HD Helmet Camera
 

What is the best buy for a buck? Can be 720p, but must produce decent picture and be Final Cut compatible. Thanks for suggestions!

What sports/activities do you want to shoot, how small do you need the camera to be, and what are your requirements for video quality? If you can deal with something handycam sized mounted on a helmet, there are lots of relatively inexpensive options that will do a decent job. If you want something really small or if you want to ensure that there are no compression artifacts due to large amounts of motion in the frame, things get very expensive very fast.

Check out some of the stuff i do here, mostly on water video footage with POV cams.
Just getting into HD now as they become affordable and available. Lot's of info on mounts and testing, check the categories.

Rambos Locker Outrigger Canoe Blog: New GoPro HD Cam – High Def @ 1080p

Cheers Rambo

It has to be small, the quality is an issue, but not as much. It will be used for filming on alpine climbs (Patagonia, Pakistan and so)- guy is a real hard core, but wants to enhance his still for slideshows with footage. Palmcorder is too heavy, so are the other options. I just wanted to see about something like this: VholdR | ContourHD Wearable Camcorder | 1200 | B&H Photo Video . Sony is too $$$$. V.I.O. | POV.1.5 Digital Helmet Camera System | POV150 | B&H is only 480.
BTW it won't be a fast moving action shots. Thanks

If it's cold conditions he will also need to consider the type of batteries the units will take. Only Lithium's will work in very cold areas. Water and dust proof may be another consideration, most POV cams are water resistant only. The GoPro is the only one i know of enclosed in a small lightweight waterproof case (too 100ft). There are mount options for head, chest, pole, suction, clip-on etc. Wide angle is GoPro is 170 degrees, perfect for HeadCam footage.

Size is smaller than a mobile phone.

Cheers Rambo

I checked the page, but did not see the specs for this camera (size and weight). It sounds like a good unit, but also I could not find it in stock yet at any retailer. Any info on that? Thanks

Hi Robert,

Waterproof: rated to 100 feet/30 meters

Dimensions: 1.75" x 2.30" x 1.25" or 4.45cm x 5.84cm x 3.18cm (H x W x D)

Weight: 4.9 oz or 139g
Rugged and reliable and expendable, i have 15 of the SD models all still working after getting a hard time, some modified with radio control and long delay timers.

Highly recommend them.

HD Available Sept 2009
SD Available now
GoPro - Wearable Digital Cameras for Sports

Cheers Rambo

Just ordered the GoPro HD version. Supposed to ship next week.

Plan on trying it for mountain biking.

What is the format this camera (gopro) recording in?

Lots of Gopro help and info in this GoPro forum
http://goprouser.freeforums.org

If it comes before Christmas, santa would like to see some footage if you have time to post it.

GoPro Hero records in AVI format using the "Sony Motion JPEG" codec. Here's some footage from the one and only day I used it:

http://s94261448.onlinehome.us/video/GoProSample.wmv

BTW, I have it up for sale in the Classifieds forum.

GoPro - do your homework
 

Thought I should add my initial experiences with purchasing a GoPro HD camera. I purchased the unit through B&H Photo and the camera arrived quickly thanks to the great service from B&H.
I asked GoPro before the camera arrived are there any issues with SD cards and specifically about card ratings as the camera ships without a card and I wanted to have a card ready to go with the camera. There response to me was that they sell Kingston cards and that they hadn't had a problem with these cards. Not a complete answer in hindsight.
My camera arrived and it wouldn't record video only still images. I went back to GoPro for help and they told me they are experiencing compatability problems with some cards and here is some of the response:

"We are currently working on doing a full listing of recommended (and not recommended) cards. We are researching further to determine why some cards are not adhering to the spec to which our SD card host adapter conforms. For what it's worth, internally we use Kingston or Patriot brand cards: 16GB, Class 4 without issue, so can safely recommend those."

It would have been nice to hear this on my initial contact so I could have had an appropriate card. I'm currently awaiting a new Kingston card to see if this is in fact the problem with my camera. I'll post my results soon.
Hoping the camera will live up to my expectations.

Jon, Just about any 16Gb class 6 name brand SDHC card is compatible except for SanDisc brand. Steer clear of any Chinese eBay cards, most are not class 6 and don't meet SDHC standards.

Cheers Rambo

Thanks Rambo,

I have a 16gb SD Kingston class 4 on the way as GoPro have advised but I'll keep your advice in mind if I continue to have the problem. Seems like they have a firmware issue with the cameras that may be able to be upgraded at some point hopefully.

Cheers,
John