h2000fb Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 I have been looking at an Adaptiv Radar Detector and at several helmet cameras. Wondering if I can get some opinions on these - that is if anyone has an opinion! Questions: 1. I like the Adaptiv TPX Radar unit for my Beemer, but wonder if anyone has had any experience with them? 2. For off road/adventure stuff, a camera. Could use on road also. The ones I am considering are the Vholdr and the Hero. Does anyone here have any experience with either? Experiences, suggestions, or advice - good or bad would be appreciated. The ones I have been looking at are located on http://www.cli-maxridinggear.com/servlet/the-Electronics/Categories Ideas? Suggestions? Personal experience with any of these? Link to comment
bobbybob Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 If my memory is correct, Whip tried the Adaptiv with poor results--check his posts or IM him. Link to comment
Firefight911 Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Take a look at these. LINKY I have first hand experience with them. They are fantastic!! Link to comment
h2000fb Posted June 4, 2009 Author Share Posted June 4, 2009 Interesting. We started handling these, but am looking for some personal experiences from people that have some extended time with them. We are going to be installing one of the cameras this weekend for our own use, but are out of the radar detectors. After a lengthy discussion of Pros & Cons of each, I thought I would post in an effort to get additional and/or expert feedback from people who have owned or may have used them. Link to comment
Harry_Wilshusen Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Tom I haven't used either the VholdR or Hero. So this might be useless information. I bought the VIO-POV 1 from AdventureDesigns. It was their demo unit when the VIO-POV 1.5 came out. I don't have extensive experience with the VIO-POV 1 only one trip. Here are some of my thoughts on helmetcams: 1. Ease of use is the most important. Be it dealing with wires, mounting it, aiming it, battery life, turning it on and off, etc. If it's a pain to use you won't. 2. Field of view. The wider the FOV the more scenery you'll capture. A narrower FOV is better for chasing another bike down the road. 3. Quality of the Video. How well it handles transitions from light to shade and back, focus, color saturation, etc. Here are a couple of the first vids I made in April. This one is unedited and highly compressed (only the first 2 minutes show any action): http://share.vio-pov.com/videoManager/play.php?file=NDI5NS82MDQwLmZsdl42MDExXnR3aXN0eXR1cm5zMkBnbWFpbC5jb20= This one I did some editing and is also compressed: Harry Link to comment
johnlt Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 I've seen quite a few video helmet cams and some seem to produce good results but is anyone aware of a "frame" camera with full resolution like a good quality point & shoot. Would like an auto on/off or at least a handle bar on/off and handle bar trigger. Link to comment
Ken H. Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 June’s Motorcycle Consumer News has a review of the Epic StealthCam, GoPro Hero, Oragon Scientific ATC-2K, and VholdR. Snag a copy and it will tell you a wealth of info. Link to comment
Todd_Z1 Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 The Hero Camera is junk. The folks at BMW in Sacramento tried this out on the track at Thunderhill and promptly gave up. Cheers! Todd Link to comment
stubble! Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Just a comment that the ATC-2K is a novelty toy only. Quality poor and worst of all has a terrible warping effect under any vibration. Link to comment
krussell Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Take a look at these. LINKY I have first hand experience with them. They are fantastic!! +1, very impressive video, very intuitive. I used one for a couple of hours, wish I could afford to have one all the time. Link to comment
skinny_tom (aka boney) Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 You're getting good advice here on the cameras. The cam system I have has diverged from general 'helmet cam' type setups to a very narrow niche market. Their new models are no longer an option as far as I'm concerned. As the POV has evolved (I bought my system before the POV came out) is has become very much what I was originally looking for. Simple setup and easy to use. One of the forums in which I participate has a large group of people who have used the VHoldr. They like it, but find the software to be quirky, and many have not seen the customer service they would like when they tried to address it. In the helmet camera arena, there's one thing that I've discovered. Good cameras are not cheap. The category lends itself nicely to the "you get what you pay for" idiom. Link to comment
BFG Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 I've got the Hero Wide and am having a great time with it. Good quality video and easy to use. The suction cup works well for getting varied angles. And it's waterproof. There's lots of clips on YouTube but at a lower resolution. Link to comment
GordonB Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 The Hero Camera is junk. The folks at BMW in Sacramento tried this out on the track at Thunderhill and promptly gave up. ______________________________________________________________________________ I've got the hero and love it! For the money it does a great job, mounted on my helmet and with the suction cup mount on the front of my RT. 50+ minutes of video between batteries and memory card. I carry 4 sets. Get home and edit what I like. As a 'movie' screen saver on my computer I get a lot of turned heads and COMPLIMENTS on my rides. To each his own I guess. Link to comment
h2000fb Posted June 5, 2009 Author Share Posted June 5, 2009 These are good comments. Just saw movie from Vholdr 20-20. Sucks. However, the new HD Concours from Vholder is HD, and its movies are pretty good. They look much better than Hero. At this point I think I would rate the New HD Concours by Vholdr top - HOWEVER, they are NOT AVAILABLE yet. The Hero pics and camera from Adventurer seem pretty good also. The Hero is definately the cheapest, but also looks old school compared to the others. No conclusions yet, just formulat'n. Link to comment
Don M Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 I've been using the Adaptiv Radar Detector on my RT for a couple months now and think it works just fine. It is easy to use, waterproof, and has saved my bacon twice. I opted on the LED warning light option and find that it gets my attention immediately in any sunlight conditions. The trick is to mount the light so that it is pointed directly at your face when you are seated on the bike. Link to comment
h2000fb Posted June 12, 2009 Author Share Posted June 12, 2009 HEADS-UP! Just FYI... VholdR has just made available their NEW ContourHD camcorder. Even has the Laser Sights like the older model. Yep, it is a true HD camcorder. The pictures are lots better than the older 20-20 unit and at the same price. www.cli-maxridinggear.com has them on sale at $279.95 and shipping same day as order. Link to comment
jacksonwr Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 Another brand thats out there is ChaseCam... I haven't used it but they have a forum on their website that show some good bike video. http://www.chasecam.com/ Link to comment
sundaeman Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 I've had the ChaseCam recorder & a 580 line Sony bullet camera mounted for about 18k miles. Video is pretty good for the money. I just put a 32G CF card (8 hours on the highest quality setting) in the recorder and it automatically starts recording when I start the bike. Video rolls over after 8 hours. Any trouble I've had with it has been my fault (erased the card wrong, loose ground wire) and it's been recording in temps from single digits to the 100s. Click on the thumbs to see bigger image. The black/white red box on the right is the video recorder. Link to comment
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