Thinking of getting an action cam

[Papa Lazarou]

Was watching "Afghanistan: Bomb Squad", and noticed they all had either the Contour or the Hero.

makes sense, both are class leaders and both are made in America.

I got the Drift yesterday and will post up a vid this weekend. (The Drift is British and I got it very cheap).

[phaze5]

i broke my black latch on my go pro and the sent out a couple replacements that day, now my cam is a year old it is starting to act weird, when i turned it on before it went right to video, for some reason now it goes to the multi pic one. i had the best ride of my life with lots of twisties and good friends and all i got was 489 pics,

probably the only good thing was i could tell you my speed at any point thru the trip lol looks like i got to send me another email huh

[garry]

I guess I'm starting to look into these things as well. I've been using a handlebar-mounted helmet camera wired into a camcorder in my tank bag. Not an optimal setup for sure, but it works well enough, just bulky and complex (too many wires/connections). I've lost my share of good videos due to cabling or video tape issues.

I think I like the Drift HD (the small one), but $370 (ouch). Usage would be helmet mounted for skiing and bar-mounted on the motorcycles (to get the lean angle).

[Papa Lazarou]

I guess I'm starting to look into these things as well. I've been using a handlebar-mounted helmet camera wired into a camcorder in my tank bag. Not an optimal setup for sure, but it works well enough, just bulky and complex (too many wires/connections). I've lost my share of good videos due to cabling or video tape issues.

I think I like the Drift HD (the small one), but $370 (ouch). Usage would be helmet mounted for skiing and bar-mounted on the motorcycles (to get the lean angle).

It's in the UK but the price is right, even with shipping: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-DRIFT-HD170-STEALTH-HELMET-ACTION-CAMERA-FULL-1080P-FULL-HD-FULL-WARRANTY-/160709900229?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_Video_Camcorders&hash=item256b0e77c5

[jp]

Future Shop here in Canada has the GoPro reduced from $350 to $189 with the standard mounting kits (no SD card). Picked one up as a Christmas present to myself (the best kind).
Should be a better set up than the prior one which was a small camcorder mounted to a tripod that was duct-taped to the gas tank!!

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Worked OK though...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8IW79KYSn4&feature=plcp&context=C349228aUDOEgsToPDskKSTNkj0DPgdTvl4sDq4zAR

Now to work on the 'dorky' factor of what it looks like mounted on a helmet



Seems to be an even split in votes as to mounting it on the helmet (see what the rider sees) or on the bike (see the lean and road speed).
Guess we'll see as soon as the snow melts in spring!

[shawn and gwyn]

been doing alot of reading on this myself.  i think i will be going with this one.   price is good. most reviews are good. decent batterie life, 32 gig cards.  about 4.4 oz with batteries.  waterproof to 100ft without an external case..  gwyn told me if i want one  . it will be birthday preasent.   ..   is it march yet. LOL.

shawn

http://www.tachyoninc.com/

[paul13131313]

Voted for the Go-Pro Hero 2 although I have the previous HD Motorsports version.

I mounted one front facing on helmet last Christmas and a second rear facing this Christmas for local motorcycle officer that likes to exit commuter lane within twenty feet of me at 80-90 mph!

Police are very camera shy and everyone else thinks they're cool so,so much for the self percieved dorky look.

There is no weight or wind resistance effects with helmet mounted camera(s) on my X-11.

Purchase the Motorsports version:it comes with all of the mounts!

Camera using the spare battery pack needs to be mounted with front camera mount because the door won't drop down far enough to remove the camera with pedestal mount.

I bought the cameras($230/$230),32GB SD cards,class 4/10 ($50/$32),Battery BacPacs and one LCD BacPac.

I saw the Battery and LCD Bacpacs were in development before I bought my cameras in a motorcyclecycle magazine announcement.I called Go-Pro about availability of these after my first camera purchase and was told they were six months away from availability.Got an email a week later teling me they were ready for purchase!

I count on 4 hours recording time with 32GB card and two batteries,without packing the batteries (100%).I charge them on my computer and unplug it when the light goes out (80%).

I like the simplicity of one button push on/hold for three seconds off.I programmed it at the house to full HD mode:every other mode gave me a sickening fish eye effect of various degrees.

I already had the previous version and did'nt see the need to upgrade from 170 degrees to 180 or 5 mp to 11!I just purchased a second Hero HD.Perhaps for the next helmet?

I checked reviews on all models out there and found the Go-Pro the best in capabilities for the most expensive at the time.I then bit the bullet,purchased and have not been disappointed once in daily use.

It does have one fault which is easily correctable.The mount and base mating surfaces get loose,with the camera moving ever so slightly but sounding as clunk,clunk on the audio playback!I place 2 layers of silver tape on the flat/curved mount surface,molding it to the center rib with the dull edge of a knife.Snug is good as I'm not taking them apart and putting them back together on a regular basis,it's a one time install.

I purchased a cheap keychain camera just to confim my decision:what a complicated/expensive little piece of junk that turned out to be.I don't know whether it's on and in what mode until I plug it into the computer for a possible half hour episode or bunch of random pictures!

My mistake,I did have one maalox moment last week.

I arrived at work,took off my helmet,set it down on the table and as I reached up to remove my neck brace,I heard a thunk!I looked on the table and saw the camera had fallen off the back of my helmet!After realizing it had'nt fallen off the table or on the freeway on my half hour commute,I started to wonder what had happened?Fortunately all the pieces were there fo a failure review.
The front helmet mount base of the rear camera had broken out of the curved mount,rotating to the rear.I had installed ths curved mount in anticipation of a second camera purchase,a month in advance.
I had installed the front camera cuved mount for only the recommended twenty four hours before mounting the first camera and had unwittingly pull tested at full gait on a soon to be professionally trimmed low hanging branch a year later so I knew these mounts are very strong

I told my coworker about my fortunate experiance and he suggested the plastic may not have been up to spec on that batch!I found the other three of the four pack I had purchased from Go-Pro directly and emailed Go-Pro the above scenario.They sent a replacement Front mount and six curved mounts and told me they did'nt need the defectve parts.They notified engineering!
The plastic on the defective parts was dull,not shiney.

Last,but not least,I haven't used the LCD BacPac since I purchased it.I don't even think to carry it around with me due to the connector port would dig a hole in my leg/pants first off and it uses an interchangeble rear door that is a 32nd of an inch deeper than the Battery BacPac rear door,thus I would have to carry around a spare rear door also!I just don't have time to remove the camera,exchange battery with the LCD and show people how it looks!I aim them with my daily view and it's just set it and forget it.It's collecting dust but I'll keep it in case I find it ultimately useful.

I've also got a large Go-Pro sticker on the back and a medium on each side of my helmet for everyone that keeps chasing me down the freeway and asking me at every intersection,"dude,dude,DUDE,IS THAT A CAMERA?,DUDE!"

My favorite question is,"What's the camera for?",to which I point at them and say "You".When they ask "why",I tell them it's for every one that turns left,cuts off,pulls out and backs out in front of me!

You also get tired of being a salesman very quickly.

This is an Awesome camera and I'm so glad I spent the money at the start instead of spending twice as much experimenting and upgrading!
  

[vwtom]

I was thinking the contour GPS so I could get the geo-location of all the images/videos.