Record your own action movies

Being a keen motorcyclist I was looking at a recording device to capture track days and weekend rides out. I am not one of those riders that like to excessively speed, pull wheelies and generally ride like an utter t**t just so I can post my antics on Youtube, I am a more sensible rider who wanted to capture rides for my own personal pleasure.

Basically there are two options. The first consists of strapping a camcorder to the bike. The second is using a helmet camera.

****Video camera****

Old style video cameras relied on cassette tape to record footage, and these were huge. Whilst they could be strapped to a bike they were totally unsuitable due to the dimensions.

The replacement to the traditional video camera is the HD camera. These record footage on much smaller SD cards that allows the camera to be much smaller. These are readily available and with so many makes and models on the market the price has reduced dramatically.

These cameras are more suitable to record rides but they still have limitations. It is possible to buy designated stands that can be mounted on to the motorbike. These stands have ‘suckers’ on them that are stuck on to the petrol tank. Whilst they are secure, care must be taken when applying these stands otherwise they move around and run the risk of falling off, which would damage the camcorder.

Other than securely mounting the camera stand the largest limitation is that the camcorder is out in the elements and there is the risk it could be damaged by the wind, adverse weather conditions or being struck by some debris such as a stone or even damaged by an insect (I had a bumble bee hit me in the chest at 70mph and it winded me!).

A faired motorbike offers more protection than an un-faired one, but there is the additional problem of making sure that the camera is high enough so the footage is recorded through the screen but not so high that it is out in the elements.

****Helmet cameras****

Despite its name a helmet camera does not have to be mounted to a crash helmet, although it can be. These cameras are also referred to as bullet cameras and are consist of a camera in a cylindrical and cigar shaped case. Unlike a camcorder a bullet camera does not have a recording device in it. It is merely the ‘eyes’ of the operation.

To capture video footage the bullet camera has to be connected up to a recording device. There are several on the market ranging from £100 (for a cheap and cheerful Chinese spec model) upwards.

The bullet camera will not record sound nor will the recorder. In order to get audio you will need to purchase an external microphone, the price of which varies, but will cost upwards from around £15.

Buying a bullet camera, recorder and microphone is expensive and will cost more than an HD camcorder, however this set up is a lot more versatile. All items can be bought in a bundle that will cost less than buying all the items separately but doing it this way doesn’t allow the flexibility to build the ideal solution. A basic bundle will cost around £190 from 4Kam and this is the most basic ‘starter’ package, which I considered to be a waste of money since I would not use the set up enough to justify the cost.

****My solution****

I have an Archos 604 wifi multimedia player and with the Archos helmet camera, which is effectively a bullet camera, I could make my own on-bike camera video camera set up.

****Archos helmet camera****

The Archos helmet camera is specifically designed for use with the Archos multi media player, turning it in to a full functional camcorder. This camera is compatible with the 404, 504, 604, and 604 WiFi.

There is a built-in microphone to capture audio, which means that you do not have to purchase a separate one. There is also a built in remote, in the form of a control on the main wire, allowing the user to start and stop recording without taking the Archos unit out of its case.

Video is captured with a resolution of 420 lines on a 1/4-inch Sony sensor, and is stored in MPEG4 format up to VGA resolution.

The camcorder gets its power from the Archos unit’s batteries, which means that the battery will last a shorter time than usual.

The bullet camera measures 104 x 22 x 14mm and weighs in at 110g.

****Using the camera****

The bullet camera can be stuck to a helmet (with a special mount), on the motorcycle’s tank (with a special mount) or on any other flat surface such as the top of the front mudguard, the side panel, the rear seat (for those backward facing shots) etc. The wire then goes from the bullet camera to the Archos unit that is stored in a safe place, such as a pocket, bum bag, ruck sack etc.

When you’re ready to record press the ‘start’ button on the remote. When you want to stop recording press the ‘stop’ button.

****Mounting the camera****

There are several different mounts available all of which rely on sucker style feet to temporarily attach to the motorcycle or helmet.

The mounts come in a variety of shapes and sizes to suit the individual’s. Some are adjustable, some aren’t, some are small, some are large etc.

The sucker feet are perfectly adequate to keep the bullet camera firmly in position and securely fastened to the surface to which the mount is stuck-to.

The sucker feet mean that the mount can be removed when it is not required. The mount can be put on and taken off numerous times without ruining the paintwork.

Mounts cost upwards from £5 and can be bought from many online retailers including action cameras.co.uk, sport-cam.co.uk and dogcamsport.co.uk

****Picture****

At 420 TV lines the picture quality is very good and is more than adequate in normal circumstances. Whilst it is not as clear as more expensive bullet cameras, and the on-board cameras used by the BBC and the like it is still more than adequate.

As the speed increases the quality decreases, as expected, but it is still very good up to around 90mph, making it ideal for recording road trips. It is not so good for track days where the speeds achieved are much higher.

If you want a bullet camera for high-speed track days then the Archos helmet camera is not suitable and you will have to go for a different option.

****Sound****

The sound quality at low speeds is adequate, but as speeds increase the wind noise increases and there is a lot of distortion. This is not unexpected and is a common problem when using microphones on bike cameras. It is something that you can’t eliminate.

The microphone picks up the sound of the engine, and more importantly the exhaust, but the wind noise does wreck it.

Personally, I remove the actual sound of the ride and include a backing track on the final video.

****Battery life and recording time****

The helmet camera will take power from the Archos unit’s battery which decreases the life of it, and quite substantially. I have discovered that a fully charged battery will provide approximately 3 hours of recording.

This may not seem like much but I have never run out of power on a ride. The 4gb of memory will only allow for 2 hours recording in any case!

I find the 2 hrs recording time more than sufficient. When doing track days you get 6 sessions of 20 minutes, adding up to the full 2 hours. If you are concerned that you may run out of memory then the breaks between the sessions allow plenty of time to transfer data over to a laptop. When recording a general ride out then anything over 2 hours would be really boring.

****Price and availability****

The price of the Archos helmet camera will vary greatly. I have seen it for as little as £59.99 at OnlineDigitalDeals.com and as much as £74.30 from Ballitec International.

This product can be bought from many retailers so sourcing one will not be a problem however, I would suggest doing a bit of research first.

****Conclusion****

If you have an Archos and would like to record some rides out then the Archos helmet camera is ideal. The picture quality is good (at road legal speeds), the audio is a bit dodgy but this is the same of all on-bike camera microphones, and the remote allows you to stop and start recording at any point during the ride without actually stopping.

The camera can be mounted in a variety of places, such as on the tank, on the top of the front mudguard, on the back seat or on the side of a helmet, allowing for some really interesting and varied footage. The camera is really durable and is more than capable of dealing with being exposed to the elements.

The Archos unit itself can be stored in a safe place out of harms way.

If you have an Archos and participate in high-speed track days then the Archos helmet camera would not be suitable. An alternative is to purchase the Archos DVR unit (which contains the necessary sockets required to plug in any bullet camera) and a more powerful bullet camera, one which has 520 TV lines.

If you do not have an Archos but would like to record on bike footage then I would not recommend buying an Archos and a helmet camera separately. For a few pounds more you can buy a more powerful bullet camera (providing better picture quality), an external battery pack to power the bullet camera (extending the life of the recorder’s battery allowing for longer recording), a better quality microphone (although you will still get wind noise) and a proper hard state recorder which will result in much better quality.


 (This has been posted on other review sites under the name of Yackers1)