I rarely get buzzed anymore, but last week a car went by me at about 60mph with less than a foot of clearance, which really irritated me.
Luckily (I thought) I had my oregon scientific handlebar cam going. When i got home I hooked up the camera and was quite disappointed in the video quality. There was no way I could make out the plate, which as it turned out seemed to be the case for every car that passed me. I did get the guy's face when we had our conversation at the next light, so there's some value in that.
In the end I don't really see the value these cams for catching someone doing clearly dangerous things other than getting a make, model and description of the car which won't be of much use if I get flattened by a white honda accord or any number of other generic cars out there.
I recall someone here saying they actually showed their local leos the video and supposedly tickets were issued. Unless there is something wrong with my camera I don't see how you can get sufficient evidence of the offense and the offender.
Is there a setting I'm missing? I have it set for 30fps and for the large picture. The sound quality is horrific on the bike.
noisebeam
01-25-08, 07:22 AM
I have the earlier model (ATC-1000) with worse vid quality and have always considered it a fun toy, never a 'legal tool'
The other problem, aside from the quality, is the field of view. It is too narrow. If the camera had a wider angle lens it could better show passing clearances and stuff in the zone of immediate cyclist attention. As now it is more tunnel vision. For example if a driver makes a turn in front of you that could lead to collision without evasive action, the camera likely won't even pick up the car turning as it will be 'looking' further down the road by that point. Of course if the camera had a wider field of view it would need to be better quality to pick up the same level of poor detail it does as it is.
Al
littlewaywelt
01-25-08, 07:49 AM
I have the earlier model (ATC-1000) with worse vid quality and have always considered it a fun toy, never a 'legal tool'
The other problem, aside from the quality, is the field of view. It is too narrow. If the camera had a wider angle lens it could better show passing clearances and stuff in the zone of immediate cyclist attention. As now it is more tunnel vision. For example if a driver makes a turn in front of you that could lead to collision without evasive action, the camera likely won't even pick up the car turning as it will be 'looking' further down the road by that point. Of course if the camera had a wider field of view it would need to be better quality to pick up the same level of poor detail it does as it is.
Al
The field of view seems ok to me. Maybe that's changed. It was pretty easy to tell how close he was to me.
MyPC8MyBrain
01-25-08, 12:32 PM
I upgraded to the new version of that piece of junk based on information on their website that said it was sooooo much better than the -1000 version.
They lied. It is also a piece of crap.
The video squiggles all over the place, so it's really not good for anything that has motion in the video..like cycling.
dhofmann
01-25-08, 04:13 PM
Was the camera mounted on the bike or on your helmet? Bikes are naturally shaky, while your body absorbs a lot of vibration before it makes its way up to your head.
JLauren
01-25-08, 06:28 PM
Was the camera mounted on the bike or on your helmet? Bikes are naturally shaky, while your body absorbs a lot of vibration before it makes its way up to your head.
+1
I've got the atc-2000 (also bought mainly as a toy), and found the same thing. Not that my head doesn't move around a lot (for a sample, go to http://youtube.com and search for "Hickory Tavern"), but that can be an advantage when you want to get someone's face. And maybe, just maybe, someone might be a bit more careful if they see the camera.
littlewaywelt
01-28-08, 08:42 AM
I keep the camera on the bars because I don't want ppl to know I'm recording them.
clifbar
02-14-08, 10:16 AM
I use one atc2k on my helmet and one on my handlebars. It's not broadcast quality and I usually can't get the license plate number from it, but sometimes I can get truck numbers if they are big enough. It does serve as evidence if something bad happens, but even then you have to overcome the bias that law enforcement has against cyclists. I also use it for fun videos too. The quality is fine for the internet, but it is true, the camera doesn't like fast moves.
www.bikesafer.blogspot.com
http://velonews.com/article/71866