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Anyone using a Runcam 5?

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Anyone using a Runcam 5?

Old 03-31-20, 10:19 AM
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sjanzeir
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Anyone using a Runcam 5?

I've been looking for alternatives to the somewhat outdated Polaroid Cube+ (which I'm still running as a helmet cam) and the discontinued GoPro Session (which I've never owned or used.) I came just across the Runcam 5 Orange, and though the company's products seem primarily geared towards drone users, I wondered if any forum members used it as a helmet/body/on-bike action camera. I like the inconspicuous size, the cube-shaped form factor and (from what I've gathered online) the simplicity of operation. I've found a place that would 3D print Telesin-style housings with GoPro-style mounts for it and ship internationally; not sure if the $29 is reasonable enough. Any thoughts?
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Old 10-10-22, 04:44 AM
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I just ran across this action cam and think it is cool ; ).
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Old 10-10-22, 08:25 AM
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I see it has digital image stabilization. you have my attention!
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Old 10-10-22, 09:12 AM
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Looks like a nice little camera (like the session) but cheaper.

I didn't see anything on waterproofing but based on the exposed USB port, I'd assume it's not. If you are not concerned with waterproofing then it looks like a nice little camera with image stabilization and at a great price..
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Old 10-10-22, 05:42 PM
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it does seem too good for it to be true. If it had a USB-C, I'd probably already have one.
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Old 10-23-22, 11:10 AM
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Runcam 5 Orange test

I bought a Runcam 5 Orange yesterday and took my first ride with it. For a lot of reasons this seemed to be the one to get: low price, high quality, compact, and users flying it on drones say it's indestructible. But it's not waterproof. I think I can fix that.

For the trial I taped it to my front rack with gaffer tape, pointed level (that's relatively low) and back 45 degrees. It covered straight back along the side of my bike (including one pumping leg) right up to 90 degrees to the bike, so anything coming from behind on my left is covered until it's half past me. The stabilization worked perfectly, and resolution is high enough that I can easily read the plates of passing cars. The quality is actually amazing. I'll upload a video, but I understand that YouTube messes with quality, and it is not the quality that I see on my computer. Click the little gear on the control bar to see it in their best degraded quality.

For an easier permanent installation I'm experimenting with strips of an inner tube taped to the rack with a space to jam the camera in. Not riding, it seems totally secure. We'll find out for real later today. Another camera for the front and everything would be covered.

I'm still messing with the various settings . . .


Last edited by mdarnton; 10-23-22 at 11:20 AM.
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Old 10-23-22, 09:37 PM
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Originally Posted by mdarnton
he stabilization worked perfectly, and resolution is high enough that I can easily read the plates of passing cars. The quality is actually amazing. I'll upload a video, but I understand that YouTube messes with quality, and it is not the quality that I see on my computer. Click the little gear on the control bar to see it in their best degraded quality.
Holy mother of bad camera quality.... Sorry, but that thing is just terrible..
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Old 10-23-22, 09:48 PM
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Originally Posted by raqball
Holy mother of bad camera quality.... Sorry, but that thing is just terrible..
It looks fine at 1080p on a 1080l screen...
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Old 10-24-22, 06:27 AM
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Originally Posted by raqball
Holy mother of bad camera quality.... Sorry, but that thing is just terrible..
If you can't read passing licenses, you aren't getting the full experience. Thank your internet provider and YouTube for that-the originals are fine.
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Old 10-24-22, 12:29 PM
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Originally Posted by mdarnton
If you can't read passing licenses, you aren't getting the full experience. Thank your internet provider and YouTube for that-the originals are fine.
Nope not my internet and while sure YT compresses video, the video posted is just not very good IMO..

Use Vimeo for short clips. They have a free account option that limits the amount you can upload per week but I've been using their free account for years to upload small clips. Compression is not really an issue with them and the videos are much better quality than YT.

Even so, that video is just bad. Most of the passing cars are going rather slow and 2 of the 3 plates I saw were barley readable. One was a garbled mess and could not be read at all..

If the OP is happy with it then that's all that matters. Maybe there are better clips out there of it's abilities but based on the video posted, I would not buy it as a safety camera intended to reliably capture readable plates...

My .02

Last edited by raqball; 10-24-22 at 12:33 PM.
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Old 10-24-22, 09:18 PM
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raqball Don't know what the problem with your setup is, but I got all three plates clearly.
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Old 10-24-22, 09:31 PM
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Originally Posted by raqball
If the OP is happy with it then that's all that matters.
😁 I put up the original post in March 2020 - and got the first response this October! 😁
And I still don't own one - but still interested! If it really can fit inside a GoPro Session's case, I'm getting one!

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Old 10-24-22, 09:58 PM
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Originally Posted by mdarnton
raqball Don't know what the problem with your setup is, but I got all three plates clearly.
Nothing wrong with my setup.. Brand new 14" MacBook Pro, 4K high end TV and 1GB internet speed..

I upscaled the video to 4K and can read the plates now, although one is still fuzzy.. That's not good considering how slow the cars are going.. The quality is pretty bad IMO.. I'd like to see some footage where cars are moving faster than 30'ish mph..

I guess for $100 it's not bad but I'd personally spend more and get a quality camera..

Enjoy it if you are happy with it..

Last edited by raqball; 10-24-22 at 10:04 PM.
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Old 10-25-22, 03:03 AM
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The new gopro 11 mini seems good for similar size at $300. You have to use a phone (or computer I guess too) to make setting changes.
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Old 10-26-22, 04:45 AM
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Originally Posted by BikeLite
The new gopro 11 mini seems good for similar size at $300. You have to use a phone (or computer I guess too) to make setting changes.
unable to find the max run time on it's 1,500mAh battery while set to its max quality. I'm thinking it might get 2.5 hours... which is low if that is the case.
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Old 10-26-22, 10:55 AM
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Originally Posted by Troul
unable to find the max run time on it's 1,500mAh battery while set to its max quality. I'm thinking it might get 2.5 hours... which is low if that is the case.
Much, much less than that. Here is a screen grab from DCR's video that shows Hero 11 battery times. He says knock 10%-15% off those #'s for the Mini.. According to the chart the Mini would get about 60 minutes if ran at 4K 60FPS.

As with any camera that's capturing high res and high FPS footage it's going to need external battery pack to last for bike usage unless someone only rides for short period of time.

Link to his video where he discusses it:




The Mini has been delayed for 3 weeks. Mine says it will ship on or before November 18th...

Re the Mini delay, here is an email I got reference it:

Thank you for pre-ordering a HERO11 Black Mini from GoPro. Your ship date has been moved from October 25th to be on or before November 18th. We apologize for this change and we will notify you when your order has shipped.

Thank you for your understanding. If you have any questions or wish to cancel your order, please contact our customer support department at https://gopro.com/help/ContactUs.

As a token of appreciation, we will be sending you a complimentary Handler for you to use with your new HERO11 Black Mini at time of shipment.

We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience.

Last edited by raqball; 10-26-22 at 10:59 AM.
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Old 10-26-22, 02:29 PM
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holy crap that is short!
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Old 10-27-22, 12:18 PM
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Originally Posted by Troul
holy crap that is short!
Pretty normal for most of these action cameras that run high res and fps. The Mini has a 1500 mah internal battery so based on the size of a USB battery pack you should be able to ballpark run time..

I have a 20K mah and a 10K mah battery pack and I'll prob run the 10K in my saddle bag. Counting the internal battery, that will give me about 11500 mah of total battery life or somewhere close to 6 hours at 4K 120FPS.. If I ran the 20K mah then double that..

Consider that is running 4K and 120 FPS. If I were to run lower settings then obviously I'd get more run time. Most of my rides are easily under 6 hours so I'd just need to change the battery pack nightly.. USB battery packs are pretty cheap these days as well...
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Old 10-27-22, 12:44 PM
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if the current action cam takes a large number 2 anytime soon, I might give that GP mini a whirl. I already use a battery bank (iirc 12,000mAh) so the extended cost of that is already covered. What I like about the bank, is that it puts out a fast charge.
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Old 10-27-22, 12:58 PM
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My old Polaroid Cube+ can hardly manage 35-40 minutes from its own battery shooting 1080p/60fps (my regular Cube can only do 30fps with a slightly longer runtime - 45,maybe 50 minutes if I'm lucky.) With a compact, fairly lightweight 5,000mAh powerbank velcroed (scotched, actually... scotched-velcroed, to be exact) to my helmet, either one can run for almost four hours, which is, more often than not, more than long enough for me. And those used to be $100+ cameras when they were new.

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Old 10-27-22, 01:21 PM
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Originally Posted by Troul
if the current action cam takes a large number 2 anytime soon, I might give that GP mini a whirl. I already use a battery bank (iirc 12,000mAh) so the extended cost of that is already covered. What I like about the bank, is that it puts out a fast charge.
I let my son borrow my Hero 11 (regular version) and the mount he was using on his motorcycle gave and it went bouncing down the street.. I had considered replacing it with another but I think the Mini is better suited for use on a bike as a safety camera. My main thought reasoning on this is there are no screens to worry about getting damaged by flying rocks or debris..

Hopefully it does not get delayed again and I'll have it in a few weeks. My challenge with it is going to be waterproofing as the passthrough door from the Hero 10/11 won't work on it. I assume aftermarket or maybe even GoPro will have a passthrough door rather fast for it though..
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Old 10-29-22, 12:27 AM
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If you just need a basic ride documentary camera (for legal/insurance purposes in case you're hit by a car), check out the Drift cameras from England. I've been using a pair of Drift Ghost X cameras for going on three years. No problem, other than needing to replace the battery modules after a couple of years. Easy and affordable to replace.

The Drift Ghost X are affordable, rugged and reliable. Just HD, 1080. The 4k models are quite a bit pricier. They mostly cater to motorcyclists, so most of the YouTube reviews will be from UK motorcyclists. But they work fine on bicycle helmets or mounted on the bike. Helmet mounts are included. Bike mounts are extra and kind of a kludge but functional.

My original pair of Ghost X cameras came with flush fit 5-hour batteries that ran an honest 5 hours the first year, with about 200 uses per year. I rode about 6,000 miles a year back in 2019 and 2020 and ran video every ride. After a couple of years the runtime dropped to around 4 hours, then suddenly dropped to an hour, then failed. Not bad for rechargeable batteries. Some, such as some headlights, deplete gradually. Others run at maximum then suddenly fail. Depends on how the devices are designed.

I just added their 8-hour battery one of my Ghost X cams. It bulges a bit more, so it's not quite as compact. And the new battery needed to be run to depletion and recharged a couple of times to reach the full 8 hour runtime. Not unusual with some rechargeable devices.

These are weather resistant as-is, no need for the optional water/weather proof housing. I've ridden in rain many times, no problems. One of my Ghost X cams popped off the front mount and bounced along the street. Barely a scuff in the rubberized armor, no damage, no problems. I simply neglected to check clearance between the cable housings crossing one of my road bikes and the place where I mounted the camera under the stem. When I turned the handlebar sharply to make a slow turn, the cable housing compressed the quick release mount. Rearranging the cable housing with zip ties fixed the problem. Drift says they've never received a report of their quick release slide-in mounts failing.

No image stabilization. Good image quality in daytime; fair at night. I don't count on reliably recording license plates because US license plates are tiny compared with other countries, and the high contrast white metallic paint plates and black alpha-numeric characters seem deviously designed to thwart surveillance.

Tiny basic LCD window, but I use the phone app to set up the options for mine, or to review a video. I use the "Car DVD mode" set to 5 minute intervals. But there are other options.
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Old 01-07-24, 12:48 PM
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I use a runcam 2 HD and it's waterproof and has fantastic video quality,
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