Index

Introduction
  Why the Guide
  The Quick Answer
  What do You Need the Camera For?
The Camera Environment
  Vibrations
  Constant Movement
  Changes in Lighting
  Weather
  Audio
Camera Components - Hardware and Range
  Camera Classes
  Sensor and Optics
  Processing Chip
  CMOS vs CCD Rolling Shutter
Comparing Camera Specifications
  Proven System
  Mov vs MJPEG
  Resolution
  Low Lighting
  Weight
  Form Factor
  Mounts
  Buying a Bicycle Mount
  Memory Cards
  External Batteries/Battery Packs
  Video Screen
  Looping
  Splitting
  TimeStamps
Common Problems
  Wind Noise on Audio
  Fogging
  Camera Turns off Over Bumps
  4Gb File Limit
  Mounts that come with Cheap Cameras
  Velcro vs Dual Lock

Introduction

Why the guide?

After some recent media coverage and a lot of talk on forums the use and "need" for cameras has really taken off over the last six months. A short time after my accident in April 2009 I started looking into some solutions. Since then I've been focusing on and perfecting bicycle camera solutions.
Prior to that I've been a geeky kid and tinkered a lot with electronics and pulling stuff apart and DIYing pretty much everything I could lay my hands on.

I setup Rigidmount as there seemed to be a lot of demand for mounted cameras and it was primarily a way of helping people avoid being stuck in an accident like I was, so I guess the primary goal was to get an affordable bike mounted camera solution for every bike rider.
Now its setup i'm starting to get quite a few generic questions about setups and "what is the best?" So here is basically a dump of my knowledge on the subject.
This guide is as definitive as I can currently make it, while still trying to be quite accessible and not get bogged down in too many details that a casual reader would find off putting.

NOTE: It should be seen as a guide, an overview and an introduction, so go and google anything specific and find out more!
If there is anything you would like added - let me know. If its camera reviews - then send me the cameras with return postage and i'm more than happy to review them.

The quick answer - which camera setup should I get?

If you need an answer now - then get a system that has been proven. Something that you have seen the results from, you know what you can expect, you know how it performs and you know how much you are paying. There are a few good options out there, whether its my Rigidmount setup with the Otek DVS128/550 camera, or the more popular commercial offerings from Contour or GoPro. You simply need to look at their results, sample them (if possible - borrow the camera) and purchase.

For those who want to understand a little more, maybe DIY or want to save some money and get good performance out of a setup - read on!

What do you need the camera for?

To get the best camera for your job - you need to know what job it will be doing. The two main categories I see are: off road guys that want to make and share films, and those that commute through the city and want some insurance when a pedestrian runs out in front of them and brings them down.

Off Road - typically you want a good picture, vibrant colours, resolution to be OK, maybe able to quickly take it off the bike and use it by hand, have great resistance to water, dirt and mud, audio is not really required.
Commuters - Its mainly about resolution or more specifically clarity of image, being able to make out a numberplate or set of lights, audio is also good to have. The ability for it to be removed with ease when parking your bike and battery life for long journeys are key factors also.

Then there are the miscellaneous uses, now you have a camera sitting around you might start using around the house, take it to other sporting events, stick it to a post and watch a mates band - so keep those requirements in the back of your mind.
Maybe an extra $10 spent will mean you will get a huge amount more value from the purchase.

Sit down, have a good think, watch some videos from other people and take a few notes of what you want.

The Camera Environment

The first thing to understand is the camera environment, i.e. the conditions in which you are expecting the camera to both operate and really perform in.
If I were to ask you to hold a video camera in your hand, start recording and then shake your hand and wave it about - what would the output be like? It would be rubbish and really awful looking, but this is exactly what you are doing to a bicycle mounted camera, but you are expecting smooth sharp pictures!

Vibrations

Probably the biggest issue that has to be dealt with on bicycle mounted cameras. A vibration is a continuous, short and sharp movement of the camera in any direction. Typically they originate from the road surface and are transmitted through the tyres, wheels, frame, handlebars, the camera mount and then camera itself.
The "sharper" the vibrations are, the harder they are to control and the more effect they have on the video. The main factors of vibrations are:

Road surface: a smooth road surface basically gives you no vibrations to begin with, at the other end of the scale would be a damaged/repaired road or a concrete road with many expansion joints and cracks in it.
Tyre pressures: the harder a tyre is, the more it will transfer the vibrations through to the rest of the bike, there are significant visual differences in footage between a bike with 700c 23's at 120PSI and 26" 1.25"'s at 80PSI
Camera Mount: If there is any flex or play in the mount then it can allow it to "wobble" and really make a single bump into a lot of vibrations. Also the form factor, weight and mounting point come into play a lot here - they will be discussed in a little more depth later. Simply put: a rigid mount is a good mount (horrific pun inteded).
Road vs Off Road: generally roadies have small sharp vibrations and off roads have larger smoother bumps. Two very different behaviours on the camera and the effects they have on picture quality is significantly different. A roadie will typically give you a fuzzy, blurry image, where an off road will give you a smoother wobbly image.

Constant Movement

Is the camera mounting point always pointing in the direction of travel? For a roadie yes, for a downhill or mountain bike - not always. This movement effects off road biking a lot more, if the camera is not pointing in the direction you are going then its most likely not recording what you want (there are exceptions of course).
Have a look at the geometry of the bike, if its a serious downhill bike with huge suspension travel and you mount it to the seat post - one second it is pointing in the sky, the next the ground.

On a roadie there will always be some small correction movements in the handlebars as you cycle, so the image you are capturing is basically moving all the time. If you are commuting a reasonable distance home you will be fatigued and it will be evident, so if you want good video you really have to focus on this one.

The most popular work around for this is a helmet mounted setup - it will always capture what you are looking at. However there is normally some head movement and bobbing that happens when you cycle, so it wont be perfect either.

If you need perfect, steady footage - then focus and concentrate on holding everything very still, and using a wide angle lens will also minimise the effect.

Changes in lighting - Exposure

A camera needs to correctly expose an image - this ensures that the image is not too dark or bright.
With a moving camera the job is a lot harder as it needs to constantly change the exposure depending on the image that it is taken. This is again further compounded by moving in and out of shaddows or lighting.

This would probably be more of a concern for off roaders, if you are going through some trails - chances are there is scattered sunlight due to overhead trees and objects. So your camera has to continually adjust exposure to get a nice balanced image.

The better the quality of the camera, the faster and more accurate the adjustments will be. Some cameras will have exposure compensation - this allows you to manually override the cameras choice and make the image either darker or lighter. If the trail is 80% in shade, then increasing exposure might help ensure that the video is not too dark.

Cheap cameras will be slow to change exposure, so if you come out of a tunnel or dark spot it will be excessively bright for a long time, or if it is patchy light it may be excessively dark or bright for most of the duration.

Even with exposure adjustments the camera does all of the work so you need to test the camera or see someone elses results.

Weather

Do you ride in rain? hail? or just shine? Is there a chance it will get wet? What about dust and dirt? What's the difference between "waterproof" and "water resistant"? What does IPX6 mean?

Mixing water and electronics contrary to popular belief is not the end of the world. Many cameras I have owned and used have at some point had water all over the circuit boards while they have been operating. Turn off the power, remove the battery, let them dry, clean with electrical lubricant and no issues.

I NEVER recommend doing this! And you are always after reliability - so stick with the manufacturers recommendation and keep the electronics dry. If your camera does get wet inside, open it up as much as possible, place it over your water heater and leave it for a few days. Putting it in a brown paper bag with Silica Gel or rice has also been known to help.

The rule of thumb: if a camera is waterproof then it can be immersed in water to some depth for a particular duration. If it is water resistant then it is considered splash proof and cannot be fully immersed.

The international standards are the IP codes: Wiki IP Codes, however I have tested many cameras advertised as IPX6 and they have performed worse than IPX3. You need to know that someone else has put the camera through its paces in the environment you have chosen and it still performs.

I can vouch for the Otek cameras which have been 100% faultless, even in the heaviest rain at high speeds - no water ingress and no fogging. Other popular commercial products have special waterproof cases, but i have heard of fogging issues.

Even if it is waterproof, if the camera gets wet ensure you dry it off as much as possible before opening any panels to replace a battery, connect a cable or access a memory card.

Audio

Waterproofing or good audio: pick one as they are mutually exclusive.

If you need good audio, then a fully sealed enclosure is going to give poor quality, muffled sounds. A camera that is water resistant is the starting point for something wiht good quality audio - i.e. audible so you could hear a conversation take place within a few meters of the camera.

A piece of sticky tape over the microphone has given great results to stop water ingress over the microphone slots, and still transmits sounds very clearly.

The only issue with audio when you cycle is wind noise, in the profession something called "dead cat" is used, it is that fluffy grey stuff you see over microphones in movies. You can pay $25 for a small dot, or just head down to a fabric store and get any sort of fluffy material, people have also reported success with a velcro dot.

Simply glue the material over the microphone hole, given the fabric is very porous a gel type glue works well or even just super glue.

Camera Components - Hardware and Range

Camera Classes

There is an insane number of cameras out there on the market - so how different are they? Well it turns out they are not all that different!
I've looked into the guts of a lot of them and there does not appear to be a diverse range of components to make a camera from. So in a lot of cases, cameras in the same price range will generally have the same internals.

There are generally three classes of cameras available, which can be roughly grouped by price or resolution:

Up to $50 - 640x480: These are the "cheapies", some as low as $10. They offer OK results, can be pretty useful and give some basic performance such as recording the events in a "situation", making out a number plate may be difficult due to poor resolution and cheap optics, picture quality and colours are also relatively average.
There is not many features on the cameras - they basically can just record with default settings.
$50 to $150 - 720p: This is where you start to get some decent models, some of which will be the best options for a lot of people. Good resolution, picture quality and optics can make numberplates recognisable, image colours and balance is also quite good.
Waterproofing also becomes available, LCD screens and some customisation of the settings is normally present. This is definetely the sweet spot at the moment, 720p is "old" technology so price drops have seen some bargains appear.
$150+ - 1080p: The sky is the limit. The highest resolution availabe, great picture quality and colours, but the biggest difference would be waterproofing or waterproof enclosures, build quality and accessories.
The myriad of mounts and accessories is where these come into play, so versatility is the biggest bonus in this range.

There will of course be some cameras that dont strictly adhere to those groupings - so bargains can be had for less than $50, and your expensive top of the line camera may fog up in its enclosure. Do i need to say it? Get a proven system for your usage!

The Sensor and optics

This is probably one of the most generic parts and thus one of the most shared parts across different cameras. It is the cool looking silicon chip thingy that actually captures the image.

Expensive cameras will generally use big brand name sensors which will give better images. The optics (lenses and glass) will be a factor in image quality to some extent, again expensive models will generally have better quality optics and give crisper and sharper images.

In terms of bicycles I have not seen a huge need to really go for good sensors and optics, as there are other factors (vibrations etc) which negate the gains of paying large sums for better sensors/optics.

Unless you are trying to make production quality videos there is not much to be gained or concerned about here.

Processing Chip

This little guy takes the image data from the sensor and puts it into a video format that we can store and use.
It will use a "codec" which is a sort of algorithm to encode the data and decide the balance between picture quality and file size. There are a few more options here for manufacturers than sensors, and the differences between chips can be significant.

It is essentially the brain of the camera and controls its major function - the picture! Although it is not like you can really pick a different camera with a better sensor anyway, so this one is an FYI and maybe there are some to stay away from.

CMOS vs CCD - The Rolling Shutter

There are two major types of sensors: CMOS - which is the most common these days (very low power consumption, low voltage) and CCD (older cameras and security style cameras, typically 12v).
The biggest difference is the rolling shutter effect that a CMOS sensor will have.

A CCD camera takes a snapshot of the entire image instantly, whereas a CMOS will read the image one line at a time. So if the image changes from when the first line was being read to the last line being read, then you get a stretched and distored image.
If you look at some of my videos on youtube, at high speeds and poor roads the picture becomes wavy.

CCD are also perform a lot better in lower light levels as they are more sensitive.

You do not get much choice here and you will pretty much be getting a CMOS sensor on most cameras.

Comparing Camera Specifications

Proven System

I'll restate it here because its important - if you have seen the results you want, buy the system that was used.

If you start swapping and changing things then expect close to nothing from it, and maybe you will throw it all out and buy the original system anyway. $30 wasted on a poor camera setup is $30 spent on a sweet mount for the proper setup you do purchase in the end (apologies to all the financial controllers).

MOV vs MJPEG

These are the two most common formats for video that are around. MJPEG is typically seen on the cheaper cameras (<$50) and is a series of separate images recorded into a single file. Each image is completely independent of the others.

MOV is used pretty much everywhere else and is more of a "movie" format than a series of pictures. (for the geeks reading I'm fully aware its technically a container format etc). This means that it can give a lot smaller file sizes as it can look at multiple frames in a video and pick the best way to save the information.

One method is to only record data that has changed, so if you put the camera on a tripod & record - it records the first image and nothing after, because nothing changed! There's a lot more to go into here but generally everything you see is either MJPEG or MOV with H.264, if you want to edit just make sure your application supports the file format the camera produces (which it should as they are both very common).

Resolution

Do I need 1080p? More pixels are better right?
Well here are 3 images - which one has the best resolution?

Well they all have identical resolution! But they are clearly VERY different in terms of quality.

Computers store images in a collection of dots called pixels, each pixel is then a specific colour to make up the complete image. The resolution is simply the number of pixels that makes up the image.

The resolution tells you the maximum amount of information in a picture. Think of pixels like pages in a book, the more pages the more information you can store. So more pixels are better then? Well it depends on whether they contain more information and if the information is correct.

Take the last image - the information in the pixels simply is not a true representation of the source. It is an exaggeration to make a point though, so compare the first two images - this is what you will tend to see from cheap vs good cameras. One looks all blocky and chunky the other is crisp and well defined.
To save space some formats (and processing chips) average out patches of an image, if these four pixels are close enough - then just make them one colour to save on space.
Cheap cameras do not have the processing power to make accurate images fast and will have blocky output. Also be aware that on sites like youtube the video is processed again so it will typically be of poorer quality than the original source.

One other factor to remember with resolution is file size, 1080p video can become huge and very cumbersome to work with. So unless you really need 1080p or dont plan on storing it or processing it, 720p video is a pretty good sweet spot from my experience.

If you plan on processing 1080p then ensure your computer is quite powerful, a 1080p frame is approximate THREE times the size of 720p - so processing it may take three times as long!

Low Lighting

If you ride home after work in the winter then chances are its going to be dark. Some cameras work great in low light others are simply horrific. One thing to look at is the 'f' number on the camera lens specifications, the lower the f number the more light the lens will let in and the better it should be. This is really only valid for similar models of cameras though.

There are also some other internal controls within the camera that are hard wired, it might choose to effectively keep the frame rate high and give you a dark but sharp image, or slow the frame rate and give a blurry but brighter image. Head to the reviews page and compare the kodak and Otek camera night tests.

Its all down to the way the hardware in the camera was configured and you must test this yourself.

Weight

Simply put, the heavier a camera is the harder the mount needs to work to keep it steady. So lighter is always better - as long as it is not too flimsy that it will fall apart if you have an accident!

As a rough guide I have found that anything above 130grams can start to get a bit much for a solid plastic mount to control.
Probably the largest factor in weight is the battery packs, if it has a Li-on pack then it will be considerably lighter than something that uses the more generic AA's. However there are only very few cameras that do not use a Li-ion these days.

Form Factor

This would be the most critical factor in whether a camera can be mounted on a bicycle or helmet at all.

The biggest principle to follow is to ensure that the camera lens is as close to the mounting point as possible, and that there is minimum weight away from the mounting point.

The further away the lens is from the mounting point the more movement occurs at the line of sight of the lens & the greater the change of image is due to the vibration. A quick diagram to explain:

On the right you can see that the lower the lens is to the mounting point the less it travels if there is a vibration. Less movement of the lens = less distortion.
So a tall camera with the lens at the top and the mounting point at the bottom is the worse possible case, have a closer look at the Otek mount - notice how the mount wraps around the camera at the mounting point.

Mounts

Maybe you will love your camera and want to use it everywhere, cycling, down hill, surfing, driving on a track - does it have the mounts available? A lot of cheap cameras can come with a huge bag of mounts that "do everything", the only thing is - they do them all poorly - poor adhesion to surfaces and a lot of play in every mount.

Again you will MUST see the mount in action.

Buying a "Bicycle Mount"

I have seen a lot of them on ebay and a few DIY articles. Buying or making a "bicycle camera mount" and then sticking a camera on it - well as per everything above, a good mount has to be designed for the camera, I have literally spent 9 months doing this so I know what it entails - generic mounts really dont work that well.

Fits on any bike? no chance, and typically the tolerances are poor and they wobble and flex horrifically.
A shameless plug - Rigidmount do 'generic' mounts, however they should only be considered when you must use an existing camera, or if you need to mount something like a photographic camera on them.

Memory Cards

The vast majority of "sport" or "action" cameras - which are primarily hand held, typically use SD cards - which a lot of people have for their existing digital cameras.

The other popular format is Micro SD which is popular on the "bullet" style and really small "spy" cameras. The Micro cards are a lot smaller and slightly more expensive - however memory is dirt cheap, so it is not of any real importance but you might save $30 if you already have memory cards (there's that extra mount for your camera again!).

External Batteries/Battery Packs

Cameras that have either an external battery pack or a replaceable battery are pretty much mandatory if you want the run time for a long journey, or plan to be filming all day long. A lot of cameras will actually use a generic battery pack, the Otek uses an "NP40" which is common on digital photographic cameras. See if you can buy generic batteries from ebay or battery stores on the internet for the camera. The price of some specific batteries can be upwards of $70 from the manufacturer, or as little as $8 online. So an additional battery can literally be half the price of your camera!

When buying a battery they are rated in their capacity in mAh (milliamp hours), the larger the number the larger capacity and the longer it will run. So a 1500mAh battery will last roughly twice as long as a 750mAh battery.

Video Screen

While not always essential a video screen can prove very useful - especially when setting the camera up or seeing if a shot worked out.

Roadies will benefit by knowing that the camera is recording and unsuring it is recording the right stuff!

Off roaders can view the last run they did or last shot they took and instantly see if it turned out, or they need to do another pass.

There is a slight drawback in power consumption, but it is only very minimal and really of little concern - some higher end cameras also have the ability to turn the screen off after a certain period of time to conserve power.

Looping

This is the ability of the camera to automatically over write earlier recordings when its memory card fills up. This is great if you only need the last 15 minutes or so of what you were recording.
There is no need to stop/start the filming or even keep an eye on how much has been recorded already. An additional benefit is that you can use a smaller memory card and save a few dollars on memory.

Not a lot of cameras have this feature, some low end models and some high end models have it.

Splitting

This is the ability of the camera to automatically start a new file every 15minutes or so. Again its a little uncommon but it is quite useful for a roadie while commuting. It is great when you want to get some footage from your recent journey as the files you are getting will be in typically a lot smaller. This also means they are going to be a lot easier to work with.

It also saves having to manually stop and start the filming to avoid any file size limitations that may exist.

The one downside is that the scene you wish to retrieve could be split over two separate files, the chances of this are quite remote and would be dependant on the length of the scene trying to be retrieved vs the splitting time.

Timestamps

Timestamps print the date and time of the recording automatically on the image. This is a little tool to have when commuting as you always know exactly when the video was taken.

The oddity here is that it is seen on the low and high end cameras but not too many middle range ones!

Common Problems

Wind noise on audio

As noted above if you are getting wind noise on your video, a little something fluffy over the microphone slot is all that is needed. Double sided tape or superglue both work a treat to fix it in place.

Fogging

This has plagued many cameras I have tested, well almost every single one I have tested!

They simply are not sealed well enough, a small drop of water then gets into the enclosure. It evaporates and makes the inside of the camera very humid, but the problem is as you are riding the lens is being cooled by the air rushing past (and rain if there is any), the humidity in the camera then condenses on the lens and causes the fogging.

There is no real work around except to seal the camera sensor and lens water tight before it goes near any water, and preferably on a dry day. You can also get silica gel cheap on ebay which could be used.

The bad news is I have heard of this issue being reported on even the most popular high end cameras, while in their waterproof enclosures.

Camera Turns off Over Bumps

Every single camera using a replaceable battery I have used, has this issue (the cameras using AA batteries have been fine).

It mostly applies to roadies, due to the high speeds, sharp bumps, high tyre pressures and lack of suspension. When the camera hits a bump at high speed the battery moves a little inside the camera, This is enough to cause a momentary loss of contact between the battery terminals and the camera, which then shuts off.

The work around is to have the battery be a tighter fit inside the case, so build it up with some electrical tape and also place some spongy rubberised material at the opposite to the terminals. Have a look on the Rigimount Otek DVS Modifications page for an example.

4Gb File Limit

This is a technical limitation of the camera hardware, sometimes the size of files on the memory cards can have a maximum limit. When it arrives the camera will typically just stop recording, so you really need to be mindful of it.
It then depends on the resolution and camera hardware as to the exact time it will reach 4Gb - you need to test this.

The only work around is to stop/start recording before it happens (the limit is around 50min @ 720p). If you start/stop every 15minutes this also makes all the files small and easy to work with! Plus what else are you going to do while you're stopped at a red light?

Cameras that have either the splitting or looping features should be immune to this.

Mounts that come with Cheap Cameras

Even the cheapest cameras I have sourced from China all have at least five different mounts in the kit. Handlebar, helmet, suction cap, straps etc I've never found any to be actually usable! Sure they mount, but the tolerances are always huge when things clip in/out, causing lots of vibrations and terrible video quality.

Velcro vs Dual Lock

As a side note forget using velcro - it is sooo 80's! Get some 3M Dual Lock - either online or off ebay - its like velcro on steroids and unlike velcro it wont go all fluffy and useless after repeated use.

So hopefully now you are equipped with more knowledge and can get a camera which works as well as you hoped!
Safe riding.