Garmin Virb camera question

bing gordon

I am thinking of buying one to use like a dashcam "just incase" and I see there now down to £99 on Amazon. Are they any good and what are the advantages if you own a garmin 810 ?

StillGoing

There isn't. If you're thinking of using the screen on the virb during a ride to see what you're doing, forget it. It's too small and the clarity is woeful. It's meant just to give you an idea that you're pointing it in the right direction.

wongataa

If you have a suitable Garmin head unit you can stop and start the Virb recording from the head unit. You might need the Elite version though to do that though. Otherwise owning a Garmin cycle computer doesn't make any difference except if you like having the brand matching.

bing gordon

OK thanks for the replies, tbh I'm not really bothered about brand matching nor the screen playback while riding. I wasn't sure if the £99 model interacted with the 810. I just wanted it to run when I'm on the road as there's more and more occasions were I think a camera would have been handy there.
Would you say they are worth the money or are there just as good for less ?. I don't want to watch my rides or anything it would be just in case I came a cropper and it wasn't my fault then I have the proof if and when needed.

rudivoller22

I've got standard virb and run it from an 810. It's great for the price

techytuppers

I own a Garmin Virb and recently used it for snowboarding (I bought it out in America where I was on holiday with the plan of using for both riding and boarding) - The image quality is wonderful, and there is an anti-vibration setting (it essentially zooms a lot more than a standard setting and 'adjusts' for vibration) which does kind of work. It won't get rid of all shakes and vibrations and I'm yet to test it on the bike.

The software that comes with it to edit up videos etc is really good, along with pairing it with your HR monitor, cadence speed etc. It has GPS built in (the elite version anyway) and you can display all your data overlaid on your videos.

If you're a bit of a data geek like me, it's a brilliant toy to have. You can also get a mount for your bike that means you can put your Cycle Garmin on top, and your Virb underneath - not sure where I saw those though.

TT

southdownswolf

Same price on Probikekit.co.uk with free posting.

bendertherobot

It has no wireless, like higher Heros, but that doesn't matter as you can see, on the screen, where the cam is pointing.

It has no 60fps (at 1080p) but, hey, who cares.

For me, at £99, it looks to be an absolute steal and, IMO, better than the base Hero.

StillGoing

Keep watching Amazon. I was lucky enough to pick up a Verb Elite for £117 during one of their flash sales things. Wasn't actually in the market for one, but at the price, it was too good to pass over.

bing gordon

Does the Garmin Virb on on Amazon at £99 come with mounts / i.e a handlebar mount ?

Please don't say their separate

Anonymous

bing gordon wrote:

Please don't say their separate

OK then........... separate they are

bing gordon

So another £20 on top of the £99 ?. what brackets/mounts does it actually come with ?

wongataa

bing gordon wrote:

So another £20 on top of the £99 ?. what brackets/mounts does it actually come with ?

A Flat surface mount, a Curved surface mount, an adaptor to mount it to GoPro mounts.

Pigtail

Helmet mount is also separate at about £12.

redvee

rudivoller22 wrote:

I've got standard virb and run it from an 810. It's great for the price

My 800 picks up my Virb too, all down to the SW version. The Elite can use your smartphone for aiming the shot via wifi but not once recording.

StillGoing

Get a Garmin out front mount, sacrifice one of the surface mounts by putting a self tapping screw through the bottom of the out front mount into the underside of the surface mount.

bing gordon

philthy3 wrote:

Get a Garmin out front mount, sacrifice one of the surface mounts by putting a self tapping screw through the bottom of the out front mount into the underside of the surface mount.

Have you done this yourself ? if so have you any pictures ? just as a guide so I know what it would look like

rudivoller22

K edge and superstar among others sell a double out front mount that you can attach Garmin edge and virb (using gopro attachment) underneath. There is a thread on it somewhere

charliew87

rudivoller22 wrote:

K edge and superstar among others sell a double out front mount that you can attach Garmin edge and virb (using gopro attachment) underneath. There is a thread on it somewhere

Thinking of getting one of these myself.

Bike looks like a space ship with Virb + Garmin 500 + Heavy duty light on the front currently.

http://www.acecosportgroup.com/k-edge-c ... mount.html

bing gordon

its a dear do, Garmin should offer a bundle for cycles , bar - helmet clamps and camera all in one

dabber

The Superstar garmin/camera mount is a lot cheaper than the K-Edge.

http://www.superstarcomponents.com/en/garmin-gopro-handlebar-mount.htm

bing gordon

charliew87 wrote:

rudivoller22 wrote:

K edge and superstar among others sell a double out front mount that you can attach Garmin edge and virb (using gopro attachment) underneath. There is a thread on it somewhere

Thinking of getting one of these myself.

Bike looks like a space ship with Virb + Garmin 500 + Heavy duty light on the front currently.

http://www.acecosportgroup.com/k-edge-c ... mount.html

Can you buy the "K-Edge XL Combo Garmin and Camera Mount" anywhere in the UK ? I can't seem to find them other than the USA

bing gordon

oooo dear , doesn't look very good;-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZftbFqZbws

What do you think of these ? reviews sound good :-
http://www.superstarcomponents.com/en/g ... -mount.htm

bing gordon

I'm still contemplating the superstar virb/garmin mount combo job but I have my reservations about dangling a £150 camera upside down totally reliant on the flimsy camera mount that comes with it.

Theres is also the screen on the camera and operation of it from the underside, you wont be able to see what mode or anything without taking it out the mount. This also might be a silly question as I've never owned a virb but if its upside down does it self rectify the movie you take so it isn't upside down on pc playback ?

Man Of Lard

The "flimsy" supplied mount is anything but flimsy - it may appear so but it is more than sufficient to do the job it was made to do.

There is a *setting* (not automatic) in the ViRB that allows you to vertically flip the recording at the point of recording - or it's a trivial (but tediously long) task to flip it in software later.

redvision

bing gordon wrote:

I'm still contemplating the superstar virb/garmin mount combo job but I have my reservations about dangling a £150 camera upside down totally reliant on the flimsy camera mount that comes with it.

Theres is also the screen on the camera and operation of it from the underside, you wont be able to see what mode or anything without taking it out the mount. This also might be a silly question as I've never owned a virb but if its upside down does it self rectify the movie you take so it isn't upside down on pc playback ?

There is an option in the settings to flip the recording for when the camera is upside down.
Mine sits under the bars and i used the mobile app to get the positioning just right so that i never had to use the screen on the virb.

As for the K-Edge combo mount, well my father had issues with over tightening the bolts and rounding them as a result. Before we managed to sort that i had ordered him another but by time it arrived he didnt need it, so i kept it. Its fine for holding the garmin, but the virb vibrates way too much. I think its because you have to use an additional adaptor (comes with the virb) and despite making sure its as tight as can be, there is just too much movement. The virb is a heavy camera and i think too heavy for the mount (my father has a gopro and still gets a bit of vibration on his kedge but nothing like the virb).

I have resorted to using a normal K-Edge mount for the Virb and the combo mount for my garmin.

bing gordon

thanks for the advise , much appreciated. I thought that about the over tightening . I bought a small pack of bolts with locking nuts( rubber washers in the bolts) and they fit bang con so I will replace the screws with the nut and bolts.

Some guy on youtube tackles the vibration by glueing a small piece of foam to the cradle mount under the virb, he reckons it helps with the vibration

ianlash

bing gordon wrote:

its a dear do, Garmin should offer a bundle for cycles , bar - helmet clamps and camera all in one

There is a "bike bundle", but it looks like it just includes an extra battery and the handlebar mount. Probably cheaper to buy them separately.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/garmin-virb-bike-bundle/

I just bought the Garmin handlebar mount and it works really well. Doesn't mean you need to use the GoPro adapter, so it doesn't stick up really high:-
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/garmin-handlebarrollbar-mount-for-virb/

I tried the "use a Garmin Edge mount, with the Garmin Virb sticky mount and a screw through it" idea as mentioned earlier and in some youTube videos, but the sticky mount doesn't work well below 5 degrees and it's quite difficult to get the screw right, so the Virb fell off - luckily I had the wrist strap wrapped round something, so it didn't fall to the ground. I recommend Garmin handlebar mount!

I was also lucky to get the Virb Elite for £119 from Amazon last month. There are some bargains out there, if you keep looking.