Free guide to help you decide which helmet camera is right for you.
Just looking for the best head cams at the best price?
We’ve all seen those scary YouTube videos, right?
Incredible footage captured by cyclists. I don’t mean those beautiful picturesque mountain descents though. I’m talking about recording incidents of road rage, near misses, acts of aggressive, dangerous or inconsiderate driving.
You know the sort. They make you wince and feel sorry for the poor rider who went through it. But there’s more to capturing footage like that than just getting tons of views on YouTube.
And there’s more to wearing a camera than just plonking any old bit of hardware on your head. I mean, look at this dude…
![By Pattymooney (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://www.scarletfire.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Helmet_Camera_in_John_Howard_Video_1990.jpg)
By Pattymooney (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons
Yes, cycling video footage is hard evidence that could be used in court.
Increasingly, cyclists are recording their daily commutes as a personal insurance policy, so you need one that’s easy and comfortable to use.
Another recent research project by Direct Line Insurance, using eye tracking technology, discovered that drivers fail to see 22% of cyclists on the road in clear view of their vehicle.
That’s a pretty damn alarming statistic!
Let’s put that another way.
How many vehicles do you think you interact with on your average commute? Every vehicle that overtakes you, every vehicle at every junction, every roundabout.
Hundreds, if not thousands, right?
ONE IN FIVE DO NOT SEE YOU.
Prevention is better than cure, so do what you can to make yourself as visible as possible. Get a great rear light. Wear good reflective gear. But if something goes wrong, wouldn’t you like to have a record of the incident that you could show to the police?
I know I would.
With a helmet safety camera, if something happens you’ll have it all on film. (ok, an SD card…)
It should be pointed out that personal video evidence is not always considered by the CPS, and there have been some well known cases where video evidence was deemed inadmissible.
I’m not a legal professional. As a layman though, if I were to be involved in a collision, I think I’d rather have the video evidence than not.
Here’s what the MET has to say (from http://content.met.police.uk/Site/roadsafelondon)
Video footage
Occasionally, people refer us to video footage in the public domain e.g. YouTube or similar sites. In the course of dealing with your information we may direct others to any material that has been openly posted, to raise road user awareness and to promote safety.
Some points to bear in mind regarding video submissions: Videos should be submitted within 48 hours of the event. Footage should be of high quality and include at least two minutes before and two minutes after any incident. For prosecution purposes, video evidence can only act as corroboration. This means that you will need to attend a police station and give a written statement and must be prepared to attend court to give evidence in person.
Videos should not be edited in any way. They must not rely on a perception of distance such as a close pass as the apparent distance will vary according to the type camera and settings. There are other issues with video evidence, such as parallax error, which makes objects appear close together when they are seen in line. In general, evidence of provocation or disproportionate reaction will mean that no action is taken.
Some people have been known to carry out online naming and shaming campaigns with their footage, but see this Guardian post about what happens when that can go over the top. Others have reported that approaching the insurance companies of the third party can be a useful strategy.
Here’s a nice coincidence. During the time I was putting this post together, this post on Road.cc highlighted a case in which a van driver was fined and had points put on his licence as a result of video evidence.
So, assuming that you think there’s some value in using a helmet camera whilst riding your bike, read on….
What’s the best action camera / head cam for recording bike commutes?
As you’d expect, there are a number of factors to consider.
Firstly, there’s a difference between “sport” cameras and “safety” cameras.
The very popular GoPro cameras produce beautiful footage but from a practical point of view, they are not designed to be a safety camera.
Put another way, there are alternative helmet cameras out there with features that make them much more appropriate for recording daily commutes for safety purposes.
Let’s look at that ticklist.
#It needs to be waterproof
You’re going to get caught in rain eventually, so the camera needs to be totally waterproof.
By totally waterproof, I mean you could actually submerge it, take it scuba diving and it wouldn’t fart out a stream of bubbles and die.
There’s a technical term in the industry for this, known as the IP rating, which stands for Ingress Protection.
There’s IP65, IP66 and IP67. The higher the number, the better the protection. See this site for a more detailed explanation.
For a product to get an IP67 rating, it will have been tested to survive full submersion at a depth of 1m for 30 minutes.
See? You can learn stuff here. Remember it for your next pub quiz.
#Battery life
Ah, the bane of modern existence. Like just about every other gadget that runs your life these days, cameras too have a very limited battery life. Some will conk out after an hour, some may run for two if you’re lucky.
When the battery runs flat, they’ll just stop, often with no warning.
If your commute is short, this might be ok, but for longer rides you may want to choose a camera that can run on an external battery power pack. Be careful that it doesn’t affect the waterproof properties.
#Infinite recording capacity
My GoPro is great, but when the SD card is full, it’s full.
No more recording allowed, it just stops. If you get a decent size – 32Gb is about right, the battery will probably run out before your SD card could fill up. Note: SD cards in video cameras need to be high quality “fast” cards, as the amount of data written to the card per second is rather high. Look for Class 10 cards.
Some safety cameras are designed to use continuous “Loop Recording”. These cameras record a series of files and when the card fills up, it starts overwriting the oldest ones.
This means if an incident occurs, you will always have the footage.
For me, this is the main USP for bicycle safety cameras.
Using a GoPro for this just doesn’t work very well, you need something that’s specifically designed for the job.
#Forgot to switch it ON?
If your intention is to record your commutes, the best camera will be one which is always on and recording. If something happens, you don’t want to have missed it because the camera wasn’t actually turned on and recording.
Some safety bike cams are designed to record continuously. As soon as you press the power button, it’s recording.
This sounds like a no-brainer to me.
#Time and Date Stamp
The camera continually records time and date on the video image, which could be important if video is needed for evidence.
#High quality image
This means high definition, so go for something that can record at 720p as a minimum, and preferably 1080p for even greater detail.
There’s no point in capturing footage that’s so poor, you can’t make out the details of the license plate.
#Lens field of view (wide angle).
This could be a bit contentious, because whilst you may want a really wide angle lens to make sure you’re capturing as much footage as possible, footage can be excluded from being used as evidence because of the distortion that can occur from some lenses. It’s not reliable to judge distances from such footage because of the “fisheye” effect.
Some cameras, like the GoPro, allow you to choose between a few modes, so you can go wide angle or keep it more natural.
#Frame rate
This is measured in frames per second. The higher the number, the smoother the playback. Standard framerates will be either 25 or 30 fps.
Some sports cameras offer a slow motion mode. To do this, they record at very high framerates. When the footage is played back at standard frame speed, the action will be slowed down, but still smooth.
#Sound recording
It’s useful if the camera records sound without needing to plug in an external microphone. Cameras mounted to your frame will pick up a rather horrid road rumble. Helmet mounted versions will be more natural, but prone to wind noise, which is to be expected.
I know from experience that using the waterproof case with the GoPro Hero 2, it muffles the sound significantly.
How to use a safety camera on your bike.
There’s no avoiding it.
A GoPro on your head will make you look stupid.
First of all, you have to choose how many cameras to use, and where to mount them.
Forward Facing Safety Camera.
A preferred option among many cycle commuters is to mount a camera on your helmet. Certain designs, like the cylindrical “bullet” cameras are more appropriate than the chunkier rectangular varieties (GoPro etc).
I’ve worn a GoPro on my head once and wouldn’t do it again, as I found it quite uncomfortable and felt it looked very conspicuous (and silly).
The advantage to a helmet mounted camera is that it will record everything that you see, depending on where you look. A camera fixed to the handlebars will only capture the view straight ahead.
The helmet mount is also useful in that it will keep recording what you see even if you are separated from the bike.
A headcam records vehicles approaching from the sides with a quick glance. This could also prove that you did indeed check for oncoming traffic, or that you did make the appropriate hand signal .
Rear-facing safety camera.
In some areas, depending on the roads you ride on, you might be more likely to be hit from behind than from the front or side.
If you think this might apply to you, then you might want to consider a safety camera that faces backwards. This will film everything that approaches you from behind.
A rear facing camera is best mounted to the bike frame, seat post or securely attached to a rack/panniers.
For optimum coverage, many cyclists use two cameras to record both front a rear view. If something happens, they’ve got the best chance of having captured useful footage.
So, what’s the best bike safety camera on the market?
Because they’re not designed as safety cameras per se, I’m not including GoPro cameras in this section, though they are fabulous.
(If you want to check out the GoPro range, try here.).
Contour helmet cameras
Contour have been around a while and have a range of products of interest to the safety conscious, evidence gathering inclined cyclist.
There are currently 3 models to choose from, the Roam 2, Roam 3 and the +2 model, which actually includes a GPS receiver so that you can record footage with overlays for speed, elevation, and distance.
Contour Roam 2
This model offers Locking Instant On-Record switch, Still Photo Mode, 1080p Video, 270° rotating lens, 170° wide-angle lens, Laser alignment and is waterproof without an additional case.
Find out more about the ContourROAM2 Handsfree HD Action Camera (Amazon link)Contour Roam 3
- 270 degree rotating lens
- Waterproof up to 10m without a case
- Instant photo button
- Memory capacity up to 32GB
- Battery life 3-3.5 hours
Contour +2 HD
Locking Instant On-Record switch, Still Photo Mode, 1080p Video, 270° rotating lens, 170° wide-angle lens, Laser alignment, Mobile connectivity, GPS Video Mapping, Up to 120fps, Live streaming, External microphone jack, Waterproof case included.
Find out more about the Contour +2 HD Action Camera
Replay XD – 1080 Mini
- Smallest and Lightest HD Camera : Full HD 1080p Video | microSD card, up to 32GB capacity | Simple 2 button operation | Vibration/LED feedback | Pro-shooter mode (20 settings)
- Waterproof without a Case : 3m/10ft Waterproof | Impact Resistant hard-anodized Aluminum Housing
- Video : Wide-Angle (120) Fixed-Focus Lens (F2.8) | PAL/NTSC | 1080P@25/30fps, 720P@25/30fps & 50/60fps | 5MP CMOS, Bitrate 15Mbps | Photo mode | Time-lapse mode
- Audio: Built-in omni-directional microphone, AAC 2-channel 32K, 24-bit, Auto Gain | External Mic/Audio Line-in 1.4 Vrms
- Battery : Built-in Rechargeable 3.7V, 650mAh Lithium-Ion | upto 130 Minute Record Time
Cycliq Fly 12 Front facing camera and front light
It also has the added advantage of being a lot more stealthy than a head mounted camera, which can provoke hostility from some.
Find out more about the Cycliq Fly 12 CE from Amazon, or check out the best prices below from around the web.
Best price Cycliq Fly12 front light/camera
Cycliq Fly6 rear light / camera
Ok, this isn’t a head camera, but it’s a very popular rear view camera AND a tail light, all in one neat little package! The link is for version 2, which comes with a 8GB SD card!
- 720p video & audio recording from behind.
- Up to 30 lumens of light output, so you’ll be seen!
- Records up to 6 hours.
- Weatherproof
- Includes an 8GB micro SD class 10 memory card pre-installed.
Best price Cycliq Fly6 rear facing bike camera
Drift Innovation Stealth 2
This model was recommended by a ScarletFire reader, in the comments below. Thanks!
- Full HD 1080p @ 30fps / 720p @ 60fps
- Half the size – the smallest drift ever
- Built-in WiFi – perfect for shot setup, recording, photo capture and playback on your mobile device (iOS and Android)
- 40% lighter – super light weight of only 97g
- A powerful 1500 mAh battery provides an extended recording time of 3 hours
Extending the life of batteries
Our demand for battery life seems insatiable.
Will someone just please invent a micro nuclear reactor that could power a device for its entire life? That’s an episode of Dragon’s Den I wouldn’t want to miss.
Until then, you can top up your batteries with, er, other batteries.
USB battery packs are available cheaply on line from Amazon, try this bestselling portable external battery , reduced from £45 to just £15
There are even smaller ones, if you’re worried about space or weight, that can still extend the battery for 5 to 7 hours. Anker make some good ones..
What’s your view of head cams for cycling?
Do you use one?
Have you ever needed to use footage as evidence?
Please leave a comment!
A couple of years ago I invested in a Contour with integrated GPS. Then the company went bust (before being rescued) and the benefits of my GPS camera were lost. I like the idea of GPS because in the event of an accident it would place me at the exact location, at the time, with footage.
However, the camera was pretty poor and the whole extraction of footage process was a bit cumbersome. So the reality was I seldom wore it.
The have now backed a kickstarter project called Rideye. It’s been a bit delayed but should started shipping early next week. Although the kickstarter is finished you can still pre-order it. It is touted as “the black box for your bicycle” and although it doesn’t have GPS, it does boast things like 15 hours battery life, up to 5 hours recording, full HD video, 170 degree field, and impact detection for auto save,
It’s pretty neat and works on the basis of a rolling-loop which allows you to simply press the button to save the last x minutes of footage if you do have an incident (and that footage will not get overwritten).
Granted, I haven’t received this unit yet, but I do have firm belief that this camera will provide the capability I need for recording incidents.
I am not affiliated with the company in any way – just a backer on KS – but thoughts you might be interested in it. http://www.rideye.com/
Safe cycling!
Rupert
Sounds really interesting Rupert. I love the creative innovation that you can discover through crowd funded projects such as those on kickstarter, indiegogo, crowd funder, rockethub etc (there are loads these days).
Feel free to post an update when you get it! Thanks
Update? It has good and bad reviews on Amazon.
in addition to the rideeye , there is the makers of fly6 which is a rear facing camera, they are also comming out with a forward facing camera http://cycliq.com/ the cool feature is that it has bluetooth and you can playback on your phone., however these only mount on the bike, I would like a camera that mounts on the helmet t hat looks forward and backwards with a single battery unit. and has night vision…. hopefully someone builds one soon.
I prefer your spelling: rideeye over the authentic “rideye”. Even better would be “Ride-eye”.
Just my opinion.
I agree with the idea of cameras. We want road safety to be taken more seriously. I’ve been a victim of close passes before but I would rather not have it happen again. Hopefully the city would build more bike lanes. I understand that the worst drivers would attack those with the best bike light that’s visible no matter how drunk they are. If we want to catch reckless drivers, they should use robot delivery bikes with cameras. If there is an accident, we won’t have to sacrifice our lives.
For me close to perfect camera is Drift Stealth 2. You don’t look stupid having it on the helmet, because it’s small and looks fine. And it’s comfortable. Nothing sticks from your head. Also batteries enduring about 3 hours are its important advantage. I use it when I go to work usually as a commuting camera, but it’s good also in downhill mountain biking.
Just found about Mobius ActionCam, which seems to meet your standards with the exception of being immersible, but they have weather cover, which seems to be good enough for a commuter. They’re under $100. Worth reviewing them.
I was hit 2 days ago by a car on my commute from work luckily only suffering from whiplash bruising and grazes. The driver hit me with his front passenger side wing as he came back in after overtaking me in heavy city traffic on a dual carriage way.
After looking at camera reviews opted for 2 x Mobius Action cameras wide angle lens Pro 16G package with weather covers at £80 each nearly half price other HD Cams
2 of them will cover 130 degrees front and rear views and capture most of an accident.
At 54 grams they are very light and record time long enough to cover the return journey too.
I’ll be covering them in hi vis scotchlite tape as deterrent and hope they won’t be needed for the film footage
Wondering how these have worked out for you.
Would another essential requirement for a commuter camera not be that it can be used in the dark/night time? Unless you have really short hours, in the UK you will be riding in the dark if commuting in winter!
I think rear is best and use the SJCAM SJ4000 as it is cheap (£50 – £60) but with excellent picture good enough to read numberplates and waterproof with the gopro style housing.
It won’t record sound when in the housing and the battery runs down if using as a car dash cam, which is really annoying, but as a cycle cam it is the best bang for buck I found. Just make sure it is a genuine SJCAM as there are cheap knock-offs out there with such poor quality that numberplates cannot be read. Bought mine from gearbest EU warehouse and it was genuine.
I can’t drive because of a disability so my main form of transport is an electric trike, often pulling a trailer with the dog in. I’ve lost count of the number of drivers who drive up alongside me, on a narrow road with the national speed limit, taking photos of us on their mobiles. Some sort of safety camera is on my wishlist, along with a refresher course of emergency first aid in the hope that if the obvious accident happens I won’tbe the one being scraped off the road. I reckon slightly over the 80% average of drivers see me but Iit’s not made it any safer!
I do not currently use one, but am very interested in purchasing one to record my rides. I am looking at the Contour Roam 3 on Amazon.com. Trying to figure out the best mount for my BMX helmet. I want to mount it on the top of my helmet instead of the side of my helmet. Trying to find a good mount before I make the purchase. Can anyone recommend a good top mount for a bike helmet?
Regarding using the helmet to record an incident when you were injured, the evidence will not undo your injury. But good to have as evidence to report unsafe driving by motorist and any other illegal activity.
I had some really bad accidents recently, and would like the camera just to see what happened. I was knockout both times, so do not know what happened.
Anyone aware of an helmet mounted camera that does continuous loop recording?
Yes, Roadhawk Ride+ Cycle Edition. I have used one (2 now mounted front and rear on bike) with the supplied waterproof lead into my jersey pocket with a external battery that lasts about 20 hours in a plastic bag. It loops after about 5 hours (32gb) but I carry a spare so I can swop cards at lunch if an incident happened early on in the day. Drawbacks are having lead from helmet. I now use a Gopro Hero Session on helmet switched off, ready to record an incident, albeit 3 seconds too late! but this has a mocrophone and would record ‘conversations’ with drivers etc. The Roadhawk has a mocrophone but if you have the waterproof battery connection then the microphone doesn’t pick anything up. Hope this helps. See my YouTube channel CLAIRE ASHTON for some footage of both helmet mounted and bike mounted incidents.
These are my views on helmet cameras – I am keen to use one as it gives back up when confronted by dangerous/aggressive drivers. An example I can think of is when someone directly cut across my path when performing a U-turn on a busy London road. I wasn’t the only person to take offence to this manoeuvre – the driver was beeped by a number of cars. His response to my glare, though, was – “So – what you going to do about it?” I was camera-less, (although I feigned my blackburn flea light might be a recording device!) so didn’t have any great answers but, were I equipped with a helmet camera, I could have given a number of more threatening responses – particularly that I would be showing the footage to a body of authority who may take appropriate action against him.
I am rubbish with technology so unlikely to be recording much, let alone uploading it all, but I think it does give a better defence back up in a cyclist vs driver standoff, which is why I am currently looking out for an easy to mount – as in not a square Go Pro thing sticking on the top of my head, more Contour roam/bullet style which which gives a little more authenticity than my Blackburn flea light (albeit the super strength one!)
I have been using a contourroam2 helmet cam for several years. It fits on the side of my Urge helmet [ I used the sticky pad supplied] I feel it certainly has an effect on motorists when they realise you are wearing one. I have had a couple of occasions to contact the police in Dorset about incidents. One was when a motorist cut me off on a corner. I reported it with still photos from the camera to the Dorset Police No Excuse team. Eventually they told me they had written to the motorist concerned. Recently I was ‘driven at’ by a motorist for no reason and reported it to the same ‘team’ but heard nothing so have just sent the video of to Dorset Police HQ [all the Police stations in my area of East Dorset have been closed]. I have also had lots of motorists overtaking me too close especially HGV’s. In a couple of cases I emailed the firms concerned with photos – but no replies !! Perhaps I will try the Police next time but it seems you really have to press them for action.
The camera itself is excellent. However there are drawbacks which can be found with all headcams i.e. Battery life just over 3 hours and 32GB max SD card. Also there is no date stamp on the camera but I always show my mobile at the beginning and end of the video with time and date.
One thing I have found which seems to make most motorists give you more room when overtaking. I wear a hi-viz vest and one day I left it open by mistake so it was flapping behind me. I swear this works. I know it creates drag but having got to the age of 75 I now use an ebike so it doesnt make that much difference !!!
I’m looking for a small camera to go either on my bike handlebars or attached to the seat bar. I’ve been getting harassed by people on the streets (I’m on the sidewalk whenever this happens). I’ve been stalked, honked at to startle me, and even had an air-horn blown at me, scaring me so much I actually fell. Luckily I wasn’t hurt. The problem is these people typically come from behind, and they go by so fast that I can never get a plate number.
I want to get these morons. Any advice?
I am pretty sure that a bike helmet Camera will help me record trail and MTB skills videos for my channel. I must choose one that records high quality videos. Any recommendations?
I am looking for bike cameras due to the following incident that happened this week on my commute home. On a straight section of rural road near Wokingham a car drew up along side me, very very close. The passenger lent of of the car wondow and punched me in the side. They drove off at speed cheering. This was completely unprovoked and out of the blue. I had not seen the car before. The punch sent me off the road but fortunately there were no trees for me to hit at that particular point so I was able to stay on my bike. Sadly I was unable to get get the car number plate.. I figure that I need a rearward facing camera to make me feel more confident during my commute with a forward facing one as well.
That’s a really horrible thing to experience Ian, it’s shocking that we’ve created a society where there are people who think that kind of behaviour is not only acceptable, but funny. Video evidence would certainly have provided something tangible to take to the police.
A concern I have about helmet-mounted cameras is that they compromise the protection provided by the helmet. The outer surface of a helmet is designed not to catch on anything; in a crash, it is much better if your head is NOT brought to a sudden halt. Anything that is stuck to the surface of your helmet, like a camera, is likely to impede the helmet’s ability to skid off the road surface or whatever unpleasant object is in your head’s way as you crash.
Shamefull these are a MUST on uk roads with its aggressive moron drivers.
To expensive, fragile, distracting on the bike, silly low run times, not long lasting enough.