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I'm commuting by bike down some if the busiest of Sheffield's roads through winter and thinking I should get a camera for the inevitable crazy driving.
What do people use and why?
Are you going to do an Ogmios style Zen cycling series?
Camera:
An old go-pro Hero4 Silver (or 3+ black, I've got both)
Why:
It's cheaper and better than a go-pro knock off.
Why not:
1 hour battery life (but spare batteries are about £8).
Other tips:
Get an aluminum bar clamp like the one below off ebay for £3.80, then mount it with the mount at the ~8 o'clock position and the camera to it folded back as far as it can go (i.e. facing forwards, roughly at the level of the bars) cuts out 99% of the vibration and results in a much clearer image, especially at night.
Absolutely definitely avoid anything that doesn't allow the camera to mount as close to the bar as possible and with as solid a mount as possible. Camera shake is the enemy of useable footage.
Cycliq front and rear, used to just run a fly6 (expect to get 2-3 years use before they die) but went all in after some twunt tried to kills me.
not cheap but there are not that many other options around.
Techalogic DC-1 - front and rear view, head mounted - record what you are looking at - which is where the danger is, not just in front.
Also useful if you end up having an altercation off your bike.
get a better head mount than this so, so it sits closer to the helmet in my opinion
https://road.cc/content/review/techalogic-dc-1-dual-lens-helmet-camera-272255
I use a VuPoint Share Q Mini cam. Cos SportPursuit had them for £30. Decent little HD cube-style cam. Take nice long videos (big files, rather than spilt into 2GB like some cams), so you don't miss anything. The downside is the charger is a specific cradle, so you can't just stick a cable in. Battery seems to last about 2 hours though.
I lost my first one, I think I put it on the car roof and drove off, so bought another the same, at £30, wasn't too upsetting! and now have 2 chargers and mounts.
Sample fillum
Chili-tech bullet cam up front
https://chilli-tech.com/content/new-bullet-action-camera/
Techalogic cr-1 at the back
Chilli-Tech here but the mount supplied rattles horribly and I had some battery issues. It runs for ages and video quality is ok though - a few times I've struggle with making out a reg plate due to vibrations.
go pro hero 4 on Dakine POV mount (rucksack strap mount)
I have been riding always with a Cycliq rear camera and a few years with a front. The rear ones are pants but there wasnt much to decide from. Twice there own FW killed each camera and the support said pretty much, its over a year old so tough.
Last time I bought a Tooo dvr80 rear camera and its ace. 10hrs plus runtime is good. Not sure about the waterproofing around the separate charging and mem card slot.
I reported someone a few years back being a d### and he got a £700+ fine and points.
Aldi Fly 6 knock-off on the back. Good battery life with flashing rear light
Did have a 2016 Cycliq Fly 12 on the front but weighed loads and poor battery from new, even without the light on. Prefer to have a front as well but haven't found anything, front or rear, that's any good in the dark. Rear especially flares out against headlamps
I've had a pretty good experience with cycliq fly12 ce and fly6 v2. Both have been reliable and when I've needed support cycliq have been good. I lost the rubber charging cover from the fly6 and they sent me a new case (I covered shipping, case was free).
Have reported a few bits of bad driving over the years, some were close passes but also things like blatant red light jumping or ignoring "no right turn" signs
I have had a chilli tech camera for a few years, does the job, not have a close pass or incident myself where I couldn't read the reg. A couple of incidents on group rides where it wasn't that close to me have been missed. It's a bit shit in wet and dark though. For the money it's good, better options are available that cost more.
I used to use v1 Cycliq front and rear, but tbh ended up using just the rear one as more interested in leaving evidence behind if someone hit and ran me.
I wasn’t really interested in being an obsessed road rights warrior, more interesting hobbies to be had 🙂
cycliq fly6 here too - very little of my commute is on the road so haven't gone for a front as the fly12 is too pricy. Works well as a light; I keep expecting the camera to die but still going for now.
Watching back footage of off-road with my son on the weehoo trailer thing has been its main use!
Chris, I've an unused GoPro knock-off you can have for beers if you like, might even be tempted to ride up the hill & deliver it if you like.