Thread: Looking for camera recommend

None

Sadly the best solution was a camcorder (tape) with a seperate helmet cam with LANC. However no one other than Sony offers LANC anymore . Sony only offers LANC on maybe 2 cams and they don't have A/V in . Most solutions get either hard to use, expensive or lousy quality. Many suffer from more than one of those.

You are correct in that flash based alternatives are getting more interesting but currently there is nothing I could recommend.

That said:
avoid hard drive based solutions
avoid direct to DVD based solutions
480x640 is not that great
be sure any cam you get has A/V in if you are using a bullet cam solution

Damn Sheep....you just destroyed my hopes of finding one this year.

Nothing worth it? I've seen guys post decent videos before. What about the one you posted on here?

I'm looking for a good quality set-up. HD isn't that important, but I want something that keeps the frame rate up so that there's no jumping around.

Originally Posted by SheepOfBlue

Sadly the best solution was a camcorder (tape) with a seperate helmet cam with LANC. However no one other than Sony offers LANC anymore . Sony only offers LANC on maybe 2 cams and they don't have A/V in .

I just pulled a Sony cam out of the garage that I have used maybe three times in the past 10yrs.

It's a Handycam Vision SteadyShot Video8.

It does have LANC (whatever that is.) I don't see an A/V in either.

It's big, but would easily fit in a backpack. I guess the other disadvantage would be turning it on and off on the fly.

Any cams worth using on this one?


......disregard. I just read about LANC. With no A/V in I guess it's worthless unless I mount the camera directly to the bike/snowmobile.

I have a Sony DV VCR (GVD-1000) with a Hoyt 580 line cam in a HelmetCamera.com housing.

The VCR is tape and has been sturdy so far. It also supports LANC but is way expensive. The Hoyt is nice I prefer the other mount and had it from an earlier cam I destroyed (but the housing can REALLY take a pounding)

I do use mine and enjoy it but if I had nothing I am not sure I would get one.

Oh and notice the GVD1000 is discontinued Most cams are made for morons and b'day parties so they go direct to DVD with limited durability and ability to edit. I am hoping the flash based alternatives will be there soon but currently Notice the Hoyt version (currently vaporware) At 500 (really 480) it is so-so quality. The format is not DV so you might have CODEC issues in an editor. Not sure the compatibility on their unit but some even require Windows and/or a propriatary viewer Battery life is 3 hours which is not terrible but I would prefer using AA so I can bring spares. On the good front the recording media is removable. Given all that consider it is one of the better choices and is yet to exist.

Originally Posted by DUX

I just pulled a Sony cam out of the garage that I have used maybe three times in the past 10yrs.

It's a Handycam Vision SteadyShot Video8.

It does have LANC (whatever that is.) I don't see an A/V in either.

It's big, but would easily fit in a backpack. I guess the other disadvantage would be turning it on and off on the fly.

Any cams worth using on this one?


......disregard. I just read about LANC. With no A/V in I guess it's worthless unless I mount the camera directly to the bike/snowmobile.

You see my angst. You get new gear that relies on a cam that is no longer available Further LANC is sweet but the alternatives come to about zero and new cams don't have it (remote as you found out). No A/V in no bullet cam. I have seen tank mount systems but would find it to distracting. I have seen rear peg mounts but a low side guarantees the death of your cam....

The Vio POV 1 looks interesting.

Change your mind on that one?

I have a Sony HC96 miniDV that has both LANC and AV in. It costs about $500-$700 and it has a lot of features that I have no use for. I use a chasecam.com bullet cam that has 520TVL. It is an excellent combo IMHO and high speed pics come out very clear. Flash is the future but for now I am sticking with my miniDV. The camcorder is a bit on the pricey side but you may have some luck finding older versions that have AV in on Ebay that would be much cheaper.

I ruined by Sony. The Sony AV plug to a circuit board wiggled the board to much. Other than that I agree is was a nice setup. I think it and the HDef cam are the only two that still have LANC. The HDef had no AV in and I was not willing to spend the $$ for a HC96 after my first Sony died. It might have been my abuse or the RC vibration but....

Yeah the circuit board is a weak point. A friend of mine has been through about 4 cams because of the circuit board. I mount mine using a camera mount with a clamp on the rear footpeg and face the cam rearward so the lens doesnt get hit with debris, then I just run the wire to the bullet cam in the front. So the wire has freedom of movement.

Opinions on the Vio POV 1?

I love electronic toys, but while out on the road/trail ease of set-up and use is a high-priority.

Dont know much about it, but it seems like plug and play so that may be your best bet.

The Viosport has pretty good video quality, but the audio is very poor, if you want bike/sled sounds to be clear in the vids. They do have excellent accessories and mounts.

Best I've found is the one made by Helmet Camera and Helmet Cam Accessories by Sportzshot. Outstanding video and audio quality, lots of good accessories.

LANC is nice for remote on/off of the record function, otherwise you have to turn on the cam before you stuff it in the pouch and take off. You wind up with a lot less wasted footage that way. I always find it hard, though, to figure out if that little light is showing red or green when I'm out on the track trying to push a little button with my glove. Kind of distracting. Also, it's hard to find cams that take it anymore, so it's not that big a deal to not have LANC capability.

Originally Posted by Purpdust

what about this?

OnBike.TV Helmet cameras and accessories for onboard video recording.

VERY interesting. Lots of features I like. The only 2 knocks I can make is mono audio in and 720x480 strange res. Both are minor though and I might have to look at this beastie. Lots of other items on that site also.... Curse you Purp!

and 720x480 strange res.

Is that standard for Youtube? Playing to the stunna's?

Originally Posted by slickwill

Is that standard for Youtube? Playing to the stunna's?

I doubt it. My bet is something to do with the underlying h/w.

As to the POV1:
Nice cam also. The downs I can see are the cam is limited to their device with an inline mic. Not terrible but ALL cam systems seem to have strong and weak points thus mix and match is a nice option. I would prefer a format other than SD card but AA battery power is nice (dead/shorted batteries just run to any store ) The wireless remote is nice but the concept sounds like it needs a version 2. For a fairly complete write up (though I believe this is not even close to a neutral party) Oh and this is also 720x480 so my h/w guess is likely a good one.

Another review from a more neutral source

Do you have a link for the Bullet DVR?

Cool to hear Playfull it looks like a great unit. On the throughput that is part of why the spec ExtremeII cards (though a III or IV and some other brands would be fine)