As the name suggests, a helmet camera is attached to the helmet, making it easy for the users to record their POV or point of view, during various activities that need to be recorded or documented. Also called a bullet camera or micro video camera, a helmet camera is the best solution for people who can't use hand-held cameras while carrying out particular tasks like paragliding, mountaineering, backpacking, rock climbing, hiking, cycling, motor racing, bungee jumping, and such other adventure sporting activities. On the other hand, people who are a part of certain serious situations like military, police, and rescue missions, also use helmet cameras. The first one is believed to have been used in the year 1987, for recording a mountain biking video. Since then, these cameras have evolved tremendously. From the large and heavy cameras with complicated wiring and features, today's cameras are pretty trendy and user-friendly. There are various types of helmet cameras, and hence, choosing the best one needs a little bit of research on your part. Refer to the following sections of this article for some tips.
Choosing the Best Helmet Camera
There are a few touchstones that you may need to use while choosing the best helmet camera for yourself. Along with the weight, size and price of the cameras, you need to check for various other specifications and performance measures of the brands that you want to purchase. Some of the most basic things include, the sensor size, video FPS(frames per second) rate, degree of the field of view (FOV), sound quality of the video, clarity of video, color selection and editing modes, pixels, lighting compensation, video editing modes, remote control features, mounting types, video playback and preview, battery life, memory status, outputs for TVs and computers, USB ports, etc. Also check whether the camera that you want to purchase is waterproof and lightweight. Along with the first impression, you may also need to test video capturing, lighting and audio features of the camera, to clear all your doubts. When it comes to the best cameras, there are a few most reliable brands around. Let's compare these brands to find out the winner.
Helmet Camera Comparison
| GoPro HD Hero 960P |
| This is one of the most popular helmet camera. Although small in size, this camera is pretty good to be used as a helmet camera. The 5 megapixel camera comes with an adjustable field of view (54 or 170), good sensor size of 513 x 384, various mounting types, and still photography features. The camera is also useful for clicking still photos. It has got good reviews for color, image and lighting clarity. GoPro HD Hero 960P comes with a lithium battery with the capacity of two hours. The camera has 16 MB internal memory and 2 GB expandable memory with an SD card. The camera is waterproof up to 100 feet underwater. You can connect it to a TV as well as a computer. However, it doesn't come with a remote. The camera gets a poor rating for its sound quality. It is the reason why it is advised that one should check the camera for sound prior to purchase. Average Cost: USD 200 |
| Tachyon XC Micro Helmet Camera |
| This camera comes with two kinds of sensor sizes - 640 x 480 and 320 x 240. The camera also has a good field of view (53), nominal waterproof abilities for up to 10 feet underwater. The camera doesn't have internal memory selection, but you can use expandable memory with SD and SDHC cards up to 32 GB. The camera has connectivity to TVs and computers, and it comes with a USB cord. It is also useful for still photography. The Tachyon XC Micro Helmet Camera has good sound, image and color functions. It also has playback and preview features. The camera comes with a remote control too. Various types of mounts are also included with the camera at the time of purchase. Although it has a good battery life, you may need to test its sound and recording quality prior to the purchase. Average Cost: USD 220 |
| VholdR ContourHD 1080p Camcorder |
| The VholdR ContourHD 1080p Camcorder comes with the best field of view (90) and around 30 frames per second. The camera gets good ratings for its various features like sound, color, image and video capturing quality. Similar to the above mentioned camera models, this camera also comes with various types of mounts that are available with the camera; at the time of the purchase. The camera is not marketed to be waterproof, but it does sustain minor exposure to water. However, the camera doesn't have an internal memory option. Hence, to start recording with this camera, you may first need to purchase a memory card (2 GB SD). Some of the best features of this camera are its mobile lens, laser pointers and slide switch. The camera has connectivity options for a TV and computer, and comes with a USB cord. However, this is one of the expensive cameras. Average Cost: USD 330 |
A few other good cameras that are not described in the above comparisons are,
Oregon Scientific Action Cam ATC5K Camcorder, Drift HD170 Action Camera, Midland XTA-104 Head Band, and VIO POV HD Helmet Camera. Now that you know how to choose the best helmet camera, you may compare various camera models and decide which one is really the best for your needs!
