Helmet Cam

[swatt13]

Im looking into building/ buying a helmet cam as seen in use here (i know its a repost by , its just for reference)

i WANT this quality image and sound. ive done some reaserching, but i cant hammer out what is all actually needed to do so.
camera (havent found the one yet but like the lipstick camera)
transmitter
reciever
power supply (included in the transmitter?)

anywho, i dont have anynbody to ask except the guy at the source and hes not knowledgable either, and there is only so much the internet can offer. so anybody that knows how to accomplish this or has accomplished this, or even has one for sale, please.... proceed.

[dman]

There are many good quality cameras out there. What you're looking for is the lipstick, or bullet camera. Main thing to look out for is a CCD Camera, and a good LUX rating. Wide angle view is also very nice.

Don't get a wireless camera, get a wired one. Sure you'll have extra wires, but you won't have to waste battery power transmitting, and you won't have reception issues.

Reciever... this is my department. I've spent so much time researching for this exact purpose and ended up buying a very nice receiver. What you want to look into getting is a PVR (Portable/Personal Video Recorder), also known as a DVR (Digital Video Recorder). I personally bought an Archos AV500E, and it's great. It can capture video at 640x480 resolution which is plenty enough. Comes with a 30GB or 100GB Hard drive, and the batteries will last long enough to record roughly 3 hours of video non-stop.

You will need extra batteries, or an external power supply. These can easily be rigged up, and plugged into the over all system with your normal battery packs.

[quikstrike]

I've been looking into this for a while, and since I sold my M9 I may just purchase some stuff. I dunno though it can get pricey.

[swatt13]

so you have a helmet cam narius? could you please post pics of your set up, and give a parts breakdown?

im pretty much at the stage where if someone says its good, ill take it, ive just come to a wall with this issue, i dont "get" it. LUX? CCD!?? what!? HA! me no teckie.

your help is much appreciated.

[Ghost Snake]

I've done this before with decent results, but I would like better quality. There are really 2 ways to do this. Wired or wireless. If you go wireless, you carry less gear, a camera/transmitter and battery, but the quality isnt nearly as good. Especially if you are playing in a wooded area, the range will suck. Plus the transmitter and receiver will make the whole thing more expensive. Really not a good way to go, especially if you want quality.

I would highly recommend wired. Which is what I am going to do as well. The archos that dman suggested is a very good idea. Dont go cheaper than that. I bought a cheap PVR on ebay for $50, it worked, but it wasnt too great. The archos isnt very big either. It can easily fit in a vest pouch. The only other thing you need is a battery and camera. As suggestions, you can look at one of these:
http://www.bulletcam.com/helmet_Cams_products.htm
http://www.hoyttech.com/index.cfm?fu...Product_ID=295

An archos will set you back a little over $500, and a camera about $200-$350 depending how good you want to go. So in total you could get a very respectable cam setup for about $800.

[Quantis]

I use an archos AV500 with the archos headcam attachment

but your looking at $700-$800 for it

Uses a 30gb harddrive to record for hours and hours without changing tapes

- Quantis

[Ghost Snake]

Damn, I didnt know archos made a camera for it. I just checked out their webpage http://www.archos.com/products/tv_ce...global&lang=en and that actually looks pretty sweet. I think that is going to be my setup. Thanks Quantis :cheers:

[quikstrike]

www.viotac.com
Go there, you can purchase them in bundles, and they will ship to Canada.

Max price including flux on the dollar is $960.00 for the s.c.o.u.t cam plus all the fixins.

[swatt13]

well ive got a canon zr400 (christmas present), handheld, which can go in my pack, but the battery life blows. and it uses cassets still

i want the same quality recording as in the black eagle video, and i definatly want wired, i dont mind extra gear. i want quality. and probably only need 5 hrs of battery and video at a time. 800 bones is intense, i never even imagined it being that much. i still dont understand what i completley need tho. is what you suggested in your links all a guy needs ghost or do you need that plus a camera still?

[quikstrike]

You need the lipstick cam/bullet cam to mount on your helmet/head. The batteries for the cam. The mount. The wires to attach to the batteries, and then to wire it to the recording device (usually just a camcorder) and then you'd want to buy an LANC remote, so you can control the actual recording without pulling out the camcorder from your bag each time to pause it etc.

[swatt13]

thanks for clearing that up quickstrike. so;

bullet cam to mount on your helmet/head.

The batteries for the cam.

The mount.

The wires to attach to the batteries,

- then to wire it to the recording device (usually just a camcorder)

a LANC remote, so you can control the actual recording without pulling out the camcorder

recording device

thats alot of stuff

is the archos, the same thing as an ipod video? could a guy use that instead? w/ the archos head cam attatchment?

also, you dont NEED the av500, you could use a av400, correct and also would an av400 from china be compatible w/ american stuff, or woudl it need to be "unlocked" like cell phones?

[dman]

Originally Posted by swatt13

im pretty much at the stage where if someone says its good, ill take it, ive just come to a wall with this issue, i dont "get" it. LUX? CCD!?? what!? HA! me no teckie.

your help is much appreciated.

LUX is the amount of light required in order for the camera to capture proper video. Generally, the lower the number the better. If you see something with a 1.0 LUX rating, you might as well throw it out for airsoft use. Most of the games I played took place under tree-top cover in a forest where visibile light for the camera is at a minimum. You need something rated at 0.5 or preferably 0.1 LUX. Obviously the better the camera, the more expensive.

CCD is just a type of sensor in the camera. I can't remember the other type, but CCD is the better of the two. Don't know what's better, or why, just that the quality is better with a CCD camera.

Get a wide angle camera. Why? Because we're used to a wide field of view when playing, and won't always be concentrating on where the action is. A very narrow field of view when being recorded can also cause the viewer to get dizzy and really doesn't look good in the end.

Originally Posted by Quantis

I use an archos AV500 with the archos headcam attachment

but your looking at $700-$800 for it

Uses a 30gb harddrive to record for hours and hours without changing tapes

- Quantis

I have the Archos AV500E as stated before, and yes, it's an excellent candidate for the reciever. There are a few other models out there that are better, but only because they offer a larger LCD screen, or larger hard drives. HOWEVER keep these things in mind:

- These devices store their information on an internal hard drive. These hard drives do contain moving parts, and are NOT supposed to be subjected to any "harsh" environments. If you're going to carry it on your self while running, diving, jumping, and what-not, cushion that bad boy like it's an egg. Even then, I would expect for the device to suffer from a hard drive failure well before the manufacturer estimates. And with these, once the hard drive goes, the whole thing is a paperweight.

- The battery will only last roughly 3 hours recording. However, the maximum file size of one file stops at 4GB (I think). This is simply because of the file system used on the hard drive doesn't allow for files larger than that. On my Archos AV500, I believe it will automatically create a new file and continue recording. But NOT all other devices will do that. Some you'll have to manually check that they are still recording. So all I'm saying is that even if your device has 30GB, it may stop recording after 4 GB and require you to restart the recording again. Granted, 4GB of video is a heck of a long time.

- I've read up about the camera that Quantis pointed out, and in the end it comes to this. If you want the simplest way to go, grab this. It's a decent enough camera, with a decent enough LUX rating, etc. However, for the same price you buy this, you can buy a much better bullet camera yourself. I've read mixed reviews about the Archos Camera, so I really don't know what to say about it, and seeing that Quantis owns it, he'd be the best person to ask specifically. I had read as many reviews as I could, and I came up with the decision to purchase my own bullet camera, to use. The one really nice thing about that camera is the inline remote.

Originally Posted by swatt13

well ive got a canon zr400 (christmas present), handheld, which can go in my pack, but the battery life blows. and it uses cassets still

i want the same quality recording as in the black eagle video, and i definatly want wired, i dont mind extra gear. i want quality. and probably only need 5 hrs of battery and video at a time. 800 bones is intense, i never even imagined it being that much. i still dont understand what i completley need tho. is what you suggested in your links all a guy needs ghost or do you need that plus a camera still?

I would suggest that you easily put away $800 for this kind of thing. And also I hope you have a very decent computer, as video editing is a pain in the ass on anything sub-par. If you are going the route I went with my helmet cam, this is what you need:

- A bullet camera (either the Archos one, or another 3rd party one)
- A PVR (like the Archos AV500)
- A custom battery pack (if you want to record anything more than 2-3hours of video at a time. Or just buy another battery for the Archos AV500)
- Lots and lots of padding and proper protection for your PVR.

Oh, and do not get the AV400. It will not record at 640 x 480 resolution but at a lower quality. Plus it's a very old device. I would suggest you stay with the AV500 series, it's the best out there, and in this case, Ebay is your friend. I bought my AV500E for roughly $500 CDN, and it retailed for $600 USD at the time.

Anything else? Let me know.

[Farmboy]

PM me if anyone is interested in purchasing one. 8)

[thxthx]

I dont know if this has been posted yet but there is an extensive writeup on our site of the helmet cam setup we (Black Eagle) use.

http://forums.blackeagleairsoft.net/...ght=helmet+cam

[Kimbo]

the 2 types of chips for cameras are CCD and CMOS. CMOS is the cheaper, read crappier, chip so if you want the best quality, make sure the camera is CCD.

You can pick up a pretty good color day/night low lux CCD bullet cam with infrared capability for 200 bux or so from a security wholesaler.
The recorder is the real meat and potoatos of the system. The archos is the best bang for the buck, but you could get away with a cheaper PVR for 150 or so that records to SD or compact flash.

Ebay will be your friend on this one.