Bansh-eman Posted December 13, 2006 Report Posted December 13, 2006 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? Thanks man yea for normal use when you zoom in it will get distorted some... but to be honest your really not going to zoom all the way in much to matter... if you think about it when you zoom in your movment is maginifed and you can barly focus in on what your trying to film... i use a small panisonic camera i cant remember the modle off my head but it does great... im looking for a nice hemlet cam to use with it that wont cut the quality too much but i dont really want to spend 500 bones right now being i am in the middle of a total rebuild of my bike for next season.... i can use the 500 else where... Quote
fox_forma Posted December 14, 2006 Author Report Posted December 14, 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 That looks really good, thats basically what I am looking to get out of the helmet cam itself. So you used that bullet cam with the sony camcorder you are talking about? A model number would be great when you get the time :thumbsup: Quote
Wallrat Posted December 14, 2006 Report Posted December 14, 2006 Far as I know those Hi-8's aren't setup with firewire or anything since they're analog. Unless you've got analog inputs on your computer (most don't), you'll need to use a converter. Something like this: LINK I've seen cheaper ones than that but I think the cheapest I've seen was around $160. I'd still say your best bet would be to go with a cheap mini-dv. Quote
Bansh-eman Posted December 14, 2006 Report Posted December 14, 2006 Far as I know those Hi-8's aren't setup with firewire or anything since they're analog. Unless you've got analog inputs on your computer (most don't), you'll need to use a converter. Something like this: LINK I've seen cheaper ones than that but I think the cheapest I've seen was around $160. I'd still say your best bet would be to go with a cheap mini-dv. i had a sony before it broke that used hi-8 and it had a usb cable that plugged into my buddies laptop in iraq that i used to make a video on you can transfer the signal its just the quality of the recording isnt very good... mostly any camera you find now days is going to be mini dv tapes ....just ebay you a cheap camera thats mini dv/dvc and your good Quote
bigboybanshee Posted December 15, 2006 Report Posted December 15, 2006 That looks really good, thats basically what I am looking to get out of the helmet cam itself. So you used that bullet cam with the sony camcorder you are talking about? A model number would be great when you get the time :thumbsup: Yep! I picked up the camcorder first and then got the helmet cam to match the camcorder's inputs. I'll get the model number for you tonight :beer: Just a note, you don't necessarily have to get this same camcorder to be able to use the helmet cam. What I did was just shop ebay for good quality Hi-8 camcorders, and when I found one I liked, I searched google for that model and got all the specs for it. (Even if the auction had the specs, I still double-checked on the web). Only feature that is necessary is A/V inputs (if you're going the same route I did) and that's it...you'll need a capture card to transfer the video to your PC too. I got my capture card for about 75 bucks at Best Buy and it works perfect. It also came with video editing software. :smile: Quote
Wallrat Posted December 15, 2006 Report Posted December 15, 2006 (edited) Seems like a pain in the butt when you can get a mini-dv off ebay for $120-ish. My whole setup - camera, camcorder, cables, etc. was well under $200. I could have bumped that up by getting a better camera though... Edited December 15, 2006 by Wallrat Quote
bigboybanshee Posted December 15, 2006 Report Posted December 15, 2006 Seems like a pain in the butt when you can get a mini-dv off ebay for $120-ish. My whole setup - camera, camcorder, cables, etc. was well under $200. I could have bumped that up by getting a better camera though... You got a helmet cam and camcorder for under 200 bucks? What brands? Quote
Wallrat Posted December 15, 2006 Report Posted December 15, 2006 (edited) Camera was a factory blem Canon ZR80 for $120 off ebay. Just had a little scratch on the body. Then I've got 2 cams. The first one is wired and cost me around $30 - also on ebay. Its not super high quality but its decent. The 2nd one I got is wireless and was $50, but I'm working on waterproofing that one for use during kiteboarding so haven't used it in the field yet. Mainly the issue is getting decent reception through a shaking pelican box and a wet backpack. Other than that I just had to get some RCA's, velcro, and a little silicone. Wired cam kinda looks like this one LINK but its 420 or 480 resolution and doesn't have the IR. Here's an uncompressed video sample (8.7mb): Front Roll Edited December 15, 2006 by Wallrat Quote
Wallrat Posted December 15, 2006 Report Posted December 15, 2006 Oh and that was with the wired camera Quote
odaen Posted December 15, 2006 Report Posted December 15, 2006 Samsung makes a camcorder that I want... http://www.samsung.com/products/camcorder/...emory/index.asp They come with the helm cam, and it's all flash storage, so it could take a real beating, I'd assume. Quote
bigboybanshee Posted December 15, 2006 Report Posted December 15, 2006 Camera was a factory blem Canon ZR80 for $120 off ebay. Just had a little scratch on the body. Then I've got 2 cams. The first one is wired and cost me around $30 - also on ebay. Its not super high quality but its decent. The 2nd one I got is wireless and was $50, but I'm working on waterproofing that one for use during kiteboarding so haven't used it in the field yet. Mainly the issue is getting decent reception through a shaking pelican box and a wet backpack. Other than that I just had to get some RCA's, velcro, and a little silicone. Wired cam kinda looks like this one LINK but its 420 or 480 resolution and doesn't have the IR. Here's an uncompressed video sample (8.7mb): Front Roll Ahh, ok, I got ya...I bought one of those too but didn't have very good luck with it (just my personal experience). The quality was pretty good especially for the cost, but it didn't last but a few recordings and then it broke. I guess getting smacked by a tree doesn't help it, lol. My bullet cam held up through rain, tree whackings, being dropped, sat on, etc and finally gave way when the fixed wires were pulled out of the back of the cam....just enough to lose contact and kill the picture. :sad: Quote
fox_forma Posted December 18, 2006 Author Report Posted December 18, 2006 so for a mini dv camcorder it seems the choice is canon correct? Quote
. Posted December 19, 2006 Report Posted December 19, 2006 can probably get the camcorder for pretty cheap on ebay now. It's a sony trv330. I bought one used on ebay with a ton of options (filters, extra tapes etc) and extra long batteries for 300 bucks. The original one I bought new about 8 years ago for 800 and broke the tape closing mechanism in a hard wreck when I was using their cheap ass fanny pack that came with the helmet cam. The camera has a firewire connection, usb connection and a/v inputs and outputs. It's 700x zoom and all in all a really nice camcorder. I run a waterproof backpack now (its an ironman back pack) that has a waist and chest straps. The helmet cam is a helmetcamera.com camera. I got the 480 resolution (my buddy has the 380 and the picture sucks compared to the 480 on tv, the 380 is decent but the 480 I feel is worth the extra money in the long run) I got the lan remote which makes things a lot nicer. I've got dvd's of my riding experiences down at Hatfield-McCoy but cant figure out how to get them onto this computer (p.o.s. that I built out of the trash) If anyone could put some of it on the computer for me, I'd send the dvd's for free. I've got a dvd recorder that I put them on....just dont have enough slots for my firewire card and the usb d/l wont load right. Quote
drunkbansheerider Posted December 19, 2006 Report Posted December 19, 2006 (edited) using a kit from helmetcamera.com with a cannon elura 100 camcorder. helmetcamera.com also has a mini dvr for 180 bucks that looks pretty good. Edited December 19, 2006 by drunkbansheerider Quote
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