Helmet Camera for 2 hour Commute

[TheCatSatOnTh...]

Annoyingly, I find myself potentially in the situation of requiring to buy a new helmet camera, as my commute is about to double in length (should I get the job).

I've got a Drift HD at the moment but the battery life doesn't last long enough. I've got two batteries for it, at the moment it just about handles the commute there and then I change the battery for the commute back. I think it's a fantastic camera.

Any recommend a helmet camera with a hell of a battery life?

Thanks

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

Road Hawk wired into battery.
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[Monkeypony]

[Bendy]

Plug the Drift into the bike with a nice long usb cable.

[TheCatSatOnTh...]

[doggone]

Roadhawk is more or less waterproof, the USB is sort of welded onto that end cap.
They aren't really fit and forget, you are supposed to format every few overwrites, I think capacity gradually reduces(?)
You have to put the card in a computer to do that - or connect the camera.
Image quality is not that good either.

[Bendy]

[anthony_r6]

I agree with Bendy, it wouldn't be too difficult to make the back bit where the cable is put in, waterproof. I don't think there is much point in buying a brand new camera when you have a perfectly useable one. Just don't forget to turn it on!
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[slowlydoesit]

[Amber Phoenix]

[djrikki]

I use an SJ1000

https://www.techmoan.com/blog/2013/6/9/sj1000-at-lasta-good-cheap-action-camera.html

Shot this with it :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TojTg6fXGdg

£50 quid I think it was from ebay

[Rogerborg]

It is a decent camera for just north of £50, but I've yet to see 2 hours out of my SJ1000, from either the supplied battery or the spare that I bought. It's not far off, 1 hour 45 maybe, but you know you'd be SMIDSYd in the last 15 minutes.

It will auto-record when powered, but not while its in its waterproof case. Drilling through the case and adding a bit of silicone sealant might sort that.

Thing is... 4 hours a day, every day? Eff that, that's a quarter of your waking life. You don't get a refund on that time later.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[TheCatSatOnTh...]

[-Matt-]

My drift 720 lasts 2.5 hours roughly spare battery for the way home and it should be fine - what model do you have, are you sure the battery isn't dying/dead'd.

I've used mine in hours of torrential rain without problems - they're considered 'weatherproof' so essentially just don't dunk them in the bath tub or sea

[TheCatSatOnTh...]

Um, I have a "Drift HD" and next to the screen it has "HD ) 1080P", not sure if the ) is supposed to be a ) or D.

Perhaps there's some stupid setting that I need to change, what settings do you have? My mic sensitivity is 2/3, remote is off, LCD off after 5 seconds, recording at 720p, 30fps at 50Hz.

[-Matt-]

Hmm, was going to say if its recording at 1080 perhaps its a significant higher drain but if yours is set to 720 thats odd.

Mines the same I believe - LCD off after 5 seconds, Mic 2 [or 3]/3. Not sure about the FPS and Hz level will let you know tomorrow when I get a look at the camera.

The batterys are renowned for not being the best though, quite a few even come broken with the new cameras, I had to get my new one replaced as it was dead out the box. Might be worth trying with a new/spare battery to check the drain times are coming out the same.

[djrikki]

[Rogerborg]

Ah, fair point, I haven't tested the endurance recently.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[stiglet]

Contour camera batteries last quite long. Been using one for my commute for about a year with no problems and the occasional long journey. I think I manage 3-4 hours between charges.

[fatjames]

You can buy batteries from amazon (meant for phones) for quite cheap. Check properly, but these are less than a fiver - https://www.amazon.co.uk/BATTERY-compatible-Innovation-GoBandit-Helmcamera/dp/B004EQ53PS/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1398773546&sr=8-16&keywords=drift+hd+battery

[-Matt-]

[sickpup]

Just fitted a Roadhawk Ride to another bike for a courier, pretty much a fit and forget solution that only needs occasional formatting of the memory card. Need to fit another to Lozzpop1's bike as soon as I can.