For my work I did a hunt for some helmet cams and had this one recommended to me by a SF acquaintance. After some research it was clear this kit comes with the most rowdy camera shell available. Most things I needed came with the kit except I had to get a camcorder in which I ended up with an el cheapo Sony HC-30 since it was small and I didn't care it lacked manual features since it was going to be a helmet cam recording slut. I also had to get the LANC external on/off button separately.
I'll note I did not get a warning there are different versions of this damn thing and apparently I was supposed to have omnisciently asked for the latest version even tho I got a camcorder recommended by helmetcamera.com. End Result since I have the old version: I can pause/record easy, but if I use the full on/off feature I have to open up my pouch and reset my camcorder to AUX mode. I'd be less bitter if the piece wasn't $60. Moving on to the actual camera, the picture is overall nice and similar to a camcorder in quality. There is no zoom, but one can use/install different lenses (90 degree field of view lens comes by default). It certainly isn't a low-light cam, but given that, it does tolerable captures in low-light. As far as durability, the screw on connection is nice and secure. The only time I get digital hickups in footage is from jolts my camcorder can't handle and not the helmet cam itself. To help that I made a custom padded pouch as displayed in the pics. A problem related, but not with the helmet cam package itself, is the AV inputs on small camcorders. The trend lately is to have some wacky port that you stick another wacky wire in to allow you to have A/V inputs. This causes not only more wires to worry about, but usually stick out in a not so durable way out of the camcorder. The kit comes with some heavy duty 3M mushroom snap strips, but I chose to velcro the cam shell out instead. I still need to play around with securing the wire that ends up hanging off the back of my helmet, but it appears even the latest Landwarrior kit hasn't done much with this problem. The tiny high-gain mic that comes with the kit is actually pretty decent. I added some foam I stole off a janky PC headset to help with wind, but high winds are still a sound issue. Despite being durable and low profile, I wish there was an easier system to adjust the camera rotation in the mount when going from different helmet mounting positions. One must use a small hex tool which is hard to use when the cam+helmet is on my head. Unfortunately, that is where you need it to see results and adjust. I've almost lost the lil hex tool at least 3 times now. Although it would protrude more, a simple thumb screw would be a possible solution. When all is said and done, for $360 this is a solid package. Other packs such as the one from Viotac are $330 and don't come with a super camera shell. Now onto the entertainment!
<www.helmetcamera.com>
Demo 1: Running around like a jackass (side mount) <demo1 wmv>
Demo 2: shootn' boomsticks on the range, please only DL if very interested, its a big file! (top mounted due to goggles) <demo2 wmv>
