Mandi and me went to Scotland on the bikes a couple of weeks ago. We don't smoke so don't stop every 10 mins or so so miss many photo ops. We do stop and take pics on our phones but are now thinking of video.
Seen some good footage on here so what are you guys using?
I was using a cheap, little Chinese mini camera for recording rides for insurance purposes. But, after studying all the options, bought a Sony HDR-AS30 (latest model is the AS100, which is splash proof as well) during the week that Amazon had an offer on for £140 . Video is very good quality and battery life is very good. I recorded a ride yesterday that was an hour and 10 minutes and it only used 25%. Helmet mounting options are not as good as a GoPro though. I use 3M dual lock on the waterproof housing as a temporary measure and have ordered the necessary bits for a proper helmet mount. I can't find decent mounting points on the bike that don't distort the image as yet.
For weeks I watched various YT clips of different cameras and the Sony won out over the Drift. Box cameras like the GoPros for me just look odd mounted on a helmet so it had to be streamlined and the Sony, Drift and Contour were the best. I'll put a clip up on Vimeo later and link it.
GoPro. Great video. Sound no good on the bike unless it's on the back seat. Tough. Works well underwater. Can be stuck in some odd places.
For good vid from the bike rather than rider it needs to be stuck to something which does not vibrate.
I totally forget it's on me helmet until I smash it into the top of the petrol;station door.
After 2 years battery is still good for 2.5 hours.
TDM 850 Loud and unusual. CRM 250r Woo hoo! DT 230 Lanza Fiddled with.... Bloody hell, is that legal? GG Randonee AKA "I didn't think that was possible".
Just watched a gopro / JVC comparo from your link.
Main video camera was an i phone!
Anybody here ever feel wowed by the technology we can muck around with nowadays?
I can still remember the Dead Kennedys. And Polaroid cameras.
Edited by harvey krumpet, 16 August 2014 - 10:50 am.
TDM 850 Loud and unusual. CRM 250r Woo hoo! DT 230 Lanza Fiddled with.... Bloody hell, is that legal? GG Randonee AKA "I didn't think that was possible".
The guy did ma heed in but the camera looks easier to use than a gopro. I don't use mine very often so end up re-figuring it out every time it comes out the box.
TDM 850 Loud and unusual. CRM 250r Woo hoo! DT 230 Lanza Fiddled with.... Bloody hell, is that legal? GG Randonee AKA "I didn't think that was possible".
not sure about the garmin cam recording the speed you are doing, evidence is right here 'ocifer.
2002 900 silver,oil pressure switch with brass 90 degree conversion, RG fork protectors. Wilburs custom made rear Shock with remote hydraulic preload and RG shocktube, Wilburs front springs. Scotoiler with a custom made swing arm delivery unit. Silicone radiator hoses.BMW 1150 handguards with Touratech extensions, Carbon Fibre yoke cover and fender extenda, MRA flip screen, Yamaha Engine bars, SW Motech Centre Stand, Kappa wingrack three box Luggage with E21's as option from the K960 boxes, Zumo 660 satnav on Touratech mount, Led Voltage monitor, Baglux tank cover, Clear LED Rear light, Aux LED brake light, BikeVis bullet LED's under front nose,Stainless rear axle nut, stainless chain adjusters, stainless wheel spacers front and rear, Probolt Polished Stainless Flanged Hex engine screws, Polished stainless fairing screws, stainless disc bolts. Titanium brake pins front, Probolt Titanium Flanged Hex Front Caliper Bolts & Rear caliper slide pins Adventure Spec Tool tube under rear rack, left and right sides with custom alloy mounts.<p>Top Sellerie double gel pad seat. Carbon Fibre inner dash and side infill panels. Anodised black alloy swingarm pivot bolt covers and footpegs, Nano II Gear indicator.
When I bought mine GoPro was pretty much the only option if you wanted decent quality, nowadays there's loads of options as mentioned above. So rather than specific cameras here's a few pointers on cameras in general:
Mounting position: Use multiple mounting points, an entire holiday filmed from the same point gets boring. My favorites are the side of the bike where I can see the front suspension working, top of my helmet where I can look around and get good views, and if I'm with another bike rear facing works well too.
Power: I'd love something bike powered, but with the GoPro I have spare batteries and a charger in my tank bag
Remote: Very useful, especially when the camera's on my helmet, if I stick the GoPro remote on my handle bars I can run it on bike power, the remote module on my camera is then a problem as its battery eventually goes flat and I have to take it off to charge it, but the newer Hero 3's run that off the main battery so less of an issue.
Viewfinder: GoPro doesn't have one unless you get an extra module stuck on the back. Would be useful in make sure you've got the camera looking in the right direction. Less of an issue if you're with someone as I get them to stand at the point I want in the middle of the picture and direct me as I adjust the camera so it's pointing at them.
Format: I shoot at 720p rather than 1080p as the file sizes just get stupidly large. I've come home from a 2 week holiday with over 200GB of video before now.
Editing: Cyberlink PowerDirector is great for the price but there's a range of programmes out there from the free Windows Movie Maker (the free stuff on a Mac is apparently way better) to hideously expensive over complicated stuff. But once you've played around with editing a bit you'll find yourself on the bike thinking about how you'll string stuff together. However it's time consuming and oyu really need to do it as soon as you get back from a trip or you'll lose the impetus, at least I do, I've still not sorted out the video from a trip the Alps 2 years ago!
Good points Chris. As I said before I use a Drift Ghost and it does most of the above. Has a preview screen, remote control, can be powered from the bike and it water proof on the bike. There is also an app so it can be operated from a mobile phone. And I use Studio 15 for editing. And the results are very good.
Editing: Cyberlink PowerDirector is great for the price but there's a range of programmes out there from the free Windows Movie Maker (the free stuff on a Mac is apparently way better) to hideously expensive over complicated stuff.
For Linux users OpenShot and Kdenlive are free video editiors.
Not wanting to go too far down a thread hijack but holy crap that's impressive. However...that's going to take a long time to post process, and while it works fine for a cyclist you might need to run a much higher frame rate for it to work on a motorbike as it's stitching multiple frames to get a single image.