Helmet Cam Buying Advice/recommendations

TobiasEnstrom
TobiasEnstrom Posts: 3
edited September 2018 in Commuting general
Hello everyone,

I'm looking for a helmet cam to use for my daily commute to work. My commute is about 20 mins to 30 mins each way.

It needs to be waterproof, capture clear video, record sound of a relatively high quality, work in low light/night for winter and be around the £200 mark or less.

During my search, I haven't been able to find one that mentions about night/low light capability.

Any recommendations?

Thanks!

Comments

  • photonic69
    photonic69 Posts: 2,958
    I too am looking for recommendations for a bike cam.

    I saw this which looks tempting:
    https://chilli-tech.com/content/new-bul ... on-camera/

    No idea about the low light/night pics but then again even GoPros are going to suffer at night time. The Chili cam seems to have better quality than I have seen from the samples of the cheap £30-60 square box cameras on Amaz0n.


    Sometimes. Maybe. Possibly.

  • slowbike
    slowbike Posts: 8,498
    I've got a version of that cam - low light isn't great - but no worse than the others. So far I've found it not as reliable as my Fly6-Aldi special (which is just turn on and go) ...
  • CitizenLee
    CitizenLee Posts: 2,227
    Look up the Git1 and Git2.

    Some argue the older Git1 is better in low light due to the smaller pixel count (less pixels on the same size sensor means each pixel is larger and therefor capture more light - something I know to be true from years of using DSLRs), but there should be enough test footage out there for you to judge for yourself.

    I have a SJ4000 and it's crap, so avoid those :)
    Current:
    NukeProof Mega FR 2012
    Cube NuRoad 2018
    Previous:
    2015 Genesis CdF 10, 2014 Cube Hyde Race, 2012 NS Traffic, 2007 Specialized SX Trail, 2005 Specialized Demo 8
  • slowbike
    slowbike Posts: 8,498
    the one thing I like about the camera linked above - is that it looks like a front light - how I hate the look of a Go-Pro stuck on the top of the lid ....
  • CitizenLee
    CitizenLee Posts: 2,227
    Yeah, some do give off a "Unicorn of Road Justice" look :P
    Current:
    NukeProof Mega FR 2012
    Cube NuRoad 2018
    Previous:
    2015 Genesis CdF 10, 2014 Cube Hyde Race, 2012 NS Traffic, 2007 Specialized SX Trail, 2005 Specialized Demo 8
  • thistle_
    thistle_ Posts: 7,218
    Slowbike wrote:
    So far I've found it not as reliable as my Fly6-Aldi special (which is just turn on and go) ...
    Mine was reliable (after the firmware update), but it seems water was getting in over the months and had corroded the battery connector. I dried it out and repaired it but then water got in again and now the power switch has stopped working.
    I'll be having another go at replacing the switch this evening, but I'm currently looking for a replacement.
  • TobiasEnstrom
    TobiasEnstrom Posts: 3
    Thanks for the suggestions. Been looking at the git2. Does anyone know how muffled the sound is once it's in the waterproof case?

    Also, how do you mount it to the bike helemt? The go pro mount looks like it only works on motorbike for rock climbing helemts???
  • Mia Mars
    Mia Mars Posts: 6
    My advice would be to get a gopro. You don’t have to have it mounted on your helmet, you can use a chest harness or even a handlebar mount.

    I recently bought a used gopro hero 3 black off ebay for about £140 with a bunch of accessories and the video quality is superb. It’s good at night too, license plates and other road users are always very visible. Plus it’s more useful than a cycling specific camera.

    Edit: I use a helmet strap for it. The sticky mounts work fine on a helmet that doesn’t have many air vents

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