Helmet cams for snowboarding

hannah1978

hi,
i'd like to get a present of a helmet camera for my boyfriend who is going snowboarding in jan. i haven't a clue about these things so was just wondering if anyone has any suggesrions on what might be the best halmet camera to get? he is also into downhill biking so the camera coould be used for both.
so far i've been looking at the vio pov and the contourhd 1080p but not sure which one is better or if there'd be another one superior to these. any advice/help would be greatly appreciated.

zagmund

We got a cheap and nasty one last year. I can't remember the name, but I'll post it if I remember. I didn't want to spend hundreds on it without knowing whether I would use it more than once a year.

Some points -
Batteries don't last very long in sub-zero temperatures. I recorded all of the first days wonderful action only to discover that the batteries died each time after 2 or 3 seconds. The following days I kept the batteries in my inside pockets or in my gloves to keep them warm before use but even so they would typically last a few minutes at a time. I even got super-high power ones, but it's basically the cold that kills them. Re-warming them would squeeze a few more minutes out of them each day.
I had the camera tightly strapped to my helmet but my helmet was only loosely strapped to me. Even though I was concentrating on keeping my head as steady as possible, the helmet was still moving with every bump I went over. The result was that the camera bounced around every time my helmet bounced around. Make sure the helmet is tightly secured as well as the camera.

The resulting footage was 'grand' but it could have been a whole lot better. Being cheap and nasty, the camera resolution was only something like 640*480 (or less) but it served well for the general vibe. We also brought our proper HD camcorder but it's a little more dodgy to go fast while trying to keep on target with that in your hands.

z

Mmmm_Lemony

Tachyon... its completely water proof and shock proof and comes with all the bits you need. I was ages trying to get one and read hundreds of reviews on the net. Bought it after last season, but used it in protugal there a couple of months ago...splashing about in the pool etc...its awesome.

1 downfall is the sound quality, and makes a fierce noise when its put into water, but appart from this the quality is great. It even comes with a remote so you can set up somewhere and record yourself... Need to get your hands on a set of lithium batteries though... alkaline sucks in cold weather as per previous post



http://www.tachyoninc.com/XC2010.html

gavkm27

Hi,i have a VIO POV 1.5 google it,it's pretty tech headcam,costs about 400 euro or more
here is some footage from my cam snowboarding in Argentina

http://www.vimeo.com/6818760

TrapperChamonix

It may sound obvious, but I'll say it anyway. Make sure your boyfriend actually wears a helmet.
If you don't wear a helmet, it is impossible to get the camera tight enough on your hear (without undue pain). The result is it hangs lopsided on your head and gives a distorted view of what you are filming.

RATM

gavkm27 wrote: »

Hi,i have a VIO POV 1.5 google it,it's pretty tech headcam,costs about 400 euro or more
here is some footage from my cam snowboarding in Argentina

http://www.vimeo.com/6818760

Cool vidoe Gav, love the butter at the end and the powder wipeouts:D

robinph

This is the latest one that I have:
http://www.oregonscientific.co.uk/cat-Outdoor-sub-Action-Cam-prod-ATC3K-plus-cold-weather-pouch.html

I think I may have had it angled slightly wrong and pointing too much down at the snow last time out with it though.

hannah1978

many thanks to you all for your replies. apologies for not posting earlier to say that. you've been really helpful. great video as well gav!