Camera Placement and Go-Pro Knock off Recommendations
 

I'm planning on getting back into bike commuting after a 6 year hiatus, just waiting on some bike parts for a new build. I'd like to record my commutes this time. Age has made me more wary of motorists and also less worried about looking like a dweeb with a helmet cam. :D

I've been looking at some $50 range Go-Pro knock offs on Amazon. Does anyone use a Go-Pro knock off camera? Any recommendations on specific models? Or on different camera styles? I'd like to keep it below $60.

My main question is, where do you all mount your camera? Helmet or Handlebars? Somewhere else? Pros and cons of placement?

The Yi Action Camera on Amazon is pretty good for the price. It costs more than $50, though, and you need the case to mount it securely on your bike. I haven't tried any of the other cheap cameras.

Helmet mount will add noticeable weight to your head and they look really dorky. Aiming a helmet camera is more complicated than aiming a handlebar camera and you may have to adjust the mount every time you put on your helmet. Cheap cameras do not have optical image stabilization, so mounting on your head will be more stable than mounting on your handlebars. Head mount also records what you are looking at instead of a fixed view.

I see people doing both styles, so there is no single best answer. Helmet mounts are more common with mountain bikers, mostly for the stability issue. Handlebar mounts are more popular with road bikers because it is simpler and you can lean forward as much as you want without affecting the camera's aim.

I got the $25 Amazon knock off
 

I got this one
30M Waterproof Sport DV-Mini Sports 1080P HD Action Camera A9 120°Wide-angle Lens for Free Accessories Kit and Waterproof Case (Sliver) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N8TX7PD/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_c6tAVBoMtFgVD
And like it a lot. You can add stabilization in post production even with the free Microsoft movie Maker software that is a free inclusion in Windows. It works fine.

I'm generally satisfied with the Ion Speed Pro. It's weatherproof as-is. Shaped like a fat tube, similar to the Contour Roam. Reasonable price, around $60-$75. Runs about 90 minutes per charge. Doesn't include the Ion made helmet mount but I rigged up my own from one of the spare mount shoes, some heavy duty Velcro tape and zip ties. Has worked fine for a year, about 50% on helmet (when riding my errand bike and hybrid), 50% on the standard handlebar mount (on my road bike -- the helmet mounted camera would only record the road when I'm on that bike).

I've written more detail on the pros and cons elsewhere on various bike forums threads.

Sunday evening was one of the few times the past year I didn't use the camera, and one of the rare occasions when I was nearly hit by an inattentive driver, less than 200 yards from my front door. Seems to be the way these things go. Fortunately I'm more attentive on my own block, which has the worst drivers in town. While I don't let my guard down elsewhere, I don't quite feel like drunken rampaging crashmobile pilots are as big a worry elsewhere, as they all seem to live in my neighborhood.

My first "real" action cam was a used Contour roam for 40 bucks. Then I bought a new one. when that one stopped after a year or so. I almost bought an Ion Speed Pro, but it didn't appear to have the rotating camera barrel that makes the roam more versitile when mounting. The Roam has a 1/4" threaded mount same as SLR cameras used to. So I made hemlet mount with a 1/4" bolt, some nuts, a wing-nut and a couple of fender washers. Rarerly goes out of alignment, even when josled in the closet after a ride. And while my Roam doesn't have a bluetooth or wifi realtime view for aiming, it does project a laser line at the push of a button for a quick check in a dim room.

I'm fond of the front bars but it's really interesting to record some from a helmet mounted to look back toward overtaking traffic


good luck searching for a sportcam that cheap. I believe my Polaroid was approx 3 x that

The cheapest cam I've used(so far) is a Polaroid CUBE. If you're only running one cam;
I'd go with helmet mounting:

Older Go Pro, HEro 960:

I really wanted to like the Fly6, but the seatpost only mount made it unusable for me.
I'll sell it for $75 if anybody wants it.

Cycliq Fly6 Tail-Light Camera - The Diablo Cyclist

These are my videos.