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kil0ran.
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March 29, 2021 at 9:59 am #31532
Gimpl
Hi All
After yet another ridiculously close pass the other day where the driver honked as he was passing only to park up 100 metres down the road – apparently it was still my fault for all the usual bullshit reasons – I have decided to invest in some cameras.
Ideally I would like front and rear bike mounted where both feeds can be combined for submission. As small as possible without sacrificing picture quality and easy to set up and use. At this point not too worried about price.
Who would recommend what and why please? Should I consider helmet mounted and why? Any advice welcome.
Thanks
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7. Useful in proving who was
7. Useful in proving who was driving, which cuts down on that particular well-exploited loophole
Awavey
on point 6, I genuinely think
on point 6, I genuinely think it could be millenia before that happens. none of the incidents I experience on the road do I ever believe just by the way the person doing the stupid thing in their car behaves, ever thinks that I or any cyclist might just have a video camera recording them, I bet most of the ones who receive letters from the police are completely gobsmacked about it. I dont know if these letters even state the evidence came from a cyclists video camera, or it just reports you were observed by a member of the public driving badly around a cyclist.
Ive had to verbally warn people 4 times in seperate incidents where their behaviour was getting very out of hand,or they were threatening violence onto me, to carefully choose what they did next because they were being recorded on video that would be used as evidence against them. And it takes that much for them to even consider its a possibility.
I mean the police here reported a driver in an Audi tried to race with one of their marked cars the other day, a car with blue flashing lights and the word Police written on the side, and was surprised to be pulled over, which I think is the 2nd time last month a car has overtaken one of their police cars whilst breaking the law and been surprised to get stopped..
so what hope do we have as cyclists with drivers like that around ?
Bungle_52
I agree with the helmet cam
I agree with the helmet cam point. No stats but I get the feeling I get better treatment with an Apeman (go pro style) on my helmet. I also think it shows that you are looking round as you move out and, as the highway code specifically mentions this, it may avoid the “well he didn’t signal” response. You can also look at the number plate longer to give you a better chance of getting it which I needed for my last submission which was dealt with by a visit from a PC to have words. A satisfactory outcome as far as I’m concerned. I wouldn’t have got it with a front facing camera. Worth looking a bit of a prat for on balance.
The Apeman footage seems OK apart from low light and night time but I think most cameras struggle with these. Batteries last 90 to 120 mins and I carry enough batteries to cover the bike ride. It takes around a minute to swap over. They are cheap as well. I prefer the A66. No WIFI, no 4K but HD at 30fps is good enough. I now leave the anti shake off and I think I get better results registration number wise
Mungecrundle
“Genunine question though, is
“Genunine question though, is there a point to having cameras?”1. Allows you to review your own actions following an incident. There’s usually something to learn.
2. Police may not take any action following an incident, but they definitely won’t without a complaint and some accompanying evidence.
3. I’ve got some decent footage of club rides that are nice to share with others.
4. If you have a financial loss following an incident which involves a registeted vehicle then it is easier to trace the insurer and to make a successful claim for damages.
5. Evidence if a pothole caused damage.
6. If the message gets out that cyclists carry cameras and that bad driving will be reported (and followed up, but that is out of your control and another subject for debate) then maybe we all benefit from the “poison arrow frog” effect.
lonpfrb
“Genuine question though, is
“Genuine question though, is there a point to having cameras? ”
I believe that you covered it, with the lack of automation meaning that the user has to a. Be able to press the save button, b. Be able to extract the police guidance compliant clip, c. Be lucky enough to live in an area where the CPO or Commissioner takes road crime seriously, d. Be willing to escalate to their Member of Parliament or County Councillor responsible for Highways.
So that’s a fair amount of time and effort to conduct the democratic process.
If that’s an unreasonable effort to go about your lawful business on the public roads, you might consider how to appear an equal hazard to the motoring public so that they do give you due care and attention….wtjs
And yet… according to the
And yet… according to the ‘West Yorkshire decriminalising bad driving’ topic, which is confirming my own experience of being hit by vehicles in Lancashire, the police are sniggering behind the No-Bloody-Bikes-Here Sheds because they’re refusing to investigate until you’re properly smashed up, when there’s a good chance the camera will be smashed as well (Magic, Sarge!- insufficient evidence!). So, at first sight, all this camera stuff is a waste of time and money- as long as you let the police get away with doing nothing. In the words of Thin Lizzie (showing my age!) Fightttt!!!
quiff
Similar to others – I run a
Similar to others – I run a Cycliq Fly6CE at the back, and a Go Pro Hero (just Hero, no number – their basic entry level one from 2018) on the front. In terms of picture, there’s no discernible difference to me. But for me the Cycliq wins on usability for my usage, which is (or was!) primarily commuting. The fact that it overwrites in a loop is really useful (whereas on the GoPro I have to delete footage manually when full), and the battery life is better (the Cycliq tended to last for 5 legs of my commute, versus 2 -3 legs for the Go Pro. NB: I used a separate light, so wasn’t using the light function on the Cycliq). Also much easier to remove from its mount. But the software updating on the Cycliq has been a bit flaky. The date / time stamp went wildly wrong, and for a while I found it difficult to get it to connect to my PC to update the settings / firmware to fix that. And I’ve just noticed that this week it appears to have decided to stop recording sound – haven’t tried fixing that yet.
+1 for the Shimano – although
+1 for the Shimano – although I managed to get almost what I paid for mine as I got it on a good deal from Sigma at the time (or ProBikeKit)
Shades
I’ve had various cameras over
I’ve had various cameras over the years and Fly 6 (rear) and Fly 12 (front) is by far the best; combo lights, loop recording and easy to shift between bikes. GoPro for recording footage of a classic ride, for example, but as a safety camera they’re a hassle; battery life (you need to carry a spare) and deleting footage if the memory is full.
maviczap
Kapelmuur wrote:
Kapelmuur wrote:My Aldi look alike has outlasted a Cycliq Fly 12 and has better battery life.
Yep my Aldi copy lasts me 3 or 4 rides before I take it off to charge it, but that’s before it needs charging, it’s never run out of charge in use. Quality is good enough to read number plates during daylight hours. Wish I’d bought two
I’ve just bought a Drift Ghost, I’ve just got to find an adaptor to fix it to a GoPro mount. The Drift Ghost has a 4 hour battery life making it longer lasting than my GoPro.
Quality should be as good as a GoPro
I had an SJ4000 for a holiday front camera, and the quality of the footage was fine for evidential use,but battery life was similar to my GoPro
The _Kaner
I use a gopro hero6 on the
I use a gopro hero6 on the front ( carry an extra battery and make sure screen is off/timeout after short delay). Quality is great.
I use a Cycliq Fly6 CE on rear. Quality is OK, but sound really only picks up road buzz and drivetrain noise. It also has a mind of its own when paired with the app. Light sequence is random, can stop mid ride on record, or not even start at all, so getting back from a ride can leave you frustrated when you think you should have caught something and there is no footage….OnYerBike
At the moment I’m running a
At the moment I’m running a go-pro on the front and a Cycliq Fly6 (Gen 3) on the rear. The Go-pro footage is significantly clearer, especially in low light and/or on bumpy roads. However, the battery life isn’t great – I get about an hour and a half. That might be long enough for you, but something to be aware of for longer rides.
The Fly6 is generally OK. Battery life is longer, but maximised by not using the light at the same time (which slightly defeats the point IMHO). I have also had one experience when I was riding early in the morning (i.e. dark) and the Cycliq decided just to shut off all the lights (whilst still recording video) which didn’t impress me, and Cycliq’s support response was also lacklustre. Luckily I had a spare rear light!
In terms of putting the videos side by side etc., that all comes down to your video editing software. The cameras all record standard video files and so can be opened by any standard programme. I currently use Garmin’s video editor, which is fine for basic tasks – although I haven’t tried anything complicated!
PatM
Ha! My son has told me to
Ha! My son has told me to join this forum as I had another near miss yesterday which ill post when I find where to…
I decided to take up cycling every day after a 40-year break. Maybe I did a bit when the boys were around growing up, but I was keen in the late 70’s and skint- so I used to cycle to London from Welling each day on my Raleigh Medale. Anyway, I now cycle on assisted MTBS and both have DRAGON TECH go pro cameras that give you about an hr and a half battery life (they come with 2 batteries each and a dual-charger) My first was a present from my eldest son, the 2nd was off ebay 2nd-hand for £25. I never go out without the camera on and in a year, I’ve had some near-misses, despite during lockdown- no one’s supposed to be out except for exercise of essential, blah blah. The Dragon tech gets my vote and it’s in its waterproof housing and has been soaked a few timers (I’m out for an hour each day, usually about 10-12 miles depending on the route)- Camera battery lasts well provided the screen timeout is limited.
Damn! I must have missed that
Damn! I must have missed that Aldi- I would have bought it! The other article contains a lot of useful information. GoPro Hero 7 Black good as a camera, but the PC software is dire and getting worse as they have abandoned it. It will now not recognise the camera so getting the videos off is even more of a pain. You need that GPS timing and location data.
Kapelmuur
My Aldi look alike has
My Aldi look alike has outlasted a Cycliq Fly 12 and has better battery life.
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