Cheap action camera

[mjr]

Yeah I was considering getting it just because it's so cheap. I've seen some sample footage on YouTube and it's actually very good for the price of the camera. It also comes with helmet and bar mounts that are apparently compatible with go pros so it's probably worth spending the £25 just for the mounts.

Are you sure they're compatible? The intempo has its lens in the middle of its face and I think vivitar is the same, while go pro has its lens offset more like the SJ4000, so I think the clamp and waterproof case won't be compatible. The other bits probably are because the joint between mount and clamp or case is just a typical small camera screw thread.

 

[Dan B]

I've been umming and aahing about getting camera(s)-in-case-of-collision for a while, so very tempted by a punt on the "Savfy", thanks for posting that link.

Has anyone tried running one of these cameras off a dynamo? If I had the camera and the lights running at the same time would I run out of power or would it just increase drag?

 

[mjr]

Has anyone tried running one of these cameras off a dynamo? If I had the camera and the lights running at the same time would I run out of power or would it just increase drag?

You'd probably run out of power, but it would depend on the dynamo and circuit.

http://www.myra-simon.com/bike/dynotest.html#output gives you an idea of the dynamo output. I think the lights are typically designed to take 2.4W for a headlight and 0.6W for a taillight. USB is nominally 5V 1A so I think that's 5W but I just tested my intempo and it draws 0.4A when recording with the screen on, so you'd need another 2W. I suspect it may get the hump at power fluctuating as much as a dynamo does, so I'd charge a battery pack instead while another battery pack is powering the camera.

...and a small correction to what I wrote earlier: it can tell the difference between a USB data connection and a USB power-only connection, so you don't have to remove the memory card to download (but it's faster if you can).

 

[numbnuts]

Has anyone tried running one of these cameras off a dynamo? If I had the camera and the lights running at the same time would I run out of power or would it just increase drag?

Dynamo = AC power not DC you will need a converter, your best bet is to use a USB power pack chip as chips on ebay

 

[greekonabike]

Different to mine. Think mine is a DVR 968 or something like that. Almost sure it has an 8 mega pixel sensor too.

For £25 the one you linked to has to be worth a try though!

Are you sure they're compatible? The intempo has its lens in the middle of its face and I think vivitar is the same, while go pro has its lens offset more like the SJ4000, so I think the clamp and waterproof case won't be compatible. The other bits probably are because the joint between mount and clamp or case is just a typical small camera screw thread.

I'm not 100% sure the clamp and waterproof case are but I've read somewhere online that the helmet and bar mounts work although I'm not sure if different model vivitars have different mounts or if it's like a universal standard.

GOAB

 

[mjr]

Dynamo = AC power not DC you will need a converter, your best bet is to use a USB power pack chip as chips on ebay

Good point. I was assuming a light with a USB socket (thereby using its LED-driving converter) or similar, but I don't know if they turn USB power off when the lights are on.

I'm not 100% sure the clamp and waterproof case are but I've read somewhere online that the helmet and bar mounts work although I'm not sure if different model vivitars have different mounts or if it's like a universal standard.

I'm pretty sure it's the usual small camera ¼" 20tpi thread.

 

[Dan B]

Dynamo = AC power not DC you will need a converter, your best bet is to use a USB power pack chip as chips on ebay

Yeah, I won't claim to be an electronics expert (although I once probably ought to have been, I've forgotten most of my engineering degree by now) but I do know how to crib a circuit from the internet and I can wave a soldering iron with grace and panache

 

[prawny]

My old sj4000 battery didn't last the full length of my commute so I bought a GoPro Session. For £150 it's a fair bit better, and takes up no room under my bars. Really easy to get little clips off too.

 

[mjr]

My old sj4000 battery didn't last the full length of my commute so I bought a GoPro Session.

Aren't SJ4000 batteries replaceable? And can't it record while being USB-powered? I mean, glad the GoPro works for you, but it seems an expensive solution to a dud battery.

 

[jarlrmai]

You can't swap a battery easily mid commute and it gets annoying charging 2 battery's per day. USB powerbricks have to go somewhere and they kind of screw up any use of a waterproof housing.

 

[Jody]

The trouble with the SJ4000 is that there are a lot of clones about with variable firmware support and image quality, despite the SJ4000 itself being a GoPro copy.

Mate bought one and it must have been a copy of the copy as the quality was sh**e. I was impressed that it had an LCD screen on the back but it lacked in everything there after.

 

[numbnuts]

You can't swap a battery easily mid commute and it gets annoying charging 2 battery's per day. USB powerbricks have to go somewhere and they kind of screw up any use of a waterproof housing.

Get your self one of these - change the power cable in kit to a USB cable and use power pack
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0186TGT8S/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

set the camera to car mode and loop recording and it will start recording up as soon as you conent it to power

 

[rualexander]

Aldi have one in just now.
Don't know if they are any good.
https://www.aldi.co.uk/p/74269/0

 

[jarlrmai]

Looks like a rebranded Firefly 6S

 

[F70100]

I bought one of these and am very pleased with it.

I bought it on the basis of this review:



Remember when viewing sample footage that Youtube (and others) compresses the files and attempts to optimise the video quality to suit your internet connection rate. You can download some uncompressed footage from Techmoans blog here.