Helmet/bike cams at night

[Stenno]

Hey all. I almost invested in a dogcam today until I stumbled upon a nighttime video for one on youtube, and it was pretty much a black rectangle the whole time.

Are there any helmet cam users within the org and if so, how does your camera perform at night?

Cheers. Ian

[Jonzuki]

Hello Stenno :D I use a Drift Innovation HD170. The night mode is pretty good with enough lighting around so it might be worth checking one of those out.

These guys have done some videos with the HD and have come out with good enough quality.

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[Owenski]

gimmi a second and I'll upload some from mine, I honestly cant fault it - a really great buy.

[Owenski]

cant do it at work, I want to edit the vids as they start at work and finish at home. Dont really want that info online, I'll edit it once I get home and upload a link.

[Stenno]

Would be great if you could Owenski!

Cheers for the info Jonzuki! That first video is hilarious albeit yes, without street lighting it is black! I guess that's normal though, still looks pretty good where there are the odd street lamps! Cheers! I'm going to watch a few others by that first guy now!

[Jonzuki]

Cheers for the info Jonzuki! That first video is hilarious albeit yes, without street lighting it is black! I guess that's normal though, still looks pretty good where there are the odd street lamps! Cheers! I'm going to watch a few others by that first guy now!

My pleasure matey. True's a fantastic vlogger with a unique way of presenting his videos. As with any video, you need a good source of light to make it worthwhile; changing the light exposure can only do so much. The Drift does also have a specified night mode and that's what the two guys above have used.

[Stenno]

There is a definite element of Peep Show to his vlogs! His halloween vid was a cracker!

[beabert]

GOpro does it again :D

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[Stenno]

I just can't face having the GoPro hanging off my lid!

[beabert]

Works a treat mate, no vibrations. Nothing is ripping 3m moulding tape off

[MisterTommyH]

So anyone with the dogcam - which one do you have?

Bullet HD, HD Wide or Camsports? Whats the battery life like?

[Owenski]

Sorry stenno, completly forgot about this, I'll get some footage up tonight mate.

Mines the a dogcam HD tommy, here's a pic of it mounted to my lid.
http://img.tapatalk.com/5284e8de-f213-bf08.jpg
It coems with all the mounts etc that you'd want (apart from a handle bar one).
Its fixed resolution so only films at 720hd you've got no battery saving option.
This means with a battery life of between 1hr30 and 2hrs you only need a 4GB micro SD. Provided you remember to remove all videos when you charge it, which sort of works perfectly, as I auto delete all the insignificant ones and store the others/put them on youtube.

Things I dont like about it are:
No display, so its trial and error to make sure you're filming where you're looking.
The on/off indicator light is tiny I actually thought it was missing when I first got it- couldnt find the bloody thing.
The button is quite hard to find in bike gloves and takes some getting used to, I often think "is it on or not" A sliding button would be a much better design.

You can see some day time footage from it at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00KY7c3kR_o
It was a test, for having it helmet mounted on a rough road. I also wanted to test exposure reaction from light to dark so its through some trees. Initial exposure reaction is always the same, starts really bright but then focus's in nicely. Dont forget to switch it upto 720hd at the bottom of the vid. IMO the youtube video looks much more grainy than the .mov stored on the PC.

[Stenno]

No worries Owenski!

I was all set on the Dogcam or GoPro however the Drift Innovation HD170 recommended earlier in the thread does have the added bonus of a mic connection so I could have some fun making vids.
Still not convinced on what to get. Each has good and bad points. Albeit I might have to wait either way as the bike went into the garage today for an expensive service.

[Owenski]

looking on the dogcam website Im VERY tempted by the contour+ it streams direct to iphone via bluetooth. £500 on dogcam but available through trusted sellers on ebay for £225 BARGAIN!

[Stenno]

Yeah I spotted that! Fantastic idea albeit the reviews on iPhone were complaining it didn't work since iOS5 albeit hopefully they'll fix that sharpish. Plus you need to buy the bluetooth card for the contour too albeit I think it's only £30-40 or so. But yes, would be awesome as you can preview/stream and adjust the settings via your iphone! Win.

[Owenski]

if you use the contour gps, then you need to buy the card.
if you use the contour plus then the bluetooth bit is inbuilt.

[Owenski]

Finally got around to it,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU4t0kwaruc

again switch it to 720p on the resolution, the footage is inner city though so the roads are well lit.
ill get some more tomorrow so that you can draw a better comparrison.

[beabert]

For daytime footage i prefer the gopro HD
For night time footage i prefer the contour HD.

I dont rate the dogcam bullet cams at all from what i read when researching.