Hi all,

I'm looking into getting a helmet cam just to take some footage of my rides and i was wondering what options do i have? I've looked at modding a webcam and hooking it up to a digicam with an AV input (youtube) which seems not too bad. Remember where on a budget so i'm going for best quality at the cheapest price.
Hopefully i can score some cash from funniest home videos in the meantime

Any thoughts and ideas would be great

 

The best going around I believe is this one.
http://www.launchhelmetcams.com/fully-integrated/pov1
This is the one I believe Nobrakes uses.
A friend of mine also has this one.
It's good but it's not cheap.

I have opted for a set up from these guys.
http://www.dogcamsport.co.uk/index.html
It's a bit more complicated to set up but I think the end result will be more what I'm chasing.

I tried one of these but I wasn't impressed.
http://www.oregonscientific.com.au/s...cid=78&pid=978

If you have a some sort of digicam with av inputs, you can pick up relatively cheap bullet cam. But I found that not many of the new breed of digicams have av inputs.

Check out eBay. There are a lot of options.

I also found that this sort of gear can be much cheaper overseas.

 

The best quality I've seen at sub $200 is the Go-Pro Hero Wide:

http://www.goprocamera.com/index.php?area=2&productid=1

The video is really pretty good, but the audio leaves something to be desired, IMO. On the video, it uses a really wide angle of 170 degrees. While the quality is good, some folks describe it as if you are riding on a really small planet due to the heavy curvature from the wide angle lens. But if that doesn't bother you, I think this camera is one of the better of the more economical cameras.

 

I bought a http://www.tachyoninc.com/main.html. Sound is not too good, it is water proof and the mic in inside the seal, so... well... yea....

But it was $160 and uses SD Media Cards.

I also came with a wide variaty of mounts. Cheap. But I did not want to thrash my sony camera. And they are not water proof at all, I have ruined two while kayaking...
Two is my limit. I the voi water proof?

 

Vio I believe is waterproof. I used mine solidly at the snow for 2 weeks with no issues (though thats not entirely water, a lot of melted snow and condensation). You can also get a waterproof baggy setup for it (the windsurfers use it):
http://www.advdesigns.net/povh20wapo.html

Best place I found for the vio was dogfunk.com when they had a 20% off damn near everything sale. Got it for $520 and free post.

 

Man I just checked my latest email special, they have a discount coupon that gets you the vio plus the new mount kit (free, worth $70) for $479.20 shipped! Expires on the 28/4/09 though, try code: 476-1-LHY2G
or this link, not sure if it will work:
http://service.dogfunk.com/cgi-bin10...k10OHN0BZjC0GC

Thats one hell of a deal for a great camera.

 

thanks for the help guys much appreciatd. just one thing, $400 in USD works out to be about 2k in aussie dollars .

Does anyone use a cheapy digicam with a remote mounted camera on their helmets and is experiencing good results??

 

$400 US is about $550 Aus.
That makes the VIO from dogfunk.com around $A670.
That is a very good deal.

I did look into using a digicam and a bullet camera but as I mentioned earlier, not many of them have AV inputs.
In the end I wasn't going to save any money.

This looks like a good unit.
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/1080P-HD-DIGI...1%7C240%3A1308

 

Check out www.vholdr.com not a bad little unit all self contained.Site gives a couple of Australian dealers.I paid $325 Canadian for my kit(371Aus).

 

From VIO website:
"Components are shock-resistant, water-resistant and dustproof for use in the most hazardous environments"

I really like my POV.1, it's done well on my KLX in tropical Thailand and my Prado in the desert. I host my video's on the same site as NoBrakes (www.vimeo.com), just search for my screen name (pseacraft). I am considering a second one, but am waiting to see if they will release an HD version.

Also VIO's customer support has been fantastic. I bought the camera from B&H and some accessories directly from VIO. It isn't cheap but it's very good.