walrus1

If so please take a minute and tell me about:

1. Why you got one?
2. Peoples reactions to it (see poll)
3. What brand and model you have
4. If you feel safer with it
5. If you use it daily or only on long or special trips
6. What kinda of cyclist you are, road racer, commuter, day tripper ect.

I'm toying with the idea of getting one and have a couple brands in mind but I'm also interested in how other people see it.

Machka 

Do you wear or have a helmet cam attached to your bike?

Nope.

If I want to photograph the scenery around me, I use a p&s. And I usually carry a small p&s with me.

akrejci

1. Regular harrassment on my commute to work. Last straw was when they threw coffee on me.
2. Helmet mounted, so I get curious looks mostly.
3. GoPro Hero2.
4. No safer at all. I've called police twice to report to aggressive drivers. 1st one was helpful, second complained I was wasting his time.
5. Use it on daily commute. Southeast Washington state is a very redneck area, they don't like bikes on the road at all.
6. Commuter and car free.

dynodonn 

Initially, to gather better info on aggressive motorists, now I've integrated chronicling the many changes along my commute routes that have happened over time.

Only a few cyclists have noticed my two bike mounted cams, and that was at a cycling forum a couple of years ago.

My front and rear cams are both Contour 1080Ps. (stealthy, and color match my black bike)

I don't feel safer, but I now ride with less frustration in knowing that certain number of motorists have far less of a chance in getting away with their aggressive behavior.

I use both my cams on a near daily basis.

Urban Commuter.

walrus1

Akrejci, do you find the gopro to be bulk at all?

dynodonn where do you mount the rear camera? How do you like the Contours?

MEversbergII

I would, but most of my cycling is to work and cameras are not allowed in the lab.

M.

dynodonn 

I have a rear basket that I mount the camera to (definitely gives some harrowing video shots of close passes made by a number of motorists). I like the Contours for their compact nature, with the two things that I don't like being that I'm not able to review a video without the aid of an external source, and the fact that Contour just recently went out of business.

Dudelsack 

The GoPro is a PITA.

I got one to make cool bike videos. Unfortunately, my computer doesn't have the processing power to do this easily, so it takes for ever and a day to do even a short clip.

Then the unit started to act up. Still haven't figured out what's wrong with it.

I'd like to use it for anti-motorist surveillance. I mount mine on the bike. I tried mounting it on the helmet, but it's too heavy for that.

This week someone passed me and yelled obscenities. When they had passed, I pointed to the camera, gave them the thumbs up, and said "Smile, you're on Candid Camera".

Of course the camera wasn't working. But if they saw that, it might make them think twice before they harass another cyclist.

StephenH

I've got one, got it as a gift, have used it a few times, but not routinely.

dynodonn 

At speed, chances are that they didn't understand what you said, and mistakenly thought your thumbs up and pointing gestures as obscene ones. From my experiences, incidents happen quickly, and I do my best to make sure that my cameras are in working order every time I make a commute.

1nterceptor

1. Why you got one? Record rides.
2. Peoples reactions to it (see poll). Most people don't notice it.
3. What brand and model you have. ContourGPS.
4. If you feel safer with it. No
5. If you use it daily or only on long or special trips. Special trips; vacations, charity ride, etc.
6. What kinda of cyclist you are, road racer, commuter, day tripper ect. Commuter/roadie/tourist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJA9SXNTsd8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jea4lv48bDQ

walrus1

Are they secure enough to your bike that theft is not a worry? I've never heard of a rear facing camera but I think the idea is just simply brilliant! If memory serves correctly they have a usb port right? Perhaps you can get a cable and, if needed, and view them through your smartphone if you have one. Woah! I didn't know they folded! But their site is still up and they still appear to be selling cameras....... Hmm, unless someone buys them I'm not touching their cameras.

Which one did you get?

carpediemracing 

Helmet cam, not bar or bike mounted. A helmet mounted camera gives you an idea of where the rider is looking. Bar mounted one doesn't.

1. I got one when a racer made an intentional move that resulted in the first broken bone in my life (which happened at the end of my 27th season of racing). Before the race he even asked me if I'd be wearing my then-cobbled-together camcorder+cam+8AA+cords/adapters setup. I told him no. I was out of work for 2 months. The rider was not effectively penalized because there was no video/photographic proof. I was out a lot of personal money, robbing my savings to pay for medical costs. I could have bought with that money, at that time ($300), a ContourHD for every rider in the field and then some. I bought one so I wouldn't have an excuse not to be recording my races. After thinking about it I started wearing it on every training ride as well.

2. People who are respectful thinks it's great. Ones who know they're breaking rules/laws/etc think it's unnecessary.

3. Contour (their early 1080p model, two of them, plus one Contour+). And yes they folded. I think that "easy to use" is absolutely critical - my camcorder rig was a real pain to use and that's why I didn't have it on that fateful day. I haven't changed the basic set up from day one.

4. I don't feel safer with it when training but I wear it so if I die on a ride then someone will know something about what happened.

5. I use it every time I ride outside.

6. I race and train. I actually train more on the trainer than outside, at least nowadays. I don't use the bike for any errands. At some point shortly I'll be using the bike to take my 18 month old son along a MUP in a trailer.

I edit some race clips and share them on YouTube, partially to entertain, partially to educate, and mainly to give myself something to watch when I ride on the trainer.

The closest call I had was on a training ride with a teammate. Truck is going about 35-40 mph, we're going 20-ish. My teammate is actually ducking his left shoulder down a touch, he started the motion when he saw the bumper out of the corner of his eye:


For a cam I'd recommend the following features:
1. Water resistant/proof
2. Replaceable battery
3. Rotating lens so you can mount it sideways etc
4. 720p option, or a really good 1080p. I use the Contour in 720p, better quality picture. The still above is from a clip (obviously). The detail is pretty good and the plate is crystal clear in a later frame.
5. Simple as possible operation (like one sliding power bar is excellent).
6. Rear cam is useful for road traffic stuff.

Incidentally I use a front and rear cam when I drive, for the same morbid reasons. It's amazing how many people veer over the yellow, run reds, run stops, etc. A recent clip that had an immediate penalty (the driver had a young girl in the car too). The Missus and Junior are in the red car in front of me.

dynodonn 

Were you able to get the license of the truck and report the motorist? I have two similar incidents on video, one with a motorists vehicle having a smashed right front fender and bumper from a previous collision, which by the way got the law enforcement dispatcher's attention even more so, taking my report even more seriously.

carpediemracing 

We did go to the police department, simply because the next rider may not be quite so lucky. However, due to no contact, there was nothing they could do other than go talk to the driver.

My teammate is a legislative lawyer so he understood the fine points of the law, and unfortunately he needed to get hit for there to be any official action.

dynodonn 

I have no problems with law enforcement having a talk with a motorist, plus the incident was recorded with law enforcement along with the motorist's info, that way if more incidents similar to yours happen in the future with the same motorist, law enforcement may have grounds to do more than just talk.

carpediemracing 

Our thoughts exactly.

walrus1

So after a particularly scary incident today I'm thinking I'm going to get a camera ASAP. I like the contour but I'm nervous about buying a $130 camera plus a $50 mount from a company that no longer exists. Does anyone know anything about the Muvi HD or the Regular Muvi?

gpsblake

I am using my camera now, not much to record bad drivers, but to record my rides. So far, it's worked out well.

carpediemracing 

I would be leery about buying a product sold by a defunct company. For example I wouldn't go out and buy 3 Contours now, which is how many I have, plus numerous mounts, extra battery, charger, etc.

I'm afraid that you'll need to do some digging around. My previous thoughts still apply:
1. Water resistant/proof
2. Replaceable battery
3. Rotating lens so you can mount it sideways etc
4. 720p option, or a really good 1080p. I use the Contour in 720p, better quality picture. The still above is from a clip (obviously). The detail is pretty good and the plate is crystal clear in a later frame.
5. Simple as possible operation (like one sliding power bar is excellent).

I'd spend some time looking through listings in Amazon or even Google search results. I think that there are a number of cameras out there that will work.

fietsbob

none , Myself

but the emergency room has a download to answer the question
'' what were you doing when this happened ?''
so I can see their use.

walrus1

gpsblake, What kind of camera are you using?

carpeidiemracing, I probably won't end up buying a contour unless one of three things happens:
1. The prices falls drastically. I'm kinda surprised this hasn't happened yet.
2. I get a new one on eBay on the super cheap
3. Someone else buys 'em out. I'd think this will likely happen.

I'm looking at other cameras but I don't like the way many of them are mounted on the helmet. I don't need a large plastic box as a helmet ornament on my head. I'm trying to decide between the Muvi HD or Midland XTC-300VP4. I like the Midland but at $180 it's still rather pricey. I'm kind of surprised at how few helmet cameras they are. As cameras get, smaller, cheaper and less expensive all the time see your smartphone one would think there would be a market for a reasonably priced and unobtrusive helmet cam.

gpsblake

Walrus1, right now a cheap Emerson $40 camera.

https://www.amazon.com/Southern-Telec...n+video+camera

I held off on a gopro for right now. Video wise, the camera is okay and with post-editing via Virtual Dub, not bad at all. Playing around with it, I can get license plate numbers on a lot of cars although that's not my purpose, if I use the so-called HD mode. However, something rattles inside the camera that makes like a captain crunch noise when the bicycle is in motion or even just shaking it in my hand. I was able to get about 100 minutes of video in regular mode before it died on batteries. Using it on a dirt road with the bike mount is too shaky to be useful.

The bicycle mount with that cheap camera is outstanding, fits nice. Using it on the helmet feels weird to me though, maybe it's just too heavy for that purpose. I'll upload a few minutes of riding within the next day or two.

gpsblake

Video of cheap 40 dollar camera with no post-processing Hear the crunch sound? Very sensitive microphone though.

walrus1

@gpsblake It seems that any text in those videos licenses plates road signs etc are so shaky that their almost unreadable. Appreciate the ideas but if I can't read the plates off the video the camera doesn't fit my needs.