Do you record video when you ride?

[RexDangerVest]

It was not popular when I had my last bike. Now it seems to be everywhere...

Do you do it for proof in an accident? a YouTube channel?

 

As always, thanks in advance

RexDangerVest

[RandyN]

I do it occasionally, mostly for myself, and have edited a few videos for Facebook. I don't think any of the current "action cameras" are well suited for constant recording for accident proof. There is one full time system I read about, Innovv K2.  It is pricey though, $338. Does front and rear at the same time. Probably others out there.

[tojjer]

I've used one for a while. I do upload them to YT, but mainly so myself and riding buddies can watch the route we did again. It's also free storage space!! 😀

[johnmark101]

Somewhere I read about a small camera for the dashboard of your car that records the last thirty minutes of activity.  Essentially it records thirty minutes of footage and then begins replacing the first part of the recording with the latest, so that when you stop the recording you will have your last thirty.  The main purpose was for accident data.  Should be adaptable to the bike. 

[RandyN]

10 hours ago, johnmark101 said:

Somewhere I read about a small camera for the dashboard of your car that records the last thirty minutes of activity.  Essentially it records thirty minutes of footage and then begins replacing the first part of the recording with the latest, so that when you stop the recording you will have your last thirty.  The main purpose was for accident data.  Should be adaptable to the bike. 

I have a cheapy one from Amazon for my car that records in whatever time segments I want and senses an impact that it then saves and locks. Problem with those is they won't last on a bike. Weather and vibration will kill them pretty fast.

[dazzler24]

I mounted two mini 805 car dash cams onto my bike. One at the front under the headlight and one at the back attached to a pannier bracket.  They aren't meant to be exposed to the weather but haven't been wet.  They work(ed) well and are quite small and difficult to spot which is what I wanted.  Mainly use the video to review some interesting parts of a ride but recently lost my number/registration plate from the rear of my bike and was able to locate and recover it using the video footage! Paid for themselves right there!

There are some black Friday deals coming up on dedicated 'dash cams' for bikes that I'm thinking of jumping onto though as my rear facing camera finally passed away recently so it may be time - if at the right price.

 

[paulcb]

I got a Halocam M1 earlier this year as a test user and it works great.

I did have a problem with the first head unit, would just quit working after a few minutes of recording, but the replacement has been working well for months now.  I connected it to switched power... when I turn my bike on, it turns on and starts recording automatically.  When I turn the bike off, it's battery powered and gracefully quits recording and shuts down.  I put in a 128GB microSD card and can record from both cameras (front and rear) for about 21 hours.  It then rewrites over the oldest.  Video quality is good but not perfect, plenty good enough as a dash cam.

My review is here over at st-owners.com

Edited November 26, 2019 by paulcb

[daboo]

I bought a Sena 10C several years ago at about this time of the year.  I found a place selling Sena BT products at a discount.  The 10C was about $10 more than the 20S at the time, so I bought it.  I didn't plan to take videos, but figured I might as well take advantage of the opportunity.

After buying the 10C, I found many people used theirs as a "dash" cam.  The problem with that is that you wear it out.  Not the internal electronics, but the power connector.  I could hookup a USB cable to the bottom rear of the unit (it's the only one I know of that can be powered while using it), and I'd get all day recording.  But the connection isn't made to take that kind of use and eventually it started going bad.

I bought a Halocam M1 also and have found it to be great.  Specs look like it is identical to the INNOVV K2, but at a fraction of the price.  Like Paul, I had some issues with the first unit, but the customer service at Halocam was easy to deal with and replaced it at no cost to me.  The nice part of this is it is "install and forget".  You power on the bike and it starts up.  Turn off the bike, and it shuts down.  Video quality isn't perfect, but it is on par with early action cams, and definitely good enough to record an accident or road rage incident.  One nice thing about it for recording riding videos is the point of view.  I have mine mounted under the headlight (and under the luggage rack in the rear), and you really get the effect of taking a corner.  A helmet mounted camera loses some of that effect because you tend to keep your head level.  But if the bike is leaning over at 30 degrees, the video is recording the same.  The difference is noticeable.

I was able to get a warranty replacement for my Sena 10C and now have the Pro version.  I like it, though I don't use it as a dash camera anymore.  What I'll often do, is to start the video when I know that I'm getting to a place that will be fun.  You can take snap shots while recording.  I'll use those just as book marks to tell me to look for a single frame to save around that time.  A nice benefit of a helmet mounted camera like that, is there are times when it isn't safe or practical to stop to take a picture.  Here's two pictures that I wouldn't have taken without the Sena 10C.

You can point out the distortions of the pictures, but I wouldn't have taken any picture without the Sena 10C.  And this is better than no picture.

There are a couple problems with recording riding videos and publishing them.  One is space.  I don't know what YouTube does now, but at one time the only way you could post a quality video, was by using up your "free" space.  Perhaps it has changed now.  I realized that it wouldn't take long, and you'd be paying monthly fees to keep your videos posted...and that wasn't worthwhile to me.  The other thing, was the time.  If you've never edited videos for public viewing, you have no idea of the hours you can suck up in getting a short video ready to publish.

Chris

 

Edited November 25, 2019 by daboo

[angrygirafe]

I take my GoPro on multiday tours, or just fun day rides, but it’s too much of a hassle to use as a traffic cam. Battery life sucks. 

[Wintersdark]

I don't, but would like to.  I've tried using phone cameras on RAM mounts, but the bikes vibration absolutely trashes image quality under acceleration (and that's basically all the time for me).  I'd like a bike mounted cam setup powered by the bike's electrical system so I don't need to worry about batteries, but ultimately I've never found one that's reasonably weatherproof and has good image quality even with the inevitable vibration.  

Helmet mounted cams are probably the best way to go (basically no vibration concerns!), but then you're at the mercy of batteries - less practical on long road trips.  

I'm reluctant to drop a lot of money on one without knowing it'll be good for me, as typically you're way past returning once installation and trials are done.  

 

[daboo]

7 hours ago, Wintersdark said:

...I've tried using phone cameras on RAM mounts, but the bikes vibration absolutely trashes image quality under acceleration (and that's basically all the time for me).

 

I'd really recommend against putting a phone on the handlebars of any bike.  I frequent a lot of forums and I've read in several places where member's phone cameras died because of the vibration.  They were all using the phone as a GPS, but the camera died.

Chris

[Wintersdark]

57 minutes ago, daboo said:

I'd really recommend against putting a phone on the handlebars of any bike.  I frequent a lot of forums and I've read in several places where member's phone cameras died because of the vibration.  They were all using the phone as a GPS, but the camera died.

Chris

Yeah, it depends if they have OIS or not.  I use an old phone without for that.  When travelling, I set the old phone in the bars and wifi tether to my good phone in my pocket.  Done 20k that way with no problems.

Didn't work for video anyways though, as there's terrible distortion when accelerating.

[daboo]

Yeah, OIS was mentioned.  

There are some ridiculously cheap GoPro knockoffs at Big5 and eBay that work very well from what I've read on other forums.  It's a safer way to record video without taking a chance on ruining an expensive phone if you don't know if it has OIS, or not.

Chris