simonbell Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 What about sound? Simon Bell - Caterham 7 Duratec R I`ve seen the future.....and it`s powered by duratec Check out the website here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic Day Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 I have been looking for a system aswell - fancy the £310 package from fast films, but have been in contact from this company in the US http://cgi.ebay.com/Dash-Camera-Helmet-Cam-Sony-VIDEO-BULLET-DVR-RECORDER_W0QQitemZ350011096728QQihZ022QQcategoryZ107938QQcmdZViewItem He said he will do it for $310 delivered what do you all think - right spec? as I dont have much clue to what I am looking for!! Rocket Communications - Events, Media, Video here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomGaval Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 Nic, I bought my Sony bullet cam from these guys. Good product, they were easy to deal with, and when I called them with a question they answered it. So from me. I have mine connected to a Video camera, but that little DVR looks nice. As for mounting the Bulletcam to the roll bar. Chase Cam does a nice rollbar clamp and an additional mount for the camera to keep it vibration free. You can check out some of my video on You Tube under Yellowss7, to see how steady the mount is. Quality from the camera is much better than you see on youtube. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic Day Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 Tom - thankyou - for 300 ish dollars it seems a good deal. Just wanted to check with you guys in the know if the spec was good enough Rocket Communications - Events, Media, Video here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanJ Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 David, The Archos doesn't have lanc capability. Recordings have to be started/paused/stopped from the main DVR itself unless you buy the archos helmet cam kit. I went for the RF Concepts camera pack in preference to the Archos one because it seemed to offer a better quality camera and I wasn't fussed about the the remote control capability. Ian 😬 1.6K SS Superlight #006 Penn Sevens Here Edited by - IanJ on 5 Jan 2008 22:25:17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanJ Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 As far as DVR specs are concerned, you need to be aware that some models will only record at 320x240 resolution, whilst some will record at 640x480. The RF Concepts Pack 5 camera will capture at a resolution of 752x582. Ian 😬 1.6K SS Superlight #006 Penn Sevens Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Ford Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 Interesting - where did that figure come from? The bullet camera has an analogue connection, so any claims to specific resolutions are a bit dodgy, but on the other hand the camera must have an internal CCD which will have it's own resolution before it gets converted to a composite video signal. It would be nice to find a solution where the signal wasn't converted to analogue in the bullet camera, then back to digital in the recording device, but I don't know of any such solution at the moment (except of course all-in-one devices, which tend not to be great quality). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidvoas73 Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 dogcamsport have a promotional code section when you go to checkout, google throws up a link to a bike forum with a 10% discount code of svport1 & yes its still valid! I just used it Edited by - wavydavy on 7 Jan 2008 20:04:20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanJ Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 Roger, Those specs came respectively from: 320X240 - an enquiry to RF concepts regarding this here 640X480 - here 752 X 582 - here However, I totally agree that specs don't tell the whole story on their own. There is a lot more to all this stuff than I first realised so I'm on a steep learning curve at the moment! I captured some test video onto my Archos from the tintop last weekend. I downloaded the results to my PC and then went through usual codecs learning process. The results were slightly less impressive than I had been expecting. After comparing my efforts with other peoples in-car videos that I downloaded from the web, I arrived at the conclusion that the Archos default bitrate (1500Kbps) is insufficient for in-car recording at 640X480 resolution. I am hoping to have another go this weekend and try out a few different bitrates and and sampling frequencies. I''ll upload the results and post links if I manage to come up with anything that looks half decent! Ian 😬 1.6K SS Superlight #006 Penn Sevens Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skiboy Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 Hi Guys, I have a RF concepts bullet cam, I am going to buy a Mini DV camcorder for the moment , the sony DCR HC96E looks good at 289pounds, it has av in and audio in , but no external microphone jack. Question 1. Does the bullet cam mic plug into the 'audio in' on these cams? or does it need the external microphone jack. Question 2. Can you get Lanc leads for less than 45pounds, seems pricey! Cheers Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Ford Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 Audio in should be fine - but you may need to make sure you buy a compatible microphone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanJ Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 I've uploaded a few MPEG 4 test videos here They are a bit more blocky than I was hoping for. The MPEG 4 compression seems to struggle as the speed increases, especially when there is a lot of detail in the picture and/or the light conditions change rapidly. Has anybody managed better results with an MPEG 4 recorder? I'm thinking that something which saves to the less-lossy MPEG 2 format might be a better option as Adam mentioned earlier. Ian 😬 1.6K SS Superlight #006 Penn Sevens Here Edited by - IanJ on 23 Jan 2008 08:37:38 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Ford Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 That does look pretty nasty. On the other hand, you're stressing it pretty hard. You've got full screen movement, with a huge amount of detail in the trees. In contrast, my racing videos generally have about 50% of the frame filled with "stationary" or slow moving material - dash, windscreen surround, my helmet, etc. And the background scenery on race tracks is much less detailed than the trees in yours. Are these straight out of the recorder, or post-processed and maybe compressed further? It has to be said that a full-blown PC with a 3GHz processor and 4GB of memory can struggle to compress video material as fast as real-time, so perhaps it's unreasonable to expect a small cheap box to do a good job of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Richard Price Posted January 13, 2008 Area Representative Share Posted January 13, 2008 I've recently bought one of these here. I didn't actually buy form this place, but managed to pick one up for about £40. The results are smoother that your blocky pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k80rum Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 There's a 60GB PVR-500R on ebay at the moment that's reached £102 at the time of writing, for anyone that's interested. It ends at 18:30 tonight here Darren E K80RUM Website and Emerald maps library Superlight R #54 Edited by - k80rum on 14 Jan 2008 09:20:14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic Day Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 Richard - Where did you get that PVR for £40 from - at that price i would be interested in one. Then allI would need is a bullet cam and all the connectors. If the results were better than the Archos ones I would be very happy Rocket Communications - Events, Media, Video here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k80rum Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 I'm trying to understand lens sizes.. Bulletcams seem to come with a standard lens of 4.3mm. A 2.9mm wide-angle lens would do what it say on the tin I'm supposing - open up your field of fiew. But what difference does changing to an 8mm lens make Is it the same field of view as 4.3mm (since it's not wide-angled), yet make objects further away seem closer? Is it therefore a better choice than 4.3mm if you're not after a wide-angled shot? Darren E K80RUM Website and Emerald maps library Superlight R #54 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K16TOY Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 I enquired about the PVR-500 and was told it would be unsuitable for use in a 7 because of the vibrations, was told I would need a Solid State Recorder or a camcorder so went the camcorder route. My Toy now with Aeroscreen here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanJ Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 Roger, Thanks for your comments - they are all good points and are consistent with my observations. The files I posted were as recorded by the Archos with no post-processing. I guess I was stressing it a bit! The picture quality is excellent when stationary and seems to be acceptable at anything up to about 40mph. After that, the compression algorithm really starts to struggle when there is significant detail in the frame. I've had a couple of other thoughts on tweaks I can apply to my setup, but I would obviously be very hesitant to recommend it for in-car use on the basis of results so far. When I record directly from a DVD player (for example 956 in-car), it seems to cope much better and the resulting file shows a much higher bitrate, even though it's on the same recording settings. I'm wondering if the DVR copes better with the resolution of the input signal from the DVD than the camera, but I'm still puzzled as to the significant difference in quality! Richard, As a comparison, can you tell me the resolution and bitrate your Mustek is actually saving files at? Thanks. Ian 😬 1.6K SS Superlight #006 Penn Sevens Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishy Dave Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 Hi guys, My first bit of free time in ages to get on here. Thanks to those of you who have contacted Fast Films, and sorry to those of you who have had no response. I'm not being rude, I've just had a lot of personal problems recently (relationship again, house etc.) which have put Fast Films at the back of the priority list since Christmas. I'm pleased to say I can see light at the end of the tunnel so do try to get through and we will do the best we can to help. By next month I will have sold the business on to those with more time and money than I so the business will go from strength to strength again. Cheers, Dave, Fast Films Fast Films Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanJ Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 Darren, The spec sheet for my Sony VB21HQ-R43 gives the following fields of view for different lens sizes: 2.9mm 120 deg 3.6mm 92 deg 4.3mm 78 deg 6.0mm 54 deg 8.0mm 39 deg 12.0mm 26 deg 16.0mm 15 deg Hope that helps. Ian 😬 1.6K SS Superlight #006 Penn Sevens Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k80rum Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 Thanks Ian I've plumped for an 8mm lens. it's the same camera, so that was very useful. Darren E K80RUM Website and Emerald maps library Superlight R #54 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pezzer Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 I still think to save all the headaches and buying another camera you could just use your normal handheld digital camera. I racked my brains for ages about what to go for and ended up buying a camera mount from GPR which fits onto the rollbar. It has fantastic resolution (7.2 megapixels), gives a great picture, is steady and if you cover the microphone with some mepore tape cuts out the wind noise, so you can hear what you want to hear...the engine! Simple, Quick, Cheap and Effective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanJ Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 Yes, a handheld camera does look like the best option as a recording device for quality. However, this restricts your possible mounting locations unless you connect it to a bullet camera. I am looking for a solution which I can use as a helmet camera for snowboarding as well as for in-car footage. So my only real option is a bullet camera. The question is what to connect it to. I like the idea of a solid state device because they are small and have no moving parts so are potentially less sensitive to shock/vibration. A compact unit is important because I want to be able to carry it easily inside my jacket to ensure that the battery packs are somewhat protected from sub-zero temps and reduced performance. Size and price is important because I don't want to break too many ribs or the bank if I land on it! I am prepared to accept some compromise on recording quality to meet the requirements outlined above and have the added convenience. However, the quality of the recordings I have captured so far on the Archos have been less than acceptable. Hence the interest in other recommendations such as the Mustek. Ian 😬 1.6K SS Superlight #006 Penn Sevens Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Ford Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 7.2 megapixel video? I rather doubt it... this from Maplin looks interesting for £100. No idea if it's any good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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