I think you mean "balaclava." Baklava is a Greek food and I sure hope that you don't go into stores wearing that. ;)
Damn spellee cheeker, now everyboody nows im unliterate...

Any leads on cheap 1GB cards?
Otherwise I'll get a $55-60 Kingston or Viking SD card from newegg.

These are $57 with free shipping: http://www.digi4me.com/product.php?productid=229&cat=2&bestseller
Unfortunately, those of us in California have to pay sales tax on them.

The card doesn't "click in" like most SD devices, but rather the rear cover keeps the card in. And you have to remove the cover to gain access to the USB port.
<sigh>

Someone asked about battery drain, would be curious to know. Since its writing to flash memory, I wouldn't expect the drain to be too bad.

Also, anyone know much much video I could get on a 1 GB card at maximum resolution?

Also, anyone know much much video I could get on a 1 GB card at maximum resolution?

An earlier post indicated about 130 minutes per 1GB. That was an estimate, I think, not an actual use number. I'm assuming this thing is recording a series of JPGs, so normal JPG rules would apply; if you're riding somewhere with blue sky and black pavement, the images will be smaller. If you're riding through the woods with lots of detail in the shots, they'll be larger.

An earlier post indicated about 130 minutes per 1GB. That was an estimate, I think, not an actual use number. I'm assuming this thing is recording a series of JPGs, so normal JPG rules would apply; if you're riding somewhere with blue sky and black pavement, the images will be smaller. If you're riding through the woods with lots of detail in the shots, they'll be larger.
Yeah, I saw that post saying about 130 minutes per 1GB. But page 18 of the online user manual says that the 1GB card can hold about an hour. So I wasn't sure if there was a typo or if they were at different resolutions.

http://www2.oregonscientific.com/assets/manuals/HC18.pdf

Here are some screen captures. FYI I am using
http://paul.glagla.free.fr/imagegrab_en.htm#q1
Here are some pics at 340 x 240 at 0800 to 1000 hrs PST. It was low light, sun, shadows. Instead of picking them I just grabbed random shots.

And more of the same

My only 640 X 480 Video capture

These are 1400 - 1600 hrs PST 320 x 240. This was 133MB and 12 minutes long.
I have a 24 second clip in 640 x 480 that was 7MB, but it was the no movement video (OK I'm new at this).
I have a 4 minute 43MB 320 X240 clip that is 12 minutes long.

More of previous...

Some problems I have are common to helmet mounted lights. When riding I don't naturally aim well with my head. I have a handlebar mounted mirror on bullhorns, when I look at it: I film my front tire. I will try the handlebar mount for the camera next, and some 640 video. I think the times will vary widely with digital recording, will I get 2x as much time in cloudy weather?

<Spock> Fascinating. </Spock>

Thanks for the pics! 640x480 shots of car license plates would probably be of special interest :)

Thanks for the pics.
Would handle bar mount be steady enough?

Any leads on cheap 1GB cards?
Otherwise I'll get a $55-60 Kingston or Viking SD card from newegg.

Viking 1GB SD card is $52.95 - $10 rebate = $42.95!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820142002

Even though the manual says 1GB SD card max, has anyone tried a 2GB card?

There is a complete user manual available on their web site.
It is recommended that you limit movie clips to 15 mins. I would
assume that the next clip would be a seperate file. Records in AVI format
It's rain resistant, not water proof.

It is recommended that you limit movie clips to 15 mins. I would
assume that the next clip would be a seperate file. Records in AVI format
I believe they only make that recommendation so that you don't crash their free video editing program. I have Pinnacle Studio that I use for my camcorder, and I have handled video files of about an hour with no problems.

I haven't bought mine yet, but I highly suggest VirtualDub as a simple editing program. It even has a built-in Motion-Jpeg codec, so you may not need to install the (probably crappy) software the thing comes with to edit the video.

I haven't bought mine yet, but I highly suggest VirtualDub as a simple editing program. It even has a built-in Motion-Jpeg codec, so you may not need to install the (probably crappy) software the thing comes with to edit the video.
+1 ... and it's free here: http://www.virtualdub.org/

Just got mine in the mail today. I've mounted it to my helmet. Now for some test riding tomorrow!

Check out a couple of test videos at maximum (640 x 480) resolution. Each one is about 5 seconds (1 MB file size). One is with the camera on the helmet pointed forward, the other is pointing backwards. I need to rotate the camera a bit next time.

http://www.briandesousa.com/misc/video/testfront.avi
http://www.briandesousa.com/misc/video/testrear.avi

Check out a couple of test videos at maximum (640 x 480) resolution. Each one is about 5 seconds (1 MB file size). One is with the camera on the helmet pointed forward, the other is pointing backwards. I need to rotate the camera a bit next time.

http://www.briandesousa.com/misc/video/testfront.avi
http://www.briandesousa.com/misc/video/testrear.aviIs that in DiVX or something? WMP9 won't play it.

Is that in DiVX or something? WMP9 won't play it.
Mine neither unless that was a video of a coal mine at midnight.

It's playing as a quicktime file for me.

GSpot sez... It's Motion JPEG. However, I tried it with two codecs and VirtualDub. Nothing could read it except Quicktime Player.

Looks good though. I'm buying one as soon as my xmas money comes in.

GSpot sez... It's Motion JPEG. However, I tried it with two codecs and VirtualDub. Nothing could read it except Quicktime Player.
That's strange, I used VirtualDub to trim the videos. The AVI files play OK with Windows Media Player on both my Windows 2000 and XP machines.

I also saved the videos as Windows Media Player files ... but I lost the sound in the process:

http://www.briandesousa.com/misc/video/testfront.wmv
http://www.briandesousa.com/misc/video/testrear.wmv

Tommorrow I'll get some basic stats. I have a 1GB SD card, rechargeable batteries and a 20 mile commute, 1 1/2 hours.
In regards to video codec's players, etc
http://home.hccnet.nl/h.edskes/finalbuilds.htm#klcodec
If you use this setup everything goes thru windows media player classic. I watch quicktime, real player, wmv, divx, avi, mpeg, on one player. It has no spyware, or weird stuff and it's free.

I posted some video, but I didn't post a review. To sum up, not bad for $80. The frame rate is only 15 fps, which makes the video a little choppy compared to normal 30 fps, but still quite viewable.

I'm impressed at the assortment of brackets and straps that came with the camera. There's enough provided so that almost anyone can mount the camera on their helmet or handlebar. (Although I think mounting the camera to the handlebar would make for some bumpy video.) The brackets even allow for rotational adjustment, for people with funny shaped heads like mine! :D

Looks like I'll get an hour of video at maximum resolution with my 1GB SD card. That's almost enough to cover my commute. Since the camera's so light, I'll wear it on all my commutes. If something interesting happens on my commute to work, I'll dump the contents of the card to my work computer. Then I'll erase the card and reuse it for the ride home. I don't know how quickly the camera will eat batteries; we'll see over the long term.

I'm also impressed with the layout of the buttons on the camera. Even with the camera on the helmet, I can easily feel around for the start/stop buttons while I'm riding! The camera has one loud beep when it starts recording and two loud beeps when it stops recording, easy enough to hear while riding.

Anyway, I have a couple of pics of how I attach the camera to the helmet. I use the bracket provided, but instead of using the rubber pad and velcro strap, I use 3M Dual Lock. The big long strap on my helmet is probably overkill, but it lets me place the camera anywhere I want - including pointing backwards as well as forwards.

This is, of course, a daytime camera - so the nighttime part of my commutes won't show up too well....

When riding yesterday, the batteries died before I could get a full hour of video. I didn't say anything since at the time I thought I grabbed an old set of batteries.

So today I got a fresh set of batteries and tried again. The batteries died again before a full hour of video. Anyone else have this problem?

The website recommends lithium batteries when it gets colder than 32 degrees. It was in the 50s on both of my rides.

I'm going to try NiMH rechargeables, and if that doesn't work I'll try the lithiums.

I saw Bikepacker's post about catching an aggressive motorist on video. That got me thnking - most of the time I'd have the camera facing forward, but there are times where I'd want it pointing backwards. Maybe I could rip it off the velcro while riding and stick it back on the other way while riding? Hmmmm.....

Brian,
Great reports on the ATC-1000. I got mine Friday and my report would be the same in regard to use of the unit.
I mounted on handlebars for the first try (easier) and later on the helmet.
I like the handlebar view better, although road chop sure can make it vibrate. The vibrations are higher freqency than can be picked up by 15fps, so instead of a vibrating field, one gets distortion - from the vertical compression/expansions. Like viewing thru ripples. I like that the handlebar mount is less visible.
As I only did short neighborhood runs I have no interesting video.
Looks like I need to get some 3M dual lock.

As to battery life I shot over 1hr on a fresh set of alkalines, but this was about 3 separate videos. I'm using NiMH next.

Al

With the alkalines, I got about 25 minutes of video before it stopped. I waited a bit for the batteries to "rest", then I got another 10 minutes of video before I gave up. I have to admit I was using cheapie alkalines instead of other brands I normally use.

I got a full hour of recording, non-stop, with the NiMH rechargables, in 45-50 degree temperatures. I've erased the card and I have the camera in the backyard right now seeing if I can get another hour on the same batteries.

My guess is that the camera needs to see a certain minimum voltage. Alkalines have a steady voltage dropoff during discharge, while NiMH batteries maintain a contant voltage, followed by a steep voltage drop. That might explain why I had better results with NiMH.

I made a lens hood that sticks out about 3/8" from the front of the camera body. This greatly helps reduce flare from the sun. Flare is very bad with this cheap lens.

Al

Great idea, Al. BTW, my NiMH batteries lasted through 2.5 hours of recording. So it looks like I'll be using the rechargables!

I rode home using the ATC-1000. I got 35 minutes from my batteries, and had another 25 minutes to go on the sd card. I would assume from reading above post's you get an hour of 640 x 480 video on a 1GB sd card.
Anybody an expert on batteries? I used
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=1-5/qid=1135050686/ref=sr_1_5/602-8474404-4818265?%5Fencoding=UTF8&asin=B000066PGS
except mine say 850 mAh.
They were charged for 24 hours...
I used velcro and attached my camera to the top of a niterider light. I used a zip-tie- just in case. I like this, it makes a tripod and no aiming problems.

Anybody an expert on batteries? I used
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=1-5/qid=1135050686/ref=sr_1_5/602-8474404-4818265?%5Fencoding=UTF8&asin=B000066PGS
except mine say 850 mAh.

850mAh is about right for AAA NiMH. Not sure why your run time was so low (compared to the previous poster). Maybe he used 320x240 cap, which would do a lot less writing to the card?
If mine is that low I'll go for rigging some kind of external power using dummy batteries or something.

I've been using 640x480 resolution. I went back and checked my videos and I only get 50 minutes on a 1GB card. The NiMH batteries I used were only 780 mAh, they lasted about 2 hours or so.

Can anyone view this? (I'd suggest right clicking on link and 'Save Target As...." to desktop or other location. It's 5.7MB)

http://www.optionnz.com/users/afs/corner.avi

This is not representative of what comes from camera as it has been downsized and heavy compression applied. I used Indio 4.5 as codec.

Al

The AVI files play OK with Windows Media Player on both my Windows 2000 and XP machines.

I can see them fine on my PC that has not had any codecs specially loaded. (i.e. just the ones that come with Windows XP are installed)

Al

I used Indio 4.5 as codec.

Indio ships on all current Windows I believe, and Mac as well.; everyone should be able to see it.

Indio ships on all current Windows I believe, and Mac as well.; everyone should be able to see it.
Nice to know. I now am using Indeo 5.1 (which I had before, I just didn't notice)

Al

Here's some video of a local hill.
The vids about 20M but it's pretty fast download

http://rapidshare.de/files/9594446/monsonhill.mpg.html

I added "stops" onto the Dual Lock velcro on my helmet (see attached picture). That's to mark the camera positions for the forward and rearward facing views. The idea is to have the camera facing forward normally, but be able to rip it off while riding and turn it around to point backwards in case something of interest happened to the rear.

I have a couple of short videos here: http://rapidshare.de/users/4C1E1

One of them is the view from the camera while I am turning it around while riding. The other is an alignment test of me riding on the shoulder/bike lane stripe.

Weird. I just bought mine from Best Buy, and I didn't get mounts like that. I got a rubber handlebar grip, a plastic snap clamp, a reusable zip-tie sort of thing to attach to the handlebar, and 3 lengths of cloth-type velcro.
Haven't used it on a ride yet, I'll try tonight. Will have to be handlebar mount since my helmet has a full-time cover on with the temps here lately.

Weird. I just bought mine from Best Buy, and I didn't get mounts like that. I got a rubber handlebar grip, a plastic snap clamp, a reusable zip-tie sort of thing to attach to the handlebar, and 3 lengths of cloth-type velcro.
That's what mine came with also. I bought the 3M Dual Lock myself and stuck a small piece on the plastic snap clamp and a big piece on the helmet.

I tried using a helmet mount this AM instead of handlebar.
I think I prefer handlebar. I move my head way to much and with the helmet mount this makes for a lot of blur and dizziness viewing video. I thought the hel-mount would be better to catch side of the road events, but it ends up being too smeared/shakey. Here are two short excerpts.
http://www.optionnz.com/users/afs/trailer.avi 4MB
http://www.optionnz.com/users/afs/pass1222.avi 1.4MB
Al

With the camera on the helmet, it takes a little discipline to keep your head straight. I've had some practice doing this with heavier cameras, so doing so with this little camera is a little easier for me. But you can get a stiff neck if you try to keep your head straight for too long.

I figured the handlebar mounting would give more bumpy video than helmet mounting, but I'll have to try it out. Problem is that I don't have much handlebar real estate available right now, due to the pair of Cateye HL-EL500 LED headlights I have on the bars.

With the camera on the helmet, it takes a little discipline to keep your head straight. I've had some practice doing this with heavier cameras, so doing so with this little camera is a little easier for me. But you can get a stiff neck if you try to keep your head straight for too long.

Problem with keeping head still is not just discipline, but that I like to look around, look at speedometer, look behind me, look into mirror. Each time you do this is disrupts the flow of the video. There is also the problem of different head positions for slowing/approaching intersections (heads up) vs. cruising (heads down) so you get too much sky when approaching intersections and too much pavement when cruising. Sure one can compensate, but thats too much to think about when riding in traffic.
Al

Problem with keeping head still is not just discipline, but that I like to look around, look at speedometer, look behind me, look into mirror. Each time you do this is disrupts the flow of the video. There is also the problem of different head positions for slowing/approaching intersections (heads up) vs. cruising (heads down) so you get too much sky when approaching intersections and too much pavement when cruising. Sure one can compensate, but thats too much to think about when riding in traffic.
All very true, although I'll have to add that I can look into my eyeglass mounted mirror without turning my head. But deliberate head turning can be an advantage in some cases, such as focusing on drivers inching out of driveways. Also, the best helmet mounted video should be less bumpy than the best handlebar mounted video. I think the optimal camera mounting all boils down to the intended purpose of the video. If you're trying to capture usable video for the whole ride, it's easy enough to just leave the camera on the bars and essentially forget about it. If you're trying to capture a few key scenes at better quality, at the expense of the rest of the video, then I think helmet mounting is the way to go. But I'm still going to try the handlebar mounting to see how it goes.

WTF, do these things attract idiots?
I bought mine Wednesday, and rode home with it the first time last night. 5 minutes after leaving work, I had my closest call all year, a pickup watched me approach and pulled across the intersection in front of me. I braked hard and avoided hitting him by about 3 feet.
It wasn't actually a very challenging situation, really no chance he was going to get me, but it sure seems like the people who have bought these have been getting good "idiot" footage quickly after starting to use them.

Oh, BTW, I put in a set of freshly charged NiMH's; they only ran 13 minutes. However, they are a couple of years old at least and have not been used much. I'll pick up a new set and try that. However, the voltage is 4.8 instead of 6, so they may not do well.

I'm going to probably check with Oregon Scientific and see if I can buy replacement end caps. I'd like to build one with a power socket in the back that leads to a dummy battery set (a couple of wood dowels with tacks in the end, stuck down the battery area should work). I also want to build a parachute rig for using it in rocketry, so having some spare end caps may be useful.

WTF, do these things attract idiots?


Funny how that happens, eh? Post your close call at that Rapidshare (http://rapidshare.de/) site. I'd love to see it.


Oh, BTW, I put in a set of freshly charged NiMH's; they only ran 13 minutes.


Same problem here, but I've chalked it up to the cold weather (20F).
I ran the same NiMH batteries the full hour inside w/o a problem.

I bought a set of lithium for today's ride, but unfortunately they're not rechargeable. We'll see how well they do given that it should be close to 40F this pm.



I'm going to probably check with Oregon Scientific and see if I can buy replacement end caps. I'd like to build one with a power socket in the back that leads to a dummy battery set (a couple of wood dowels with tacks in the end, stuck down the battery area should work). I also want to build a parachute rig for using it in rocketry, so having some spare end caps may be useful.


That sounds cool... let us know how it works out (I'd be interested figuring out a way to use my cygolight 6V bottle battery to power this thing)