Which headcam?

[thirdcrank]

Has anybody any recommendations or advice about the choice of headcam? (I've searched on here and I can only find plenty from me about their evidential value, and/ or why the police have not been interested.)

I'd like something fairly discreet but not covert. From the ads I've looked at, I'm attracted by the smallish cyclindrical cameras with a wire to a separate recording unit. I'l like the quality to be good enough to be able to read number plates with good clarity. I'm only interested in recording what I'm looking at, so a narrow(ish) angle lens would suit me best. I particularly don't want one that's so wide-angle that it's like looking in a shaving mirror. I've not really thought through recording time, which I presume is partly to do with quality of recording and size of memory card + battery life. (A swappable battery sounds attractive.)

I'd be happy to be told why I'm thinking on completely the wrong lines, if anybody thinks that's the case.

I have a tentative budget of 300 quid on the road. (I'd happily spend less and reluctantly spend more for the right kit.)

Recommendations about helpful suppliers would also be welcome.

[Neil Mc Ivor]

The link below might be worth a look.
http://www.dogcamsport.co.uk

[thirdcrank]

Thanks. I've had a look at that already - I'm at the information overload stage, which I why I was hoping for some guidance from people with a bit of experience.

[Alex L]

I have a Veho Muvi. Can't get much cheaper than that! I'll take some pictures when I can of where I mount it. Quite simply, it hangs upside down, under the stem. Perfectly hidden. On cobbles the recording is a bit shakey but on the roads it's fine. Number plates a readable. Have to admit the audio is terrible. Just sounds like wind (even indoors). Records in 4:3 ratio so no widescreen.

[gentlegreen]

First of all I reckon I make better videos with it attached to my handlebar - I suppose it depends on what you tend to do with your head.
I use a £16 7Dayshop camera. I've made a rain-shield from a couple of surgical glove fingers - though it's generally a waste of time once water drops get on the protective glass ...

It has got more and more unreliable over the year I've had it - even had to resolder the battery connections .. but I've shot hundreds of hours of footage and uploaded over 200 videos.

I'm not ready to invest well over 10 times more so I'll probably order another and strap the old one to the back of the bike. I'm dying to see the facial expressions of the dangerous idiots I encounter.

[Alex L]

First of all I reckon I make better videos with it attached to my handlebar - I suppose it depends on what you tend to do with your head.
I use a £16 7Dayshop camera. I've made a rain-shield from a couple of surgical glove fingers - though it's generally a waste of time once water drops get on the protective glass ...

It has got more and more unreliable over the year I've had it - even had to resolder the battery connections .. but I've shot hundreds of hours of footage and uploaded over 200 videos.

I'm not ready to invest well over 10 times more so I'll probably order another and strap the old one to the back of the bike. I'm dying to see the facial expressions of the dangerous idiots I encounter.

I always keep an eye out for you. I've watched your videos and look out for camera wielding cyclists. I think I've seen Redvee but he/someone else is easier to spot with his "special" handlebars

[gentlegreen]

I always keep an eye out for you. I've watched your videos and look out for camera wielding cyclists. I think I've seen Redvee but he/someone else is easier to spot with his "special" handlebars

I'm particularly easy to identify :- there's a photo of my bike on my "bike lighting" webpage :-

[Redvee]

First of all I reckon I make better videos with it attached to my handlebar - I suppose it depends on what you tend to do with your head.
I use a £16 7Dayshop camera. I've made a rain-shield from a couple of surgical glove fingers - though it's generally a waste of time once water drops get on the protective glass ...

It has got more and more unreliable over the year I've had it - even had to resolder the battery connections .. but I've shot hundreds of hours of footage and uploaded over 200 videos.

I'm not ready to invest well over 10 times more so I'll probably order another and strap the old one to the back of the bike. I'm dying to see the facial expressions of the dangerous idiots I encounter.

I always keep an eye out for you. I've watched your videos and look out for camera wielding cyclists. I think I've seen Redvee but he/someone else is easier to spot with his "special" handlebars

My bars are only bull horns though the bike is a little different, SS with pannier rack.

[BSRU]

I have the DogCamSport MiniDVR HD Bullet camera which I would say matches the criteria you have specified.
My 32GB memory card can record over five hours using the highest quality recording settings with the battery lasting about 2 and a half hours.
Can be powered externally, via the USB port, while recording. It has continuous recording so when the memory is full it will delete the oldest file to free up space.

A link to a sample from my DogCam camera.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAzpGAmdOo4

[thirdcrank]

BSRU

Thanks for that. As I said in my reply to Neil McIvor I'd had a good look at the dogcam site - it's prominent in the google results. I suppose when I wrote my spec I had one like yours in mind. I found your sample footage very helpful - it gives a much clearer idea of what a cyclist can expect than the clips on their www. I think you have sold it to me.

Is it 100% OK or is there anything where you thought "If only they'd made it do XXXX it would be perfect?"

[BSRU]

BSRU

Thanks for that. As I said in my reply to Neil McIvor I'd had a good look at the dogcam site - it's prominent in the google results. I suppose when I wrote my spec I had one like yours in mind. I found your sample footage very helpful - it gives a much clearer idea of what a cyclist can expect than the clips on their www. I think you have sold it to me.

Is it 100% OK or is there anything where you thought "If only they'd made it do XXXX it would be perfect?"

It would be nice if the recording unit was waterproof as well but it is not a big issue.

Look around the internet for a 10% discount code, DogCamSport always seem to have them.

I think a YouTube user t1sutton has a 10% discount code on a video review of some of DogCam's camera's.
I actually found it "HTDC05" is the code to try.

[thirdcrank]

Once again, thanks.

[phil parker]

I use the Contour HD+ and the general consensus is hat there is little difference in film quality between that and the GoPro. the GoPro has better mounts but the Contour is more discreet and can be mistaken for a front light. I use it handlebar mounted and it is difficult to avoid vibration, especially at speed with 23c tyres!

Here are two examples of my footage (already on another thread!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ur0vr74LUQU&feature=channel&list=UL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rIUIxDcPPQ&feature=channel&list=UL

[thirdcrank]

phil parker

Thanks - and sorry for not replying last night. After watching these links, it's belatedly dawned on me that there's plenty of posted footage to look at to make comparisons.

BSRU

I presume from watching some of your footage and seeing your shadow that you have awhat looks like a GoPro on top of your helmet. Did you start with with the Mini DVR and relegate it to the back? Seen in isolation, it looks pretty good but in at least one of your edited compilations where you have both front and rear shots, the forward facing stuff looks even better than the rear.

[BSRU]

phil parker

Thanks - and sorry for not replying last night. After watching these links, it's belatedly dawned on me that there's plenty of posted footage to look at to make comparisons.

BSRU

I presume from watching some of your footage and seeing your shadow that you have awhat looks like a GoPro on top of your helmet. Did you start with with the Mini DVR and relegate it to the back? Seen in isolation, it looks pretty good but in at least one of your edited compilations where you have both front and rear shots, the forward facing stuff looks even better than the rear.

I have a Contour Plus, a GoPro HD2 and a mini-dvr from Dogcam.
In my opinion the GoPro and DogCam are of similar quality but each having unique functions/abilities.
The DogCam is on my main commuter bike as a rear camera as it is very discrete and cannot really be seen unless you look very very closely.
The GoPro is mounted as a rear camera on my road bike, which I commute on when the weather is dry, it is quite obvious it is there as there no way of disguising it. Through the winter I previously had it attached to my helmet as it is very good in low light conditions.
My main forward facing camera is my Contour Plus because it produces a far superior image when compared to the GoPro or DogCam, although it should be better as it is twice the price. It is not very good in low light conditions.
When comparing front and rear shots in a video the date of the footage is important, since at least the start of the year different bikes have different rear cameras but the front is always the far superior Contour Plus.