Question on Head Cams

[PeterNatt]

Hi! I do a lot of research work creating new Public Rights of Ways (Bridleways, Restricted Byways and Byways). Part of the research i do involves taking photos every 200 metres of the path I am researching. At present I use a normal camera from horse back but I was wondering if a Hat Cam would allow me to take a single shot rather than a movie and if so which Hat Cameras allow one to do this. Hat Cams may prove easier then a camera as Pony has worked out that when camera comes out so does the opportunity to try and snack! Also how does one tell the hat cam to take a single shot? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks.

 

[AFB]

You need something mounted with a trigger button you can keep in your hand - kind of like you have with a selfie stick but without the stick part

 

[Annagain]

Could you not just take stills from the video at the relevant intervals?

 

[PeterNatt]

Annagain Many thanks for that suggestion as long as they come out high quality and not fuzzy of pickleisized that would be great. Which Head Cam is the best?

 

[Annagain]

Annagain Many thanks for that suggestion as long as they come out high quality and not fuzzy of pickleisized that would be great. Which Head Cam is the best?

Can't help with that sorry, I have a FB friend who posts stills from her hat cam to Facebook ALL THE BL00DY TIME and the one thing I'll give her is that the quality is very good!

 

[Pippity]

I have a knock-off GoPro (a Dragon Touch) that cost about £30 off Amazon. The image quality is okay, rather than great, but it comes with a wrist-mounted remote control, so I can start and stop it from that, as well as taking individual photos.

This video should give you an idea of the quality:

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Love the vid, the bay arab you are with is so funny. Goes through the water first time with a bit of persuasion and then dances at the edge of the water the second time, is walked around and represented and goes through. LOL.

 

[Fransurrey]

I think every hat cam has the option to take a photo. Even my dashcam does that. I have an Akaso, but don't recommend it. Image quality is excellent, but even at low resolution it simply won't download videos to my laptop or phone. I've given up on it as a waste of £70.

 

[Pippity]

Love the vid, the bay arab you are with is so funny. Goes through the water first time with a bit of persuasion and then dances at the edge of the water the second time, is walked around and represented and goes through. LOL.

He's such a fab little character - I love him to bits! He's absolutely the annoying little brother to Blue's bossy big sister.

 

[ycbm]

I use 2 cheap little cameras like this, one forward one back, they take video or stills.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UK-Motor...-/333748112200?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292

 

[Hanno Verian]

I have a Go Pro and a Muvi, the Muvi is much older technology but has a remote that you can strap to your wrist and either take a still pic or start/stop recording. The one I have is about 6-7 years old they will have more recent models, the GoPro has similar functionality controlable from your smart phone but I suppose that kind of defeats the object, although you could probably have it on a sports armband or similar.

 

[jnb]

I have a Cambox original and a V4 Pro, the V4 Pro takes HD quality video and wide angle however battery life is only about 45 min, the original about 2 hours.
Both are excellent quality & stills from them wouldn't be blurry
example - from the Cambox original (ignore my babbling):

 

[Darbs]

Yes, a GoPro can be set in photo mode so that every time you press the button it takes a single photo.

 

[Keith_Beef]

Three thoughts on this...

Most action cameras I have played with or looked at have a time-lapse feature, where a still photo is taken every x seconds (where the user decides on a value for x). This would work if you calculated the correct interval for a given speed and could walk the whole of the path at that speed.

My GoPro knock-off inexpensive action camera inspired by GoPro is supposed to have an Android app to control it (but the app doesn't seem to work with the later versions of Android). This would mean needing to keep the phone to hand and needing to estimate each 200 metres of travel. Most compact, MILF and SLR cameras have a remote shutter release (either by cable, IR or Bluetooth); a similar remote shutter release might exist for action cameras, and would be less of a handful than a phone.

The last, and maybe ideal (but more complicated) solution would be to use a GPS tracker to keep track of the distance travelled and to take a photo every 200 metres. I imagine a system with an app for iOS or Android capable of receiving a GPS signal, calculating the distance travelled, then sending a signal to a camera to take a photo.

I'm sure that you're not the first person to have faced this kind of situation, though, and that somebody has already come up with a solution.

 

[Frumpoon]

what cameras do people recommend that are relatively inobtrusive?

 

[jnb]

what cameras do people recommend that are relatively inobtrusive?

My Cambox looks like a tiny, slim pair of sunglasses that velcros under your peak of your hat. nothing drilled in to damage you or your hat in the event of a fall. And barely noticeable from the ground - I doubt anyone would see you had one from a car. For this reason I wear an old bullet cam (facing backwards!) so car drivers know they're being filmed!

https://cambox.eu/en/content/56-comparison-of-cambox-horse-cameras

 

[Frumpoon]

I think they are going to be more £££ than I've got but I like the idea of a bullet cam - are these the ones you wear a bit to the side of your peak?

 

[HollyWoozle]

I have a GoPro and it came with a remote which you could easily clip or strap to you/saddle and just press the button to take photos.