Bogley

Sombeech · Joined: 09 Dec 2004 Posts: 11250 Location: The Rubbish Bin

Here's a new helmetcam I've been looking at lately.

I'm tired of cables going to my backpack. They get snagged everywhere, and really limit the angles you want to shoot from. If I want a wheel shot on the bike, I've got to have a cable running from my backpack all the way down to my front fork, plenty of snag opportunities.

The VholdR is made by twenty20. I think it's in the $350 range.

Recently I was looking at the ATC2K camera by Oregon Scientific, but the video quality is just crap. It's cheap though, around $100.

The same as the ATC2K, the VholdR can film in 640 X 480 and 30 fps, but for some reason, is much much better quality.

MPEG-4 - I've heard pros and cons about this in terms of ease of editing. Any feedback?

Here's the official site for more info:
http://www.vholdr.com/shoot/camera/overview

Best of all, it's waterproof, dustproof, snowproof..... And it looks like it has a microphone. I'm not sure if that's extra or not though.

Here are some video samples, although I'm not hearing audio so the mic might be extra

Interesting concept:

CarpeyBiggs · Joined: 18 Mar 2007 Posts: 1722 Location: Fairbanks, AK

Wow, I dig the mounting setups they sell with it too. Looks pretty decent. I'd like to see a longer battery life, and a wider angle lens, but not bad. Love the waterproof/dustproof setup.

As for MPEG-4, it is a pain to edit. Basically, you need a powerful computer, and some advanced editing software. Otherwise, you have to convert it to another flavor. I use premiere pro cs3, and it works great, but I haven't had much luck with it on any of my older stuff.

Thanks for the post, I'm definitely intrigued by this thing.

Sombeech · Joined: 09 Dec 2004 Posts: 11250 Location: The Rubbish Bin

Yeah, the battery life is a downer, but I'm assuming that's if it's filming the whole time.

They mention coming out with new lenses, I'm a fan of the wider angles, especially when riding a trail.

So, if I convert the Mpeg-4 to AVI, it shouldn't be too bad for editing. I wouldn't mind a 1 step conversion in there. In fact, most of my videos end up being wmv in the end anyways.

Summit42 · Joined: 03 Aug 2006 Posts: 1937 Location: 127.0.0.1

That is pretty sweet.

I am still leaning towards the archos helmet cam. Mostly because it a cheep attachment to a device i would like to own for other reasons besides filming.

Sombeech · Joined: 09 Dec 2004 Posts: 11250 Location: The Rubbish Bin

Summit42 wrote: I am still leaning towards the archos helmet cam. Mostly because it a cheep attachment to a device i would like to own for other reasons besides filming.

So it takes that specific minicam to record the video? Their site is down for the moment, so I couldn't find that out. This Archos also records in Mpeg-4 format. This must be popular nowadays.

That looks decent, I just need the waterproof feature. Also, I am so tired of cables. Even 1 is too much for me. It's going to be nice to quickly mount it to my front fork without a cable going to my backpack, or to instantly turn it backwards for the reverse trail footage.

Sombeech · Joined: 09 Dec 2004 Posts: 11250 Location: The Rubbish Bin

One more downside to this VholdR. There is no viewfinder, LCD, or screen to immediately playback your capture. You'll have to wait until you hook it up to a computer or another device with a screen to check your quality.

That's why they have the laser pointers though, to show you where you'll be shooting/filming.

CarpeyBiggs · Joined: 18 Mar 2007 Posts: 1722 Location: Fairbanks, AK

To our loyal community of patient customers,

As many of you know, the debut of the VholdR video camera was met with much anticipation and enthusiasm. We can tell you that the demands were both exciting and overwhelming. Even though we ran out of units before we could get you in line, we want to take this opportunity to thank you for the interest in our company and our products.

At this time we are receiving limited quantities of VholdR and we're shipping them out as quickly as they come in. While there are still customer orders to fulfill, you can see what people who have received their units are up to at www.VholdR.com.

Demand got the best of us the first time around, but there's good news! We are quickly catching up and will be sending information at the end of February informing the masses of when and where more cameras will be available.

Again, we appreciate your patience, and keep an eye out for these updates; VholdR availability is coming soon!

RedMan · Joined: 08 Dec 2005 Posts: 468 Location: Colorado???

I have an Archos, I recommend buying a bunch of beer instead.
At least that won't be a waste of money like my Archos.

I have seriously pissed a ton of cash away on Helmet Cams.

Without a viewfinder the VholdR is not on my radar.
That laser thing is no substitute for seeing whats in my shot.

Nothing is more aggravating that THINKING you just captured
some great video and you really captured crap.
The only thing that could be worse is shooting all day long and THEN
figuring out its crap.

That said I don't think the VholdRs quality is very good.
I've been looking at lots of clips and its just not very good.

Vio just dropped the price on the POV.1
Gary has it for $659 now atvutah.com Down from $849.

My $.02

CarpeyBiggs · Joined: 18 Mar 2007 Posts: 1722 Location: Fairbanks, AK

Redman, I think you might be right. I'd like to see some raw VholdR video, but it is so slow getting out. I have seen the Vio footage though, and it looks niiiice. Spendy though.