Recommendations sought cheap front & rear bike recording cameras with loop recording

  • This topic has 24 replies, 14 voices, and was last updated 3 years ago by OnYerBike.
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  • #32550
    AndyIT

    Hi I am after some recommendations for cheap front & rear bike recording cameras with loop recording. The normal ones recommended are too expensive; I want to spend no more than £100 total for the front & rear.

    I won’t be reviewing ride footage etc it’s only if I get a close pass / want to pass details on to the police.

    Thanks

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 24 total)
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  • #1013169
    0
    OnYerBike

    In case anyone is interested,

    In case anyone is interested, the TOOO Cycling Rear Cam (reported on but not reviewed by road.cc https://road.cc/content/tech-news/affordable-rear-view-bike-camera-hits-kickstarter-288649) is currently available for £93 from Amazon. If I was in the market for something along the lines of a Fly6 (but hopefully without so many problems), that is probably what I would be looking at.

    #1013167
    0
    Rendel Harris
    wtjs wrote:
    I seem to be the only person on here who is at all interested in GPS cameras. I have a GoPro Hero 7 Black, but I think that was their only GPS model- they haven’t offered one for years. Nobody wants this facility, which works very well, so nobody makes them

    Just for info, wtjs, I happened to be looking at this page this morning whilst sorting out a problem with my camera and it appears that the Hero 8,9,10 and 11 all do, in fact, have GPS capability. 

    https://community.gopro.com/s/article/how-to-use-gps-performance-stickers?language=en_US

    #1013165
    0
    HoldingOn

    I’ve taken stills from

    I’ve taken stills from footage at three resolutions: 4k, 2.7k & 1080p (just random rubbish on my desk)

    There may be some difference between the three but its slight…Think i’ll try running it at 1080p on an actual cycle to see if it makes a difference.

    Really good point about the “swerving” – the stabilisation smoothes out turns of the handlebars (it’s quite strange looking) – I hadn’t considered that reducing my reaction to a close pass would be a problem! thank you.
    I was too focused on being able to read number plates!

     

    https://road.cc/wp-content/uploads/roadcc/Screenshot 2023-05-12 103004.png

    #1013163
    0
    HoarseMann

    Looks ok. I’m not convinced

    Looks ok. I’m not convinced it’s actually 4k though. Looks like it’s upscaling from a 1080p sensor. I’d try running it at 1080p to see how legible numberplates are, you might find it’s about the same and would save storage on the SD card and increase battery life.

    I’d also try without the stabilisation if using it just as a safety camera. Again, you might find numberplates are just as clear with stabilsation off, it would increase battery life and crucially, any swerving or movements you made would be captured real-time, rather than with stabilisation lag, which would produce better evidence if required.

    #1013161
    0
    HoldingOn

    evening AndyIT – from the

    evening AndyIT – from the recommendations here, I went with the Akaso EK7000 Pro (I’m happy with only having a front camera)
    Pulled a couple of videos from my commute today, so you can see what the image quality is like. I was pleasantly surprised!

    https://youtu.be/ba0gcqzU9NA

    https://youtu.be/aA-3sDBZHTk
    the image stabilisation is pretty good. Can definitely read number plates!

    #1013159
    0
    wtjs

    What I want is the certainty:

    What I want is the certainty: if no accurate GPS on the same unit then no time/ date display at all. It’s either right, or not at all.

    #1013157
    0
    perce

    I’m quite happy with mine, I

    I’m quite happy with mine, I use it with the supplied handlebar mount although a Velcro attachment is provided for helmet use as well. It’s ok for daytime use, not very good at night but then again I’m not sure if any cheap camera  is. Battery life is quite good, I charge it up after every ride. Thinking of getting another to use as a rear camera. Also I think a spare battery is provided as well.

     

    #1013155
    0
    tigersnapper

    Thanks for that link.  I’ve

    Thanks for that link.  I’ve been looking for a rear camera for a while now and the Hero 4 I used on the front is having battety issues.  I’ve heard the Chilli cameras are not so good at night but at that price they’ll do me a treat as I rarely ride in the dark.

    #1013153
    0
    Kapelmuur

    I have the original ALDI Fly

    I have the original ALDI Fly 6 rip off which is still going strong after about 1,500 hours of use.   It’s outlasted 2 x Fly 12’s.

     Later iterations are not well reviewed but worth considering if ALDI release an updated version.

    I also have a Chilli which I use as a spare when the Fly 12s fail.   It works pretty well.

    #1013151
    0
    Secret_squirrel
    Rendel Harris wrote:
    Chilli are doing two cameras for £82 plus P&P (£3.90) at the moment, you’d need two 32 GB SD cards as well, about £6 each on Amazon. Should bring you in under the ton and perfectly adequate for your requirements.

     

    New Bullet Action Camera

    They look seriously impressive for the money.  Would like to see Road.cc review them  

    Thanks!

     

    #1013149
    0
    Rendel Harris

    I have a Hero 7 White, which

    I have a Hero 7 White, which doesn’t have GPS capacity, but to be honest it’s pretty easy to sync the video with my Garmin data through Virb when I want overlays etc, I’d sooner save the battery. If I didn’t run a Garmin as well it would be handy though.

    #1013147
    0
    HoldingOn

    This is footage from the

    This is footage from the Kitvision Escape 4k that I got last year. The image quality is reasonable for the price, but its really tempermental to use. Have missed quite a few close passes:
    https://youtu.be/h3S3r5hMynY

    It was mounted to the handlebars sort of using the supplied mounts (the proper mount broke, so I MacGyver’d a new one from the other mounts)

    #1013143
    0
    mark1a

    Probably because of the

    Possibky because of the additional battery load maybe? I’ve the next best thing, the Varia RCT715 which, when paired with a GPS head unit, gives time/date/position/speed overlays on the video. I’ve had 7+ hours running time when set to record on radar vehicle approach and while it seems expensive, if one adds up the sum of the parts (decent light, camera and radar), it’s not too bad. I’ve given up on my old GoPros (Hero 4 & Hero 4 Session) as the battery runtime is just not enough. Like others on this thread, I’m also in the market for a decent front camera to go with the rear. 

    #1013145
    0
    NOtotheEU

    The only cheap camera I’ve

    The only cheap camera I’ve ever tried was an AKASO EK7000. They usually sell for around £50 but Amazon had a flash sale with 50% off so I took a chance. The picture quality is amazing for such a cheap camera but that was helmet mounted, bike mounted may be worse as there is no stabalization. It’s a gopro clone with the same terrible battery life and needs the supplied cover when it rains which also hurts the audio. It’s also a very laggy and build quality is poor but I can’t imagine anything better for £25 if you’re lucky enough to find it on sale.

    #1013141
    0
    wtjs

    I seem to be the only person

    I seem to be the only person on here who is at all interested in GPS cameras. I have a GoPro Hero 7 Black, but I think that was their only GPS model- they haven’t offered one for years. Nobody wants this facility, which works very well, so nobody makes them

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 24 total)
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