Cameras

[orangebiker]

After a few unpleasant incidents I am thinking it's time to get a camera so that next time someone knocks me off/cuts me up/shouts abuse I can prove it to the Police.

I was loathe to do this because I would rather presume people are not going to attack me but I am starting to get to the end of my tether with it.

Can anyone recommend something fairly unobtrusive, not too expensive, with decent battery life? Also do people put them rear or front facing or both?

I don't always wear a helmet so something bike mountable would be better.

Grateful for any suggestions.

[[XAP]Bob]

Fly6?

[honesty]

I got the original version of the Garmon verb (rather than the verb xe). It can be found massively discounted online at around 80 quid rather than 250 usher. Have a look on sport pursuit etc..

[TrevA]

Fly 6 for the rear and the people who make the Fly 6 are bringing out a combined front light and camera that will have a camera run time of 10 hours.

As mentioned above, the Garmin Virb looks good value too and syncs with your GPS ( if you have one).

[661-Pete]

I'm still using my Contour Roam 2. Not the best of the bunch, but it can be found fairly cheaply if you shop around. It seems it's being superseded by the Roam 3, whose only difference as far as I can tell is that the latter does still photos - hardly necessary for a cycle camera. So look for the 2 at a discounted price.

Upsides: extremely rugged and compact; unobtrusive (it looks like a light) and self-contained. Very easy to operate (single slider switch for start/stop - lockable).

Downsides: no user interface, if you don't carry a smartphone, you have to connect it to a computer to change its mode and view recorded footage. The support tool ("storyteller") is extremely poor design and unhelpful in the extreme (you can just copy the MP4 videos straight onto your computer and process them with a third party tool). No useful mounts provided: but it has a standard tripod bush and I rigged up a handlebar mount using the bottom portion of a Topeak handlebar extender. You need a ¼" UNC bolt which is not that easy to come by in the UK! The picture quality is not the best, though good enough for recording 'incidents'. I haven't tried it in night-vision mode: in normal daytime mode it won't pick up anything after dark - another disadvantage if you're on a long ride.

Sound recording is rather poor. But that may be because, on the handlebar, it picks up a lot of vibration noise.

On the whole the Contour wouldn't be my choice, today. But some people may find it suits their needs.

[Redvee]

You need a ¼" UNC bolt which is not that easy to come by in the UK!

I rigged a rear mount for my Contour using the tripod mount and bought a bolt from a local bolt shop, didn't help that I asked for a 1/4" x 19mm bolt

[old_windbag]

I looked into cameras once or twice but then thought I'd end off being a shouty angry cyclist like those we see on tv. Anyway as I compared tech specs of so many I found the function I wanted was hard to find, the roadhawk had it, but few others. That is a rolling window of video, say 5 mins, so when an incident occurs you can simply press the button and store the much smaller 5 min segment. Rather than have a camera that records the whole of your outing but runs out after an hour or so. Obviously we're talking of situations where you can press the button, otherwise a very good accelerometer system would be needed to detect an impact rather than a pothole if saving automatically in a crash where you are rendered unconscious.

So I found it hard to match my needs but perhaps there are more flexible systems now, a good design project though for an aspiring start up.

[[XAP]Bob]

The better ones detect "being horizontal for an extended period" as "crash"

But I'd really like one that was USB powered (waterproof connectors) and switch on/off with that power - then I can just hit the button on my cache battery and it will last as long as I pedal hard enough.

[661-Pete]

The Contour Roam is USB powered - lead supplied. And it doesn't over-write any saved data: once the memory's full (or the battery's flat) it simply stops recording. You can only free up memory by deleting files when connected to a computer. So if you crash (or worse) at least there'll be a record.

[[XAP]Bob]

Is it still waterproof when powered though?

And if it doesn't delete the files then it will just fill up on my commute.

[661-Pete]

I don't think I made myself quite clear. The Contour runs off its own internal battery, which gives some 2-3 hours of runtime at normal resolution. You recharge it through a USB lead, which plugs into any computer or mains/USB adaptor. But to connect the USB lead to the camera, you have to flip open a back cover on the camera, which exposes other controls and makes it not weatherproof. That's not something you'd want to have open on the ride, in any case.

So if you do long rides, and want to have the camera recording all the time, it wouldn't be your best bet.

While that cover is closed, the camera is pretty weatherproof. Leastways, I've had it out in the rain plenty of times . No probs.

As soon as you connect the camera to a computer, it behaves like a disk drive, and you can delete the files on it.

[Tonyf33]

My Ion air pro is a pretty good one, runs for about 3 hours on its battery, handlebar mounted (I sling it under the bars). the pic rights itself so even if you have it at 90 degrees or upside down it still comes out right way up. Takes up to a 32Gb micro SD and you can even transfer the files via wi-fi direct from the unit though comes with a standard end cap too.
Not the highest resolution but it's robust and weatherproof and can be removed/fitted easily within about 15 seconds.
There's a new one on the bay of E at the moment for £75 or best offer incl post
you might want to try a cheapo one and see if that is enough for your needs http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TTsims-Sports ... SwxN5WZWPs

[[XAP]Bob]

Continuous power and loop recording are what made me go for a dashcam - but that's rather been killed by vibration (as in the second camera got completely destroyed).

I know that if I need to delete files every day then I won't do it, and when I need the camera it won't be recording.
Similarly if it needs manual charging.

[RickH]

I've got one of the original Garmin VIRBs. I use it to record rides (mainly so my sight impaired tandem stoker can get a re-run of where we've been) rather than for "traffic incidents".

From my last run it recorded for 2 hours 43 minutes on a single charge (if I think we'll be out longer than a single charge I'll recharge it off a battery pack at coffee stops - I can usually get it back to full charge in the time it takes to recharge us with coffee & cake ).

I run it with a 64GB card which, the camera claims, will give 6 hours 48 minutes of 1080p HD video (or 15 hours 15 mins on 720p resolution).

On long runs I have run it off an external battery pack (strapped under my saddle with a USB cable running to the bars). Although this officially stops the camera being waterproof I didn't find this a problem (the USB connector is still well enclosed even if not actually sealed in) - even on a 91 mile very wet ride (rain most of the day & wet roads even when it wasn't raining) last August where the camera was switched on, if not always recording, for the whole day, roughly 9am to 6pm.

Rick.

[rmurphy195]

I got the original version of the Garmon verb (rather than the verb xe). It can be found massively discounted online at around 80 quid rather than 250 usher. Have a look on sport pursuit etc..

Ditto. Mine came with handlebar mount and spare battery - the battery and mounts jacks up the price. Battery life about 2hrs 45mins depending on what definition you use. Microphone is useless when mounted on bike, have not tried it off-bike, or when stationary - or any other camera for that matter. Seems to work well when its almost dark. Big slider on the side to switch it on and off, and a screen that you can see when its on the bars, so you can tell what its pointing at, and of course that its switched on!