jrickards

The Contour and GoPro are often used for taking videos of rides. My small Nikon can shoot video too but I'm wondering if it is up to the job because my assumption is that GoPro and Contour cameras are rugged.

Has anyone had any luck using a "regular" compact camera to shoot videos of their rides? How well did your cameras hold up? How did you mount it?

mgw4jc

My only attempt was with my Canon hand-held video camera. I used a GorillaPod wrapped around my handlebars. But it wouldn't adjust that small so I used a small towel between the two which also provided some cushioning.

It worked ok, but my camera doesn't have any kind of decent stabilization feature so it turned out pretty shaky, even though my route was all pavement. Unless I am going fairly fast, then my front wheel, and thus handlebars, were not always straight and went back and forth a bit too.

A helmet mount would probably be better, especially if you are conscious of how much head turning you did I suppose.

mgw4jc

I'd like to try a time-lapse sometime. A still image every 5 or 10 seconds would be interesting.

ItsJustMe

I don't think I would put a camera that had a lens mechanism with moving parts on the bike. Especially point and shoots, the gearing in the focus and zoom mechanisms are probably all plastic and I think the vibration would be damaging. You only need to wreck one camera to pay for a good purpose-built action cam. I only paid $125 for my SVC200, it's waterproof, rugged, has all the right modes, very wide angle, RF remote, etc, etc.

jrickards

This is what I figured, that standard compact cameras may not be up to the task. The SVC200 looks good though, I'll have to think about that one.

prathmann

I've made a few short videos of rides with a little digital camera, e.g.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6vwIN5Ni7E

But usually I just take still shots during a ride and combine it with the GPS tracklog at the everytrail site:
EveryTrail Trips by prathmann - page 1 - order: creation date | EveryTrail

ItsJustMe

I think it depends on your situation. Some people may have very smooth roads, and if you're riding a city cruiser or a hybrid with Big Apple tires, things may be very smooth for you. The roads around where I am are pretty rough and I just started riding the road bike, so I'm in the "massive vibration" frame of mind right now.

Reynolds 

Probably a common camera wouldn't stand the shocks for long, I'd use a helmet or chest camera mount.