What would be a good budget GoPro or any similar brand of camera, like to get something to video some rides in

what would be decent model of a GOPro or any other brand of video camera that is good for this type of thing. thanks

Amazon.com: Garmin Virb Action Camera (Discontinued by Manufacturer): GPS & Navigation

All day long for 104$.

The 130$ gopro is a decent deal too. If you're willing to pay a little bit more go with a gopro w/a removable battery and one with better memory compared to the base model camera.

GoPro has the 2-4, depending on how much you are willing to spend.

GoPro HERO3 Black Edition Camera HD Camcorder Brand New 704660933486 | eBay

there were manufacturer referb gopros for 299ish. Came with a huge bundle and I believe they were Hero3+....dont quote me though.....

SJ4000 is the best in the GoPro format for cheap. It's compatible with GoPro mounts. The quality of video is probably between the white and the silver edition. It's not the equal to the black, but the black is $400 and the SJ4000 is $120.

Personally I think the blacks are a ridiculous amount of overkill for daily commuting - unless you are also going to use the camera for something more demanding, or if money just doesn't matter that much to you, it's simply not worth the money.

The SJ4000 I think is at least the equivalent of the GoPro Hero3 silver (previous generation). Techmoan has a good review of it.

Personally I'm not a huge fan of the GoPro form factor, I'm not a fan of bolting bricks onto myself. I like the bullet format like the Sony ActionCam better, but I think I may pick up an SJ4000 as a rear-facing bike mounted cam.

My one suggestion would be, no matter what you get, make absolutely sure it has replaceable batteries. It's really nice if they're standard, the camera I currently have uses a Nokia cellphone battery. It would be awesome if all small consumer devices used a cheap, standard cellphone battery.

+1, especially if you have a compatible Garmin Edge that can act as a remote to start/stop recording. I just picked up one this week and waiting on my dual mount to put it on my bike. It's smaller than I expected and I've already taken some video with it. Has a lot of great features, you won't be disappointed.

SJCAM just came out with a new cam, the M10. It's basically the same camera as the SJ4000 but without the wifi (I've owned 3 action cams with wifi and have yet to actually use it beyond trying it once and saying "meh, that's kind of cool I guess"). and also has a smaller visible face, more of a cube than the tradition (and butt-ugly) GoPro look. I just ordered one last night.

It's a bit less expensive, you can get the camera with waterproof case and the whole array of (GoPro compatible) mounts plus an external charger and a spare battery for $99.

I should probably round up all the old unused action cams I have sitting around and ebay the things, just to clear up the clutter.

Spend as little as you can. I have a cheap one myself, and beyond my first few rides with it last year I haven't used it. I'm glad I didn't go all out and buy a GoPro. The novelty of it wears off pretty quickly.

I use mine every single ride, have for 3 years. It's not a novelty, I never actually look at the video unless something happens, which is maybe 3 times a year.

The important thing is to get a camera with a replaceable battery and an external charger, and at least one spare battery, and also one that you can turn on with one button. Also it should get to work and back on a single battery charge. That way you get home, swap in a new battery, done. Push the button (or slide the switch, whichever) at the beginning and end of the ride.

If it's harder than this, then A) you won't keep doing it, because B) you bought the wrong camera.

In general though I agree. For almost any purpose, it's better to buy a cheap unit that barely does what you need and use that for a while. After using it for a period of time you will be in a much better position to decide what is important to you in your next unit. I did this for bicycles, I do it for tools, cameras, etc.

after using mine for a while my 2 cents would be for a camera that is light in weight. And while sometimes I think it is good that mine is big and white and ppl might see it and be less likely to buzz me, especially when it is pointed back and to the left a little, I think a small light black camera would be nice to have. I don't always like looking like a bean-head, well more like a bean head ...