Mounting action camera(s) for long trip

Afan

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Hi,
I fond very useful threads on the forum but I still have some questions. Actually it's more my thought and I would like to hear your opinion.

What camera?
I have Contour (the very first one), Nabi and some GoPro-like garbage.
Contour - very nice camera. What I like the most is you're never wrong or in doubt is it on or off. And it's soooo easy to handle it in gloves. And battery life is great. Bad - to change the setting you have to hook it up to the computer. And no image stabilizer. Use own mounting system hard to find and expensive.
Nabi - Video/image quality better than Contour, LCD for settings and quick "review" what you did w/o downloading to the computer. Good battery life. Waterproof case - never needed except when recorded while riding on rain. Bad - it's impossible to know if it's recording if mounted on the helmet. Even if you mount it on the bike it's hard - distracting and dangerous while riding. Use "standard", pretty cheap these days GoPro-like mounting system. You can find everything, even a set for mounting on a dog?!?
Some GoPro-like garbage - Bought in Menards for $0 or so... Don't wanna talk about it.

I spent some time doing research of current market of action cameras and I found TechMoan's YouTube channel very, very useful. The guy knows thing or two about cameras (and other stuff too) and I kinda believe him. As he said, GoPro are currently the best option - if you have money. You cant go wrong. But... There are some cameras offer better bang for the buck. I'm gonna list a few with links.


The one I like the most is

Yi 4K - 'Best Action Camera Ever' ? (in 4K) - as he said.
[video]https://youtu.be/Ntg5VRjfdqU[/video]


Xiaomi Yi, older brother, budget camera and kinda limited - similar to Contour.
[video=youtube_share;Tybp5I9ow3I]http://youtu.be/Tybp5I9ow3I[/video]

SJCAMS M-10
[video=youtube_share;5tMhb4t-hPE]http://youtu.be/5tMhb4t-hPE[/video]

SJCAMS SJ4000 HD
[video=youtube_share;xnHDu-oW7_Y]http://youtu.be/xnHDu-oW7_Y[/video]

and SJCAMS SJ4000 WiFi
[video=youtube_share;uirzCD-qALE]http://youtu.be/uirzCD-qALE[/video]

Two more good links:
Budget Action Cam Showdown: GoPro Hero (Full Review) vs SJ4000

and

SJ4000 Action Cam on a Motorcycle Helmet (Riding Footage)

There are also Sony cameras - I didn't research a lot, I'll add more info and links later.

What I'm expecting/requiring from good camera?

  • WiFi capability - I don't think I'm gonna use it a lot, or at all. And sometimes it could be PITA and struggling change settings on your phone. But, if it's easy to turn off (to save battery) and it doesn't cost much to add - why not...
  • Image stabilization - even me watching my own shaky videos, after 10-15 minutes it gets hard and painful. You can see the difference in the YouTube clips above.
  • Recording while charging - if you ride whole day you limit yourself on couple hours of battery life and you have to "calculate" when to use it. Except if you have at least two batteries and you exchange it all the time. I read Murphy's Law several times - the best things happen when your battery dies! :D
  • Easy to see when the camera is on/off, and if recording - Contour's the best, hats down! If I have to look at the mirror and check if it's still recording - I can accept that too. If I have to stop, and eventually take off my helmet - that doesn't work for me.
  • Accepts big SD card (64/128 GB) - again, if you ride whole day (for days) you don't want to be limited in space. Stopping in the middle of the day to download recorded videos to your laptop is not the best solution.
  • Remote control - Very useful if you have your camera is not mounted on you helmet or handlebar. Otherwise you have to stop, eventually take off of the bike and turn it on/off.


Where to mount?

  • Top of the helmet
  • Side of the helmet - I don't like it much because it's not in the center of view, and you can see your helmet. I have my Contour on the right side of the helmet because my Sena is on the left side - and that's not so good. First, to turn it on or off I have to use my "throttle" hand, and it looks better if you have recorded the vehicles from the opposite directions when passing you.
  • Mouth mount - never tried but it could be interesting. Only wonder if the windshield is gonna distract the view?
  • Chest - just bought few days ago the chest mount but never used it, have to test it. I did though put my camera (on the selfie stick) inside my jacket, just beneeth my neck and it looked good. I think that chest is moving far less than (bobbling) head...
  • Top case - bad idea. I tried and the vibrations ware really bad. In case you have really steady top case, pointing camera toward your back doesn't show a lot. If you plan to combine all your recordings in one video/movie then it's ok to have that view to, at least for a couple seconds. :) And recording backward, the gang behind you could be nice too.
  • Side cases - never tried but I think it should be good, specially left one.
  • Tip-over bars (after you remove the plastic cover) - never tried but I think it should be good, specially left one.
  • On top of the front fender - I tried and I liked it, as an additional angle in a video/movie, very little shaking, nice "curves" angel/view. :)



Camera is shaking when walking
Working on this topic.


OK. Now is your turn. :D
 
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Afan

Afan

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[h=1]Yi 4K review (YI 4k vs GoPro Hero4 Black edition)[/h]


[video]https://youtu.be/zBL2UuTX2aA[/video]
 

ibike2havefun

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Great post.

In July 2016 I mounted up the INNOVV K1 dual-channel system and posted a review here; it included a comparison of the INNOVV against my GoPro Hero (original series), and links to some video shot with each one. What I REALLY ought to do is get both cams mounted up and take them for a ride, then put the results into a single side-by-side video for absolute comparisons.

I've all but stopped using the GoPro, because all too often I manage to shut it off when I think I am turning it on. And, as you said, the battery life is not conducive to all-day recordings.

Also, my primary objective for the K1 was not video production but as a source of forensic evidence in case of disaster, so I had different priorities than if I had been looking strictly for an action cam.

In any event, if you are wanting to capture a boatload of footage during a long trip, you will have to plan for media and power management strategies. Maybe SupraSabre will chime in: he used a K1 on his ride to / from WeSTOC (?) last summer.
 
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Gerhard

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I have a Contour and found that when mounted on the helmet there is no big need for image stabilization but when I had it mounted to the bike the vibration was distracting. I looked at the Sony action camera recently and it seems like a top quality camera in both video quality and stabilization but for me the price is pretty hard to justify. On a personal note I find it is easy to take tons of footage but I find it hard to look forward to actually make a video after the trip is done.

Gerhard
 
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drift ghost s hd & a PNJ hd950
drift of the helmet, powered from a booster pack(durite 12000mah) in a backpack or pocket for a long record time
the PNJ stuck on the bike and powered in a similar way of a couple of small pocket 4000mah batterys.
16 x 32gb U1 cards i took to france last year, a mini laptop and a 2tb hard drive to store it all at the half way point.
 
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I had a friends Go-Pro on my left mirror some time back when we went to Deals Gap. It wasn't a bad spot.

Sense then I got a Contour +2 that I've been playing around with. I still have the adhesive go-pro mount on the left mirror, used a selfie stick mount for the contour and it mates with the go-pro mount to slide into that adhesive mount on the mirror. I also stuck one to the right side of my helmet as you did.

When mounted to the mirror with the go-pro mount it shakes a lot, I rolled up a piece of rubber and stuck it under the camera and kind of smash it down when leveling the camera, tighten it up and it's pretty stable.

My trip starts in a few days so I don't have time to rethink any of this but I'm planning on using the mirror mount along with a USB cable plugged into the left pocket (dual USB socket just installed) for long rides so the camera has power for shorter rides or to break it up some I will put the cam on my helmet mount.

You posted a ton of information and I look forward to following along when I get the chance to look at all that stuff. :shock:
 

SupraSabre

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This is what I have and it works pretty good, except when it gets an error and tell you that it stopped recording. Of course you don't hear it until you slow way down! :eek:4:
Innovv k1
 
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