Chinese Helmet Cameras

deadfall

Hi,

I've been commuting for about a year and have recently started riding for pleasure too. Over the past few months I've noticed a lot more dangerous driving and/or poor behaviour from road users. Either I'm becoming more aware of such behaviour as I need to concentrate on my riding less, or it's the tourists visiting the festivals (I live in Edinburgh).

My partner is disabled and can't work and we have a young son, so money is tight and it's important to look after myself. So I've joined British Cycling and gotten myself insured, but I'm now thinking of getting a helmet camera so I have some evidence in the case of any mishaps (also my little boy wants me to record my road rides). I've found some Chinese 720p HD helmet cameras on Ebay for around £50, does anyone have any experience with these? Here's an example.

Thanks in advance.

cookdn

The example you give looks remarkably similar to the PoliceWitness Justice Camera. This is priced at £149 and got favorable comments from the Cycling Barrister when compared with the £150 (approx) Contour Roam that I have bought.

Obviously there is no absolute guarantee that the internals are the same, but bundled with a 16 GB microSD card and the mounts it could be worth a go at £55.

Best regards
David

deadfall

Even the mounts look like they are the same. Almost everything is made in China these days and it's not uncommon to see them selling unbranded products that are identical to the branded ones through ebay etc. Might take the risk on it.

fgaffney

deadfall wrote:

Hi,

I've been commuting for about a year and have recently started riding for pleasure too. Over the past few months I've noticed a lot more dangerous driving and/or poor behaviour from road users. Either I'm becoming more aware of such behaviour as I need to concentrate on my riding less, or it's the tourists visiting the festivals (I live in Edinburgh).

I got knocked off my bike on Calder Road, Edinburgh by an American tourist last week who didn't even look before coming onto the roundabout. He even tried to blame me for the accident saying it was me that had ran into the side of him... totally unbelievable!!! One of those little cameras would have been great and I'm a little bit tempted myself!

deadfall

If you look around on Ebay, you can find them from UK based sellers for around £50 without a card if you're uncomfortable getting them from Hong Kong.

jthef

I've just bought one of these
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005PK5J0G/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00
there is a hd version as well.
there is a lot of wind noise when cycling but going to try a few things to alter that.
Piture is prity good and recorded for 1:30 hr the other night,
good buy so far.

mroli

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/Camcorders-/1 ... &_nkw=MD80

If you want to go dirt cheap. The quality isn't brilliant, but its good enough if you position it right and if you find you never use it - its only a tenner.

Glasgow Calum

deadfall wrote:

Hi,

I've been commuting for about a year and have recently started riding for pleasure too. Over the past few months I've noticed a lot more dangerous driving and/or poor behaviour from road users. Either I'm becoming more aware of such behaviour as I need to concentrate on my riding less, or it's the tourists visiting the festivals (I live in Edinburgh).

My partner is disabled and can't work and we have a young son, so money is tight and it's important to look after myself. So I've joined British Cycling and gotten myself insured, but I'm now thinking of getting a helmet camera so I have some evidence in the case of any mishaps (also my little boy wants me to record my road rides). I've found some Chinese 720p HD helmet cameras on Ebay for around £50, does anyone have any experience with these? Here's an example.

Thanks in advance.

WIDE ANGREE!! lol

Glasgow Calum

Looks like the same Camera is here with not very favourable reviews to be honest. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B005PK5 ... _rd_t=7201

deadfall

I saw that amazon version too and the reviews put me off.

I think it was the tourist affect. The daily commute has been largely incident free for a few days and the two 25 mile rides on my road bike this week have been truly pleasurable with not one issue. If this carries on I'll forget about the camera for a month or two and get something like a contour HD.

walkingbootweather

I've got one of these which is great as a cheap and cheerful introduction.

To be honest the lens angle could be wider, and low light performance could be better but I have captured some good images while out with the family.

Would it be any good as evidence in an accident? Maybe, but I'm not sure how valuable it would be. More expensive devices are probably better but even these rely on you charging them and remembering to use properly.

If your primary motivation is not being a victim of an accident I'd say defensive cycling to avoid the incident in the first place is a better tactic than relying upon a camera to prove someone else was to blame.