which action camera?

[ultraculture1...]

Ive been looking at budget go pro alternatives, something for around 100 quid or less and have narrowed it down to SJ4000, Contour Roam, Mobius or Polaroid X100.
Any input would be good. If you use one of the above which, good and bad point etc. I dont mind buying second hand from ebay as there are bargains to be had.
The SJ4000 looks great for the money and is compatible with gopro mounts, contour roam has a better profile, gopro has bette picture.
Help?!

[DRZ4Hunned]

Never understood the appeal of Go-pro style action cameras, they looks so out of place on helmets, I'd rather use a 'bullet' style camera such as the Drift.
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DRZ400-SM
FZS600

[weasley]

I have a Contour Roam2 - it is more streamlined than the GoPro-style box but footage isn't as good (still clear enough to see reg plates etc). It is inherently waterproof though (I have used it on the bike in rain and underwater in a swimming pool). It is a pain to change any settings though, as you need to plug the camera (or card) into a PC and use their utility program (you can do it with a simple word editor, but you still need the PC to do this).

TBH I don't use it that often any more. When I did I mounted it on the bike rather than on my helmet, as I just don't want anything sticking out of m'lid. You can't power it in use, since to do this you need to have the rear flap open, negating any ruggedisation/waterproofivity.

Battery goes for a good while - I have used it for a day, switching on and off during the day, and it lasted OK. Put a big µSD card in it and this will easily take a few days recording. It doesn't loop though.
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Yamaha XJ600 | Yamaha YZF600R Thundercat | KTM 990 SMT | BMW F900XR TE

[ultraculture1...]

I do like the look of the drift. Its mote about image quality etc. Tje sj4000 looks great vfm.anybody got one?

[covent.gardens]

I do like my SJ4000, the mount is strong, picture quality good. But if you intend to use it on a long commute then forget it. Because the battery only lasts 35 - 40min and it would be awkward to charge it whilst riding (is possible, but would have to remove it from its watertight case, and have a cable sticking out). If you do mainly short journeys or journeys where you can stop after 40min to swap out a battery (replacement batteries are cheap) then it's a good value for money camera that will do the job.

[dolly3900]

I grabbed a GoPro Hero from Currys a little while back fro £100

It was the basic Hero, not Hero4 or whatever, so no removable battery or bluetooth/wifi, but for what I use it for, it is great.

Not got it on my helmet but mount on the dash, behind the screen on a custom made mount (see show and tell thread {https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=301220} includes video of footage)

Quality of video is good and for the price, you can't go wrong.
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2002 Rieju RS2-50 (Sold, spares or repair), 2010 Suzuki DR-125SM (Traded for ->), 2007 Honda CBF 600 (Sold), 2010 Suzuki V-Strom 1000 (Briefly, now returned), 2007 Suzuki Intruder 1800m (Even More Briefly, traded in for ->), 2014 Suzuki V-Strom 650

[NJD]

SJ4000 is made by SJCam, ensure it says it on the front just under the actual camera (or on the front of the body) there are plenty of fakes using the same name that don't have it printed on there, fakes of a budget option.. you can imagine the quality.

From what I've seen in terms of footage GoPro > Drift, although that was on the higher end models, I'm not sure how much of a budget the budget end options are built to.

GoPro hero is a disposable camera meaning if the battery goes then the camera is broken and you need to buy a new one, a bit of a risk when they cost £99 a piece (aprox).

Also isn't the budget gopro always stuck in the wide FOV, not always helpful or wants needed for desired footage.

I use the GoPro 3+ and have messed around in vegas and put samples on youtube, came to the conclusion that the cameras deal with detail close up better than in the distance, requires some post processing to get decent footage for the web, footage provided by the camera looks decent if that's all your after (not sure how relevant this is to the budget options, but worth nothing if the higher end models require that much work).

[Irn-Bru]

Depends on your needs which is best, I went for the GoPro for the superior image quality and it was cheaper than a Drift too, which never used to be the case but oh well. I use mine on a chesty mount (bored of the faff on with helmet mounts) and have it hooked up to a USB battery pack. It can power the camera for 20 hours straight so memory cards are the limiting factor. A 64GB card will last around 4 hours 20 minutes @ 1080p 30fps.
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KTM 990 SMT & Suzuki DR-Z 400 SM

[Fladdem]

I keep thinking about one for when I'm out green-laning or doing an enduro or something interesting. But it needs to be waterproof and able to take a bang for stuff like that. I also don't want something massive and bulky hanging off the side of my head to get caught on branches and break my neck.

Although a chest mount would solve that, which I think gives a more interesting view, but you can't aim it where you're looking, so may miss something.
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Current:1991 Honda MT50 (Soon to be a H100/MTX/MT5 hybrid), 1976 Honda Cub C70, 2005 Honda Varadero 125, 1993 Yamaha TTR250 Open Enduro , 2010 Road Legal Stomp YX140, 1994 Honda CRM 250 MK III, 1999 Cagiva Mito 125, 1992 Honda CB400 Super Four, Stomp T4 230, 1984 Honda H100s, 2009 Sym XS125K
Past:2003 Aprilia RS125, 1982 Kawasaki GPZ550(FREE BIKE!)
I'm having more fun than a well-oiled midget.

[Ribenapigeon]

I bought a sony action can AS30 A few months back. I'm pleased with it and have it on the bike handles. I use a cheap bullet type chillitech cam on my helmet. I wouldent buy the Rollie bullet HD. I had one and it packed in during a week of cold weather. You get good software with the sony. Plus its sony image quality.

[ultraculture1...]

Regarding mounting options i like what somebody on youtube d, using the wrist mount to strap camera to chin guard oh helmet, perfect pov and less limely to get caught in branches when green laning.
How much is the sony? Not the 4k model...

[Al]

[wr6133]

I own an SJcam sj4000

Make sure you get a genuine one there are crap copies. Picture is decent. Battery I get around 70-90 mins, I have 3 batteries and changing them is a fairly easy task. You don't really notice it sticking off the side of your lid until you pass NSL speeds. I can't really think of any real downsides too it.... it's cheap and does what it says (better than you'd expect).

Look at techmoans review of it on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnHDu-oW7_Y

[ScottT]

[GaZ]

I was just looking at getting the sj4000 for the TT.

I suppose you'd just get wind noise with it helmet mounted or can you hear the bike etc?

GaZ

[wr6133]

[Snop Doog]

So I've got a Drift Ghost S and a Mobius.

Seeing as you mentioned the Mobius:

Pros
VERY small.
VERY light.
Great image quality
You can mount it anywhere providing you've got a mount

Cons
Terrible battery life
No screen
No microphone input
Non-removable battery (well you can, but it's not straightforward)
Not waterproof out of the box

[stonesie]

I have the Sony AS100V, my poor laptop can't play the footage when I use pro mode (50mb/second) but the picture is fantastic in normal 1080P 60 or 30fps. I have stuffed some felt down the microphone ports in the waterproof case which helps with knocking the edge off the wind noise.

Not uploaded anything yet, probably wont..

My one tip is 3M Dual Lock, It's like velcro on steroids. The 400 (3551) version is strongest and if you get the 2 halves at an angle to each other it's stronger still.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3M-SJ3551-Dual-Lock-25mm-x-1-Meter-Free-1st-Class-Post-same-day-Dispatch-B4-2PM-/221620411433?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item33999b1c29

[TCFA]

I've got a drift 1080 hp (not the ghost the model before)

Prefer the look and the shape. Image quality is good, though with a very wide lens I find having it mounted on my lid gives a bit of an odd view. I'm going to try mounting it to the bars or the front mudguard this weekend.

I also find that the footage is a bit sped up, but that may be the frame rate setting.

Battery life is a bit poor, and the record/stope remote control, whilst in theory useful, is actually not because it doesn't have a light to tell you what the camera is doing (they corrected this on the Ghost model)

The rotating lens is a very good thing, and also the variety of different mounts and straps etc is great, as they are all quite cheap. There is a universal clip that goes on the base (a bit like a buckle on a rucksack) and it clips into whatever mount that you have. You can also thread it onto tripods. As well as a mount stuck to my lid, I have a few other sticky mounts for flat and curved surfaces and I also have a shoulder harness rig which was pretty cool walking in Morocco.

It feels robust and you can also get waterproof cases for it

In short, good kit with the biggest downsides being very wide angle and low battery life
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Then: Kawasaki ZZR250 > Suzuki Across 250 > Suzuki SV650 > Honda CB750
Now: Honda CBR600F and Triumph Tiger 800 XRT

[Snowdonia Rider]

I have an SJCAM M10 (same internals as the SJ4000 just a different shape) and it's brill. It was only £52 and the picture quality is excellent, handles transitions from light to dark really well etc. It has full manual control too, came with loads of mounts and a water proof case for the price. I'm getting nearly 2 hours on a single charge so not too bad, replacement batteries are just a few quid. The only downside is the audio quality is crap and there's no external mic input, but it's still highly satisfying for the price
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I want your clothes, your boots and your motorcycle.
Suzuki GP125 Suzuki GSX600F Suzuki SV650S KTM EXC250F SkyTeam Bongo 125
My YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/SnowdoniaRider

[Snowdonia Rider]

Here's the M10 on my helmet...

https://i1378.photobucket.com/albums/ah94/petebill14/Mobile%20Uploads/20150519_133552_zpsplg9x6lv.jpg
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I want your clothes, your boots and your motorcycle.
Suzuki GP125 Suzuki GSX600F Suzuki SV650S KTM EXC250F SkyTeam Bongo 125
My YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/SnowdoniaRider

[Accuhaler]

Contour mounting system anyday.

For the chaps masterbating over the sj look into the Xiamoi Yi couple of quid more then the SJ but same if not better quilty then the Hero3

[Matt B]

[Accuhaler]

[quote="Matt B"]

[stonesie]