Helmet / Car Cameras : GoPro, Contour, etc

[razorBlades]

Hey guys, I am planing to get a helmet camera and totally confused between the below two..

GoPro HD HERO 960
GoPro HD HERO 960 + Free 4GB SDHC - Helmet Cam Central

960p = 1280x960 pixels (4:3), 30 fps, 12 Mbit/s data rate
720p = 1280x720 pixels (16:9), 30 fps, 8 Mbit/s data rate
WVGA = 848x480 pixels (16:9), 60 fps, 8 Mbit/s data rate

2.5hrs recording



2011 Tachyon XC HD
2011 Tachyon XC HD Helmet Cam - The World's Toughest Helmet Camera goes HD

HD 720p - 30 FPS
6hrs recoding with AA lithium energiser batteries

both are of the same price


is it okay to sacrifice 960p in Hero for an extended battery life in Tachyon?

please advice

[14000rpm]

go for go pro HD Hero.

I've used it and it is the best of the lot.

[bblost]

Go Pro.
I have not used it but checked it at a motorcycle gear store in California. It looks solid and the build quality was very high.

YouTube - GoPro Motorsports Hero Video Camera System - Cycle Gear Review

[Rehaan]

Okay, firstly :
What are you going to be using this for?
This will dictate your choice.


I have a GoPro (Full HD - $299), and just ordered a second one (960p - $179) 2 days back!

I'd never heard of the Tachyon before. But here are a few more competitors to make this more "enjoyable" for you
- Kodak PlaySport - Has a LCD, available in India
- Contour HD - Closest competitor to the full-HD gopro, but also priced around the same, so might not be in contention.
- Drift Innovation - Once again, closer to the full HD in price.

Originally Posted by razorBlades

is it okay to sacrifice 960p in Hero for an extended battery life in Tachyon?

I haven't studied these others cameras in extreme detail, but there are a few things about the GoPro 960p that make it stand out in my opinion.

Firstly, the 170* lens!! (This is especially useful since the camera doesn't have a display!). Tachycon has 120*.

Huge amount of mounting capabilities (Head, Chest, Suction, Stick on, Surf, etc). Remember to factor in an extra $30 for a suction mount!

Missing on the GoPro 960p - LCD display, remote recording activation, alignment feature (contour has lasers or something). Also the interface takes a little getting used to.


You can see my GoPro in action at 3:25 onwards in this video (Its been down-sampled to a lower resolution)

YouTube - Mercedes E-Class Review (2009 w212)

Also used it for a few shots in some other vids (Della Adventure x2, Mercedes Stardrive, etc).

cya
R

[Rehaan]

Two more videos you might wanna check out :

Kinda boring comparison video :

YouTube - HD Hero SHOOTOUT: Canon XH-A1 HDV vs. GoPro HD HERO

Awesome slow-motion sample :

YouTube - GoPro HD Hero Video - 60FPS Slow Mo Surfing

cya
R

[razorBlades]

Originally Posted by 14000rpm

go for go pro HD Hero.

I've used it and it is the best of the lot.

Originally Posted by bblost

Go Pro.
I have not used it but checked it at a motorcycle gear store in California. It looks solid and the build quality was very high.

Thanks for the advice guys!

Originally Posted by Rehaan

What are you going to be using this for?
This will dictate your choice.

Planing to film a road trip of like 25-30 days on a motorcycle, so battery backup was a little concern since the places we are going wont be equipped with electricity! I can buy two extra batteries and a cigarette lighter charger for GoPro though!

Originally Posted by Rehaan

I have a GoPro (Full HD - $299), and just ordered a second one (960p - $179) 2 days back!

sweet! let me know how it is once u get it man

Originally Posted by Rehaan

I'd never heard of the Tachyon before. But here are a few more competitors to make this more "enjoyable" for you
- Kodak PlaySport - Has a LCD, available in India
- Contour HD - Closest competitor to the full-HD gopro, but also priced around the same, so might not be in contention.

yeah saw the kodak playsport but did not like the video quality.. need a camera for motorcycle specific since it will be weird to fit in a playsport on top of the helmet! I loved the Zi8 though but does not have waterproofing!
Contour, will go for GoPro instead mate!

Originally Posted by Rehaan

I haven't studied these others cameras in extreme detail, but there are a few things about the GoPro 960p that make it stand out in my opinion.

Firstly, the 170* lens!! (This is especially useful since the camera doesn't have a display!). Tachycon has 120*.

Huge amount of mounting capabilities (Head, Chest, Suction, Stick on, Surf, etc). Remember to factor in an extra $30 for a suction mount!

Missing on the GoPro 960p - LCD display, remote recording activation, alignment feature (contour has lasers or something). Also the interface takes a little getting used to.


You can see my GoPro in action at 3:25 onwards in this video (Its been down-sampled to a lower resolution)

Also used it for a few shots in some other vids (Della Adventure x2, Mercedes Stardrive, etc).

cya
R

lovely video and thanks a ton for the advice! now set on GoPro 960.. ordering it in a day or two!

btw Rehaan where have u ordered the GoPro man? How to ship it to India?

[RSimonS]

Saw a similar product at decathlon last week, but it is VGA and 30FPS.... Link to it is XSNIPE 300 Cycling Video Cameras - Decathlon India

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by razorBlades

Planing to film a road trip of like 25-30 days on a motorcycle, so battery backup was a little concern since the places we are going wont be equipped with electricity! I can buy two extra batteries and a cigarette lighter charger for GoPro though!

With the gopro you can (apparently) record whilst charging the camera. The only issue is that with the camera in the clear case (as is required for mounting) you can't plug the USB charging cable in. You could drill a hole in the case to do so, but that would prevent you from using it underwater. Still worth a shot i'd say.

Originally Posted by razorBlades

sweet! let me know how it is once u get it man

I'm guessing the 960 is gonna be pretty much exactly the same! I never shoot at 1080p on my full-HD GoPro anyway

Originally Posted by razorBlades

lovely video

Oops, i made a boo boo there. The outboard shots weren't taken with the GoPro!! They was taken with a 640x480 mino (quite a crap camera!).

PM me and i'll send you a link to a video i took in Goa w/ the GoPro. It's unlisted, so i dont want to post the link here.

Originally Posted by razorBlades

btw Rehaan where have u ordered the GoPro man? How to ship it to India?

Got it from gopro's online store, and then had a friend from the US bring it down. They do ship to india, but its $60! (Perhaps find some other buyers and split that shipping cost?)

cya
R

[razorBlades]

Thanks Rehaan, I just got myself a GoPro HD Motorsports HERO for $227.25, which I guess is a sweet deal

[Rehaan]

Damn! That is a sweet deal! Was it a special christmas sale or something?

Also now that you have the cam here's an important piece of advice :

When closing the plastic case, it requires a lot of force to pull the two halves of the transparent clam-shell together. This is normal, and required as the case has to be waterproof. Pushing down on the black clip/latch on the top works nicely as a lever to pull the sides together...



...however, DON'T do it that way. The black piece is known to break. It happened to me! Had to wait a few weeks for a (free) replacement latch.
Instead use your hands to push the case together as hard as you can, and then shut the black latch (which should then click shut with less effort / less stress).

cya
R

Two more tips for when shooting :
1) Given the 170* (fish-eye like) lens -- try to keep the camera pointed at the horizon. Not too far up or down, which will make the horizon look curved and emphasize the fish-eye
2) Add to the above, probably best to have the cam pointed downwards slightly, otherwise the bright sky can mess with the metering and make the ground too dark in the video.

[bblost]

Since the scope of this thread is now extended to car cams as well.

Anyone tried using a regular handy cam with a gorilapod from inside the car.
Since we don't need any water or wind protection for the cams inside the cabin.

I was thinking, why not use the gorrilapods to secure the camera to the rod/ hook/ bar provided on the passenger sides.

[Rehaan]

BBlost,

Depending on the weight of the camera and the hold of the gorilla pod this should work pretty well. Infact i've even set up a regular camera on a tripod in the back seat of a car - worked great. Also mounted a Canon Powershot on the roof with a $10 suction cup (see my micra video). Solid.

I'd favour the versatility and solid hold of a suction cup over the gorilla pod. You get pretty nice $5 suction cups on ebay. ~$10 with shipping to india.

cya
R

PS - Do note that handycams are probably a little heavier, so factor that in.

[razorBlades]

@rehaan: what type of SD card for goPro Hero man? I heard some cards dont work! I am planing to get a transcend 32GB class 10 card! Have you faced any problems with the cards before?
and i am getting an additional battery too.. is there any motorcycle charger which can be used that you know of?

thanks mate.

[Rehaan]

Hey,

Donno how i missed your post.

SD card - i've never had a problem. I've rarely ever used 1080p (which requires the highest bandwidth). I've been using a 4GB (133x) transcend card and never had a problem.
Recently bought a 16GB Class 4 card from the gopro store itself (figured that was a safe bet).

Don't know of a motorcycle charger, but any bike charger that outputs at a USB port should work fine.

cya
R

[Rehaan]

Two updates from CES 2011 :

1) Contour GPS can link up with iphone to provide real time controls and live-viewfinder
ContourGPS Live Viewfinder on iOS hands-on -- Engadget

2) GoPro LCD and Battery backpacks are gonna be here soon
GoPro 3D Hero, Battery, and LCD BacPac hands-on -- Engadget

cya
R