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Haven't seen any recent threads...
What are people using? What works best? Are people digging their helmet cams?

Thinking about picking one up this year, most important thing to me is compact/lightweight, good picture, fairly resistant to backcountry abuse and not looking to spend a fortune.

Canon seems to have some good inexpensive options.
Thoughts?
Thanks,
Reefer

I'm no expert by any means but we just got back from a trip to Argentina-so hot right now. Helped film for some buddies' upcoming split/ski backcountry movie- Which you all better support Some of their camera's are a canon gl-2 and a helmet cam which I cant remember the make of. The gl 2 is a super nice camera, cant go wrong. Dont know if it meet's your definition of compact/lightweight though. I'm a big fan of the helmet cam's too. I think they really capture the feeling...unless you got it on cruising down a groomer...then everythings just lame. But tree riding, drops, steeps,etc...all look really nice on a head cam. Make sure you get a remote control for helmet cam's though. Otherwise it could be a pain in the ass to fuddle with all the time. Hope that helps. Maybe the Thrillhead boy's will chime in....

-"Sharkness, everybody!!"

I spent a long time trying to find the perfect camera for a helmet cam setup, this is what i went with:

Canon Optura S1


as for helmet cams, they are all made by Sony, regardless of who is reselling them. Just get the best resolution you can afford. I went with 480, its ok, but 520 would be better.

Jack, how has that Optura S1 worked for you in the field? Does it have a LANC input? I've been using a Canon Elura 50, which is a similar small size (one of the main reasons I got it) but it seems to have some reliability issues. The tape will get misaligned pretty frequently and sometimes I lose some good footage. Of course, I got it used on ebay, so maybe I got what I paid for...

I have a Sony PC101 (the model has changed its name since 2002) that I've been happy with. It finally took a dump though late last year after lots of use and abuse.

I was thinking about getting Cannon's new HD viddy cam but I keep going back and forth on it. I'm kinda burned out with sacrificing lines and shooting footy of other people when the favor isn't always returned. Then spending hours editing footy of other people gets old too. I want to be a star too ya know.

I may just stick with a point and shoot still camera…not sure yet.

Dude - Don't I do my part?!? We just need to get more days in this year together, you'll feel like a star....

Its been working great. I tend to hammer my stuff too. i take it mtn biking alot and it fits in an otter box nicely in the camel back. havent had any problems with tapes wacking out. not yet anyway.

it doesnt have a LANC, i think the tradoffs were worth it for this camera.

I used it at work the other day. we made a clear dry sump tank on our test mule and i set up the helmet cam to film the oil sloshing around in the tank. it was sweet!

Check out the 3CCD cameras from Panasonic. They rock and are fairly small

I use a sony dvd 301. Works fine and I can shoot stills also with the same camera. The stills are only 1 megapixel so they are ok. Just as important is what software you will use to edit. If you are usinga PC based software and have shitloads of money you can use Adobe Premiere pro 2.0 . Why do I recommend that ? It has a plug in called steadymove which can make shaky video smoother. Not that I know anything about it. Im still trying to learn to encode . Funny thing, when I started doing this (for a hobby, I dont out out PROFESSIONAL QUALITY,but my family and friends enjoy it) a lot of people told me my camera wouldnt work because it didnt have firewire. Thats dead wrong. You can use an old analog camera if you have a capture card on your PC or an external capture device. As far as compatable helment cameras, check with the maker of the helment cam as to which cameras are compatible. As long as you have RCA input you can use a helment cam. You may have problems with the remote LANC button though.