noob with question on helmet cam

[CrashHappy]

Hi all new on there loving my speed triple 2001 im not up on model numbers yet lol

Ive a questiom does anyone use a helmet cam for your ruides im after getting one as i ride all year round and ive notice lately the drivers are get worse than normal here in manchester

any ideas would be a big help

Thanks Crash

[12340987]

go pro seems to be the name in helmet cams. Overpriced in my opinion, but I don't know what else there is. If I had the cash I'd have a camera on everything I owned/rented.

[SalsaDelMuerte]

If you're only going to use it as a helmet cam I'd suggest something from the Contour line of cameras - they're shaped better for a helmet cam. I ended up buying a GoPro to record my track days but I rarely use a helmet mount. It's usually mounted to the tail or front fairing.

[FoothillRyder]

I have both a Contour ROAM and a GoPro Hero2, and while I haven't used the Contour as a helmet cam I will say that the Contour is much easier to operate on a bike with gloves on.

Yes, I have the WiFi Remote for the GoPro - it's still much easier to operate the Contour.

The Hero2 has superior video and audio quality, and a far superior feature set; but it is NOT easy to operate while riding (even with the remote).

[SalsaDelMuerte]

Originally Posted by FoothillRyder

I have both a Contour ROAM and a GoPro Hero2, and while I haven't used the Contour as a helmet cam I will say that the Contour is much easier to operate on a bike with gloves on.

Yes, I have the WiFi Remote for the GoPro - it's still much easier to operate the Contour.

The Hero2 has superior video and audio quality, and a far superior feature set; but it is NOT easy to operate while riding (even with the remote).

Good points - I also forgot about the nifty feature the Contour has: a rotatable lens. Really opens up your mounting options.

[DieselGeek]

The Go-pro hero 3 has a far superior cam quality and a better glove friendly remote .

[lam@ratf]

A helmet cam is a good idea. I rode a year without and a year with. The difference in how cagers respond once you point to the cam is hysterical. I actually had decent footage of one driver looking in his side mirror. He clearly saw me in the left lane and was grinning as he started over into my position (rush hour so he knew he was squeezing me into the jersey barrier), then saw the cam and sank down in his seat as he backed off and slowed to get away from me. All on the footage so no way to tell the judge "But Your Honour, I just didn't see them".

I have a Contour and have read many good reports. My experience has not been good so I've just gotten a Drift HD and will put it on the helmet I'm getting. I hear good things about the GoPro but haven't tried it myself.

My purpose for a cam was for proof in case something happened rather than to document my rides. I wanted a helmet mount so I could pick more around me than a fixed mount would do. For that reason I didn't try the GoPro since it seemed better suited to a bar, tank or chest mount.

The Contour mounted well to the side of the helmet but follow the instruction to clean the surface and let the adhesive set. The bezel will rotate and the tilt can be adjusted so pay attention to the pan (side-to-side) and you can get a good field.

I looked in a mirror and slide the base along to where the cam pointed forward/center then marked with a grease pencil.

I added a "safety leash" shown below and that served me well since the cam slide off the rail once and the cam disk separated from the base disk once.

I made a small loop and put the strap though it, then put the cheek pad back in.

The footage is generally clear but licence plates are not as easy to read in the film as one would think. I know the TV police dramas are mostly bull but I hope they're right about refining an image to get the numbers if needed. For now if I feel like I might be wanting those numbers I try to get a shot at a stop light so I can get a good, close, less vibrated image.

Hope this helps.

[Dankarnov]

I have a Contour Roam. I can't say the video quality is wonderful (and the sound is horrible) but it was dirt cheap. I don't know how much access you Brits get to Black Friday / Cyber Monday deals, but keep an eye out - both Contour and GoPro have new models this year so the old stuff should be heavily dicounted.

[12340987]

And FWIW, I think high video quality is a necessity, as anything less makes for blurry useless plate numbers.

[FoothillRyder]

I suppose if your sole purpose is to capture license plate numbers, you would want something different than either the GoPro or the Contour - and you wouldn't want it mounted on your helmet.