and just about any place I could. What is neat about this mount is it is flexible and easy to adjust. I was able to make up any angle I wanted without vibration or it ever becoming loose.
The resulting video has been great. The quality is more than I expected as, per their specs, it contains some sort of image stabilization which is apparent when I watch the video take through some rough parts of the road.
Because you can do mounting on your helmet or bike surface, the resulting angles when you go to edit your footage add some very cool elements.
For the price I paid, this kit by adrenaline camera is a keeper. One of my riding buddies has a SCOUT by VIO and the footage he gets is just not as good. Let alone the price of that unit is 3 time what I paid.

I also would recommend getting their Li IOn power pack for extended rides. This battery I got just a week ago and it is great as it does not heat up and has a handy switch to save on energy.
Another thing worth trying is their Fender Mount which allows the camera to be mounted on the fender area. This is my next purchase from them (adrenalinecamera * com).
You can get all these together when you buy their Super Bike Cam Sport I but I overlooked this when i first made the purchase



The Oregon Scientific is entirely self contained helmet camera systems which also has an integrated digital recorder. This action camera comes with mounts and is entirely self contained. The mounts themselves are not specific for sportbike or motorcycle use but I was
able to jerry-rig mounting for the bike with some handy bolts and velcro. I used a 2gb sd card which gave me an hour plus footage on my runs. I like the fact that it has no wires.
After mounting it on my helmet as well as on the bike body, I dumped the footage from a few SD card onto my video editing platform. The resulting footage was ok but nowhere as good as I got with the sport bike cam.
The quality was just not there. Also, there seems not to be any digital image stabilization which is a bummer when going through my crappy neighborhood streets.
This systems I would say would be great for web uploading such as YouTube or sharing but not for some quality productions (DVD / HD). However, as a hobby tool to just show off some quick footage it is passable.
But if you want some quality footage and the flexibility to use the recording device of your choice, definetly go with the adrenaline system camera kit.



Thanks all for suggestions and help on getting the right set up going!


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I am currently testing out a couple helmet camera units for use on my motorcycle. One of the units is an Adrenaline Systems Super Bike Cam which comes with suction mounts for mounting on any surface of the bike as well as the helmet. It comes with some very cool mounts and microphone which produces great sound as I connected it to my home system. The camera is a 580 sony tvl which is weatherproof and looks very nice and sturdy.

Also, I got a Oregon Scientific cam which uses an SD card set up. It seems to be user friendly but judging from the brief footage I took on my bike , did not look too hot. It handles ok and is compact and easy to carry around.

I would like to get some feedback on these choices. Anyone have any experience with these models or other units? Any tips on things to look out for?
Any help will be appreciated. I will post my conclusions when I've had an opportunity to test them both out. Thanks!

[doglegdon]

Am interested in your findings too. There's a Tony Hawk (whoever the hell he is) item out there too, but looks a bit too cheapo to take good footage though.
Have also seen one here, but looks more expensive http://www.sports-cameras.com/

Waiting patiently for your opinion/s!

[headseeze]

Tony hawks is a skater, as in sombody who rides a skateboard, not the torvill and dean type.

[Xander]

There's a Tony Hawk (whoever the hell he is) item out there too,

He is one of the first big name professional skaters (skateboard).

[winxp-master]

I thought he was being sarcastic about Tony Hawk? ..anyway... take a look at this site, it has video footage from some of the cameras so you can get an idea of what it might look like...

http://www.dogcamsport.co.uk/products.htm

[Whealie]

I have this. It is a dog's danglies but very expensive. I use it for normal video too now. I just stick it on a mini tripod and use that as a handle.
It has suction mounts and veclro mounts and fits on a normal camera mounts so goes on the Ram mounts too.
And you can see what you are shooting live on the little screen. And it will take external mikes.
It is military spec so you can drop and and bounce it and so on. Takes 4gb sdhc cards no problem (did not recognise the whole of the 8gb card I tried) but even on highest resolution (almost DVD quality) 4Gb will give you more than an hour of video.

[russh]

I'm trying to justify the purchase of the same type Wheelie is using.

Another system that looks good is the Archos 605 but I have yet to see any footage (is footage relevant in the digital age.....bittage???) using the optional bullet cam.


A full system should come in at around £300, and of course you also have a mp3 player, wi-fi web browser PVR video jukebox or what ever. And it you want to spend a bit more I notice Archos no do a 605 with SatNav!!


Wheelie, do you have any full quality video clips from your device so we could see the quality?

[doglegdon]

"Holy Jimminey Cricket" Whealie, you weren't kidding about the expensive bit, eh? The bike video samples are great though.

[Whealie]

Wheelie, do you have any full quality video clips from your device so we could see the quality?

Yeah but to upload them to you tube or google reduces the quality.
This video (in poor weather) of me following Simon around Northern Ireland was done using it and then massively reduced for Google.
[gvideo]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2880772321507588897&hl=en[/gvideo]
I can send you some files or film something tomorrow. Tell you what, I will take it with me on Saturday for the off-road day and see what I end up with.

[russh]

......
I can send you some files or film something tomorrow. Tell you what, I will take it with me on Saturday for the off-road day and see what I end up with.

That would be much appreciated, I'm quite tempted to use something like this rather than my old first gen DV camcorder for daily use too, although I guess the fixed focus lens maybe restrictive.

I'll PM my email address so you can send a short clip through,

thanks