daboo

On 9/19/2018 at 9:32 AM, Panther6834 said:

One thing to consider when purchasing SD cards, whether for a dashcam, camera, drone, or anything else that uses SD cards (including microSD)...the "fastest" is NOT always the fastest.

...The moral of this story is, do NOT just go by the speed classification - while many U3 cards are faster than their comparable (ie. capacity) U1 cards, there ARE some U1 cards that are faster than their comparable U3 cards...when purchasing SD (or microSD) cards, ALWAYS compare the read/write speeds for the capacities you are considering. It's ok to "trade" a little speed for a higher-capacity card, but, if the speed difference is to great, then (especially for use in a dashcam) consider the next smaller capacity.

I was just reading through some of the comments here and came across this one.  It's worth reading his entire post, not just the part I quoted.

I got an education in microSD cards when I got the Halocam dash camera.  My first "mistake" was in buying the Samsung EVO card that was offered as part of a bundle when I purchased the dash camera.  Apparently, the vendor has nothing to do with what is offered as a bundle to purchase.  It's controlled by Amazon.  But the specs looked good.

In using some memory benchmark testing programs, I found the Samsung was incredibly slow in Write.  In Read, it was certainly fast, but when writing to the card, it was only half what the transfer rate was supposed to be.  I'm going off of memory now, so don't hold me to these numbers...but it was writing at @16 MB/s and was supposed to be transferring at @30 MB/sec.  It only reached 30 MB/sec for an extremely short period of time...probably just long enough to get the rating on the side of the card.  A lessor rated Sandisk memory card I had for my Sena 10C was actually better at 29 MB/sec.  

Then as I was reading through comments on the Samsung EVO card, someone pointed out that Samsung didn't warranty the card for use in dash cameras.  I suspect their memory card works just fine in a still camera, but not where you need a sustained write speed like with a dash camera or action camera.

So that's just a personal observation or experience on what Panther was saying.  When a camera says it can take a 256 GB memory card, don't just assume you can use the cheapest memory card in it successfully.  

Chris

No problem, Odge.  Cameras are just one of those things that isn't bike specific.

Here's a post I made on another forum that actually gives an answer in a way to @superfist question about the lens in the wet.  It's one of those "where did you ride today" posts.  The pictures with the side of the helmet shown are from my Sena 10C Pro.  The Halo Cam pictures say so in the upper left corner of the pictures.  I'll paste the entire post in.

Chris

Quote

I rode out to the prison this morning.  Had breakfast with some of the other volunteers at 0630 hrs.  We have areal flood warnings up for the rain coming through.  But as I pointed out to the other guys there at breakfast, I would be drier walking out to my bike than they will be walking to their cars.  And with heated gear, I am comfortable immediately.  So with a little RainX to keep the visor free of rain drops, I enjoyed the ride.

I took the High Bridge road home.  It's a nice curvy and hilly road.  Surprisingly, there were only a few places where there was gravel or mud on the road, even with the rain we've had.  The back end did step out a couple times.  Nothing serious though.

I got a chance to practice what it is like to ride a real adventure bike, a GS.    Like a good GS rider, I stood up.  I realized afterward though that I only got off the seat, not the full standing position required to be a real GS rider.  It was more of a "sport-touring" pose, probably because I ride a F800GT, not a GS. 
 I should go back to practice this and get it right...

Chris

On 2/1/2019 at 5:53 PM, Odge said:

This review has been posted on BMW and ST1100 websites as well (and who knows where else).

It's a good review, and the product seems worthwhile, but do you (daboo) have all these different motorcycles or are you spreading the gospel of halocam? 😉

"spreading the gospel of halocam"?  No, but I do enjoy spreading the real Gospel.

I belong to a number of forums.  The other day, I realized a good description of me would be that I am a "forum junkie".  I love motorcycles and love to ride.  If it isn't snowing, then I'll be riding. The FJ-09 was on my short list a couple years ago for a replacement bike, and the new Tracer is still there on that short list...actually more so.  When I did replace my Honda NT700V, I went with a BMW F800GT only because it fit me better.  But I also test rode the FJ-09 at the time. 

Just because I don't have a Yamaha today doesn't mean we don't share things of interest in general.  Clothing, lights, GPSs, etc are all things that are common across similar bikes.  I belong to a Kawasaki group and a Honda ST-Owners forum because they have some incredibly great rallies; wonderful people to ride with.  But just to make things clear, I am not a member of a HD forum.  I don't think they'd like my advice on wearing hi-vis riding jackets or full helmets. 

I've talked to some others who post trip reports.  We all do the same thing.  Make one post with links to the pictures and then post that where we think others will enjoy the post.  A review like this was, is very easy to apply the same process to.  

Why did I post it elsewhere?  I like sharing "good deals".  Always have.  Wanna hear about my lawn mower?  Probably not.   But when I find something that works well and I think others might like to know about it, I share it.

And just to be clear, I have no financial interest in Halocam.  I just found them to be an excellent product and for a price that is half that of the INNOVV K2.  

 

On 1/8/2019 at 10:05 AM, superfist said:

@daboo

 

Sorry to necro an old thread, but it's been a while since this review and I'm really considering getting this or something like it.  I love my gopro, but I'd like options if I don't feel like messing with batteries or making sure I copied the SD card and formatted it, etc...

 

How well does the lens handle rain?  The flat surface of the gopro lens cover won't let go of raindrops, even when I use rainex or nikwax type products.  This makes the video almost useless when reviewing rainy footage unless I actively wipe the lens on a regular basis.

 

Edited to tag the OP

:)  I don't know that the thread is that old.  I recently saw one that was over 10 years old that someone was replying to.  And another about that old where the OP was looking for help to get home and their bike was parked on the side of the road.  I hope they are not still out there.  :D

To answer your question, the lens does lose detail when wet.   Though for a dash cam, it is still usable.  You'll see the general situation in front of you develop and still be able to read things like license plates when they get close.  Anyone looking at the video for posting will get the added effect of feeling like they are out in the wet themselves.  My Sena 10C did the same thing.  And the water drops would shift and move off the picture.  It just added to the effect, IMO.

Chris

Interesting Review Chris / Daboo.
Except for the mention of the Sena ... it appears to be worse for word the same detailed review as Diana Rypkema on Amazon who also had a blue car race up behind and cur in front of her. What's the connection?

It's the same review from me.  It's easy to cut and paste.  I like sharing what I think are "good deals".  As for Diana, she's my daughter.  I just bought it through her account. 
As for the screen captures, they were from actual video footage I recorded.
 
I was on a road trip for weeks since buying the camera (down Hwy 101 to San Mateo, then over inland to Zion National Park and Lassen Volcanic National Park and back to Seattle).  It seemed to work perfectly for the entire trip.  But locally?  Some of the video files have dropped frames.  I'm not seeing any rhyme or reason behind why.
 
I'm still happy with it.  It's a dash cam that is almost good enough to be an action camera.  And for many purposes, it is.
 
One thing to keep in mind is you need to get the fastest memory card you can for it.  The "EVO" card Amazon matches up with it for buying together, is not fast enough. 

I have been using a Sena 10C Bluetooth camera for years now. I've loved it, but it is on its last legs. The battery has no life left and I think there's an internal memory error. I've been waiting for Sena to release the updated version, the Sena 10C Evo. Sena is about two years late on the Evo release, so I quit holding my breath on getting a replacement from Sena. When I bought the 10C, I only wanted a 20S and opted for the camera headset entirely on a whim. After buying it, I've been very happy with the camera. While I use it on trips, ninety percent of the time, I am using this helmet camera as a "dash" camera. My thinking is that if I am run off the road in a hit-and-run, my wife can tell the cops to check the camera for who the other party is. So I was looking for a trouble-free solution where I could get video from the front of my motorcycle as well as the rear. I also wanted something that would be powered by the motorcycle and not have a limitation of two hours as so many "action" cameras have before the battery runs out. Lastly, I wanted something discreet so I wouldn't have to worry about it being stolen. After doing a lot of research, I decided on the HaloCam M1. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D371DRF Cost was only $179.89. I highly recommend it.
 
What attracted me to the HaloCam M1 was a couple things. First, it has 1080p cameras on the front and rear. Many of the older or less expensive cameras are only 720p. I don't know much about the cameras, but I do know that Sony is a good name brand, and they are using Sony cameras in the M1. That's a plus. The other big plus in my mind, was the wi-fi capability. Trying to aim your cameras without being able to see what you're doing in real time is a pain. The HaloCam M1 comes with a nice app for a smartphone that allows you to see what the cameras see in real time. You can also download your videos without touching the DVR unit, and even make changes to the settings from the app. It's slick. I was impressed with the HaloCam M1 from even the time I opened the box. The outside isn't glitzy. It actually has a touch of class to it, IMHO.
 

 
When you open the box, you'll see the DVR unit along with the two cameras and the manual switch neatly arranged. To me, everything looked professional, not cheap. This was promising.
 

 
Lift that packaging up and you'll see the cords neatly tucked away underneath. They use a short cord attached to each item like the cameras with a longer section to run from that camera to the DVR unit. Everything is color coded. You can't mess this up in the installation. Even the color coded plugs have only one way to plug them in. You can't mess it up. And they include heat shrink tubing that you can use to guarantee the connections are waterproof. They have thought of everything.
 

 
Installation is straight-forward. Mount the front and rear cameras. Mount the GPS device they include. And mount the manual switch. Then find places on your motorcycle to hide the wires and plug them into the DVR. The last thing is to find a good power supply.
 
The front camera is mounted on the black "lip" under the headlight. I doubt you can see it.
 

 
The rear camera is a little more visible...but I doubt you'd notice it without it being pointed out.
 

 
You'll want a power connection that turns off when the ignition is turned off. Otherwise, the camera will continue to record and you'll run your battery down eventually. I connected mine to the tail light circuit. I have a BMW, and there's a lot of concern about the CANBUS system having errors when you do this. I had no problems with mine. They also include a USB power connector that you can use to power the camera. Again, very well thought out.
 
One note. The DVR does not have any built in memory storage. You'll need to supply your own SD memory card. Use the highest speed memory card you can buy for this, since you're recording from two cameras simultaneiously with sound. I used a Class 10, U1 card and the images were pixelated. With a Class 10, U3 card, all seems fine.
 
What is it like in use? I've attached three screen captures. The rear camera shows a white vehicle merging behind me on the freeway. If you look closely, you can see another car to the side of it.
 

 
The next picture shows the blue car rapidly gaining speed. Although there is a large open space to merge into, it is clear he is not merging there.
 

 
The last picture shows the blue car cutting in front of me. BTW, the only reason he had that much space to merge into, was that I wasn't going to "fight" for my space and I backed off. Right after he moved in front of me, he cut over two more lanes in heavy traffic. If there had been an accident, the video shows a seamless capture of his actions from the rear camera to the front camera.
 

 
I haven't tested this yet , but if there had been an accident, the camera has a vibration sensor that locks the video so it isn't overwritten.
 
This is not an "action" camera, yet one of the sales people at Cycle Gear mentioned that the video I showed her was as good or better than her GoPro. I don't know if I'd go that far. But it is good.
As a "dash" camera though, I'd rate it as exceptional. The quality of everything is excellent, and the price is great.
 
I have only one nit-pick... When you mount the cameras in their mounts, they are still a little lose when the screw is tightened all the way. The "fix"...just use another washer on the inside of the two arms of the mount that holds the camera and it'll tighten just fine. That is really minor. You'll see what I mean when you mount yours.
 
Lastly, I have to make a comment about the HaloCam customer service. It is exceptional. I notice that of the previous reviews, one person had issues with his camera. I did too initially. I contacted them and they were outstanding in resolving my issue. I don't know when I've had better customer service. They definitely stand by their product.
 
Chris