Here is an inexpensive, weatherproof helmet-cam option

[DaveArthur]

I have been looking for a small and inexpensive weather resistant helmet-mounted camera for
a while. Most cameras set up for this tend to be costly, bulky, and too
fragile for many applications.

I do a lot of work in the safety and emergency response
training fields. A couple of days ago I was talking to a Senior
Captain with a fire department that I have done some contract work
for. I noticed that he had an odd-looking flashlight mounted under
the brim of his fire helmet. When I asked him about his fancy new
"flashlight," he proudly showed me his helmet cam.

I was impressed. The camera was small, weighed less than half a
pound, cost less than $100.00, and recorded 640×480 video at 30 fps
onto an SD memory card. A 2gig card will give you around one hour
of recording time.

The design is far from perfect. The video resolution is limited,
vibration seems to create annoying waves in the video, the file
format is not supported by many computers, and the camera appears
to be susceptible to RF interference. Even so, for less than
$100.00 (on-line retailers) it could be a pretty useful addition
for sports video producers.

Here is a link to the Oregon Scientific ATC-2000 web site.

http://www2.oregonscientific.com/shop/browse.asp?cid=30&scid=127

You can find better prices from other sources, but the OS site will
give you some of the particulars of the camera.

[Anonymous]

Dave,

Do you have any idea on what the battery life is like.

Mark

[Anonymous]

You may want to visit:

http://www.helmetcameracentral.com

http://www.helmetcamreview.com

[Anonymous]

there are lots of HD helmet cameras now.

-Gopro HD

-ContourHD

-Drift HD170

-Oregon HD

the prices are getting lower due to competition.

there are also other china made helmet cambut quality is not that good.

try to check on helmet cam forum

http://www.helmetcameraforum.com

[Anonymous]

I have both the Gopro HD and ContourHD and each has pros and cons, but the GoProHD is hands downs better video quality over all. The ContourHD is better accessibility but recent firmware changes to the GoProHD improved it.

The GoProHD package is waterproof but the ContourHD is ‘weather resistant’ which means don’t get it wet.. The ContourHD is easier to switch on recording on the fly and pause.. re-start recording. The GoProHD is now capable of one touch start recording but its not as easy as the other one. But if you’re entering a situation you need to record throughout, this is not a problem.

Hands down, the GoProHD has much better video quality than the ContourHD. I’ve had to send three of them back before I got one that was good enough. Most focusing issues.

As for vibrations affecting video quality? I mount mine on motorcycle fenders, frames and helmets and I don’t see any waves, rolling shutter effects or weirdness.

Best bang for the buck out of the box would be the GoProHD. It also has the optional LCD monitor kit which makes it super cool to set up the camera and review your footage without the need of a PC / laptop etc.

Fun stuff

[Author]

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