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I just had a thought: a guy around here rides around with a video camera or some such strapped to the top of his helmet. You bet he gets lots of space on the road!
What about carrying one of those small digital cameras around your neck, and when some a** cuts you off or does something dangerous, pull it up and snap his car/liscence plate? Even if you don't do anything, it will sure make them worry about it for a while if they see you doing it...and be more careful around the next bike they see on the road.
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you really think you would have time to turn on the camera focus and take a pic all while riding as if you stop thats mroe time wasted? it takes several seconds for most camera's to turn on.
I suppose a cheap disposable camera wouldn't be a bad idea. Just keep it wound up and in your jersey/cargo pocket. Doesn't need any time to focus. It would be good enough for liscence plate evidence.
I have a public access show and have thought about getting a clamp to mount a small DV camera on my handlebars during Critical Mass, but that was even before all this madness.
Anyway, you could get a good clamp at a photo place like B&H if you wanted to just have fun with it. Just let it record for the duration of the tape, who knows what you'll see!
Ive thought about this as a way of gathering evidence against careless drivers. I think you need 2 cameras, one facing forward, one covering the rear. Helmet mounting would remove a lot of the vibration you get on the bike. Small webcam style cameras would be adaquate ,you dont need zoom or focus and drivers would not be able to see them..
If you keep the recorder separate there is minimal weight on the helmet. Im not sure if you want a tape, solid state menory chip or a minature hard disk. The recorder/power unit should be small enough to carry on a belt pack or inside a backpack.
Ive taken photographs at CMs of police manhandling riders (specifically a young deaf boy who did not stop when a policeman called from behind). It was only my pictures that convinved the local cops that they were over-reacting, and they altered their policing methods to allow a trouble-free CM ride.
Sounds like the provocation that some people would use to beat you, trash your bike, and steal your camera. Hope you can ride faster that a person can run in a place where a car can not go.
I have a public access show and have thought about getting a clamp to mount a small DV camera on my handlebars during Critical Mass, but that was even before all this madness.
Anyway, you could get a good clamp at a photo place like B&H if you wanted to just have fun with it. Just let it record for the duration of the tape, who knows what you'll see!
that sounds like a fun idea, especially if you've got the means to broadcast it to the masses...
I have a public access show and have thought about getting a clamp to mount a small DV camera on my handlebars during Critical Mass, but that was even before all this madness.
Anyway, you could get a good clamp at a photo place like B&H if you wanted to just have fun with it. Just let it record for the duration of the tape, who knows what you'll see!
A technical question...
It sounds like a great idea, but how are you going to protect the camera from vibration? You'll need some sort of shock mount or you'll rattle the camera to pieces... and those small DV cameras are pretty expensive.
I'm just riding on the streets in the city and it's mostly pretty smoothly paved. If there are a couple of rough blocks that make video unusable, I could easily just edit those out. Wouldn't really have to be linear footage to make it enjoyable.
There's another public access show purely dedicated to bikes (Bike TV I think) and I've seen them do the same thing and it's pretty fun!
I think the guy is mic'd and he was riding around with some friends around San Franciso. Pretty cool.
A technical question...
It sounds like a great idea, but how are you going to protect the camera from vibration? You'll need some sort of shock mount or you'll rattle the camera to pieces... and those small DV cameras are pretty expensive.
some friends of mine collected a good amount of video from their street rides here. The roads are indeed somewhat smooth and they were riding at a good speed - they didnt ride on any sort of suspension, but I'm not 100% they were using a fixed mount for their cams either. In editing the footage looked very smooth though.
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I'm just riding on the streets in the city and it's mostly pretty smoothly paved. If there are a couple of rough blocks that make video unusable, I could easily just edit those out. Wouldn't really have to be linear footage to make it enjoyable.
I need to clarify...
It's not the stability of the video that concerns me. I think your viewers will understand and appreciate the verite presentation.
It's the effect of microvibration on the camera that you have to worry about. Over time, small-but-steady vibration tends to damage circuits and wear out moving parts. You need some sort of buffer between the camera and the bike. It would probably be fairly easy to build your own vibration-damping mount for just a few bucks.
Ehhhh. I have front suspension so there's that. On the other hand I have a hand held Canon ZR40 DV cam. It's pretty small and not so fragile. I've brought it along to plenty of rock concerts, had it dangle around my neck on my bike rides, and had it kick around for a week in Jamaica.
It's held up very well. If it was a $2000 camera I would worry more but if this camera is going to bite the dust, it will be KIA , not falling off a shelf out of a fancy protective bag at home. :)
I just ordered the new camera phone. I needed a new phone for a while since mine is pretty close to being one of those old ones that requires a bag. Thanks for the good idea.
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