I'm looking to buy a video cam for mounting on my handlebar. I've made the mount , now i'm in need of a good camera. I would like one that has a remote mike jack , to eliminate some of the wind noise.Image stabilization is a must too.Any thoughts ?

 

i've just got a camera but it has no external m ic jack point, but it is very light it is a samsung vp-mx10 and it records onto a sdhq card so there is no tape to jog about and it has image stabiliser built in, on a 4gig card you can record for up to 4hrs if the battery lets you. i am mounting this on a ram mount on the bars, also make sure you can add a uv filter to the front of your camera to protect the lens.

 

I just did a quick check on the Samsung vp-mx10 video cam. Not a good choice at all, expecially if your gona use it for video from a scooter. It records to the memory card in an MPEG 4 format, which means, it takes the original video that would normally go to a tape and samples every 4th frame for image, then every 3rd frame for color and then another sample I don't recall what it is for. Anyway, the purpose of the MPEG conversion is pretty much like when you zip a computer file to compress it, the video is also compressed to save file size. If you video is of a scene where there is very little movement, your picture will be fairly good, but if your moving down the road, you will probably get something that resembles a Van Goe painting.
Stick with the video to tape cam. Look for something with a larger lens. Remember that the vibration of your scooter is going to be pretty rough on the mechanics of the cam so life expectancy is going to suffer. Most cams will have a mic input (1/8" plug). If you are going to edit your footage, you can mute or lower the level of the sound track and insert your own comments or music.
When you mount your camera on the bike, use duct tape or gaffers tape to secure the battery.

 

you have to be concerned about the vibration off the handlebars. look at the stabilization options on some of the camcorders. even with stabilization, on a HD you will pick up some vibration in the picture. Have seen one individual mount the camera on the front fender, but it would be a pain to operate. I have the RAM handlebar mount, but if i had to do it over again, would look at the sport camcorders, where the lens is separate from the recorder, and you can mount the lens to your helmet.

 

I agree. Handlebar mount on a Harley is asking alot of your camera. I just bought an ATC-2K from Oregon Scientific and will mount it on my helmet. Viewer gets a view as if they were riding the bike.

 

Here is a video I did of a ride with some other HDF members last summer. I hand held the camera for the shots while on the bike. The video was converted to MPEG3 to post on You Tube. You can see how grainy it gets with the compression. The original footage on DV tape is pristeen and clear enough to read license plates. The camera I used was a Sony TRV-900. It's a pro-sumer 3 chip camera.

I think the suggestion of mounting the camera on the fender would pretty much destroy it because of the excessive vibration.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yul-CG_dnL0

 

Cannon Elura 100. Costs about $375, has no external mic port, but has tape, Memory card and makes great videos on the motorcycle, and is crystal clear. Also takes digital pics.

No distortion, but typical windnoise with an internal mic. No wind, No noise.

Only complaint is you may hear the tape mechanism whining if you use it to record. Nothing with memory card, obviously.

Vid with camara mounted to tank at Barber, for warm up/practice laps:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v3...t=8db473d2.flv

 

Google "helmet camera" and "helmetcam"

I bought a Viosport camera several years ago which plugs into my Sony camcorder. Worked great.
I have about 10 hours of video and 12,000 miles on the system. Kept theSony in a small tank bag, pulled power from an SAE plug attached to my battery. The helmet camera attached to thetop of my helmet. Looks a little goofy, but I tried the handle barmount and the videos lacked POV interest and have more vibration.

A few things I learned the hard way.You can't really monitor what yourvideoing, so early morning fog andbugs will ruin a lot shots if you don't check the cleanliness of you lens often.

And pointing it at the sun is easier than you think when traveling west in the afternoon.

I boughtdirectfrom these folks, I don't think they even sell my system anymore.
http://www.vio-pov.com/index.php

There's no doubt better stuff on the market now.



-fish

 

Given you have a mount and are looking for a cam for it, consider one of the Sony HC MiniDV's. Excellent image stabilization (even for the handlebars). Avoid a cam with OIS (Optical Image Stabilization). The OIS technology does not handle well the high frequency vibes of a bike. The recording is fuzzy.

As noted, many cams come with a mic jack. Would note I haven't been impressed with the sound quality from a mic tucked away from the wind noise. It sounds hollow and lame. If you have a nice windshield to park the cam behind (blocking the wind), coupled with a fine camera like the Sony, you should be OK.

Example: http://www.farson.com/video/flbcc.wmv (Taking the FL up Bear Creek Canyon, handlebar mount, exhaust note, Sony HC,and a tune)

Have hundreds of videos, from helmetcams to all kinds ofcam mounts. It is wonderful to capture and relive the ride... again and again.

 

Thanks for the replys , looks like the canon elura is a winner , those were some great track shots , also the head cam with the pov option would be cool. The search is on.....