Bulletcams/recorders again

[northwind]

I was looking at the cheaper ones but most only do lower res video it seems...

Originally Posted by northwind

I was looking at the cheaper ones but most only do lower res video it seems...

not looked at the latest breed or prices, but my 638s do 640X480 30fps, most did 320X240 at the time .... to be honest for youtube, 320X240 is prolly enough ...

Bluey has a point 320X240 is prob ok, but buying two, well thats bit mad, but there again, those other models have 1 gb internal and task an extra 2 gb cards, but i doubt you can combine all of that to make 3 . which also kinda sux

Originally Posted by drag

Bluey has a point 320X240 is prob ok, but buying two, well thats bit mad, but there again, those other models have 1 gb internal and task an extra 2 gb cards, but i doubt you can combine all of that to make 3 . which also kinda sux

indeed, it is either the SD card OR the internal ... it isn't clever enough to overlap ..

Where I use mine for trackdays, I tend to upload to a laptop after every session. to be fair, SD cards are 10 a penny now ... you could take 3 of them and only upload when at home ... but I am a pessimist and upload after every session, regardless of how 'full' the card is ...

Originally Posted by Blue_SV650S

indeed, it is either the SD card OR the internal ... it isn't clever enough to overlap ..

Where I use mine for trackdays, I tend to upload to a laptop after every session. to be fair, SD cards are 10 a penny now ... you could take 3 of them and only upload when at home ... but I am a pessimist and upload after every session, regardless of how 'full' the card is ...

Some good advice there alright, i gues in reality, you could pick up a JXD 960 with a dogcam420 cam only and be happy enough with a stock or cards and maybe a battery charger and laptop on the track.

but there again i'd be to buzzy heckling every one else about how slow they are

[northwind]

Yeah, I don't want to be dragging a laptop around But helpfully, my MP3 player has a USB "suck" function where it can draw files off other hardware (very slowly...) so that gets rid of most cap issues- I already have 2 2gb SD cards for other gear and they're cheap anyway (though I gather video calls for fast cards). So that just brings it down to batteries.

Blue's spot on though, if the battery costs more than just a few quid it makes no sense- A 960 plus spare battery could end up costing more than 2, and 2 recorders would be better in lots of ways.

I agree that 320x240 is "good enough" but since it only costs a few quid to upgrade past that it doesn't make a lot of sense I think, you could do it on the real cheap- a £30 basic JXD and something like the old Dogcam 440 or a far eastern camera for £25-£50.

Actually, that's why this is hard, there's not a solid cut off point where you hit diminishing returns, more money really does seem to get you something worthwhile right up till your spending a packet.

Originally Posted by SoulKiss

Read the blurb - see what all you get for your money with the Cowon

Ok, ok, I'm sold! It does look like an extremely good bit of kit, couple of questions if I may (sorry for hijacking thread slightly Northwind ).

Is the radio any good? I have been thinking of buying a radio to add to my home separates system but if the radio on this is good I can just plug it in to my amp the same as my MP3 player - in fact, this could take the place of ym aging MP3 player entirely by the looks of it.

When using it on the bike with your 4Kam, do you need to wire in to bike batter or is it feasible to run the Cowon and the 4Kam off their own battery's? Presumably you keep the Cowon in your pocket / tankbag and just have the 4kam mounted where you want.

Thanks,
Matt

[SoulKiss]

Originally Posted by cartwrim

Ok, ok, I'm sold! It does look like an extremely good bit of kit, couple of questions if I may (sorry for hijacking thread slightly Northwind ).

Is the radio any good? I have been thinking of buying a radio to add to my home separates system but if the radio on this is good I can just plug it in to my amp the same as my MP3 player - in fact, this could take the place of ym aging MP3 player entirely by the looks of it.

When using it on the bike with your 4Kam, do you need to wire in to bike batter or is it feasible to run the Cowon and the 4Kam off their own battery's? Presumably you keep the Cowon in your pocket / tankbag and just have the 4kam mounted where you want.

Thanks,
Matt

Ok the radio thing - dont know, never use the radio, usually I listen to MP3's on it.

I use the A3's internal battery, but only because I havent wired a direct connection for it yet. The cam I run off of a 12V battery pack made up of 8xAA batteries, again, this needs wiring into the bike at sometime soon.

Cowon goes in the tankbag, added a helmet bag for it to sit on to try and kill vibrations.

I really should take a pic of where the cam is mounted - its working out quite well.

Originally Posted by northwind

Actually, that's why this is hard, there's not a solid cut off point where you hit diminishing returns, more money really does seem to get you something worthwhile right up till your spending a packet.

I actually think there is 'sweet spot' ... that is a JXD with 640x480 and a 480 line camera. It does all you NEED for youtube, plus a little more for home viewing/file sharing.

I think it is diminishing returns after that.

BTW 20 mins on my JXD at the highest resolution is just shy of 400mb for a 20 min session. So 5 full 20 min sessions possible on 1 2GB card. There are normally 6-7 sessions on a day. So technically you could use 1 2GB SD card for 5 sessions and the internal 1GB for the remaining 2!!!

Its not like you need an armful of SD cards .... you have 2 2gb cards and as demonstrated, that is more than enough for a trackday with some redundancy built in too

I like to upload mine after every session, but I actually leave the media ON the card ... I am just making a backup (in case I bin it and destroy the system next session and lose all the data) - NOT clearing space!!

There are better 'packages' for not massive amounts more money, but again, to be honest, I don't think it is really gaining you much that you would actually utilise ...

Also, think of it this way ... if you get the aforementioned set-up and then wish for 'better' later, then get a 'better' system too ... its not a lot of cash and you can use the old system as a 2nd cam ... e.g. one facing forward, the other backwards!!

Although I haven't had both running at once yet, I actually have 2 complete systems .. having a forward and rear cam running simultaneously was my premise ... but I have never actually got round to doing it ... so they are just spares at the mo ...

Its when you start wanting more than one 'rig' that the extra £50 for the 'better' system starts to get to £100 ... at £100, we are talking real money aren't we

JXD 960 coming in at £69

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/JXD-960-2-GB-P...QQcmdZViewItem

Dogcam 480 kit £100

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/DogCam-Pro-480...QQcmdZViewItem


DogCam 480 standalone - £95

http://www.dogcamsport.co.uk/dogcampro480.htm

It's still not very cheap. thats 200 euro, give or take.

Somebody mentioned cheap eastern European camera's ?