Helmet cameras

Gloi

Gloi

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After yet another near miss by a boy racer in a pickup last week I'm thinking of getting a helmet cam to wear like some of the cyclists do.
Has anyone had any experience of using one on a horse and any recommendations as to which are any good. I can't afford to spend too much money.
 
My husband just bought the Go Pro 3 Black edition . (whatever that means!)

I havent dared ask how much it was though! Think it was expensive but as he is a teccy, he will get the use out of it.

I wore it while jumping and the results of this camera are AMAZING.
No shake, as in some cheaper versions, clear and bright colours.

The helmet felt a little heavier, but I think that is something to put up with

I proudly wore it on a short hack,and came across aggressive big barking dogs, a scooter 2 kids with no helmets, and a tractor grass cutter complete with flashing lights.

Marvellous, I thought, that will be some exciting stuff to review.
Mmmm, should have remembered to turn it ON.
 
Does it all fit on the helmet or do you have to put part in your pocket? As you can see I don't know anything about them yet. How do you start and stop it when you are riding and how long will it film for.

Just looked up the Go Pro 3 and it is £350 :(
 
Go Pros are, in my opinion, worth the money - they really do give fabulous footage at the end of the day...

It's only cool to use a helmet cam if you are willing to fiddle with it on the approach to 4* xc fences though...
 
My friend's one fits on his helmet, although admittedly cycling helmets have more opportunities for attaching stuff than riding hats...
 
I use one all the time on the roads. I bought one from the cheaper end of the market. It was about £40. Started off as a toy but has become one of my essentials.

When this one gives up I will buy a good quality one. The footage from mine is adequate. Can get decent stills from it.
The squeaky noise is where it's uploaded to youtube it's not on the original. The wind presents a problem when doing faster work, the noise is horrid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah9S9F1-v7g

It fits fine to my helmet but took a while to get the angle correct.
I can't tell when wearing it if it's recording or not. Same button to press to start as to stop.
 
Good grief, that lorry didn't give you much space!!! He nearly had the lorry coming the opposite way too, prat.
I met someone out riding today with a hat cam that he brought from the BHS website for £150, looked good quality and he was off upto the A46 to try it out with the traffic!! I would love one, more so to be able to film nice quiet hacks along the bridleways!!
 
That footage doesn't look too bad c2b, that's about the sort of thing I could afford. What make is it and how long can you film for & how long do the batteries last etc. :)
 
this the one I use: http://www.szswill.com/car-camera-hd/car-dash-camera-d310.html

directly shipping to UK, not sure what it would be for you guys.

at this price if i only get 12 months out of and then need to buy again, works out cheaper than the others.

built in screen and if the SD is full it just over-writes. so keep a spare card in the car, so if something happens on the video I can save it for when i can download.
 
I got a go pro white. Black/white/silver denote the megapixel image quality. The higher the mega pixels the shirter the battery life. White has lowest pixels,longest battery time which is what I needed & pic quality is more than adequate. I use a chest harness fron ebay for half gopro price. Best price I found was Go Outdoors. Cheap cameras tend to have short battery life which is no good if you want to record a long hack for traffic issues.
 
I have a helmet camera, just a cheapy called ActionCam. Use it on the xc course, its good enough footage, just have to get the angle right as it sits on the side of your hat.
I've seen a tail guard with a camera inserted inside it and it says 'smile you're on camera'. Will catch motorists coming up behind you!
 
Hairycob how long does your battery last? I was nearly bought a bullet HD3 until I realised the 5hr battery life on the info was a mistake and it really only lasts 1.5-2hrs.
 
Haven't given it a thorough test as my horse died & then my sons was seriously ill but I did take it on a 2 hour hack ok. The reason I liked the Go Pro is you can get an additional battery pack that fits on the back that is meant to double filming time. I was waiting to see how I got on before I bought the extra battery. I looked at the bullet but saw contradictory estimates of battery life on different sites. I was also told that film from chest mounted cams has less random movement. Longer life batteries are also heavier & I was worried about making my helmet feel unstable.
 
I purchased a silver go pro last year, second hand online and I love it. Very easy to use, plenty of battery life and the picture quality is incredible. I bought it mainly for xc but I have since been wearing it when doing road work and I think even the sight of it makes people slow down.
 
Always thought you could do a camera to cover from behind also as that's were I have had one driver nearly mow into the back of me - anyone ever seen such a camera ?
 
Had a horrible incident with a group of lads in a car and now I'm back riding again I want to get a hat-cam...

Mine and my youngsters second time on the road, dad was walking with me on a lead rein. Citron Saxo with 3 lads comes towards us fast and then slowed right down past us, neither me or dad liked the look of them. 10 mins later, they came back and this time they were behind us. Before I knew what happened my horse had reared, knocked dad to the floor, I fell off and got dragged down the road, tearing skin off my lower back were my body protector didn't reach.

They had thrown a lit firework at us :(

Hat cam could have put them behind bars, instead I had a youngster with burns and terrified almost beyond repair, a massive vets bill, a dad with rope burned hands and a £50 fine for the driver because no one would cough who threw it and therefore could not convict anyone.
 
Oh my God, that is absolutely abhorrent . I have a go pro and never ride on the roads without it
such is my mistrust of drivers. Although nothing of that level has ever happened to me, makes me so angry that they didn't have the book thrown at them.
 
Haphazardhacker said:
Oh my God, that is absolutely abhorrent . I have a go pro and never ride on the roads without it
such is my mistrust of drivers. Although nothing of that level has ever happened to me, makes me so angry that they didn't have the book thrown at them.
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I know, the police were great and did everything they could but unfortunately the law just didn't back us up - it was seen as criminal damage at the worst as no one would say who it was but the driver told the court they didn't intend to harm me or the horse, only scare her for a laugh. Therefore they couldn't prove intent to harm, hence the £50 fine :(
 
Sorry you have had such a rough time, hope things are better now. I will look at the Go Pro I think.
hairycob said:
Haven't given it a thorough test as my horse died & then my sons was seriously ill but I did take it on a 2 hour hack ok. The reason I liked the Go Pro is you can get an additional battery pack that fits on the back that is meant to double filming time. I was waiting to see how I got on before I bought the extra battery. I looked at the bullet but saw contradictory estimates of battery life on different sites. I was also told that film from chest mounted cams has less random movement. Longer life batteries are also heavier & I was worried about making my helmet feel unstable.
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