How it's done.. the way I do it

Helmetcaming

Over the few years I've been making helmetcam videos, I've tried and tested several cameras, camcorders, DVRs, backpacks and camera mounting ways. Here's a brief rundown of what I have used, and what has and hasn't worked for me.

I have 2 complete helmet camera systems identical to this one. I got them from Helmetcamera.com and the cameras and cabling are high quality and very durable. They are not by my measure cheap. But they work very well, have good quality video and sound output, and the protective housing of the lipstick camera is the best I've ever seen. The camera and mic are powered from a provided battery pack you fill with 8 double AA batteries. They will power the helmetcam for many hours, beyond what your recording device will usually. Personally, I use rechargeable AAs and have 16 of them so I can rotate and charge them for continuous use.

The above helmetcam pack outputs video to a standard yellow video plug, like you connect your VCR or DVD player with. The audio output goes to a single audio plug same as the video one, but since there's only one mic, it's mono output. This causes an annoyance when you play that back on a stereo TV. Sound only comes from one side speaker. What I do is use a Y splitter from the 1 output plug to 2 audio plugs so it records on both left and right sides.

 The 2nd main piece of equipment you need is something to record the audio and video coming from the helmet camera. There are 2 ways to get this done. I began using a CANON ZR80 MiniDV camcorder. This model has an external video and audio INPUT. Few camcorders have this feature and if yours doesn't, you are out of luck. The only way to find camcorders that have this feature is to look at the detailed camera specs.

All you do is use the video cable that came with your camera, and connect your helmetcam video and 2 audio plugs to that and go.

The camera to the left is the second CANON camcorder I bought. It's a ZR100. Basically the same as the ZR80 above just a newer model. Recording with a camcorder is a sure way to have excellent video quality, and when you watch the original video right out of the camera, it's crystal clear and as smooth as if you were watching something you recorded with the camera by hand.

This is my original setup, with the camcorder, excess cabling, and batteries inside the backpack.

There is a downfall when using a camcorder to capture the video. Camcorders are not made to take hard bounces and shock treatment you get when riding motocross or active sports. Even packed tightly in a special backpack with foam padding, the write head will jump and skip on the tape while riding and if the shock is hard enough it will cause a blue screen in your video at that spot. Additionally to that, the constant jarring eventually causes the write head to become out of line and will no longer record or play a tape rendering your camera useless. They aren't cheap to repair and a warranty will only repair it once from my experience and two cameras worth.

 Both of my camcorders are broken and now unrepairable and I no longer use a camcorders to record my videos.

I did a lot of research in finding something else to record with. The COWON A2 is what I came up with. It's an MP3 player, radio, audio and video player and recorder, picture viewer and a bunch of other stuff.  Mine has a 20 Gig storage and the internal rechargeable battery lasts many hours. It's small, lightweight and durable. I've had no trouble with it since I've had it and I can record for quite a few hours at a time.

The video quality is not as good as the MiniDV cameras, but for the durability and size, it's worth the trade-off for me. It records at best 640x480 resolution at 1Mb/sec. It still looks good, and since I compress and put my videos on the web anyway, it's pretty much a wash.

When I ride, I also have it packed in a good foam backpack same as I did with the camcorders, as it's not a cheap item either.

To mount the helmetcam on my helmets, I use a special 3M "DualLock" velcro type stuff. It's strong stuff and sticks well while being removable. You really have to pry it off. Your helmetcam won't fall off your helmet and the sticky side won't come loose.  I haven't found it anywhere else but online.

You MUST have a strong mount of the helmet camera to your mounting surface. There can be absolutely no movement of it independantly from your helmet, even the smallest wobble or looseness will guarantee your output video to be shaky. The 3M Dual Lock stuff is like welding it to your helmet. If you find something better, fine.. this is just my recommendation.

The regular Velcro you can buy anywhere is nowhere near strong enough, don't waste your time.

I've tried the camera on the top of the helmet, it doesn't work there. The visor blocks it. I've also tried it down nearer the chin of the helmet, it's ok there, but pending your helmet design, the angle may be off, and it makes the cables harder to run to the backpack.

That's how I do it.. and what I use to do it. There are many more details of course, but I've tried to answer the primary questions I get from the website. Feel free to drop me an email if you have more questions.

                     Ben@skidlidvideo.com   Home site