I bought this last weekhttp://www.sports-cameras.com/extremetwo.shtml
It will be here hopefully next week. It's about the size of a sausage, tiny and produces pretty good quality video (not as good as dvd however). It's wireless and has a small receiver which records the video. The transmitting distance is around 500m which isn't great, but what I will do is get one of those waterproof bags that they use for walkie talkies and stick in my pocket. I guess I'll either attach it to my boom (clew end) or maybe top of mast? So should be good!
The cam looks sleek. You got any clips/pics u can post up mate so we can see the quality?
Join the club mate.
Ordered one last week. Looking forward to it's arrival.
You can mount this little guy anywhere. Mast, boom, helmet or board.
Do you know what media it records onto? Is there a memory stick like u get in a still digital camera?
It's just a camera and receiver. You have to plug it into a recording device such as a video camera. The receiver output an av signal.
If you have a video camera with a av to dv converter then you can go straight to digital. Another way is with a digital recording device, but these are quite pricey and the resolution/frame rate is not that great.
About $600 will get you a video camera that will do the job.
Oh right. I was being a bit stupid thinking the receiver had some means of recording the video and I could carry the receiver with me. So I guess I'll need to keep it on the beach. The 500m wireless distance isn't that great is it. It will be ok for Scabs, Dutch Inn etc but not Lancelin. Were u planning on having it in your car?
In the car or on the beach. You could use some snaplock bags and padding to carry the receiver and recording device is a backpack and take it with you. I would not be trying any new tricks with this setup on tho...
quote:
Originally posted by westozwind
In the car or on the beach. You could use some snaplock bags and padding to carry the receiver and recording device is a backpack and take it with you. I would not be trying any new tricks with this setup on tho...
I think you'll find your camera needs to have a "DV in" mode for the lipstick to work. Most of the cameras that are cheap don't have this function - can't remember why though I think it was something to do with tax & crazy stuff like that.
In regards to getting a waterproof housing for your camera to carry in a backpack you should contack that Kremlin dude as he has a host of solutions for this (pretty good stuff) Our housing has survived some pretty big wipeouts. Good luck.
AB...
Mines an expensive camcorder and has an AV mode, it says in the manual that this is what it needs. I'm not sure if this camera I bought is digital or analog. My camcorder is definitely digital, thats what I'm using as the recording device.
Check out these units.... AUS Web site
ww38.helmetcamera.com.au/XtremekitPlusS.html
They are the size of a lipstick tube and cables run back to a waterproof housing for your handicam (ban keep in small back pack). Exellent for head cam footage or move it around the boat / board. Stick it to the bow, top of the mast, on the boom or on your head for different angles.
Here is some awsome footage I have taken on my boat with a larger unit. I plan to get one of the bullet cams later.
www.formula18alive.com/f18alive.wmv
I got my camera yesterday and it works fin. Just need some wind to try it out. Tests last night worked well.
The receiver for the camera is an analogue unit. If you have a DV video camera then it will need to be able to do AV -> DV to record to it.
I assume you have the 9v battery and 1.5v (8 of) AA NON-RECHARGEABLE (Rechargeable AA's are 1.2v so you will need 10 of them) batteries or a 12v power supply to turn on the receiver.
Just plug the video out from the receiver unit into the video in of the telly and then tune the camera in. It's quite a fine adjustment.
Hope this helps
Yeah bought the batteries yesterday, Eveready Heavy Duty.. I might buy some more, maybe thats the problem, but I doubt it.
I think the actually camera might he damaged then. It seems to tune in as it goes from fuzzy to a still black picture like it has picked up reception, but thats it. It doesn't need anything special on the TV just a video in? What TV/camcorder are you using as a recording device? I'm racking my brains trying to think what I could be doing wrong, but it's not rocket science I guess so it must be broken. Had to wait 6 weeks for it as well!
I use the extreme model from www.helmetcam.com.au.
I put the camera in a crush proof otta, put the otta in a camel pack, connect the external camera and away you go.
My test was just to plug it into the av in of the telly. Seemed to work fine. Then attached to the dv input of the video camera and turned on the av -> dv converter hit record and recorded 5 or so mins of footage.
I like the idea of wireless. No expensive waterproof cases to carry the recording equipment around in. Even the cabled cams still require a battery. The downside is extra batteries for the reciever, although it will run fine from your car or a transformer.
Wireless does give you the freedom to place the camera in more locations on your rig/board.
I was looking at similar setup: water proof bullet camera with a solid state recorder - records MPEG-4 to SD card. It has no moving parts so less chance of things breaking during a wipe out (I also would like to use it while skiing).
I came across ATC-2000 camera (http://www2.oregonscientific.com/shop/product.asp?cid=6&scid=14&pid=709). They are available in Australia for 169 AU$ (plus the memory card). It records 640 x 480 @ 30 fps and for me it's a winner: small, light, self contained, no waterproofing or recording device required.
Want to get one for the weekend, no more wearing little waterproof Pentax on the forehead 
quote:
Originally posted by westozwind
My test was just to plug it into the av in of the telly. Seemed to work fine. Then attached to the dv input of the video camera and turned on the av -> dv converter hit record and recorded 5 or so mins of footage.
I like the idea of wireless. No expensive waterproof cases to carry the recording equipment around in. Even the cabled cams still require a battery. The downside is extra batteries for the reciever, although it will run fine from your car or a transformer.
Wireless does give you the freedom to place the camera in more locations on your rig/board.
Jakub,
That looks like a really cool camera (inexpensive, small and waterproof - perfect). They say it is 640 x 480 @ 30fps which is good given the package size. They dont say what bit rate it records at however. If you want to buy one get a sample video first so you know what you are getting.
I was looking an SD recorder (http://www.techsurveillance.com/products/683.html) to record the video from a bullet camera but the image quality just wasn't there. I ended up getting an OSD (www.neurostechnology.com/osd/osd.asp) which is working for me so far (only had it going for about a week). I'd prefer better resolution but that will be very expensive in a small package.
Cheers
brett
quote:
Originally posted by Jakub
I came across ATC-2000 camera (http://www2.oregonscientific.com/shop/product.asp?cid=6&scid=14&pid=709). They are available in Australia for 169 AU$ (plus the memory card). It records 640 x 480 @ 30 fps and for me it's a winner: small, light, self contained, no waterproofing or recording device required.
Try http://www.cameraaction.com.au/products4b.asp?sku=177995&dept=64
They are in Melbourne but other Camera House outlets might stock them too.
I rang Cannington (Perth) today and they have them in stock so want to check it out tommorrow. Definitelly would like to see a sample before buying. I hope that will be possible.
Not sure how TV lines (380, 420 etc) resolution compares to 640 x 480 but have some movies shot in 640 x 480 @ 30 fps on digital camera and they look good on TV or monitor.
I think for the price and simplicity it's a no brainer unless the quality is really bad. Use it for a year or two and by then there will better system on the market.
I have been looking into this (on and off) for over a year now and there is lot more choice available now comparing to 18 months ago.
So far I have been using Pentax Optio (waterproof out of the box, 5 Mpx digital still camera), which I strapped to my head. Bit clumsy and the movie resolution is only 320 x 240 but you can still get nice shots. But it doesn't take the bumps too well - strapped it to my knee and went down the South Face of Mt Hutt (NZ) in the winter and the camera seized up. 
I had to pull the battery out to get it going again. So I would like to have it as simple (and robust) as possible.
quote:
Originally posted by westozwind
I got my camera yesterday and it works fin. Just need some wind to try it out. Tests last night worked well.
The receiver for the camera is an analogue unit. If you have a DV video camera then it will need to be able to do AV -> DV to record to it.
I assume you have the 9v battery and 1.5v (8 of) AA NON-RECHARGEABLE (Rechargeable AA's are 1.2v so you will need 10 of them) batteries or a 12v power supply to turn on the receiver.
Just plug the video out from the receiver unit into the video in of the telly and then tune the camera in. It's quite a fine adjustment.
Hope this helps
Glad to hear it's working. Now just got to get out and use it
I would ask for suggestions for mounting locations, but I know what will happen
Have a good weekend on the water
quote:
Originally posted by Jakub
Tryhttp://www.cameraaction.com.au/products4b.asp?sku=177995&dept=64
They are in Melbourne but other Camera House outlets might stock them too.
quote:
Originally posted by westozwind
Glad to hear it's working. Now just got to get out and use it
I would ask for suggestions for mounting locations, but I know what will happen
Have a good weekend on the water
Comrade Zed
It could be that you have an issue with power source (low life batteries) if all you seeing is white noise... this could also be issue with transmitter/receiver set up if he produce white noise when connected
If you were not of seeing this white out when you test on tv monitor the white out should not happen in record mode.
Comrade Jakub
quote:
I came across ATC-2000 camera (http://www2.oregonscientific.com/shop/product.asp?cid=6&scid=14&pid=709). They are available in Australia for 169 AU$ (plus the memory card). It records 640 x 480 @ 30 fps and for me it's a winner: small, light, self contained, no waterproofing or recording device required.
Zdravstvuj Tovarysc Kremlyn,
Yes, you get what you pay for. The review on helmetcam site is also quite accurate.
I bought the ATC-2000 last Thursday:
It records 640 x 480 @ 30 fps at just under 600 kbps. 320 x 240 @ 30 fps at under 300 kbps. The movies are average quality so you really get what you pay for. The unit is self contained with three buttons at the top. The only connections (hidden under the screw-on cap) are the card slot, USB and TV out. There is no way to connect LANC controller to it. To me it looks like a web cam with a integrated SD card writer in one.
I did few tests at home but did not sail with it yet (I was at Coro's over the weekend and really thought I would have lost it in a crash). I think the big button should be easy to find with your fingers but I see few problems with mounting the thing on your head. The supplied rubber strap did not hold it in place too well. I think it will not keep the camera very steady and the image might be shaky. It will need to be tested out. Good idea might be to use the velcro strap and put it on your wrist or mount it directly on the helmet.
It records to AVI but I'm not sure about what codec it's using. Firstly I had problems connecting the camera to my PC to read the data directly from it (on two different computers). It's not simple plug&play. It keeps wanting to install the drivers, alas no CD is included and Windows update doesn’t know about it. Workaround is to leave the prompt there and go to the Explorer as it "sees" the drive until the driver install fails. Or use a card reader. Might be my PC only though.
I was able to play the files with Windows Media Player but couldn’t import to Adobe Premiere for further editing.
Overall verdict: I guess for $169 it's OK but I wouldn't buy it knowing what I know now. I can post some footage when I have some.
May the Red Star always guide your board.
Jakub
Comrade Jakub
Uspokysya, vsyo harasho
Vpolne harosho, spasibo. A ty?
I too thought mountings for this camera he notlook very strong.
I make mountings from bike lock.
By this I mean heavy duty plastic connectors used for locking of bike lock to bike when not in use.
The inner diameter this is for perfect fit on lip stick camera... plus there is small bolt/s at top for adjusting of tightness plus there is strong base plate with 2 pre screwed holes for bolts
I have mount for top and side of gath helmet.
I also have mount made for boom and mast made from this bike lock holder I speak of
I post some pictures along with some helmet cam vision when I getting chance for uploading
Mast cam is very much of the shaking as the mast flex is very great... more so then most people realise I think for sure yar
I making my own housings using different componets (lip sticks/lanc controller and waterproof microphone for connection with mini dv.
These I have been using for almost 4 years.
The quality of images is very highest rating for certain.
Do you have helmet already ?
I have some easy modifications for the gath styling of helmet. Only minor drilling and mainly using of the pre-made slots holes gath helmet coming with when buying
THis save lot of time for working out where lipstick must be of pointing for good pictures.
I make mistalke on last trip to Coros and mount lipstick camera with new lower angle lens and bigger zoom in old position. We get many picture of water and feet on board but not any of big jumping and looping madness that was going on about for hope of catching on film !
Udachi i khoroshego nastroeniya!
Kremlin
We have been using a number of helmet cam systems for a few years to capture footage of our team riders
A small 35 second clip has been uploaded to youtube
