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Camera for long rides
Hi, I am looking at getting a action cam to record some long rides but not sure any will do what i am looking for. I have the Velo South, London Revolution planned building up to Ride accross Britain next year. I want to be able to take short video clips and photos during the ride as i dont like stopping to take photos but then afterwards regret not having anything to remember the ride.
So, Can anyone recommend a camera that i can easily take pictures/vidoes whilst moving that lasts 6 hours (not recording all that time)?
If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.
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11 comments
I use a Garmin Virb - earlier model without GPS etc. - with a handlebar mount. There are probably better ones on the market by now that would satisfy my original criteria which were
1) HD 1080
2) Exchangeable batteries -so I can carry a spare. My batteries last a little under 3 hours from a full charge.
3) Exchangeable card - so I can fit a card that will give me the number of hours recording capacity that I want.
4) Weatherproof without an extra casing
5) Can see whats on screen (from the handlebars of course!) so I can check I really have switched it on. Or off for those bits of the ride I don't want to record.
6) Handlebar mountable (anti-shake processing) with a nice big switch for gloved hands!
7) Reasonably unobtrusive (looks a bit like a bike lamp)
I wasn't worried too much about weight/bulk 'cos I wasn't going to put it on a helmet - I had/have visions of coming off the bike and the camera punching its way through the helmet into me!
From your request I would say that numbers 1, 2, 3 would be your main criteria, followed by 4 - the latter so you can change a battery without having to mess around too much. The Virb can take an external battery pack via its connection, but the internal battery is much smaller and lighter. Using an external pack means compromising the waterproofing by lifting up the rubber flap that covers the USB port.
I use a GoPro session. I attach a credit size battery pack and use 128gb memory card. I get 9 hours of 1080p image stabilized video for that. in fact card runs out of memory before battery
Thanks for all the comments,
What is the voice command like on the go pro? Can you have it in standby, say the command to video a short burst take a picture then it goes back to standby without having to touch it? does the battery last a lot longer this way?
i must admit i hadnt thought of a small battery pack connected all the time. Might be a good idea.
Anyone have the gopro clones? the SJCAM sj8 pro looks very good for the money but am tempted by the session as it is lot smaller
I use a Polaroid Cube, mounted on my handlebar extender, just below the handlebars, and because of its small size, it's not noticeable. It takes HD video and photos. One of its main features is its simplicity; press once to take a photo, and press twice to take a video. The only down side is the battery, it'll only last for about an hour, but I've extended that to 8 hours by connecting it to a small power bank in my top tube bag. I couldn't do without it, it's a great wee camera.
GoPro footage is excellent and there are some good bike mounts; I've got a K-edge one that sits low between the drops. Sure, battery duration is an issue but if you take short clips and turn the camera off in between (or use the auto off setting) it'll last a long time and you can always carry a spare battery. It's a bit of a faff but you get used to it. I've taken short clips whilst doing big climbs/rides in France (2-3 hrs duration) and end up with a lot of footage. If you don't do some serious editing you'll end up with a pretty boring movie so having a camera running the whole time is pointless.
i dont want to keep it running the whole time for that reason, i will never get the time to edit it any wayi just want to be able to record the pretty/fun bits.
I let it run because you can never predict what is going to be memorable or press record to capture event. Also I forget it's running so don't think I have to do anything special/unsafe to capture a good event. playing back is good fun reminding me of the ride. I captured a funny event(as it turned out) by accident, my riding mate in front, fell off his bike into the grass verge whilst he was looking back to see how far in front of me- no damage done :). Also another plus to fully record(go pro) which other devices don't need is when overlays of ride data are attached, you need to have the same start time as the navigation file(gpx)
What I want is one that takes timelapse photos, every ten seconds. That doesn't ruin the battery so badly and you can get software that will stack them into a video.
I've got a Escape action camera and got a spare battery off Amazon for longer rides. You could easily carry a few and change them every couple of hours.
The Cycliq models (Fly6 for rear and Fly12 for front) will take video for around 6-8 hours.
I have both of the original Fly models and am fairly impressed with the recording times on them. The quality of the original Fly 6 isn't great but the 12 is decent - I believe the new CE versions have uprated resolution so hopefully it should have improved. You'd need to buy big memory cards (64gb +) to keep hours of footage though.
Personally I just use them to record dangerous & illegal driving so I like the fact I can just leave them to record. I tend to ride 8-10 hours a week and find myself charging them every three or four days.