Bike cameras for commuting

Plastik

It's getting to the point where I feel I would like to have one on the bike. I've been hit twice by cars in the last year. Once by an opening door which I never even saw move and another time I was T-boned at traffic lights on a wet day when I had the green to proceed. Just this morning less than a minute after leaving home and while avoiding more or less the only 200m stretch of off-road-across-entrances-cycle-path on the commute that I avoid, I had some moron pointing to "where I should be" as he overtook (with ease). Flipped him the bird, call that what you will, I reserve the right to respond to unsolicited "advice" as I see fit. He was so apoplectic with rage at 7.30am that I had dared to challenge his assertion, that 200m further ahead when he stopped at red light with 10 other cars in front of him, he actually got out of the car roaring, shouting and actually looking like he was shaping up for a fight. The mind boggles sometimes. His life must be completely sh1t.

I'd like something very small, discreet, and that I can mount under the bars more or less hidden. I like the form factor of the GoPro Hero Session's, but less so their price. Another one of that ilk is the Polaroid Cube+. Is there anyone using the Polaroid that can give a first hand review? I'm not interesting in anything like the older versions of the GoPro or SJCAM that need to be mounted in the large perspex waterproof cases. Rechargeable, reloop recording etc.

Interested to hear what you are using.

Borderfox

Im using a hero session and find it great, I use it when im out training. I have a k-edge out front mount for the garmin that puts the gopro underneath it. Check out how the other cameras handle low light (on youtube) before parting with money.

I think for traffic a helmet mount would be better too

Plastik

I'd rather not go down the helmet cam route. Rightly or wrongly they always strike me as having an air of vigilante about them! I would happily accept the limitations of the handlebar version.

Weepsie

Cycliq Fly6 for the rear anyway as it doubles up as a light, then any from Garmin Virb, Shimano Action Camera, GoPro, Contour Roam, Drift Stealth (These 2 seem to be sold out), SJCam, Muvi, TomTom Bandit....

You can get a Fly 12 too for the front, which doubles as a light.

Lot's of choice

Danbo!

Plastik wrote: »

I'd rather not go down the helmet cam route. Rightly or wrongly they always strike me as having an air of vigilante about them! I would happily accept the limitations of the handlebar version.

Yeah I feel uncomfortable wearing it for that reason too.

I use a GoPro hero5 session, but recently realised the features it has over the hero4 aren't really worth the massive premium, if you're only using it as a commuting cam as opposed to creating cinematic content

I'd highly recommend a hero4 session, they're relatively cheap, I like the form factor, mounting options and the quality. (I use my hero5 at lower settings - 1080P @60fps, which the 4 is capable of.)

My camera did however recently unmount itself, fell 3ft and broke but GoPro support are currently in the process of replacing it, even though their warranty does not cover physical damage.

I got a knock from a van a few months back where the guy maintained I had cycled into him, the footage proved otherwise and he coughed up for damages, so it's already paid for itself!

Borderfox

Tether ftw

Alanstrainor

Those with Hero Sessions, how is the battery life? A lot of cams only have an hour or so of juice, which just isn't enough for a commuting camera. Well at least not for me. I'd like to not have to charge every day if I could avoid it.

I use a contour roam2, which is definitely too old to recommend anyone purchase these days. But it is a good camera, and the battery life stretches to 2 hours or more. I also have a Xiaomi Yi (2k) camera. This suffers from poor battery life, even though I bought an extended battery it still dies too quickly for my liking. Footage is excellent though.

LpPepper

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Those with Hero Sessions, how is the battery life? A lot of cams only have an hour or so of juice, which just isn't enough for a commuting camera. Well at least not for me. I'd like to not have to charge every day if I could avoid it.

I use a contour roam2, which is definitely too old to recommend anyone purchase these days. But it is a good camera, and the battery life stretches to 2 hours or more. I also have a Xiaomi Yi (2k) camera. This suffers from poor battery life, even though I bought an extended battery it still dies too quickly for my liking. Footage is excellent though.

I have a session 4 and with it recording 1080p at 60FPS it gets about 1hr 45mins before dying...

Danbo!

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Those with Hero Sessions, how is the battery life? A lot of cams only have an hour or so of juice, which just isn't enough for a commuting camera. Well at least not for me. I'd like to not have to charge every day if I could avoid it.

With things like wifi and voice control off, the hero5 lasts about 1hr30min in my experience. I commute about 50-55mins a day total, so do have to charge it overnight. Given it's size & weight it's acceptable. But as an ex-countour groupie, I certainly notice the difference.

Alanstrainor

I see third battery extended batteries and cases... supposedly an extra 2 hours. Interesting. Always wondering about what my contour replacement will be.

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Extended-External-Battery-Waterproof-Housing-Case-For-GoPro-Hero5-4-Session-Hot-/172420818413?hash=item282514e5ed:g:LscAAOSwHMJYErXc

07Lapierre

GoPro Session mounted under my Garmin. I like the fact that it's so neat and discrete. One button operation is great too.

Having said that, I don't use it while
Commuting, tend to use it on holidays to capture descending at speed!

Wishbone Ash

Danbo! wrote: »

... the hero5 lasts about 1hr30min in my experience. I commute about 50-55mins a day total, so do have to charge it overnight....

Presumably then, it dies before you get home?

EDIT - thought you said 55mins each way! Doh!

mr spuckler

i'm a sponsored cycliq rider - fly 6 on the back and fly12 on the front!

only got the fly12 recently, as i commute about 1 1/2 hours a day i was having to charge my old front camera every couple of days and if i forgot it would often die mid commute.

so far so good with the fly12, easily gets me through the week without being charged (as does the fly 6) and the light is excellent. add to that the ability to overlay strava data and tramlines, being able to watch the video back on my phone immediately and the management of settings through the phone app and it seems like an expensive winner. it is heavy though, probably the only drawback and hence the k-edge mount seems like the only sensible option to me if looking at this one as an option.

mp31

Mobius 2, small, lightweight, helmet mounted using velcro, 2 hr battery life @ 1080p 30fps.

Borderfox

2 hours from the gopro

I had a fly 12 and with the light on full it lasted under 1 hour, app was very sketchy and the weight was huge

sullzz

I have a shimano cm1000 action cam , ive only used it a couple of times , the video quality is amazing , ill try attach a video still .
I cabled tied the holder to the underside of my stem , youd never know it was there .
I had great intentions of using it regularly but its only collecting dust now .

mr spuckler

Borderfox wrote: »

I had a fly 12 and with the light on full it lasted under 1 hour, app was very sketchy and the weight was huge

i've had mine 2 weeks now, app has worked fine anytime i've used it and yip it does weigh as much as a small brick! that doesn't bother me for my commute tbf, i'll probably stick with my drift stealth on my road bike though.

07Lapierre

sullzz wrote: »

I have a shimano cm1000 action cam , ive only used it a couple of times , the video quality is amazing , ill try attach a video still .
I cabled tied the holder to the underside of my stem , youd never know it was there .
I had great intentions of using it regularly but its only collecting dust now .

Just as well!...that screenshot looks like you were using it during a race! ( cameras not allowed! )

Weepsie

sullzz wrote: »

I have a shimano cm1000 action cam , ive only used it a couple of times , the video quality is amazing , ill try attach a video still .
I cabled tied the holder to the underside of my stem , youd never know it was there .
I had great intentions of using it regularly but its only collecting dust now .

I had one too, but lost it descending the Sally Gap in March towards roundwood. Its probably in a verge somewhere still working. It's a brilliant little camera.

beauf

http://www.techmoan.com is a great sight for camera reviews.

Chuchote

Danbo! wrote: »

I'd highly recommend a hero4 session, they're relatively cheap, I like the form factor, mounting options and the quality. (I use my hero5 at lower settings - 1080P @60fps, which the 4 is capable of.)

Does the Hero4Session film for the same length of time? And where's the price good? Might put one on my list for when the money glugs up a bit.

Danbo!

Chuchote wrote: »

Does the Hero4Session film for the same length of time? And where's the price good? Might put one on my list for when the money glugs up a bit.

According to LpPepper’s post, the battery seems to last longer than my hero5 session. Amazon have it for £139 at the moment, and exchange rate is in our favour, so about €150.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01BVACUZK/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1504219531&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=hero+4+session&dpPl=1&dpID=41HLHobSvrL&ref=plSrch

Chuchote

Danbo! wrote: »

According to LpPepper’s post, the battery seems to last longer than my hero5 session. Amazon have it for £139 at the moment, and exchange rate is in our favour, so about €150.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01BVACUZK/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1504219531&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=hero+4+session&dpPl=1&dpID=41HLHobSvrL&ref=plSrch

Annoying that Amazon doesn't (as far as I can see) mention whether it's a 4 or a 5. There's this comment on it - can you clarify?

I originally purchased the £174.99 version before Christmas when it was listed as £159.99 and it was the one listed on the GoPro website. As it showed as discontinued I ordered this one and it was missing the low-profile mount and the ball joint buckle. It's £159.99 with free shipping direct from GoPro so I'd suggest buying from them until the problems with these are sorted (I've informed Amazon support of the issues)

Danbo!

Chuchote wrote: »

Annoying that Amazon doesn't (as far as I can see) mention whether it's a 4 or a 5. There's this comment on it - can you clarify?

It’s a 4. GoPro are a bit weird with naming products. It used to be called the hero4 session, then they brought out the hero5 with higher specs, so renamed the original to just “hero session” and dropped the price. All a bit confusing.

I’m not sure what the story is with included accessories tbh, from go pro or amazon, but I’d guess the box content should be the same from either. Open to correction, but GoPro accessories are pricey enough and a decent revenue stream for them, I doubt the ball buckle or helmet mount were ever meant to be included with the camera as standard as per that amazon comment.

I do know the hero5 only came with a single “cage” and a bunch of the adhesive mounts that stick to various surfaces. I bought the low profile helmet mount separately.