Best Helmet cam?

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cobalobM

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whats the best helmet cam to get under £130? was looking at the go pro hero 1 but dont like how bulky/big it looks on a helmet.

also been looking at the contour roam 2 which a lot of people say is good, but you have to glue something to your helmet to mount it which i'd rather not do.. plus if friends what to use it etc then they cant :(

dont want something too posh/complicated, just something that I can record hacks/jumping/xc on that has good sound quality.
 
for your budget and requirements I would recommend one of the Drift cameras. You can probably pick up a second hand Drift HD 1080 for under £130 (just sold mine for £100) or if you can stretch another £20 the Drift Stealth 2 retail at £149. Both very good cameras. I only sold my HD1080 was to upgrade to the drift ghost s. Excellent quality and they mount on the side of the helmet, not the front, and being black they are less intrusive on the helmet.
 
I have a GoPro Hero (I think it's the version 1), for £100, and I'm very happy with it. It's less bulky/heavy than it looks in pictures. Once on, I really don't notice it much. The sound/picture quality is good too. I'd say have a look at one in real life before dismissing it.
I'd advise against the bullet-style cams. They can be tricky to aim straight in front of you (and you end up filming to the left or right).

Having just had a rather hairy dog encounter the other day, I was wishing I'd had my camera with me and on. But it seems a bit paranoid to always have it on and running, just in case.
 
I too have a go pro, yes it's large-ish and I rather resemble a telly tubby with this strange thing on my head but it's visible and other road users can see it. Like another poster it's not heavy and I forget it's there. Excellent HD footage, number plates very clear. I wear it whenever we go on the road. Downside is the files are huge so have to spend time editing down to a sensible size any footage I want to keep.

I used to have a small discreet bullet style cam and even folk I was riding with weren't aware of it. Footage wasn't so clear and number plates weren't always clear enough to make out.
 
I've got the Hack Safe camera. It is good enough to read a numberplate but I can't comment on sound quality as I never record sound (don't want to hear myself taking rubbish and singing to the horse!). It is attached with an elastic band and velcro. Sometimes at speed the quality is a bit blurry but I find this is more an issue with how I choose to view it, using a different video player often resolves the issue so I don't think that is the camera, sorry I don't know enough about technology to be more specific.
 
Ive been tempted by some of the very cheap chinese ones that come up on ebay which seem to be made to the same recording specs as hedcamz, go pro etc - at least worth trying before shelling out for a proper one?
 
Drift are very light, I was looking at getting one but they do not have anti-shake (i think that's what it's called?) more designed for cars and motorbikes where footage is smoother. I went for the Garmin Virb, it is heavy but feels light once you are used to it and has superior quality to anything else. I want a smaller one but don't want to compromise on quality of sound and playback.
 
Hoof_Prints said:
Drift are very light, I was looking at getting one but they do not have anti-shake (i think that's what it's called?) more designed for cars and motorbikes where footage is smoother. I went for the Garmin Virb, it is heavy but feels light once you are used to it and has superior quality to anything else. I want a smaller one but don't want to compromise on quality of sound and playback.
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I havent ever found this a problem with the Drift, I get lots of comments about how smooth the footage is.
 
Hoof_Prints said:
Oh that's worth knowing, do you have any footage online? If it's smooth I may get one, as my Garmin is twice the weight, and I don't like the harness.
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Yeah i have loads of videos on youtube - https://www.youtube.com/user/seal5low/videos

the four most recent videos have slightly more shake as i have just upgraded to a higher spec model and these were taken with a higher fps rate than the previous videos. After reviewing the footage i feel that using 30 fps (not 60 or 50 fps) gives the best smooth video for riding.
 
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