This morning I took a ride to see the Trafalgar Sun. Other than providing a nice bit of publicity for Tropicana, I thought it would also be a good chance to test out to ATC-Mini Helmet Camera.
The ATC-Mini Helmet camera costs £123. Which is a bit of bargain considering the high video quality. However, the price does hop up a little when you throw in the handlebar mount at £25 and a £5 micro SD memory card.
What immediately does stand out is the quality of the mount. This gives a good range of mounting options and allows you to adjust the position to perfection. It is also very easy to use, although you can’t really make adjustments while you are riding.
On first inspection the 720p video is clear enough to see licence plates and doesn’t suffer too much from road vibrations. This should make the camera great for recording mountain bike rides as well as for safety during commutes.
The video below shows the ATC-Mini Helmet camera during the night and daytime. I’ll have a full review on London Cyclist in the next few weeks.
Also, if you are interested in the Trafalgar Sun then I’ve upload some pictures to the London Cyclist Flickr. If you’d like to go and see it for yourself, then it should be there until the end of today.
Looks like quite a respectable camera for the money, I’m only after a commuting camera so can’t justify the cost of other brands/models.
I think originally they planned to release it at £199 but they’ve made the right decision at £123 from Amazon – puts it within an affordable range without putting a dent in your bank balance.
My only concern with a helmet cam is the constant trial and error in getting them pointing in the right place. Not having used a helmet cam before, how much hassle would you say this is?
The setup was really quick and I like the angle that the camera is viewing. However, you always have that annoying thing of having to get the camera home before you can be 100% sure you have the right angle.
Some people might consider that a bit of a “dent” I’m afraid… ! 🙁
Do any mini cams have an LCD viewscreen? It’s not normally a feature I would expect as not only would it increase the cost and size, but it would affect the durability of the camera.
If you need to see the footage whilst out and about, take a netbook/tablet with you along with a micro-SD adapter.
True – it would be a dent in my bank account at the moment too! Tax return time!
Joff – That’s a good shout. It’s what I’m about to do 10 minutes from now. Then I can post up a full review.
Quality of camera far outweighs quality of riding, passing Lorries down nearside when they are indicating and at the front of the queue is asking for trouble. I like to make progress but I stay clear of Lorries, especially when indicating…..
I have to admit watching back the video I didn’t pay as much attention as I should have been – think I was too engrossed by testing out the camera for the first time.
I was wincing at the possibility of you being doored by one of those vans as you were going in between the buses and parked vans – and I thought I was an assertive rider!!! The person unloading isn’t always the driver.
Image quality looks fine to me. Is there anyway you could adjust the contrast for night vision?
That’s exactly where my eyes were focused as I was riding past. I’ve got a feeling the helmet camera has skewed my road position as it was attached to the left handlebars hence making me appear closer to the vehicle than I was.
Having been through Cycle Instructor Training, I too was horrified by the riding technique displayed by this video. Overtake on the outside, please – unless you are determined to become one of the ever growing statistic of cyclists killed/injured by lorries.
For Joff – I believe that the GoPro Hero has, or will soon have, an optional LCD screen. The camera is appreciably more expensive and the screen will add to that cost – but it does give true motion picture quality rather than the ‘sequenced stills’ look.
I second what Phil says – there are also models by Oregon Scientific that have a LCD screen.
The results of the camera are surprisingly good, with only occasional judder. Not too sure about the risky cycling though.
How many mins of HD recording do you get on a single charge?!
Looks like good quality video but my concern with these little helmet/handlebar cameras is how long will it last before it runs flat.
Its not much use if it wont last the length of a commute.
I’m going to test out the recording time today.