After a bad accident that totalled my last bike, I’ve been looking into cameras for my new (or rebuilt) bike - preferably frame-mounted, though I gather most such cameras come with mounts for fixing them pretty much anywhere, including on your helmet. Does anyone know where you can pick up cheaper cameras since I’d rather not spend an arm and a leg? One I saw that had not bad reviews is the Chilli Technology Action 3 VGA Head Cam, which is only about £35 back in the UK. Anywhere around Taipei that sells anything like that, to anyone’s knowledge? Anything I’ve seen so far in bike shops tends towards the more expensive end of things.
I’d imagine that you might need to look online if you want the cheaper prices. There is also a small chance that one of those vendors on the side of the riverside paths may have one for a cheap price. Those guys usually sell things for very reasonable prices. Please post an update if you find something. I will also consider getting one of these.
Whatever you end up getting make sure you get one with decent battery life, or the ability to plug in an extension battery.
I’ve got a great link to some camera reviews. Let me dig it out for you.
OK, found it. This guy does a great job of reviewing cameras at several different price points. Obviously look for the ones you can use on a bike.
techmoan.com/
www.youtube.com/user/Techmoan (I hope that one still works–I can’t check from work).
After watching loads of his reviews, I settled on the 120 degree ACT20 (a couple of years back). It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty decent for the price. Three hour battery life too, plus I can plug in one of those little power banks for longer rides.
If you want some variety, try looking around Guanghwa Electronics Market. There are some stores that are dedicated to selling cameras on a mount. I see that most of those cameras they display are for cars, but you could take a look and ask. You never know.
That’s something I could check out, thanks. Also that place near Taipei Main Station, the name of which I can’t recall.
That’s something I could check out, thanks. Also that place near Taipei Main Station, the name of which I can’t recall.[/quote]
NOVA
Both good places to check out. Both fairly close to each other so if one place doesn’t have it. The next might have it.
I did see some stuff on Ebay, but it’s all from Hong Kong, and that tends to make me a little wary.
The only thing I would be worried about from things coming out of HK would be the price and shipping.
What’s your budget? Is 6000 nt doable?
I saw some good cams yesterday around Bade Road … ranging from 3K-5K NT$ … HD, possible to plug in power through USB, helm or other mount, waterproof.
I saw some at Nova, and at Guangwha Plaza, but mostly of the GoPro type. I’ve done a little research and I see the problem with the cheaper ones I’ve been looking at is that the battery lasts one or two hours at most, and they often only record half an hour of video at a time. Which is fine for commuting by bike, but not so much for the longer trips I prefer to take. Oh well.
This is the one I’ve seen most people recomending
goods.ruten.com.tw/item/show?21405010354061
ebay.com/itm/Mobius-ActionCa … 232c961f6a
Seems to be the best for the money.
Funnily enough I was just looking at that online. That’s the kind of price range I’m looking at.
Edit: Actually, it looks great, except that it only records for maybe an hour. A lot of the cheaper ones do and it’s powered by USB. Is there any way of extending that one hour with some kind of battery pack? I usually go for rides of two hours plus.
[quote=“StiffUpperLip”]Funnily enough I was just looking at that online. That’s the kind of price range I’m looking at.
Edit: Actually, it looks great, except that it only records for maybe an hour. A lot of the cheaper ones do and it’s powered by USB. Is there any way of extending that one hour with some kind of battery pack? I usually go for rides of two hours plus.[/quote]
Well it looks like you would power that through USB when it’s in a car, so there’s no reason why you couldn’t use a battery pack/power bank with it.
The only downside I’m seeing with that camera is that it’s not waterproof, but that may not be an issue for you.
Not a problem if you’re willing to spend a little extra moola: joovuu.com/gb/home/103-mobius-w … -case.html
Not a problem if you’re willing to spend a little extra moola: joovuu.com/gb/home/103-mobius-w … -case.html[/quote]
Yeah, I noticed you can get waterproof cases as extra. Given the way it rains here sometimes, probably necessary.
I went with GoPro Hero 3 White, the cheapest version. It works very well as a crash-cam, I can use it to record cool stuff on holidays/trips and I don’t have to worry about the rain (extremely important in Yilan). I spent around 7500 for the camera plus a bit of extra cash for the bike mount.
[quote=“StiffUpperLip”]Funnily enough I was just looking at that online. That’s the kind of price range I’m looking at.
Edit: Actually, it looks great, except that it only records for maybe an hour. A lot of the cheaper ones do and it’s powered by USB. Is there any way of extending that one hour with some kind of battery pack? I usually go for rides of two hours plus.[/quote]
that blows.
what I’ve heard its that this camera is very easy to customize, mean take apart and do something else, like change the battery, the lenses or even extend the cable to make a spy camera or for rc planes etc.
Just to check,
I’ve seen some real bargains action camera-wise on Ebay that come from Hong Kong and Shenzen, China. I’ve been told by friends to be very wary of buying electronics from mainland China, but I also found Ebay guides saying there’s no problem at all, and the seller I was looking at had a 99.2% positive rating with over fifty thousand customers. Am I safe buying from the mainland? Or is it all just cheap clones and dodgy knockoffs, like I’ve been told?