Not asking you to bash any products, but would you mind telling us which ones you didn't like?

Might save the rest of us a few bucks if we can learn.

Thanks

 

Ok folks,

Been using helmet cameras for over 4 years in my hobby of paintball. Used them all mounted to the side of my goggles. Have owned Samsung, GoPro, Contour, Vio POV, and currently have a Drift Stealth 170. They have all had there good points and bad points. Over the years I have found there are some "gosta have" features. In order to make the taking of videos easiest you need to have a remote to stop and start the recording. Make sure the remote is easy to tell which switch does what. (By feel is best Ie raised tab on the start button). A small screen to help you aim the camera is also helpful. While you can get away without it, I had found it is 100 times easier to mount and point the camera with a screen. You also want to have a lens that rotates. This will allow you to mouth the camera in almost any orientation and still have an upright video. (In one case I ended up with upside down videos because I didn't check the video, luckily the editing software allowed me to flip the video). Waterproof/watertight is also a good thing. I have found that the cameras that provide a "waterproof case" seem to loose a lot of the sound when inside the case. Of course once your moving you will get mostly wind noise. Wireless is also a big plus. I have used cameras that have a wire connecting the camera head and the recording body. Not a bad idea, just tends to give you more things to get tangled in and cause issues with use. The newer cameras (Gopro/Contor/Drift) are all stand alone units with wireless remote. HD is nice, but if all you are going to do is upload to the web it is not necessary. I currently have the Drift Stealth 170 and record in standard def since I am recording the paintball for our team web page. However, if you ever want to get HD it is nice to have. Many of the cameras now are HD.

Here is my quick review of each of the cameras that I have owned over the years:
Samsung - wired camera head to body, no longer made. Not a bad camera, software problems caused lose of several videos.

GoPro - only tested this about 4 years ago. Decided against it mostly due to limited mounting. The new units are used by many pro vid teams and you see a lot of them in the motorsports/extreme sports world.

Contor - Bulky and tough to aim properly. Hard to find the start/stop button.

Vio POV - really nice set up that takes great video. Easy to use, but sometimes hard to tell if the unit started or stopped recording. Wired from camera head to body, but wireless remote. I have video from my bike from last years IAFF 911 Ride to Remember from Newburg NY to NYC. You can see one of the vids from the ride here : Ride to Remember - Hudson River Crossing

Like the system, just do not like the wired camera head.

Current Camera - Drift Stealth 170. Best combination of features that I have found. Good size and weight, rotating camera lens, wireless remote. Uses common codex and SD Cards. Easy to start and stop the video. This one has been my favorite to operate and the quality is very good. Newest version is even smaller without sacrificing features.

Here is the first video from the Drift. This one is paintball and is not my nest work. First time using the camera. Will get it perfect nest time.
Drift Stealth 170 - Paintball

The suggestion of Helmet cam central is a good place to compare models. Shop around it will pay off in the end.

Finally - Stay away from the small cameras that look like a small black rectangle that will clip on like a lapel microphone. I have never seen one that would do the job of the ones mentioned here. Many are very cheap imports.

Hope this helps and feel free to IM me with any questions.

 

I have the GoPro Hero 2 and so far like it a lot. They also have a free video editing program that you can download. If you're new to editing (like I am) it's a good starter program. I was going to buy the battery backpack, but decided to put a power port on my handlebars and bought the USB adapter from GoPro. Now I can just plug in and not worry about battery life.

I can't comment on the add-on screen as I didn't get one. It's something that I'm considering though. The Hero 2 can take up to a 32 gig memory card, and also has quite a few more timed shot settings.

The camera comes with a waterproof case that's rated at 172' depth. While I haven't tested it that deep, I did put it on the bottom of my goldfish pond and let it run for 20 minutes. lol (video came out cool).

The audio works pretty well. The first time I used it was in the car on the way to work one morning. It picked up my voice cussin' out (not yelling) a woman in a SUV who had just cut me off.

I used the Ram mount system to mount it to the handlebar, plus added a mount to my helmet.

If you do decide on the GoPro, make sure you get the Hero 2 model. Don't get confused and buy the older one because it's cheaper. You get many more functions with the new model.

This is from their website tonight. Keep in mind this also is a module that clips to the back of the camera, and then you have a small remote to work it.
Wi-Fi BacPac™ + Wi-Fi Remote Combo Kit
Available April, 2012

 

Sorry; I "garage sale'd" them pretty fast; they were under $200 each when I bought 'em; one was on sale for under $100 as I recall...still looking; will wait for the features I want...remote start/stop

 

My experience is with the GoPro so I will speak to that. I own all three versions of it and have been very happy with it.

Aiming is not really an issues as they are wide angle lenses. Being a photographer I chose the wide angle because I know it's more forgiving than a narrow field. Being that it's a wide angle all you really need to do is to aim it in the general direction and level it.

Mounts... I use RAM mounts with the stock mounts and have been able to mount it to, on and around just about everything that I can dream up and still have fine adjustments to level it out.

Sound... sound sucks on it. They make different cases that are more open to allow better sound but it still sucks. On the GoPro Hero2 they have an option for an external mic which I have been playing and have been extremely satisfied with the performance of it.

HD makes a difference even if uploading to the internet in a small format. The increase resolution does carry over and it does look better even in a small format/size.

The GoPro can also be used to shoot a series of photos, you can configure it to shoot a picture every few seconds. I have done some time lapse with it and it works well.

My YouTube.com channel... >>> CLICKY <<<<

 

I have the Go Pro Hero 2 and love the quality of the video it takes. I had mine mounted on the left side engine guard on my 2007 Ultra and took some videos that turned out fairly well. I used an old highway peg mount, took it apart and customized it hard mount the camera to it. Clamped it on the engine guard and rode. This year I'm going to try it mounted on a helmet, up front sorta like a miner's light. I'll compare the two and see which is better. tbc

 

I like the cameras mounted on the bike. It gives me the feeling of being on the bike.

 

I tried mounting it on my helmet and didn't really care for the result. It's good if you're only looking in one direction, but gets annoying viewing the video when my head was always turning in different directions.

I'm considering getting the chest mount harness to see if that's any better.

I did get the add on back pack LCD viewer and that makes it much easier to use the GoPro.

 

I have a GoPro with a faring mount on my street glide. Above 2000 RPM's, the camera is clear and steady, but due to the vibration that occurs during idle, excessive shake occurs and your picture is somewhat distorted. The GoPro I have, has the option of using it as a still camera or video. It also has a wireless remote. I has used it a few times on charity rides and had some pretty good luck with it. But like I said, when the bike is at idle, lot of shaking going on.

 

I have the GoPro Hero3 Black with the LCD backpack , remote control and every mount you can get for the camera. I can Wifi it to my Samsung Galaxy
for view finding and remote control if needed. Battery life is short. I use a DC plug in for long rides. Good sound and pictures so far. There is very little vibration at idle on my 07 Ultra Classic when mounted on left side handlebar with a mount I built to screw onto my cup holder. I use the 32 or 64 mini cards. Still testing.