iBikeRide.com

Well, here are my conclusions on the helmet camera and bicycle _base_d camera:
the Adrenaline Systems Bike Cam and the Oregon Scientific sd Camera.

(Check out my original post towards the bottom)

1. The adrenaline systems bike head kit comes with a 580 tvl Sony HAD ccd exview camera; it contains an image stabilization chip which moderates some of the jolts you will experience during riding. Also included is their extreme sound stereo microphone. All the mounts you will need are included: There is a helmet mount which can be mounted on a vented helmet.It also comes with a neat handlebar mounts which allows for mounting on my handlebar as well as my seat tube.
Connections are simple and easy. I was able to connect to my camcorder in no time. I first mounted the camera on my helmet with the microphone next to my backpack.
The next mounting places where my handlebar and downtube. With the resulting footage I was able to compose a very cool video which got plenty of kudos.
The image quality is great with stereo sound which few of the other sellers actually offer. Image stabilization was noticeable. This is a big plus!

Overall this helmet camera kit is a definite keeper. I have used it on my downhill rig as well as plain mountain biking. It works great and can take the hits and jolts very well.

The model I purchased you can find at:


http://adrenalinecamera.com/product_info.php?products_id=239

They also have another model which I think would be great for competition such as downhill racing:


http://adrenalinecamera.com/product_info.php?cPath=1_127_145&products_id=235


2. The Oregon Scientific atc2k camera comes with mounts ans is pretty self contained. It is easy to handle but a bit on the bulky side. I mounted it first on my helmet.
I felt a bit on the heavy side. Next I mounted it on my handlebar. The mounts are on the clunky side but passable. The unit has a self contained recorder. It dumps footage to an SD card.
After a few test runs, I reviewed the footage. I must say it is a far cry from the adrenaline systems set up. The quality is more suited for YouTube but nothing to use if you want to caputure good quality imagery. Also, the images where a bit jittery and unstable at times.

I did like that you did not have to hook it up to a recording device.

This unit you can check out at:

http://www2.oregonscientific.com/shop/product.asp?cid=7&scid=77&pid=709

All in all, if you want a solid, decent bike / helmet camera go with the adrenaline systems Bike Head or even graduate to their Dirt Bike sport cam.

The oregon scientific is at best a YouTube took and at worst a toy.

Hope this helps you all in making better bike video!


Drop me a note if you need any further help...

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I am currently testing a couple of helmet cameras (action camera) for picking up footage on my rides. One of them is an Adrenaline Systems which I have
heard plently of positive stuff. Any advice i should follow to make sure the specs are good and it is worth keeping?

One of the cams has is CCD and the other a SD card unit. Any suggestions?

I will post what I find out after this week when I have had a chance to test them out. Any feedback will be appreciated.

A 1gb SD card usually gets filled up after 45 minutes or so. CCD will fill according to memory capacity. Sound will take up further memory.

However, what you really need is capture and playback quality. No point getting a helmet cam if the footage looks like you've recorded it on a phone or is very shaky or blurred at close range. (Remember, sites like you tube compress videos even further so it will look even worse once uploeded to a site.)

Have a play, see how each one performs before parting with the beer vouchers

(I use an Archos 504 40gb HDD - expensive, but it's 8 hours recording, and DVD quality playback.)

I use an Actioncam AT2k, which is good as it's an all in one SD unit so no wires.

The quality is very similar to the archos cams, which I feel still loses out to a decent camcorder or digital camera.

Overall I was quite disappointed with the actioncam, but I guess for £80, you get what you pay for.

Dan

I got my kit at dogcamsport.co.uk - they could be worth a look. They do a nice line of bullet cams.

I got a hard disk recorder from them too which managed to hardly skip at all throughout our Wales tour, but apparently they're going to stop selling it since the manufacturer has stopped replying to their emails! They're looking for an equally capable solid-state device but there's nothing on the market yet... I'm sure that won't be the case for long though.