Hero Cameras

I was readin Auto Blog and there was a blurb about a new HD Hero Cam for $299.00. Apparently some of these cameras do not come with the SD card (another $100 or less). Anyone use these products? I have a recorder, but it is not really good for driving purposes. Do these record in the camera and you can then download the vids later or do you need to have them all hooked up to laptops in the car? anyway, just wanting a primer while I read on.

Sounds like a good GRM Sweepstakes prize. Hint! Hint!

SD cards are well under $100. They're more like $5

I've used the non-HD version - we sell them at FM. I don't think the HD is available to the public yet.

They're self-contained and record to the card. Just pop the card in your computer and you're done. The cameras are fairly small and light and come with a wide variety of mounts that let you stick it just about anywhere on the car. This sets them apart from most others on the market - you can get some great bumpercam shots, or record your fancy footwork, or whatever you prefer. I've put together a number of angles, I'll have to put the video online. They also come with a waterproof, rockproof case that protects the camera and lens. It won't help if you drive over it, but flying debris is okay.

The downside is that they're a bit ornery to set up. Definitely not intuitive. Battery life is dismal in cool weather. I can't comment on the HD image quality, but the regular Hero can't touch my old defunct DV camcorder for quality.

from what ive seen, its a pretty nice package with a built in dvr and really easy to install. However, for a probably half that $$ you can assemble a four camera quad system, and run it off an old laptop strapped down to a corner of the trunk, hatch ect...

Im fine tuning an ITX based pc in my honda now, i havent added the cameras yet, but i have added gps, wifi, and a bunch of other things...carputer

I have a regular non-HD Hero, plus a -Flip Camera-.

The Hero mount is nice but I really don't like the camera. Someone else said it above: too fussy to use and battery life is awful even with top grade batteries. No playback screen, so you can't tell if things are aimed right.

For the Flip you have to create your own mount, or buy one......I made one for about $5.

I MUCH prefer the Flip

-HERE- is a recent video from my Flip.

That settles it. I'm buying a flip, like next week. Holy cow. Does it record sound?

They usually do, but most suck at recording sounds in a car. The wind noise in particular can be extremely bad. You're better to get an inductive mic and a a separate audio recorder for it (if your camera won't support an external mic)

If you're using the camera inside the car, the Flip (and friends) are a good option. If you want a shot from outside, I'd recommend the Hero for the mount and case.

Aiming isn't really an issue on the Hero, it's such a wide angle that it's not critical. ChaseCam doesn't have playback either - that's my next camera system.

While I agree that the Flip isn't intended for rough weather, it's still pretty durable and hasn't suffered any problem when I ran it in the rain (remember, my race car is a Sprite)

~HERE~ is an example of weather that I've run it in. Putting a piece of tape over the microphone helps reduce some of the wind noise.....althought nothing can really improve the agricultural sound of a wheezing British pushrod engine.

To hear the sound quality under more "normal" conditions (well....not exactly), ~Click HERE~ for a little, 40 second clip I did with the Flip.

I wasn't thinking so much of water, but of debris. I've seen chips on the cases.

Okay, maybe I shouldn't put the camera quite THAT low.

Yeah, one of my friends uses a cut-down tearoff over his Flip to protect the lens against debris I should do that too.

I've been lovin' the Hero this season. I got 4 2gb cards and a 1/2 dozen pairs of rechargable batteries. I do 2 track sessions per card.

Here's an autocross run shot using the suction cup mount at the front of the roof:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFcevuNdK6c

And inside the windshield using one of the stick-on mounts:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQii5RFmGwc

Once you've got it set it's easy to use. I write "camera on - ASC off - BE SMOOTH" on a piece of tape and stick it on the steering wheel. Press the power button as you're waved on track and stage for start, you get a red status LED visible in the viewfinder. Press the record button, have at it.

I'm sure there's way better quality, but I barely have time to prep and load the car before events. Having the camera rig in a case ready to go is a huge help.

I borrow my wife's Panasonic Lumix digicam for autocross videos. I need a better car mount, but the video quality is great, and it gets a lot of use as a still camera between driving events. An example: http://vimeo.com/5616852

I'm still rocking the old timey DV camera. You can get one on ebay for under $50 these days:

Video Link Here!

aeronca, what in the world was that red open wheel car that blew by you in the rain? Tall skinny tires, high CG, raining, that guy's a lot braver'n me.

My MotoCam http://www.themotocam.com/ has great quality and instant gratification, er, playback with the DVR screen but man it is fussy to set up. Cables everywhere, microphone, mount the DVR, yada yada.... sometimes I wish I'd just bought a Flip or Hero etc. It does have replaceable lens protectors (fancy name for quarter size Lexan discs).

On that subject, can a Flip or Hero be run off the car's electrical system?

That red car may be one of the most historically significant road racing cars in the US. It's the Ardent Alligator.

Presently owned and driven by Pete McManus but originally built by Miles and Sam Collier. The Collier Brothers were famous as two of the first active road racers in the US. Their family was "old money" from Florida, hence the "Alligator" name (Collier County, Fla is named after their family).

The Alligator won the 1949 Watkins Glen Grand Prix (on the old street course) with Miles Collier driving, barely beating Briggs Cunningham for a close finish. Sam often drove the car too. In 1950, Sam Collier was killed at the Watkins Glen event (in a Ferrari)....partly because of Sam's death (as well as another incident) they moved the race to a dedicated track on off the public roads. Miles quit racing after Sam's accident.

The Alligator is a real hot rod. It's based on a British, 1929 Riley chassis with a Ford flathead V8. It dynos around 200 HP and weights just a bit more than my Sprite. Pete and I have had some great times racing.....our cars are so different and yet we turn very similar lap times at many tracks. The Alligator is a pig on the turns but decent on the straights. Takes a lot of guts to drive it fast. A real he-man car.
I'm sort of amazed he keeps racing it......it's a really valuable car.

~HERE~ is some more close action between me and Pete. At about 5 minutes, there's the start of some good action with a little dog fighting between us.

By the way, my Flip will run at least an hour on two fresh AA batteries so I've never worried about running off the car electrics. Ardent Alligator.

I just saw the HD Hero camera advertised the other day, I have been thinking about picking one up! I have heard the picture quality of the original Hero was not all that great, I am hoping that the HD one will be better!

MCarp22 wrote: I'm still rocking the old timey DV camera. You can get one on ebay for under $50 these days: Video Link Here!

I ran a DV camera during the Targa. My in-car footage was good enough to get into the HD TV show, which definitely would not have been the case with a Flip or Hero. But we also lost several stages because the camera was disassembling itself after a couple of years of pounding. They're also more of a hassle to pull video off of. That's why I want to go solid-state (Chase Cam) next. Big investment, but video is my biggest souvenir of these sorts of races and it still bums me out that I don't have all of the Leading Tickles stage on tape...

I think the HD version of the Hero doesn't have as wide an angle for the lens. The SD version is something crazy like 170degrees and the HD is about half that I think.

The narrow field of view really impacts how much sensation of speed the viewers get. The wider angle allows you to see more of the surroundings, in other words you can see the apex.

I use a GoPro hero for my autocross runs.

If you go to youtube, you can see 'em by searching for "ESCA autocross Mustang Cobra", the 2009-10-10 runs are considerably less embarassing

There was a 24 hours of Lemons video on the board not long ago from Laz. The thread is here and the video quality was amazing.

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/24hrs-of-lemons-highlight-reel/6157/page1/

He details the set up here: http://blog.scienceofslow.com/2008/08/my-video-setup.html

Here is the video: http://vimeo.com/2678089

For wind noise, take a piece of a sponge and put it over the mic, it should reduce the wind a bit.

I have a cheapie Aiptek dv5900. Works great. I bought it for $50 a couple of years ago and it still works great. You can get them for $30 now. Records on to an sd card. Has a standard camera mount on the bottom. Only downside was I had to put duct tape over the record button other wise it would rattle. It's small and light. Fits in my pocket.

sachilles, you can add a Sunpro wide angle lens to your Aiptek and make the videos a little more compelling. I added one to mine and it made a nice difference. I think the lens was cheap from Amazon.com and just sticks to the front of the existing lens with a sticky metal ring and a magnetic catch.