dmikester1

Hey all,
I'm looking for some action camera recommendations for my commute into work. It needs to be waterproof for possible rain. I prefer the bullet look like this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00919G1XG...XFURGNTS&psc=0 over the gopro style cameras. But those gopro style seem to be the norm, i see knockoffs all over Amazon and Ebay. Looking for something to record a possible accident but also anything interesting funny. Would like to spend under $50. What do you guys use?
Thanks!
Mike

Skipjacks

Generally speaking what you get for $50 is a usable camera hat lacks image stabilization.

The image quality won't be as good as a Go Pro. And on a bike, most of them will make a video that's bouncing all over the place. That's probably good enough for court if you need to prove it was a grey car with a certain license plate that ran over you wen you go frame by frame. It's probably not good enough to show videos to your friends about the great view you see on the bike trail.

The cheap cameras are also more likely to have weird software set ups that don't make any sense that limit the usefulness of the device. And they are more likely to just stop working one day. They are also more likely to not be nearly as waterproof as they claim to be. And they are more likely to have a ton of totally fake bought and paid for reviews saying it's the best camera ever.

All of these are 'probablies'. There are some decent cheap imported cameras on Amazon and eBay. There are some that are absolute crap. None of them are as good or as reliable as a name brand. Some of them might be good enough fro what you want to do, depending on what exactly you want to record video for.

The nice thing about a $50 camera is that if it falls off your bike and gets smashed to smitherines, it was a $50 camera, not a $400 camera. That might make lower resolution video that's bouncy worth it to you.

Basically there are trade offs to a cheap camera. Only you can decide if they are worth it.

I have a $30 dash cam in my car. It's not nearly as good as a $200 camera by any metric. But it's perfectly fine for proving that I didn't run the red light or that the other car came across the center lane when the accident happened...or whatever the case may be.

mcours2006

I have this one, which is similar to the one you cited: https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-list...&condition=all

Here's my review on Amazon:
The camera itself works fine. The battery lasts only 2.5 hours, but picture quality is good. The only complaint I have, and it's pretty major one, is the mounting hole thread is plastic and on mine it has already been stripped. I went over a speed bump at 30 km/h and the camera just 'popped' right off the mount and crashing and rolling over a few times on the pavement. The first time it happened I thought that it wasn't on tight enough, but the second time it happened less than a week later I knew the flaw lay somewhere else, like in the manufacturer/design. To its credit, even after two hard tumbles the camera still works. I was lucky it did not land on the lens cover. I've had it for only three weeks, and I was not tough at all on the equipment.

So if you're thinking of buying this, be aware of that. this is a pretty major flaw, and if you strip the thread it renders the unit pretty useless for any application. I was able to mount it onto my helmet using some zip ties and make it work as a helmet cam. If you are less handy you might want to stay away from this camera.

I was/am contemplating getting the same camera to work as a rear-facing one, despite the flaw. The main reason I am considering it is the battery. I can get 2.5+ hours of use during the warmer months, which is more than what most of the GoPro-style ones give (usually under 90 min). Even in -10*C or colder I can usually get 60+ minutes, which covers my commute. I'd charge it at work, of course.

I bought one last week which I fully charged, but after 20 minutes in -5*C it died.

For the time being I am just using one of my regular hand-held waterproof cameras mounted on the seat post to do the job. Only issue is that it only records 30 minutes of video at a time, so it requires me to turn it on again after 30 minutes.

mcours2006

As far is image stabilization goes, if you wear it on your body, e.g., on helmet, stabilization is not as big an issue. If you mount on your bike--handlebar/seatpost, then yes, the better cameras will give you a much better video.

BobbyG

My first helmet cam was a $10 pawn shop special. It fell an broke. No heart ache. My second was a used Contour Roam, $50 pawn shop, lasted two years until the USB port failed. (Almost fixed it). Now I'm a year and a half into a Contour Roam 2, bought new in the box for $75. Not as fancy as the newer designs, except for the rotating lens, which makes mounting a breeze.

Both Roams have been used year round in rain and snow and temps down to 10F with no weather-based issues.

Hypno Toad

I'm a fan of GoPro for commuting cameras. I got my first GoPro Hero 2 from my boss/friend... he told me to go post so entertaining videos to YouTube. To his dismay, I'm kinda boring (safe). I still have the old GoPro and use it from time-to-time, it's durable.

A few years back I got the first generation of the GoPro Session, really like the smaller platform. Lost that one when the mount failed last summer - rolled into a marsh. My second GoPro Sessions was $150 (3x the OPs price-point), and you still need the SD card.

The GoPro has good quality video, making it a good tool to report people driving dangerously, you typically can get licence plate info to share with the local PD (if they actually care).

I'm not a fan of the Sessions cube form for mounting on helmets, but great for bar-mounting. And there are lots of mounting options available.

I really like the Sessions durability and ease of use. For reference, here's my GoPro taking a tumble (user error): - no damage. Also, it's waterproof without an extra case.

Battery life is short - roughly 2 hours depending on the temp. Good for the typical commute, but short for long races I like to do.

I expect to purchase a second Session to have a front and rear camera for races, so I like the Session a lot for biking.

rumrunn6

consider the file format the camera creates. for example mine saves ".mov" files so I can use my windows laptop to view them but I can't hear the sound & I can't edit them. for those things I need my MAC

ItsJustMe

My absolute minimum requirements are: 3+ hour battery life, loop recording, and able to turn it on with at most two button/switch presses with gloves on.

mcours2006

So what are you recommending?

Skipjacks

With this kind of requirement, a car dash cam might be a good option.

There are upsides and downsides to this.

The downsides are..

• They need a power source. Any USB battery will do. You can make it last 1 hour or 10 hours. But the bigger the battery the heavier it is.
  
• The battery requirement probably means you have to fix it to the bike, not your helmet
  
• It likely won't be waterproof as it's made for use inside a car.
  
• You'll have to get creative to mount it since it won't come with a bike mount. It'll come with a windsheild suction cup

The upsides are...

• It might have some image stabilization
  
• It will do loop recording
  
• Turning it on / off is as simple as plugging it into the battery. They can all be set up to auto start and shut down when supplied with power.

1nterceptor

Contours are bullet shaped, waterproof by themselves(no separate case necessary), maybe you can find on old used one for US$50:

canklecat

That Ion Speed Pro is very good for the money. I've used one on every ride for a year and a half. It's tough, weatherproof as-is (no housing needed), and easy to use.

It's not the ideal commuter camera -- it's really more of an action camera for closeup use. The ultra-wide angle of view means fine detail at the edge of the frame, like license plates, won't always record clearly. Like most teensy sensor digital cameras it's pretty noisy at night with poor dynamic range. It's best in daylight.

No idea whether it has built in image stabilization. The mount probably matters more than stabilization, whether optical, sensor based or software.

After 18 months, using it 3-5 rides a week, mine runs about 90 minutes continuously per charge. That's down from about two hours when new. So like most rechargeable batteries it has a limited lifespan. Normally it records files 40-45 minutes in length, then switches seamlessly to a new file -- no discernible breaks in recording.

When I want to squeeze out a little more run-time, I'll switch to still photo interval mode. It'll record a still frame every 5 seconds (or longer). It'll run awhile longer even after the battery is very low and won't record video. I figure it may record a useful frame if I'm struck by a vehicle. And I've used it a few times on a tripod for time lapse recordings.

If I anticipate needing more run-time I'll hook up an external USB battery. But this requires removing the weatherproof rear cap, so it's not idea for bad weather. Once or twice I've protected the rear with a baggie.

I've used it handheld at parties and group rides with friends too. Fun stuff. Nothing I'd post on YouTube, though.

Like many digital cameras it's a little picky about media cards. The 32 GB Sandisk card I started with got glitchy. The camera would stop every few minutes. Last fall I switched to a generic no-name 16 GB card, $5 from Walgreens. No more problems. It'll run until the media card fills up, or battery runs out, whichever comes first.

The audio quality is pretty good. The mic is on the bottom, near the mount. With my handlebar mount it doesn't pick up too much wind noise. On my helmet it picks up a lot of turbulence caused by my helmet vents. At first I thought the camera itself was creating the noise but it doesn't -- the cylindrical shape is reasonably low turbulence. I tried various wind screens on the mic and it didn't make any difference. The mic picks up the turbulence caused by other stuff around it -- the helmet vents, the cables and other stuff on the handlebar.

There are some very affordable dash cams with very good nighttime performance -- lower noise, better dynamic range -- but they lack weather resistance. But you can rig up some kind of weather resistant housing or sleeve.

For my purposes I find the Ion Speed Pro mostly satisfactory, especially at that price.

Skipjacks

Does it work while charging? As in, could you plug a USB battery up to it and theoretically run it all day long?

rumrunn6

you know, you can use google to search bikeforums

https://www.google.com/search?q=Came...w=1920&bih=974

I see I have a cpl on my wish list, they might be of interest

Polaroid XS20 Waterproof HD Action Video Camera Camcorder with Helmet & Bike Mounts
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AATOKBG...XFURGNTS&psc=0

Contour ROAM3 Waterproof HD Video Camera (Black)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00METYIQ2...XFURGNTS&psc=1

Polaroid Cube HD 1080p Lifestyle Action Video Camera (Black) [Discontinued by Manufacturer]
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NEYHIHM...XFURGNTS&psc=1

this is what I have

Polaroid XS100 Extreme Edition HD 1080p 16MP Waterproof Sports Action Video Camera With Full Mounting Kit Included
https://www.amazon.com/Polaroid-Extr...g+Kit+Included

it does OK

mcours2006

I saw this one on CL and thought it might be decent, but haven't seen reviews. You are happy with this?

rumrunn6

yes, very happy. but like any choice, one may have to make compromises. happy with it enough not to replace it. if I were to replace it, I might just get another cuz I've learned to use it to suit my needs

personally tho, I'd like to know what cam @ZIPP2001 uses. I like the quality he gets

mcours2006

What about battery life?

BikeLite

zipp2001 uses GoPro Hero 4 Silver

rumrunn6

it hasn't ever died on me & I've been out for 4 hrs. granted, I'm not recording every minute of all my rides

canklecat

Yup, it charges and runs simultaneously. When run off my Jackery USB battery it'll fully recharge while also recording. So on a longer ride I can unplug the battery after an hour if necessary. I've done that a time or two when the weather like it might change to rain.

Good camera for the money. I wish Ion would upgrade their sensors in basically the same package but they seem to have stalled on developing new products. They're still in business, still making cameras, but the action camera industry overall seems to have stalled. GoPro is in trouble. Hard to compete in a market flooded with no-names and knockoffs at a fraction of the price.

canklecat

Those Polaroids (not the Cubes) are made by Ion. Same cameras, different cosmetics, repackaged. Some of the Polaroid bundles are pretty appealing and might be better deals than the Ion labeled cameras.

mcours2006

I did not know that, but did think that they looked uncannily similar. I suspect the faulty plastic mount bolt hole as well.

surak

SkyMall on ebay has the XS20 for $30 w/ free shipping, for that price I may bite. Interested in the Ion Speed Pros but it's unclear whether any of the Amazon listings come with helmet mounts or which separate helmet mount kits work for the Speed series.

rumrunn6

probably has a standard tripod screw mount so you can rig just about anything. some ppl just skip the "mount" & zip tie them on their helmets. the xs100 has an elaborate strap procedure that I used initially but now just zip tie a flat base mount but still use the threaded screw

mcours2006

+1