Thinking about a helmet cam. Not because I want myself being knocked off me bike and my legs run over on film but so that I can have my rides on film and have a better look at what goes on around me whilst riding.

 

Hoping to get something that is of good quality and affordable. The main thing I am usually on me bike for 1-2 hours, so I don't want the battery dying out quickly. Any suggestions? What did you buy and where from?   

Check out Aliexpress, they offer a wide range of cameras,

similar to GoPro but at the fraction of the price,i buy quite

a bit of stuff from there ,and never had problem with delivery.

 

regards worgeordie

Thanks. Did you buy a helmet cam from them?

also a BIB checkpoint immunity item. BIB wave you thru dont want to be on cam.

SJCAM products are quite okay quality. I bought one SJCAM SJ6 Legend at Fortune IT Mall in Bangkok and the video quality is very good. Can record 1080p in 60 fps and 4k in 24 fps. It was around 3000 baht I belive. The only problem with it is that the battery dies after about an hour if you record with 60 fps but it has replaceable battery so if you buy a few you can just swap it out. They use GoPro mount so plenty of mounting accessories are available for it.

 

Probably their higher tier versions are better battery-wise and those are waterproof without housing, just like the newest GoPros but for the faction of the price of those.

5 hours ago, worgeordie said:

Check out Aliexpress, they offer a wide range of cameras,

similar to GoPro but at the fraction of the price,i buy quite

a bit of stuff from there ,and never had problem with delivery.

 

regards worgeordie

I did buy one of the cheaper sport cams offered by AliExpress and regretted it.  The video quality is very poor and controls arcane.  It's really a piece of......Oh, Wait!

Hey, wanna buy a sportcam?  I'll give you a really good deal, waterproof case, handlebar mount......

7 minutes ago, dddave said:

I did buy one of the cheaper sport cams offered by AliExpress and regretted it.  The video quality is very poor and controls arcane.  It's really a piece of......Oh, Wait!

Hey, wanna but a sportcam?  I give you a really good deal, waterproof case, handlebar mount......

Yes,you get what you pay for,but they have so many ,different prices,

check what others are saying.

regards worgeordie

Think about a GoPro. More expensive but reliable, good battery plus plenty of other uses. 

Think about a GoPro. More expensive but reliable, good battery plus plenty of other uses. 

I have a GoPro camera but even with the lowest pixel setting, I can use it only for 1h20’.


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there is a cabers called Drift Ghost.

A mate has one on a motorbike he races with in Australia, it gives excellent quality footage and is of excellent quality.

I am buying one myself soon.

 

https://us.driftinnovation.com/products/ghost-4k

I've got a GoPro which can record up to 120 hours but the battery will last for just over an hour. I use a USB battery pack thingie that I plug in when the battery gets low - really useful gadget to have.

15 hours ago, Deserted said:

have a better look at what goes on around me whilst riding.

Not sure what you mean. A helmet cam will record what you look at, certainly not what goes around you unless you drive looking sideways. even recording what goes on with your bike instrumentation is not recommended, it requires bending your head down significantly. For me, it is basically added insurance while I am driving.

 

This said, the one I have (ezviz) records beautiful quality, high resolution movies which are quite wide angle, still however just basically straight on. The battery lasts for quite a while, certainly more than one hour, I don't drive that long but I noticed that it tends to overheat when it is recording for a long time under the sun in its enclosed waterproof housing. btw, I don't know if they make usb3, but if they do consider it a plus because downloading every day a several gb with usb2 can be tiresome. Look on an online shop such as lazada.

 

You mention "bike" so I suppose not a scooter. Modern scooters often have a usb charger included, and some webcam housings allow for external charging. I don't know about motorbikes.

What I mean I assumed was rather obvious. The eye and a camera are very different to one another. The amount of visual content in focus from the human eye is actually very small, around 25% its now claimed (in the 70s the estimate was less than that). With a camera much more is in focus. I think most riders would agree that due to additional factors, notably fatigue, there is a lot we just don't see when we ride, especially that coming from the periphery towards us -and if you ride in BKK, that's quite a lot.

 

It's really just a case of wanting a second look at what's on the road and what it is I am not seeing when I ride.

 

With all this said, thanks for the comments above. I was hoping to find something with battery power of around 3 hours. Did I make a mistake there? GoPro look great but overpriced also. I will look into the suggestions above. If it means just an hour or so of filming then so be it. 

 

 

Oh and bike, bicycle yes. Trek 7.2 fx (definitely prefer wider handlebars)

I've used SJCAM before and still use for handheld stuff but for the helmet I use a Drift Ghost S. No 4k, 1080@30fps the highest but the quality is fine. More streamlined profile than a GoPro or clone and battery lasts 5 hours of filming (also have bigger battery that does 8 hours). Cost me about £80 and they have a 4k version which is more expensive. Link to Drift official store on Ali Express where I got mine.  https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32870205206.html?spm=2114.search0104.3.2.28997f24TaX9Nn&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0%2Csearchweb201602_9_10065_10068_319_10059_10884_317_10887_10696_321_322_10084_453_10083_454_10103_10618_10307_537_536%2Csearchweb201603_53%2CppcSwitch_0&algo_expid=ffea5fa7-39b6-4dbc-a42b-7d5ded6045df-0&algo_pvid=ffea5fa7-39b6-4dbc-a42b-7d5ded6045df&transAbTest=ae803_4

I don’t use a helmet cam but do have these combination light/camera units - one mounted in the front of the bike, and a second mounted facing the rear.

https://cycliq.com


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Thanks. I have often given that some thought. What would you say is the main difference between a mounted cam and a helmet cam. I imagine that angle is different with a mounted cam but probably easier to watch because you aren't moving your head about so much. 

Thanks. I have often given that some thought. What would you say is the main difference between a mounted cam and a helmet cam. I imagine that angle is different with a mounted cam but probably easier to watch because you aren't moving your head about so much. 

I have no experience with a helmet cam. I just turn my front and back light/camera combos at the beginning of each ride and forget them. They would probably last longer, but out of habit I plug them in to recharge after every second ride.


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Okay thanks. I assumed that cam on handlebars account for more shake and have a less smoother recording than helmet cams. I don't have suspension on my bike, so I'm leaning towards a helmet cam, but both are probably okay...well better than the naked eye alone anyway.

A baiting post and flaming response have been removed.

I bought an SJCAM 4000 from Lazada (~3000฿) which is mounted on my handlebars.  I also purchased a Crosstour CT9000 while in the UK (from Amazon ~£140) which is mounted on my helmet.  Each one comes with numerous attachments that are compatible with GoPro accessories.

 

Compared with GoPro, the picture quality is not as high but for the price, I am happy with the resolution and file size of both cameras.

 

Two downsides:

 

1 - The battery life is around 2 hours so I tend to use one camera for each half of my ride.

 

2 - The waterproof camera housings are a little too good and insulate most of the road noise so cannot record dialogue or other sounds when riding.

 

I prefer the protection that the housings offer but If sound recording is a priority, you can ride without them.

 

Hope this helps.