fox_forma Posted December 13, 2006 Report Posted December 13, 2006 I have been racking my brain for a long time now trying to figure out what type of Camcorder to use for a helmet cam. Obviously it has to have an AV in for the cam to hook up to. My main concern is breaking it. I was hoping to possibly buy a used camcorder for the helmet cam and buy a higher end one for personal use. It seems though there is no real MiniDv choices out there that will accept a helmet cam anymore, and the older type camcorders like the Sony TRV330 are just tanks, dont really want to have that in my back while riding all day. If it has a warranty then hell, I will buy 1 camcorder and use it for all my purposes. Thats brings up another topic, where should I purchase from, best buy and circuit city seem like a joke, plus I dont see any cams with AV in. So what is everyone using in a way of a camcorder to hook into. Quote
RIPPEN Posted December 13, 2006 Report Posted December 13, 2006 Would recomend an actuall helmet cam kit... I think you can get a decent one for couple three hundred bones.. Its actually on my wish list this year :thumbsup: Loco may chime in, last year he linked me to a site that had cams.. RIPPEN Quote
fox_forma Posted December 13, 2006 Author Report Posted December 13, 2006 What do you mean actual helmet cam kit? Like a helmet cam that does everything in one? I still need the actual camcorder for regular use as well so I dont think that would be practical. That is if thats what you are talking about Quote
brock_fuzzy_69 Posted December 13, 2006 Report Posted December 13, 2006 i have a buddy who always buys his electronics goodies at the office supply store nto sure wich one it is but they have a relaly good no questions asked warranty Quote
RIPPEN Posted December 13, 2006 Report Posted December 13, 2006 GOOD LORD.. Just looked into it and the couple hundred bucks was just the cam part that you actually put on the helmet.. F-THAT, knew you wouldn't be able to get a great one for a few hundred but also didn't realize for a good one it would be upwards of a grand.. I know theres gotta be other options.. This thread may help me as well... RIPPEN Quote
Wallrat Posted December 13, 2006 Report Posted December 13, 2006 Check ebay for Canon ZR series. I got a base model which was a new factory blem for $120 shipped. Its mini-dv and has a/v in/out. Plus its super tiny and light. I've got it mounted in a pelican box which I just throw into a backpack. Something like this: LINK Quote
STLBILL Posted December 13, 2006 Report Posted December 13, 2006 I've noticed people rarely say what camera they use on here... :mad: The best helmet cam video I recall seeing is some guy going up some sand dune trail hillclimbs. It isn't like Choke Cherry or where you can just turn and go back down. He gets almost to the top and there is a log across the trail. Maybe in Oregon? It is just like you are riding with him. Most of the others are real shaky and not good quality. If I were going to do this I would get one of these. The price doesn't really bother me. I think to some degree you get what you pay for. -Bill Quote
Meat Posted December 13, 2006 Report Posted December 13, 2006 I've noticed people rarely say what camera they use on here... :mad: The best helmet cam video I recall seeing is some guy going up some sand dune trail hillclimbs. It isn't like Choke Cherry or where you can just turn and go back down. He gets almost to the top and there is a log across the trail. Maybe in Oregon? It is just like you are riding with him. Most of the others are real shaky and not good quality. If I were going to do this I would get one of these. The price doesn't really bother me. I think to some degree you get what you pay for. -Bill $500 bucks plus another $150 for the camera mount... $650.... plus ya still need a camcorder. Looks like the real deal tho, alot of these helmet cams out there are nothing but junk. My buddy does video for ATVScene.com and they use stuff from Jonescam. I don't recommend Jonescam tho, they're a bunch of nitwits from what I gather. Quote
fox_forma Posted December 13, 2006 Author Report Posted December 13, 2006 I'm not really trying to spend a butt load of $$$ on a helmet cam that wont get used a whole lot. I only really get to ride a handful of times a year cause the local spots are being shut down so I have to drive a good distance. So as of right now I'm not to worried about the helmet cam itself, rather the camcorder it needs to get connected to. Wallrat: what kind of quality do you get with that camcorder? Seems like its out of date with the 10x zoom compared to todays 20x and 25x zoom stuff. Although to me that gibberish for the most part. Any vids from it in use by chance? Quote
Handyman Posted December 13, 2006 Report Posted December 13, 2006 I use a small Sony digital recorder. I got my helmet cam that plugs into the camcorder for like $250. That was the camera, microphone, battery and a universal mount. The website has a crap load of accesories. I bought mine about 3 years ago and from the cameras they have on there now makes mine look like crap. I will try to find a video and post it up in a new thread. Quote
Bansh-eman Posted December 13, 2006 Report Posted December 13, 2006 (edited) I'm not really trying to spend a butt load of $$$ on a helmet cam that wont get used a whole lot. I only really get to ride a handful of times a year cause the local spots are being shut down so I have to drive a good distance. So as of right now I'm not to worried about the helmet cam itself, rather the camcorder it needs to get connected to. Wallrat: what kind of quality do you get with that camcorder? Seems like its out of date with the 10x zoom compared to todays 20x and 25x zoom stuff. Although to me that gibberish for the most part. Any vids from it in use by chance? it doesnt really matter how good the digital zoom is on the camera becasue its sole purpose is to store the video that the helmet cam is capturing... so even if you had a camera that can capture 1080p quality res your not going to get that if the helmet cam only goes to 720... all you need is a camera that takes digital hi8 tapes or even better the dvc minidv tapes....make sure you have the input for the helmet cam and your good Edited December 13, 2006 by Bansh-eman Quote
ClimbAnyHill Posted December 13, 2006 Report Posted December 13, 2006 http://www.viosport.com/store/customer/our...6281e85612ea7e9 Quote
Wallrat Posted December 13, 2006 Report Posted December 13, 2006 (edited) Exactly what bansh-eman posted. You're only using the camcorder for recording so aside from a/v input and format, the rest doesn't matter. I'll dig up a clip... Edited December 13, 2006 by Wallrat Quote
fox_forma Posted December 13, 2006 Author Report Posted December 13, 2006 it doesnt really matter how good the digital zoom is on the camera becasue its sole purpose is to store the video that the helmet cam is capturing... so even if you had a camera that can capture 1080p quality res your not going to get that if the helmet cam only goes to 720... all you need is a camera that takes digital hi8 tapes or even better the dvc minidv tapes....make sure you have the input for the helmet cam and your good I understand that but what about normal use for the camcorder without the helmet cam, does it really matter then? I would assume the more you zoom in the quality also gets a little distorted? Exactly what bansh-eman posted. You're only using the camcorder for recording so aside from a/v input and format, the rest doesn't matter. I'll dig up a clip... Thanks man Handyman: what camcorder do you use? Model number? Thanks Quote
bigboybanshee Posted December 13, 2006 Report Posted December 13, 2006 http://www.bulletcam.com/helmet_Cams_products.htm That is where I picked mine up from, I got the kit that had the cam with 380 lines of resolution. I abused the crap out of it for at least 2 years and it worked awesome until it's final days. I got a camcorder off ebay for 150, so the whole package only cost me roughly $310. I picked up a sony handycam, HI-8 camcorder, and it works excellent. I can't remember the model number but can get it for whoever wants it. I didn't want to spend a butt load of money on a nice camcorder to drag through the trails with me, so the HI-8 camcorder was perfect. And the best part is, I have a camcorder I can use anytime without the helmet cam, so it's not like I spent 300 bucks on just a helmet cam setup. Here's a link to a video I made with the helmet cam...it may take a while to download but it'll give you an idea of what you can have on a budget. This has also been compressed so the quality is much better on the "raw" footage :beer: Right click and "save target as" http://70.60.177.190/video/ls05.wmv Quote
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