motorcycle cameras: options and reviews: post your riding video's

[BK_856er]

The best price I can find for the POV.1 is $550 at
http://www.tahoemountainsports.com/store/vio-pov1-helmet-cam.shtml?gdftrk=gdfV2276_a_7c322_a_7c857_a_7c2002

Can anyone find a better deal? I'll justify one if it is under $500 shipped

Sponsor Matrix Motorsports has them for $550 shipped.  Maybe they'd knock a few bucks off if the DMF could gather a few orders??

BK

[El Matador]

Sponsor Matrix Motorsports has them for $550 shipped.  Maybe they'd knock a few bucks off if the DMF could gather a few orders??

BK

Send them an email. I'd be down for a group buy.

[BK_856er]

Send them an email. I'd be down for a group buy.

I heard back from Matrix.  Apparently VIO will be changing to a factory-direct sales model in the near future, so what you are seeing out there now is inventory reduction by the various dealers.  Matrix only has one possible unit on hand and might not be able to get more.  Some accessories are still available from them.  They are a big fan of the VIO system.  Good folks there at Matrix.

BK

[Mojo S2R]

If you can get the VIO POV1 for $550 you might want to grab it.

I just went to the VIO website and their $700 there.

http://www.vio-pov.com/products.php?xid=e158eee4a8c81a1e74ae8339222cd7b9&ct=di&login=&mem=&gr=

[Drunken Monkey]

I got the flip HD for xmass. It's not the best cam out there, but it's cheap ($250) and tiny.

And the video quality is good. At that price point it's awesome.

[DucatiTorrey]

If you can get the VIO POV1 for $550 you might want to grab it.

I just went to the VIO website and their $700 there.

http://www.vio-pov.com/products.php?xid=e158eee4a8c81a1e74ae8339222cd7b9&ct=di&login=&mem=&gr=

My wife worked for VIO in Marquette, MI (headquarters). They are a great company, the owners knows his stuff, and everyone there is uber nice. Once i get my machine on the road i am considering the POV 1,  probably helmet mount. I have used the older products with a minidv camcorder attached a few years ago skiing, what a blast.

great company though

[hydra]

my pov.1 came in the mail the other day 

the camera is a lot smaller than i thought it would be. but it seems like it's pretty rugged and well made.




i took a quick test vid when the weather finally cleared just before i had to leave for the bahamas 
but the island i'm staying at has really weak internet service so i haven't been able to get it uploaded onto youtube until today. it took about 3 hrs to upload this.

video looks good but you need good lighting for best picture. i actually came out to the island for work so i really haven't had time to experiment and play around with it except for this little vid and a couple more i shot today as the sun was setting. i'll try and upload them in the next couple of days so you can see the different lighting scenarios.

so as i said, this was a quick test so it was also a quick mounting job as well. but i wanted to get at least one video of it mounted on my bike before i went away. i mounted it to the left radiator elbow tube. not exactly sure what that part is called but it's at the bottm of the radiator and the hoses clamp to it. not a bad angle to film but the camera was not pointing exactly where i wanted. the wide angle is a bit forgiving as it looks okay but it could be better.

looking forward to experimenting with mounting from different angles. the camera in this vid was pointed slightly inward and down toward the wheel. the day had no sun as it was drizzling and it had rained for 2 days. it cleared long enough for me to do a quick ride.

youtube compression really takes the quality down but you can tell the video is not that bad. on my com in fullscreen mode it looks pretty good even with the poor lighting that day. to me, the quality could be better but it's good enough. for the price i wish it had more recording options like zoom in/out and exposure.

here it is. clicking on the screen will take you to a bigger video on the youtube site if you care to see it's full youtube glory. turn your sound down halfway as it's mostly wind noise until i get on the throttle. need to find a better place to mount the mic.

[BK_856er]

Thanks for posting that, hydra.  Looks great!  Now I'm certain that I want one.  Looks like the POV1.5 will be out next week (same basic thing, smaller camera with fixed cable, still $$).

BK

[w7ck7d]

nice video..would consider getting one of this .when i get some extra $$

[hydra]

Thanks for posting that, hydra.  Looks great!  Now I'm certain that I want one.  Looks like the POV1.5 will be out next week (same basic thing, smaller camera with fixed cable, still $$).
BK

you're welcome BK,
quality's pretty good. i just noticed youtube has a feature where you can watch in "high quality". looks better with less artifacts but it's a bit more jumpy. i think i'm going to order the 73 degree lens. it comes with the wider 110 lens which gives it a bit of a fisheye effect. i think i'd prefer a more realistic, less distorted view. it's hard to tell the sense of speed as well as distance and the angle of a turn with the 110 lens.

the video is saved as an AVI file. the software that comes with the pov doesn't work on mac so i had to get software to be able to convert videos to MPG4 for youtube. there's a blog on the VIO site where they recommended some free software called MPEG Streamclip. works great and it's free but it takes some time to convert files.

mounting options included with the camera are minimal so you have to buy better ones. i ordered the "pov mount kit" for $70. which comes with all the different mounts they offer in one package.

http://www.vio-pov.com/product_information/vio_mount_info/
3 – Camera Clamps
1 – Goggle Mount
1 – Pipe Mount
1 – Tripod Plate
1 – Star Mount
1 – Mini Rail
4 – Cable Guides

 a pricey little package but, for me, it's worth it. and yes, the pov 1.5 is coming out. main difference, it's a more compact lens and it also comes with the 12v adapter and more mounting options. but otherwise same video quality. i'd be pissed if they up'd the quality to HD and i was stuck with the lower res package.

[nfwb11]

After dropping $600+ on the top of the line from helmetcamera.com I'm now using an old school Sony Mini-DV with a gas tank mount ($30 on ebay) and couldn't be happier with the quality.

[BK_856er]

Big cam = better video = cumbersome attachment.

I like the idea of a stealthy bullet type camera and an integrated solution.  I just ordered a POV1.5 MOTO version.

Here's another option, but much further up the food chain:

http://www.axialvideo.com/complete-systems/bullet-dvr-solo-full-race-kit/prod_4.html

BK

[Mojo S2R]

Ouch! That Bullet DVR Solo aint cheap.

These guys have several lower priced alternatives that aren't too big.

http://shop.helmetcameracentral.com/

The VholdR and ATC 3K/5K seem decent.

[hydra]

yes i agree with BK. i researched the sh*t out of many cams. i was looking at the canon HF100 HD flash cam but decided to go for the smaller, more rugged and weatherproof camera.

my brother got the oregon scientific ATC3k which shoots in 640x480 and only goes for $140! but it's not as compact and it doesn't come with a viewer so he said it was hard to know what angle he was shooting. only time he could see it was when it was downloaded to his com.  so i think the viewer is essential for those times where you're mounting in weird places.

here's the video from my hotel when the sun was setting. you can see when i'm in the shadows how dark the image gets and better when ther's good lighting.

[BK_856er]

here's the video from my hotel when the sun was setting.

This was for work, right?  I now hate my job even more 

BK