Action cam / gopro for a trackday

azibux1

azibux1

azibux1

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Hi all,

What recommendations do you have on the above? I was looking at gopros but don't want anything too expensive

Requirements:
- Sensible price
- 1080p recording
- Must be mountable to the side of a helmet

Is it worth looking at alternatives to a gopro? What brands are recommended?

Any advice would be great

Thanks!
 
GoPro quality and features are excellent, the shape is not very nice for a helmet mount though.

The Drift stuff is quite nice for helmet use but not quite GoPro quality.
 
I ended up with an SJCAM SJ4000 due to the fact that the recordings are almost indiscernible from a GoPro, and they take the same accessories (due to using the same mounting type).

<£50 delivered.

EDIT: I should say that I used mine for skiing rather than trackdays, but still, it was helmet mounted and recording fast-paced motion :p
 
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New GoPro entry level can be had for <£100 and does 1080p.

Otherwise there are plenty of cheap equivalents on the bay which come fairly well recommended.

You do get what you pay for though.
 
I run a pair of GoPro 3 Blacks. Second camera is new for this season so I'm still experimenting with the positioning. Being an older model they're not too difficult to pick up cheaply.


I'd suggest having a backup plan with regard to mounting as I know some trackday organisers don't allow helmet mounted cameras so might ask you to remove it. Suction mounts are also generally frowned upon although these can usually be used as long as you have a tether or some other secondary mounting which will stop the camera from bouncing around the car if the suction mount fails.
 
tsinc80697 said:
Basic GoPro is currently £85 from a supermarket online.
Click to expand...

I have 2 of these and can highly recommend them. The battery life of 2h45m smashes the pathetic battery life of the GoPro 3/3+ black/any GoPro 4.

They're only £85 too.

Sample footage in signature.
 
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That's what I have, the blue one :p

There is a new SJ5000, but it wasn't available when I bought mine in December.
 
The SJ4000 is very hard to beat for the price, it's better quality than the entry level gopro

I have a gopro myself and they are amazing but for me at least it's only really worth buying one of the higher end gopros as the SJ4000 will do everything you need of a cheap camera.

FYI the SJ5000 has nothing to do with the 4000, it's purely a marketing scam :p
 
Anyone with a bit more knowledge / experience (than me) able to answer the below for me please?

Will the below two products be compatible together to allow me to suction mount the camera to the left side of a helmet (when wearing it) and have the camera in the correct orientation (obviously), facing forwards out of a car windscreen?

Important that nothing can be stuck to the helmet with sticky pads etc as I do not own the helmet

Thanks in advance!

Also similar / separate question, would the suction side mount actually stick to the helmet or not? Will it be 'flat' enough? Depends on the helmet slightly of course, but I'm asking in general...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/SJCAM-Multi...Yellow/dp/B00MO78F54/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

http://www.amazon.co.uk/GoPro-AHEDM...0444&sr=8-1&keywords=gopro+side+suction+mount
 
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That's not a suction mount, it's a sticky pad.

The GoPro head strap set comes with a clip that fits my helmet, but it would be very helmet dependent.
 
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Orientation isn't usually an issue as the camera will come with lots of adaptors so you can make it face anywhere you want. The suction cup is pretty huge though and i don't know if it'd work on a helmet. I've got one of those sticky pads on the side of my helmet but i'm not really sure what the best bet is if you don't have your own :(
 
A lot of track day organisers won't allow any cameras to be mounted to your helmet anymore, iirc it's only really bike days which still allow this, suction cups are also mostly banned.

The last Javelin day I did they allowed sticky pad mounting again but it has to be on the actual car and no your body/helmet, however they really want you to be mechanically mounting the camera.
 
sovietspybob said:
The SJ4000 is very hard to beat for the price, it's better quality than the entry level gopro
Click to expand...

Not from my experience. The image quality, especially at night, is worse and the battery life is very poor in comparison. I sold mine after getting the Hero 2014.

For the price though it's excellent, but I don't want anyone to be under the illusion that it's better than the Hero 2014 GoPro.
 
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