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| narsisco_lopez | | Thor |  |  | | Reg. Date | : | 09/09/2010 | | Posts | : | 2,765 | | Location | : | Golden (Showers!), Colorado, United States |
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| | Posted : 17 Apr 2011 - 16:49 Post title : Drift HD170 Stealth Helmet Cam ~ First Test | | | I wanted to be able to do some video while riding during my big road trip this June... not planning on making an award-winning documentary, but a lot of my friends and family have been asking if I was planning on doing some vid while riding.
So, after trying some test vids on the bike with my Canon HD video camera, I wasn't very happy with the shaking and terrible sound quality. I decided to look into a dedicated helmet camera with a 170 degree lens (wide angle) for a better field of view for recording while riding.
I quickly narrowed the choices down to the GoPro Hero HD, the Contour HD, and the Drift HD170.
I ended up with the Drift because of a great deal online, and the fact that there's a small, nice quality external mic available. I still need to play with mounting position and basic recording settings, but overall, this camera delivers great image quality, is waterproof and robust, has a remote control, and is very easy to use.
This is just a first test video shot to see what the external mic sounded like while riding and to get a feel for my helmet movement, etc. Not the best, but I thought I'd share in case anyone else had been considering helmet cams and wanted to see what the video looked like.
I'll post some more video as I have the chance to test various mounting options...
| 2012 Storm (SOLD!)
Other Bikes:
2003 Suzuki DRZ400E (plated - my dual sport/mountain trail/camping bike)
Past Bikes:
2012 K13S
2009 KTM 990 Adventure
2010 Triumph Thunderbird 1600 (the Alien Queen)
2009 Triumph Sprint ST (another great bike!)
2007 Kawasaki ZX10R
2000 Kawasaki ZRX1100
1975 Honda SB550T "Clubman"
1981 Kawasaki KZ1000J
1985 Suzuki GS550E
1978 Yamaha 650 Special
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| Buzzo | | Set | | | Reg. Date | : | 20/01/2010 | | Posts | : | 110 | | Location | : | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
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| | Posted : 17 Apr 2011 - 17:28 Post title : Re: Drift HD170 Stealth Helmet Cam ~ First Test (Re: narsisco_lopez) | | | Thank you , again an excellent review.
I've got exactly the same setup, the Zumo 660, Sena smh10 and the Drift HD stealth. I haven't been able to try the camera because I only received it the day before flying to work. I wasn't sure which way to go between the three cameras but after seeing you clip I'm sure I'll be happy with it. I'm going to mount it to the bars with a Ram mount. I've got a 11 week trip starting in a couple of weeks , that might be just enough time for me to be able to work out how to turn all this stuff on...
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| narsisco_lopez | | Thor | | | | Reg. Date | : | 09/09/2010 | | Posts | : | 2,765 | | Location | : | Golden (Showers!), Colorado, United States |
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| | Posted : 17 Apr 2011 - 17:43 Post title : Re: Drift HD170 Stealth Helmet Cam ~ First Test (Re: Buzzo) | | | Well, if you'll be mounting on the bars with a RAM mount, making sure it's powered up and recording won't be that much of an issue as you'll be able to see the screen. The biggest issue with all three wide angle helmet cameras is knowing for sure that you're recording... well, at least while it's mounted to your helmet. The Drift has the remote and an audible "beep" when the power comes on and a "beep" when recording starts, but if you're riding, the wind noise is way too much for you to be able to hear that beep.
While I like the idea of having it mounted to my helmet so I can turn my head to capture interesting scenery along the road, rapid motions can be disconcerting to the viewer! I need to do some test video with it mounted to the RAM mount and see what it looks like, but I imagine I'll be doing some video from the RAM mount AND some from the helmet as I travel.
As with any travel video, the biggest challenge is always recording interesting footage and then getting it edited into something that includes all the cool stuff you saw on your trip, but isn't so long that it bores your viewers to tears. 
| 2012 Storm (SOLD!)
Other Bikes:
2003 Suzuki DRZ400E (plated - my dual sport/mountain trail/camping bike)
Past Bikes:
2012 K13S
2009 KTM 990 Adventure
2010 Triumph Thunderbird 1600 (the Alien Queen)
2009 Triumph Sprint ST (another great bike!)
2007 Kawasaki ZX10R
2000 Kawasaki ZRX1100
1975 Honda SB550T "Clubman"
1981 Kawasaki KZ1000J
1985 Suzuki GS550E
1978 Yamaha 650 Special
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| Druid | | Jupiter | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 14/10/2009 | | Posts | : | 1,359 | | Location | : | United Kingdom |
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| | Posted : 17 Apr 2011 - 18:34 Post title : Re: Drift HD170 Stealth Helmet Cam ~ First Test (Re: narsisco_lopez) | | | Thats really good I am impressed.
| Socialism is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery - W.Churchill
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| PES | | Chaac | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 03/01/2009 | | Posts | : | 927 | | Location | : | Tulsa, OK, United States |
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| | Posted : 17 Apr 2011 - 19:40 Post title : Re: Drift HD170 Stealth Helmet Cam ~ First Test (Re: Druid) | | | That's pretty good. The only suggestion I have is sometimes I was looking forward to see what was coming and only got a view of the road. Maybe if it was hard mounted you could see further ahead. Good job. 
| "Four wheels move the body. Two wheels move the soul."-author unknown
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| AlainD | | Set | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 16/12/2010 | | Posts | : | 164 | | Location | : | Nice, France |
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| | Posted : 17 Apr 2011 - 19:47 Post title : Re: Drift HD170 Stealth Helmet Cam ~ First Test (Re: narsisco_lopez) | | | That is a cool thing
I am anxious to watch when you'll have compiled Gigabytes of your road trip
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| narsisco_lopez | | Thor | | | | Reg. Date | : | 09/09/2010 | | Posts | : | 2,765 | | Location | : | Golden (Showers!), Colorado, United States |
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| | Posted : 17 Apr 2011 - 20:29 Post title : Re: Drift HD170 Stealth Helmet Cam ~ First Test (Re: PES) | | |
PES wrote:
That's pretty good. The only suggestion I have is sometimes I was looking forward to see what was coming and only got a view of the road. Maybe if it was hard mounted you could see further ahead. Good job. |
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Yeah, I'd forgot to mention that I've already repositioned the velcro on the top of my helmet to be able to angle the camera up a bit in order to show more of the road ahead. I really like being able to turn my head to pick up stuff that's NOT in front of the bike, but since I have 2 other mounting options on the bike (the RAM mount shown in the video and the suction mount that was included with the kit from Pointofviewcameras.com ~ the MegaPack kit), I'm sure I'll be moving the camera around a lot for some different shots. The suction cup mount has a pretty good range of motion, so should give me lots of positioning options.
This camera also has a rotating lens so you can adjust the horizontal lens position to compensate for any strange angle you happen to have the camera mounted.
Below are some photos of the various mounting options I've got...
| 2012 Storm (SOLD!)
Other Bikes:
2003 Suzuki DRZ400E (plated - my dual sport/mountain trail/camping bike)
Past Bikes:
2012 K13S
2009 KTM 990 Adventure
2010 Triumph Thunderbird 1600 (the Alien Queen)
2009 Triumph Sprint ST (another great bike!)
2007 Kawasaki ZX10R
2000 Kawasaki ZRX1100
1975 Honda SB550T "Clubman"
1981 Kawasaki KZ1000J
1985 Suzuki GS550E
1978 Yamaha 650 Special
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| PES | | Chaac | | | | Reg. Date | : | 03/01/2009 | | Posts | : | 927 | | Location | : | Tulsa, OK, United States |
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| | Posted : 18 Apr 2011 - 01:35 Post title : Re: Drift HD170 Stealth Helmet Cam ~ First Test (Re: narsisco_lopez) | | | Totally awesome. Now you can make your own bike-umentary.
| "Four wheels move the body. Two wheels move the soul."-author unknown
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| daz | | Zeus | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 12/05/2009 | | Posts | : | 7,709 | | Location | : | United States |
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| | Posted : 18 Apr 2011 - 02:33 Post title : Re: Drift HD170 Stealth Helmet Cam ~ First Test (Re: narsisco_lopez) | | | Sound is great. View as was said needs to come up a bit. Theres also one thats really cheap. Something like $15 on ebay which someone on another forum tested and it was surprisingly good for the $. Like to try this myself, tho i'd only be making one good video and then i'd liely have no use for it after that. I just think it would be nice to have a long video of my fav mounttin road while pushing it hard.
| 2010 Blue/White Thunderbird, "Brutus". 1700 kit, short tors, gutted cat, UNI filter, filter seal off, custom tune. Brutus in his native habitat: Link
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| Ninox_s | | Chaac | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 18/08/2010 | | Posts | : | 755 | | Location | : | Naracoorte, South Australia, Australia |
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| | Posted : 18 Apr 2011 - 06:58 Post title : Re: Drift HD170 Stealth Helmet Cam ~ First Test (Re: narsisco_lopez) | | | Thanks Narsisco
One more of your fantastic contributions to the forum.
Thanks
| I'm Incredible! Believe Me!!
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| Truss | | Set | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 17/10/2009 | | Posts | : | 146 | | Location | : | Canada |
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| | Posted : 18 Apr 2011 - 14:31 Post title : Re: Drift HD170 Stealth Helmet Cam ~ First Test (Re: Ninox_s) | | | Nice job Narsisco!
Great audio. Most of the other motorcycle clips I have seen have terrible audio but yours is really good.
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| narsisco_lopez | | Thor | | | | Reg. Date | : | 09/09/2010 | | Posts | : | 2,765 | | Location | : | Golden (Showers!), Colorado, United States |
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| | Posted : 18 Apr 2011 - 15:26 Post title : Re: Drift HD170 Stealth Helmet Cam ~ First Test (Re: Truss) | | |
Truss wrote:
Nice job Narsisco!
Great audio. Most of the other motorcycle clips I have seen have terrible audio but yours is really good. |
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Well, it must be that Drift external mic and having it inside my helmet. I haven't done a test with the the camera mounted to the bike and using the regular mic... will try to do one today if I have the time.
| 2012 Storm (SOLD!)
Other Bikes:
2003 Suzuki DRZ400E (plated - my dual sport/mountain trail/camping bike)
Past Bikes:
2012 K13S
2009 KTM 990 Adventure
2010 Triumph Thunderbird 1600 (the Alien Queen)
2009 Triumph Sprint ST (another great bike!)
2007 Kawasaki ZX10R
2000 Kawasaki ZRX1100
1975 Honda SB550T "Clubman"
1981 Kawasaki KZ1000J
1985 Suzuki GS550E
1978 Yamaha 650 Special
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| motodobe | | Set | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 01/04/2011 | | Posts | : | 156 | | Location | : | Seattle, WA, United States |
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| | Posted : 18 Apr 2011 - 16:06 Post title : Re: Drift HD170 Stealth Helmet Cam ~ First Test (Re: narsisco_lopez) | | | The audio IS indeed much better than average. Of course a little Led Zeppelin in the background wouldn't hurt either!
| T'birds of a feather, flock together.
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| narsisco_lopez | | Thor | | | | Reg. Date | : | 09/09/2010 | | Posts | : | 2,765 | | Location | : | Golden (Showers!), Colorado, United States |
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| | Posted : 18 Apr 2011 - 16:09 Post title : Re: Drift HD170 Stealth Helmet Cam ~ First Test (Re: motodobe) | | |
motodobe wrote:
The audio IS indeed much better than average. Of course a little Led Zeppelin in the background wouldn't hurt either! |
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Point taken... I'll try to include some while in Post-Production/Edit
| 2012 Storm (SOLD!)
Other Bikes:
2003 Suzuki DRZ400E (plated - my dual sport/mountain trail/camping bike)
Past Bikes:
2012 K13S
2009 KTM 990 Adventure
2010 Triumph Thunderbird 1600 (the Alien Queen)
2009 Triumph Sprint ST (another great bike!)
2007 Kawasaki ZX10R
2000 Kawasaki ZRX1100
1975 Honda SB550T "Clubman"
1981 Kawasaki KZ1000J
1985 Suzuki GS550E
1978 Yamaha 650 Special
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| Theazrp | | Set | | | Reg. Date | : | 14/10/2010 | | Posts | : | 111 | | Location | : | Gold Canyon, Arizona, United States |
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| | Posted : 18 Apr 2011 - 18:54 Post title : Re: Drift HD170 Stealth Helmet Cam ~ First Test (Re: narsisco_lopez) | | | Excellent work once again Narcisco. I'm looking forward to some videos taken with different mountings and then some videos of that fantastic trip you have coming up. Thanks for the armchair views.
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| mat1600 | | Thunderbird | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 06/03/2010 | | Posts | : | 8,596 | | Location | : | Bridlington, Democratic Independant State of Yorkshire, United Kingdom |
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| | Posted : 18 Apr 2011 - 21:57 Post title : Re: Drift HD170 Stealth Helmet Cam ~ First Test (Re: Theazrp) | | |
Theazrp wrote:
Excellent work once again Narcisco. I'm looking forward to some videos taken with different mountings and then some videos of that fantastic trip you have coming up. Thanks for the armchair views. |
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Yes same here. They had better be good Dave, or were not going to talk to you .
| My first natural instinct is to breathe. My second is to evade tax's.
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| narsisco_lopez | | Thor | | | | Reg. Date | : | 09/09/2010 | | Posts | : | 2,765 | | Location | : | Golden (Showers!), Colorado, United States |
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| | Posted : 18 Apr 2011 - 22:06 Post title : Re: Drift HD170 Stealth Helmet Cam ~ First Test (Re: mat1600) | | |
mat1600 wrote:
Theazrp wrote:
Excellent work once again Narcisco. I'm looking forward to some videos taken with different mountings and then some videos of that fantastic trip you have coming up. Thanks for the armchair views. |
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Yes same here. They had better be good Dave, or were not going to talk to you . |
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Man... the pressure is REALLY on, now!
| 2012 Storm (SOLD!)
Other Bikes:
2003 Suzuki DRZ400E (plated - my dual sport/mountain trail/camping bike)
Past Bikes:
2012 K13S
2009 KTM 990 Adventure
2010 Triumph Thunderbird 1600 (the Alien Queen)
2009 Triumph Sprint ST (another great bike!)
2007 Kawasaki ZX10R
2000 Kawasaki ZRX1100
1975 Honda SB550T "Clubman"
1981 Kawasaki KZ1000J
1985 Suzuki GS550E
1978 Yamaha 650 Special
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| mat1600 | | Thunderbird | | | | Reg. Date | : | 06/03/2010 | | Posts | : | 8,596 | | Location | : | Bridlington, Democratic Independant State of Yorkshire, United Kingdom |
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| | Posted : 18 Apr 2011 - 22:21 Post title : Re: Drift HD170 Stealth Helmet Cam ~ First Test (Re: narsisco_lopez) | | |
narsisco_lopez wrote:
mat1600 wrote:
Theazrp wrote:
Excellent work once again Narcisco. I'm looking forward to some videos taken with different mountings and then some videos of that fantastic trip you have coming up. Thanks for the armchair views. |
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Yes same here. They had better be good Dave, or were not going to talk to you . |
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Man... the pressure is REALLY on, now! |
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Fcuking right its on. I'm waiting for a Hollywood style blockbuster - action shots - dust - sunsets - Led zep, casual Pink floyd flowing jams as you cruise along the desert. You had better deliver buddy. You have promised us.
| My first natural instinct is to breathe. My second is to evade tax's.
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| narsisco_lopez | | Thor | | | | Reg. Date | : | 09/09/2010 | | Posts | : | 2,765 | | Location | : | Golden (Showers!), Colorado, United States |
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| | Posted : 18 Apr 2011 - 22:26 Post title : Re: Drift HD170 Stealth Helmet Cam ~ First Test (Re: mat1600) | | |
mat1600 wrote:
narsisco_lopez wrote:
mat1600 wrote:
Theazrp wrote:
Excellent work once again Narcisco. I'm looking forward to some videos taken with different mountings and then some videos of that fantastic trip you have coming up. Thanks for the armchair views. |
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Yes same here. They had better be good Dave, or were not going to talk to you . |
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Man... the pressure is REALLY on, now! |
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Fcuking right its on. I'm waiting for a Hollywood style blockbuster - action shots - dust - sunsets - Led zep, casual Pink floyd flowing jams as you cruise along the desert. You had better deliver buddy. You have promised us. |
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Sure... and I'll invite you to the gala when it debuts at Cannes... circa 2020!
| 2012 Storm (SOLD!)
Other Bikes:
2003 Suzuki DRZ400E (plated - my dual sport/mountain trail/camping bike)
Past Bikes:
2012 K13S
2009 KTM 990 Adventure
2010 Triumph Thunderbird 1600 (the Alien Queen)
2009 Triumph Sprint ST (another great bike!)
2007 Kawasaki ZX10R
2000 Kawasaki ZRX1100
1975 Honda SB550T "Clubman"
1981 Kawasaki KZ1000J
1985 Suzuki GS550E
1978 Yamaha 650 Special
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| mat1600 | | Thunderbird | | | | Reg. Date | : | 06/03/2010 | | Posts | : | 8,596 | | Location | : | Bridlington, Democratic Independant State of Yorkshire, United Kingdom |
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| | Posted : 18 Apr 2011 - 22:33 Post title : Re: Drift HD170 Stealth Helmet Cam ~ First Test (Re: narsisco_lopez) | | | Great - I'll get you a beer.
| My first natural instinct is to breathe. My second is to evade tax's.
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| lioneloxford | | Set | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 01/04/2011 | | Posts | : | 231 | | Location | : | Oxfordshire, United Kingdom |
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| | Posted : 19 Apr 2011 - 08:55 Post title : Re: Drift HD170 Stealth Helmet Cam ~ First Test (Re: mat1600) | | | Yesterday I was trawling YouTube for bike trips around Scottish Highlands.
One guy mounted his microphone over the engine, no wind noise no irritating music.
It added a lot of atmosphere to the film, hearing the engine noise and gear changes.
Look forward to your next posts.
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| Birdy68 | | Thor | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 16/07/2009 | | Posts | : | 3,352 | | Location | : | Bad Zurzach, Aargau, Switzerland |
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| | Posted : 29 Apr 2011 - 19:52 Post title : Re: Drift HD170 Stealth Helmet Cam ~ First Test (Re: Ninox_s) | | |
Ninox_s wrote:
Thanks Narsisco
One more of your fantastic contributions to the forum.
Thanks
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+1 
Thanks NL - Brilliant stuff - keep 'em coming.
| Birdy68
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Leave the pork pies for now - get the sausage rolls while they're hot!
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more info at Fuelly.com
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