Troul 

Looking for a subcompact video recorder intended to be quickly affixed to-from the bicycle & am not finding much. Rechargeable, SD card slot, anti-shock & anti-shake are features I've included in the search. Don't want a body or helmet mounted video recorder. I've seen some in the past that some folks had where it recorded the footage & would display it on a tethered device. Just didn't click to me at that time to inquire where they got that from. I can always tether my phone to the recorder to replay any footage captured.

canklecat

Drift Ghost X. Best buy I've found in a practical ride/traffic documentation camera. No image stabilization/vibration reduction, but doesn't really need it when mounted on the bike.

Got my first in August last year, liked it so well I added a second a few months later. It's listed at $99 but often available with discounts up to $25 or so off list price.

You'll need to supply your own media card. I got 32GB at first but the mode I prefer will overwrite the first video segments if I'm out longer than 3 hours. So I switched to 64 GB for the front camera a couple of weeks ago. It will record the full length of a 5 hour ride, the full battery life. So I'll get a second 64 GB for the rear camera. As with all video cameras, be sure to get a good quality Class 10 or better media card. Many glitches blamed on cameras are often due to low spec or faulty cards.

Best features:

• Good 720p and 1080p video, better dynamic range, contrast, low light sensitivity and high ISO performance than others in the same sub-$100 range.
• 5-hour battery runtime per charge (and it really does run that long).
• Weather-resistant as-is, no need for a separate housing.
• Low profile, not just another boxy thing catching the wind.
• Easy to operate.
• Several modes. I prefer the "Car DVR" mode set to 5 minute segments. Easier to find a segment later.
• Can preview and review via a smartphone app. No video display on the camera, just a simple lighted LCD screen for setup, although I prefer using the app for all functions.

Only glitches? Occasionally if I neglect to properly eject the cameras after reviewing and recharging, the quick record on/off feature doesn't work. It'll turn on but not record. A second press will record. If I plug the cameras back into my PC and properly eject them the cameras will return to my preferred on/off mode.

A few options may not be available in all modes. For example, if I want time/date stamp on the video, I had to settle for low or medium quality video. That's fine, I can't see any difference in the high quality mode. And reportedly Drift occasionally updates the app to fix those firmware issues.

It comes with a couple of stick-on plastic mount shoes, but those are designed for motorcycle helmet. I made them work on my vented road bike helmets by using some Blue Tak gum or Scotch mounting putty.

But I bought the optional Drift clamp on mounts and have one on the stem, a second on the seat post.

Trevtassie

https://cycliq.com/bike-cameras/fly12ce

dsaul

Cycliq - They are a bit pricey, but its exactly what you described. https://cycliq.com/?v=7516fd43adaa

Bill in VA

As a hobby photographer this is the best advice. Cheap capture media does not do it. MIssing that special shot or video of a critical incident is not worth a few dollars savings. I have also found SD sized cards are better than the mini-SD cards all other specs being equal..

Troul 

Thank you for the real life experience details!
I see they have a 4k option in the same size at a bit more cost. Any of the two options are on the contenders list.
I was also looking at the RD 32 HD Camera but it seems to lack some features & the ghost beats it by far.
https://www.amazon.com/Camera-Lens-W...onics&sr=1-152

Troul 

Nice concept, but I am always skeptical about preorders.

dsaul

I'm not sure why they are on pre order, maybe it's a new version. One of my friends has been using the original for a couple of years

canklecat

My old desktop PC can't handle editing or even playing back 4k video, so I haven't bothered with anything more than HD. However 4k is more likely to capture legible detail in poorly designed US license plates. That could be important.

If you notice many YouTube videos touting the image quality of some action cams, they're often using European license plates as examples -- but those plates are much larger and easier to read. Many Texas plates are white, extremely reflective and details tend to blow out to featureless white in high contrast nighttime videos. And some vehicles don't run front plates at all. So the best we can hope for is to capture enough detail to identify a vehicle.

The Drift Ghost X HD is far superior to my first bicycle traffic cam for nighttime use -- an Ion Speed Pro. The Ion was fine in daylight, but mediocre at night and could only convey the shape and color of a vehicle, barely enough detail to identify any particular example of a model car or truck.

veganbikes

Sorry the title just made me think of taping one of these to the bars of an old road bike with duct tape

I know you are looking for small and compact but for some reason the title just made me think back to a bygone era. Me personally if I wanted a camera I would probably go GoPro they are pretty ubiquitous and probably quite easy to get.

Troul 

That kmart 24.99 though..... Duct tape that sucker to the helmet & capture the partiers outback!

Troul 

I know I would be foolish to say my intended time of day to using it is during sunlight hours, but once there is the possibility to use it after sunset, you know it will be put to more use. Thankfully when I was buying the computers that I do have, the 4k is supported.
Def know about the "marketing" using across the pond things to help promote sales for an inferior product in the US.

Troul 

went for a ghost 4k drift & snagged it for the same price as the x. Have not put it to use yet while riding as I am waiting on the bar clamp kit for it to come in from chiiiiineaaa. It does have a slight learning curve, but I hope to iron that out before putting it to use on the bicycle.
I have it [supposedly] to auto record video, but I am still leary as if it'll kick on all by itself to record the wild streets of AM city life.

canklecat

I'm not sure whether the Ghost X HD has any sort of auto record feature. I'll need to check the instructions. I've used audio recorders with vox auto-start/stop, but I'm not sure how that would work with video.

And I haven't used the video tagging feature because it would require manually pressing a button to record a particular incident. I got the camera for recording worst case scenarios in which I'm incapacitated. So manually tagging a video section wouldn't help. I prefer to just let it run continuously in 5 minute segments, using a large enough media card, and saving that one 5 minute segment later if appropriate. Most rides are uneventful so there's no reason to review or save them. One of the few occasions I've saved a video clip this year was to show some rural fireworks displays from this July 4. Due to the pandemic some folks bought a lot of really elaborate fireworks and put on displays that would rival the shows put on by our rural volunteer fire dept back in the 1960s when I was a kid.

Eventually the tech will get sophisticated and cheap enough to consider auto-recording only when needed: sensing the approach of moving objects, etc.

I discovered a weakness in the Drift roll bar clamp mount when I crashed awhile back. The pivot lock is slightly different from the standard handlebar clamp mount. A little disc with fingers or nubs are supposed to interlock, preventing the mount from pivoting when cinched down. I've had to farm rig a way to keep the mount from pivoting. Eventually I'll drill some tiny holes and rig up a cotter pin to lock it mechanically.

Because I have more than one bike and don't want to bother with moving the clamp mounts every ride, I've affixed one of the simple adhesive shoe mounts to one of my helmets so I can just wear the camera while riding. Not ideal because the Drift Ghost X lacks image stabilization. My cheap but good VanTop knockoff of a GoPro does have image stabilization, but the mount is the weak point. Also, the boxy VanTop camera is awkward, and the batteries last only 90 minutes each.

Despite a few minor quirks I'm still satisfied with the Drift cameras after several months of using them on every ride.

RiceAWay

I bought a GoPro and was really disappointed. Everything looked like it was in slow motion. Even a 40 mph descent through rough pavement, So I wouldn't recommend that.

fietsbob

You missed the zillions of go pro videos on the web, that aint good enough for you ?

Elvo

Gopro is one of the few that has stabilized lenses

Troul 

ghost 4k has stabilization, was one of the features that made it appealing. The battery life of the 4k might not be the best. I haven't tested it out in the real world yet, but just messing with it for an hour in a controlled climate area seem to deplete the battery quickly. II the rough hour of fooling around with it, I'd say at least 25% of the battery was depleted. I did have it set on the highest quality & capture rate as possible.