Camera on your bike

[casper_8303]

I'm interested to see if you use a camera and which one do you use for your bike. I just started looking and the GoPro is the one that comes up the most. Want to see what your experience is. Also what do you use to show all the data in the video?

[tsampson]

there are a few good ones. Go pro, sony, rollei. Go pro probably has the most support and available accessories, and with the black the highest quality. Although beyond 1080 is excessive. Rollei is really good and a little smaller. Cant go wrong with either Id say. If you are just getting into filming and making little videos either will do the trick just fine.

[shovelhd]

I use a Contour Roam, no longer available.

[carpediemracing]

I use an earlier version of the Contour, the ContourHD. My set up and thoughts here (http://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.com/2010/08/review-contourhd-1080-camera.html). I record in 720p vs 1080p and it seems fine for my purposes. I especially like the 130 degree lens (or 135 or whatever it is, it's about that). I bought but have not used on the bike a Contour+, 170 degree lens - my tests show that it has less resolution than the 130 degree lens (I used it as a finish line camera for race promotion).

On YouTube I have a few videos up as SprinterDellaCasa. I also have a few "finish line tests" using the different cameras and resolutions, which is how I decided to keep the 720p on the bike (and for finish line use). You can see a side-by-side use of the 1080p recording Contour+ and the 720p recording Contour. I hold the cameras, one in each hand, and record a car go by at 35 mph (with numbers taped to its body).

For riding I mount the camera on my helmet but there's a quick and easy way to mount it to the stem, as long as you have a level/horizontal stem. Look up sweixel in Youtube - he does a lot of "data overlay but otherwise raw video" uploads.

He uses Dashware to overlay his data. I don't know of a free version of it (Dashware is $50).

He uses a helmet-side mount thing zip tied to his stem. The camera slides on and off of it. Previously he simply used two zip ties to strap his camera under the stem. I met up with him at a race in SoCal (Red Trolley, 2011) and lent him my camera. We found each other with maybe 10 minutes before his race start and it took him all of 30 seconds to mount the camera. His video is here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I22Xt1K3PNs) (aka using my Contour). After the race he clipped the zip ties and gave me the camera back sans his memory card. His method works well if you watch his clip. He changed to the "helmet side mount thing" at some point after that race.

Based on my very limited experience with different brands of helmet cams I'd recommend the minimum:
- 720p@60fps. 1080p is nice but not necessary.
- 130 degree lens, give or take. 170 makes things really distorted, although I don't know how the 1080/170 combo will work in general.
- rotating front lens. This allows you to mount the camera in any orientation and rotate the lens to make things level. The ContourHD rotates 180 deg, the + rotates 270. This makes it easier to mount to helmets, bikes, etc.
- water resistance is nice. The Contours are not and although it'll record fine on one wet day (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzT0FGn9Co4) it needs a day to recover. My Contour was unusable the day after that race and I did a race that was fun and where I finished well and I wish I'd been able to record it.
- I like 3+ hour battery life. On longer rides I run out of battery (I record on every training ride, mainly for morbid reasons in case something happens, same reason I start recording my races). I have extras but I usually skip carrying them.

[phcollard]

Anybody can comment on the new Garmin?

[casper_8303]

Thanks for all the information.

[bheight1]

I use an earlier version of the Contour, the ContourHD. My set up and thoughts here (http://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.com/2010/08/review-contourhd-1080-camera.html). I record in 720p vs 1080p and it seems fine for my purposes. I especially like the 130 degree lens (or 135 or whatever it is, it's about that). I bought but have not used on the bike a Contour+, 170 degree lens - my tests show that it has less resolution than the 130 degree lens (I used it as a finish line camera for race promotion).

On YouTube I have a few videos up as SprinterDellaCasa. I also have a few "finish line tests" using the different cameras and resolutions, which is how I decided to keep the 720p on the bike (and for finish line use). You can see a side-by-side use of the 1080p recording Contour+ and the 720p recording Contour. I hold the cameras, one in each hand, and record a car go by at 35 mph (with numbers taped to its body).

For riding I mount the camera on my helmet but there's a quick and easy way to mount it to the stem, as long as you have a level/horizontal stem. Look up sweixel in Youtube - he does a lot of "data overlay but otherwise raw video" uploads.

He uses Dashware to overlay his data. I don't know of a free version of it (Dashware is $50).

He uses a helmet-side mount thing zip tied to his stem. The camera slides on and off of it. Previously he simply used two zip ties to strap his camera under the stem. I met up with him at a race in SoCal (Red Trolley, 2011) and lent him my camera. We found each other with maybe 10 minutes before his race start and it took him all of 30 seconds to mount the camera. His video is here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I22Xt1K3PNs) (aka using my Contour). After the race he clipped the zip ties and gave me the camera back sans his memory card. His method works well if you watch his clip. He changed to the "helmet side mount thing" at some point after that race.

Based on my very limited experience with different brands of helmet cams I'd recommend the minimum:
- 720p@60fps. 1080p is nice but not necessary.
- 130 degree lens, give or take. 170 makes things really distorted, although I don't know how the 1080/170 combo will work in general.
- rotating front lens. This allows you to mount the camera in any orientation and rotate the lens to make things level. The ContourHD rotates 180 deg, the + rotates 270. This makes it easier to mount to helmets, bikes, etc.
- water resistance is nice. The Contours are not and although it'll record fine on one wet day (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzT0FGn9Co4) it needs a day to recover. My Contour was unusable the day after that race and I did a race that was fun and where I finished well and I wish I'd been able to record it.
- I like 3+ hour battery life. On longer rides I run out of battery (I record on every training ride, mainly for morbid reasons in case something happens, same reason I start recording my races). I have extras but I usually skip carrying them.

Always appreciate your posts--thorough and lots of useful information!

:hello:

[carpediemracing]

Thanks. I just want to help.

btw here's a still off of a 720p recording of what has been the closest call I've seen while training. Pick up is going about 40-ish, we're going just over 20, like maybe 21 mph.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_TbmplkIYLx8/TDuB-GoJ1pI/AAAAAAAAC7U/fIgeoUjCQZk/s800/Cape+Cod+Close+Call.jpg

For a bigger picture use this link (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_TbmplkIYLx8/TDuB-GoJ1pI/AAAAAAAAC7U/fIgeoUjCQZk/s1600/Cape+Cod+Close+Call.jpg) (it uses s1600 for the picture size, not s800).

The license plate is absolutely clear in the shots.

In darker conditions the pictures aren't as clear because the camera adjusts for conditions. At night the camera is basically useless.

[casper_8303]

Thanks. I just want to help.

btw here's a still off of a 720p recording of what has been the closest call I've seen while training. Pick up is going about 40-ish, we're going just over 20, like maybe 21 mph.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_TbmplkIYLx8/TDuB-GoJ1pI/AAAAAAAAC7U/fIgeoUjCQZk/s800/Cape+Cod+Close+Call.jpg

For a bigger picture use this link (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_TbmplkIYLx8/TDuB-GoJ1pI/AAAAAAAAC7U/fIgeoUjCQZk/s1600/Cape+Cod+Close+Call.jpg) (it uses s1600 for the picture size, not s800).

The license plate is absolutely clear in the shots.

In darker conditions the pictures aren't as clear because the camera adjusts for conditions. At night the camera is basically useless.

WOW!! That was a close call. That's what I want to use it for, as well as training rides. Thanks again for all the detail.

[weisan]

Been intrigued by action video cam for a while...not sure how good this is, saw a couple of clips on YouTube, not super impressed, probably compared to GoPro silver.
Now offered at special price $99 at frys, store pickup
http://www.frys.com/product/7237103?utm_campaign=frys_product&utm_source=slickdeals

[cachagua]

TV news had a piece about bike riders using cameras, the other night. They said it's becoming very widespread.

(They noted that GoPro has doubled their sales every year since they started, and they're expected to this year too. Investment opportunity?)

I could never do it. For me, it'd be giving in to paranoia.

And if I were going to take that step, wouldn't I get better preventive effect out of a prominently-displayed .44?

Not that I'd do that either. I mean -- rain, sweat, road grime. . . have to clean it continually!

[Aaron O]

I bought a Contour - it worked well, but I found that I rarely use it and that the wide angle lens made pretty routine things look exciting. Passing at a normal and safe distance looked reckless on the video and I felt that it was just as likely to hurt me as help me. It sits on a shelf with a coating of dust.

[carpediemracing]

A wide angle lens will make things look further away, not closer. It's a bit aggravating for me because things that look really close - cars, other riders, etc - look so far away when I look at a still of my helmet cams. When it's close in the still that means it was really, really close in real life, like virtually in contact.

[Aaron O]

I don't know what to say, other than routine passing looks EXCITING on the Contour. Some of that is also the bouncing around.