How many times have you been out riding your motorcycle through some gorgeous canyon or over some spectacular mountain road and seen the most perfect photograph waiting to be shot. Only problem is, there's nowhere to stop, or by the time you decide you want that shot you've gone too far past, realistically, to get it.
Well, for many riders, this problem has been solved. Nowadays you can get amazingly good video cameras to attach to your bike or to your helmet for amazingly reasonable prices. With the holidays coming up, it might be just the item for your favorite motorcyclist.
Motorcycle racers are way out in front on this one. Drop by your local motocross track any day and you'll see most of the dirtbikers with stems growing out of the top of their heads, with cameras mounted on top. In addition to reliving the ride, recording it helps them learn what they're doing right, as well as wrong, and improve their game.
But more and more, touring riders are mounting the cameras as well. With high-definition technology, you can now get that great shot just by looking at it, provided your camera is mounted on top of your helmet and is turned on.
Here is a sampling of what's available in the marketplace.
GoPro -- GoPro is probably the leader in the powersports market for helmet cams. For $300 the HD Hero2 Motorsports Edition comes with a waterproof housing, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, a variety of mounting hardware, and other parts. The camera is an 11 megapixel model and provides a 170-degree view that has a bit of a fisheye effect. It shoots at a rate of 10 frames per second (fps).
V.I.O. Inc. -- The V.I.O. POV.HD, rather than a squarish camera, is essentially a free-standing lense, a tube, connected by cable to the recording unit. Priced around $499, it records at up to 60 fps with 1080 x 720 resolution. It is shock-resistant, water-resistant, and dustproof. It runs on four AA batteries. Operation is via a wireless remote.
Contour -- The ContourROAM ($199) is sort of a melding of the first two, a tubular design but self-contained. It is waterproof to one meter. The angle of view is 170 degrees with three video resolutions: 720p, 960p, and 1080p. Alternatively, it shoots 5 megapixel stills. There are a variety of mounting options.
Those are just a few of the cameras available. A simple search will turn up more. And they're just going to keep getting better and cheaper. Some day you're probably going to own one.
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