Need Bike Video Cam Recommendations

[dynodonn]

.....Any recommendations, suggestions, advice, draw backs, etc?

Thank you in advance.

My condolences to your good friend.

My suggestion is to only start using a video camera if your route really warrants it, and the drawback I've found is during darkness and low light conditions, where video cams are at their weakest in getting finely detailed descriptions of vehicles, license plate numbers, and of motorists, even my 1080p HD cam at it's highest setting has trouble in getting the detailed info.

[ItsJustMe]

After a bunch of fiddling around with 808 keychain cameras, I got a Contour Roam. I rode with it for the first time this morning and am impressed with the low light performance. The video is grainy, nothing much can be done about that, and I don't think you'll be making out license plates in low light conditions, but it's pretty good.

I do want to warn people of a couple of things. First, the software (which you must download from the website) requires you to also install Quicktime (if installing on Windows). I don't allow Quicktime on my system so that was a non-starter. I did install on a VM just to try it out. The software is the only documented way to change the settings on the camera, and for me it only gave me the options of frame rate (30 or 25) and allowed me to set the date/time. I had to search around and found a TXT file that can be edited to set the other settings on the camera, including resolution, beep on/off, volume level, etc.

Also though they talk about sharing through YouTube and other services, it looks to me like you must upload to their site, then they will push to a linked YouTube (or whatever) account. I did not set up an account with them because I have no intention to give them information. I would be very careful when setting up an account, it's possible that they will present you with a EULA that gives them rights to your videos. I don't know that but I wouldn't be surprised.

There is no manual for the software, and it is NOT very intuitive. They have said on the forums that they are "working on a manual" - for over a year now. It should take a decent tech writer about a week to write a manual, but apparently it's not a priority for them.

There have been reports that the window in front of the lens is very susceptible to scratching and it's unclear whether they have a way to get it replaced. They say they're "working" on a (paid) service to replace scratched windows.

I'm a little nervous that the battery isn't user-replaceable - I will be using the thing for 90 minutes a day, about 250 days a year, so it's likely that in a year or two I'll need a replacement. They again say they're "working" on a (paid) service to replace dead batteries. If they "work" as hard at this as they do on putting out a manual, I may have to junk the camera when the battery dies in a year or two.

I was very unimpressed with the mounts - they only secure via sticky tape and they are not curved to mate properly with a helmet though one of them is somewhat flexible. I designed my own and printed one on a 3D printer, you can see it at http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:22212

In the end, it's a really nice camera with good video quality, but you should expect to provide your own video editing software, and you should expect to either have to make a mount or pay up to $40 for a better mount than what comes with it. Maybe I'm wrong about the mounts but I sure don't trust them.

[1nterceptor]

I have a ContourGPS for a few months now.
Because of the bullet shape, it's much easier
to do homemade mounts. As opposed to the
Gopro's. I tried uploading some videos to the
Contour site, but they never show up.


FORK MOUNTED CONTOURGPS CAM by 1nterceptor, on Flickr


HOMEMADE CONTOUR MOUNT1 by 1nterceptor, on Flickr

Not shown; cam mounted by the rear triangle with strips of inner tube and helmet mounted using the
goggle strap attachment on a wide pant strap.

[weshigh]

After a bunch of fiddling around with 808 keychain cameras, I got a Contour Roam. I rode with it for the first time this morning and am impressed with the low light performance. The video is grainy, nothing much can be done about that, and I don't think you'll be making out license plates in low light conditions, but it's pretty good.

I do want to warn people of a couple of things. First, the software (which you must download from the website) requires you to also install Quicktime (if installing on Windows). I don't allow Quicktime on my system so that was a non-starter. I did install on a VM just to try it out. The software is the only documented way to change the settings on the camera, and for me it only gave me the options of frame rate (30 or 25) and allowed me to set the date/time. I had to search around and found a TXT file that can be edited to set the other settings on the camera, including resolution, beep on/off, volume level, etc.

Also though they talk about sharing through YouTube and other services, it looks to me like you must upload to their site, then they will push to a linked YouTube (or whatever) account. I did not set up an account with them because I have no intention to give them information. I would be very careful when setting up an account, it's possible that they will present you with a EULA that gives them rights to your videos. I don't know that but I wouldn't be surprised.

There is no manual for the software, and it is NOT very intuitive. They have said on the forums that they are "working on a manual" - for over a year now. It should take a decent tech writer about a week to write a manual, but apparently it's not a priority for them.

There have been reports that the window in front of the lens is very susceptible to scratching and it's unclear whether they have a way to get it replaced. They say they're "working" on a (paid) service to replace scratched windows.

I'm a little nervous that the battery isn't user-replaceable - I will be using the thing for 90 minutes a day, about 250 days a year, so it's likely that in a year or two I'll need a replacement. They again say they're "working" on a (paid) service to replace dead batteries. If they "work" as hard at this as they do on putting out a manual, I may have to junk the camera when the battery dies in a year or two.

I was very unimpressed with the mounts - they only secure via sticky tape and they are not curved to mate properly with a helmet though one of them is somewhat flexible. I designed my own and printed one on a 3D printer, you can see it at http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:22212

In the end, it's a really nice camera with good video quality, but you should expect to provide your own video editing software, and you should expect to either have to make a mount or pay up to $40 for a better mount than what comes with it. Maybe I'm wrong about the mounts but I sure don't trust them.

I've been using my ContourROAM for about 9 months now. So far no issues with the battery using it 2-2.5hrs a day and charging it once a day. To upload to youtube, I copy the files off the SD card manually and then edit using whatever editing software I may have. No need to use their program for anything except setting the few settings.

[2 Piece]

I'm waiting on delivery of a Swann Freestyle video cam. 1080HD, lots of mounts and Costco has them for $149.00 plus a free (small) card.
http://www.swann.com/s/products/view/?product=1297

Not sue if this video camera will be any good or not, but it seems to have some pretty nice features, I think I will like the remote control.

Just looked on Costco's site and could no longer find them.

[ItsJustMe]

I'm waiting on delivery of a Swann Freestyle video cam. 1080HD, lots of mounts and Costco has them for $149.00 plus a free (small) card.

Let us know. Woot.com had them for $139 a few days ago, so they may pop up on that site again. It came up the day after I ordered my Contour Roam.

[ItsJustMe]

No need to use their program for anything except setting the few settings.

No need to use it even for that. You can just edit the txt file in the root of the memory card, it's trivial and the documentation on how to do it is right there in the card. The only thing that's not immediately apparent is that you need to put "Y" in the "Update" field to get it to read the values and store them.

[AdamDZ]

I had two MD80s and both didn't last very long, 3 months maybe. They just stopped charging up after that. Their small size is a huge advantage though if you want to mess around because they can be mounted anywhere, as the above videos show. I have Drift HD now and a guy at work has GoPro. The GoPro image quality is a lot better, no doubt, but the form factor is weird.

[sauerwald]

I have the Contour Roam and am pretty happy with it. Sample videos can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/user/sauerwald58/videos

The quality drops significantly when uploaded to youtube, in the originals, it is quite easy to make out license plate numbers from stills.

[ItsJustMe]

Along with thousands of others, I wish that GoPro would introduce a more streamlined model.

FWIW, here's video from my first day with the Contour Roam
http://youtu.be/xbLEBbePj1s

I'm going to try the lower resolution modes later this week and see how much quality suffers. 1080p mode uses up memory fast (about 5 GB per hour or so)

[weshigh]

Along with thousands of others, I wish that GoPro would introduce a more streamlined model.

FWIW, here's video from my first day with the Contour Roam
http://youtu.be/xbLEBbePj1s

I'm going to try the lower resolution modes later this week and see how much quality suffers. 1080p mode uses up memory fast (about 5 GB per hour or so)

Are you archiving all your footage? I just delete if nothing of interest happened, which is most of the time.

[CabezaShok]

Along with thousands of others, I wish that GoPro would introduce a more streamlined model.

Or a competitor to use a similar wide angle lens. Optics must be the most expensive part of manufacturing these gizmos.

[ItsJustMe]

Or a competitor to use a similar wide angle lens. Optics must be the most expensive part of manufacturing these gizmos.

The Contour Roam has a 170 degree lens. Doesn't get much wider than that.

[ItsJustMe]

Are you archiving all your footage? I just delete if nothing of interest happened, which is most of the time.

No, but it would be nice to not have to bother deleting all the footage every 2 or 3 days. The format button is hard to get at.

What I wish they'd do is to introduce a loop recording mode. I mean, a $38 keychain camera from China/eBay can do it, I'm sure they could do it too. Then all I'd have to do would be to keep it charged and turn it on and off.

[Rimmer]

GoPro Hero
Contour
CamOne Infinity
Replay 1080
Drift HD
ATC9K

Pick one

[2 Piece]

The Swann FreeStyle arrived. This set has many different mounts included, but none specific for bicycle mounting. Comes with many accessories, water proof case, remote control, a small LCD screen which can attach to the back of the camera. You can watch what you are recording through the LCD screen, view play back and set camera settings with the LCD screen. The LCD screen must be removed when using the water proof case. It has 170 degree CMOS lens and can record in 1080p.
Here is a little video I made in 1080p just riding around the house.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLprg...ature=youtu.be

[ItsJustMe]

I discovered something cool yesterday. The Contour Roam records the date/time stamp as a subtitle track in the video, so you can overlay it if you want but it isn't there if you don't.

[truman]

Anybody dealt with the Looxcie line? The configuration fascinates me.

http://looxcie.com/

[degnaw]

One thing I've noticed is that when I use my ContourHD in 960p mode (which gives the widest field of view), it's horrible at getting plate numbers - in that mode, it's effective range is only about 15 feet. Is it just my camera and/or the settings I use?

I use quicktime to view the video full size and progress frame by frame.

[ItsJustMe]

One thing I've noticed is that when I use my ContourHD in 960p mode (which gives the widest field of view), it's horrible at getting plate numbers - in that mode, it's effective range is only about 15 feet. Is it just my camera and/or the settings I use?

I use quicktime to view the video full size and progress frame by frame.

It's really difficult to get plate numbers on any camera I've tried. I practice turning my head and panning with the camera; this is the same thing you do if you're filming sports action too, pan the camera with the thing you want to watch.

[colleen c]

One thing I've noticed is that when I use my ContourHD in 960p mode (which gives the widest field of view), it's horrible at getting plate numbers - in that mode, it's effective range is only about 15 feet. Is it just my camera and/or the settings I use?

I use quicktime to view the video full size and progress frame by frame.

I find the higher resolution mode on my Contour more useful to capture plates even if the car passed me doing 40mph. Even with that I sometimes cannot view the number even with frame by frame. What I did find very helpful is to use a movie editor. I take the clip and drag it out to create a slow motion effect and do a crop of the plate. The result yeild a video where the plate number is much more easily identify. The editor I use is Sony Vegas editor.

[iconicflux]

Techmoan has reviewed a lot of 808's and says the best one is the #16. I have a #3, #11, and #16 and I can tell you that the #16 is worlds better AND it has awesome sound recording. Send me a PM if anyone wants a clip of it with my bike speaker going. The audio is surprisingly good.

[mtbikerinpa]

My Vivitar DVR 480 has worked well. 4gb card gets around 2-3 hrs record time(same as battery life). It is not HD as a go-pro or similar, but it has been quite successful and useful for the 20 bucks invested. Id hate to lose a couple hundred in an endo...

As to the night issue, for my observation night is hardly an issue. In a case study over the last several months, I have found almost no incidents where there were near misses or cut-offs after dark. Perhaps it has something to do with the super-dazzle lights, but the contrast of dark scenery and lights helps. Daytime on the other hand is a prime concern. In PA the idea of a dual camera setup could have some merit but it would be limited. Since we only have rear license plates the only positive ID is from the front cam.

Windows Movie Maker seems to work well enough for the vid software, in particular it has a picture mode where you can take a still of a frame(like the license).

[ItsJustMe]

Techmoan has reviewed a lot of 808's and says the best one is the #16. I have a #3, #11, and #16 and I can tell you that the #16 is worlds better AND it has awesome sound recording. Send me a PM if anyone wants a clip of it with my bike speaking going. The audio is surprisingly good.

I have a couple of 808 #16s, the good ones from eletoponline365. They're pretty good but are not waterproof, only run for 20 minutes unless you have an external battery, and though the video quality is quite good for the money, they're not really in the same league as the Contour I just bought. I'm probably going to wire up an 18650 cell to an 808 and stick it in some tupperware for a rear camera on the rack.

[CabezaShok]

I have a couple of 808 #16s, the good ones from eletoponline365. They're pretty good but are not waterproof, only run for 20 minutes unless you have an external battery, and though the video quality is quite good for the money, they're not really in the same league as the Contour I just bought. I'm probably going to wire up an 18650 cell to an 808 and stick it in some tupperware for a rear camera on the rack.

If wiring up a 18650 cell to that 808 works, please let us know!