An odd but pleasant first..

[thelarkbox]

Yet another motorist failed to see me and pulled out of a junction right in front of me this morning, and as usual i mustered a filthy look to throw at the driver as i swerved around the rear of the huge white vehicle while the driver sat shocked in the middle of the rd. .

10-20 minutes later while browsing the shelves in a shop a large chap barrels right upto me giving me a bit of a shock and starts apologizing..
I am at a loss for a Long while until the penny drops, and i put his face to the white car from earlier, surprised i can only mumble something about it being ok and no damage done and look twice next time..

Ive had shocked motorists appologize at the time when they too realize how close 'we' came.. but ive never been chased down or stopped later about it..

In retrospect i really appreciate it.. At the time i thought i was dead with this huge bloke (and im not small) making a b-line for me.. I mean he looked big n angry from a distance and every time i looked up he was closer and starring at me.. one instance of me being totally wrong im very happy about.

 

[flecc]

Yet another motorist failed to see me and pulled out of a junction right in front of me this morning, and as usual i mustered a filthy look to throw at the driver as i swerved around the rear of the huge white vehicle while the driver sat shocked in the middle of the rd. .

10-20 minutes later while browsing the shelves in a shop a large chap barrels right upto me giving me a bit of a shock and starts apologizing..
I am at a loss for a Long while until the penny drops, and i put his face to the white car from earlier, surprised i can only mumble something about it being ok and no damage done and look twice next time..

Ive had shocked motorists appologize at the time when they too realize how close 'we' came.. but ive never been chased down or stopped later about it..

In retrospect i really appreciate it.. At the time i thought i was dead with this huge bloke (and im not small) making a b-line for me.. I mean he looked big n angry from a distance and every time i looked up he was closer and starring at me.. one instance of me being totally wrong im very happy about.

While it was probably just an act of courtesy, many drivers are well aware due to publicity about it that that cyclists are videoing their misdemeanours and sending them to the police.

So it's also possible that his apology was an insurance, hoping to avoid a video with registration number going that way.
.

 

[guerney]

Yet another motorist failed to see me and pulled out of a junction right in front of me this morning, and as usual i mustered a filthy look to throw at the driver as i swerved around the rear of the huge white vehicle while the driver sat shocked in the middle of the rd. .

I got sick of that happening. I mean... despite my being covered from head to toe in hiviz, drivers would look directly at me.... then still pull out in front! But I'm happy to report that doesn't happen anymore because of my three bright headlights, which are on day and night. During the day I keep the one of the left flashing, and the others bright and constant. Left to right: "1800LM", "2400M", Hornit 140db, "1800LM". I have the enemy in my sights




(BTW Not a hill for which my bike requires a granny gear - you can see I'm on 5/8. I'd have been ascending faster, if I wasn't low on battery [no time to charge yesterday]. Effortless pedalling)

 

[thelarkbox]

My headlight while not as powerful since its dynamo driven leds is constantly on and angled at car window height too, not bright enough to dazzle but i want to ensure im noticed..

I had not considered the bike-cam angle, that though sure brought me back to reality .. It was nice living in la-la land for a few hours..

I am out on the ebike more than i used the bike without power, trips that would exhaust me before if attempted are now easily manageable so perhaps i should consider some sort of bike dascam arangement? are there any reasonably functional budget options I am not a candidate for a go-pro set up..




..

 

[guerney]

My headlight while not as powerful since its dynamo driven leds is constantly on and angled at car window height too, not bright enough to dazzle but i want to ensure im noticed..

I angle my light beams down at the road, as I don't want to dazzle drivers either. They do an epic job of lighting potholes at night.

I am out on the ebike more than i used the bike without power, trips that would exhaust me before if attempted are now easily manageable so perhaps i should consider some sort of bike dascam arangement? are there any reasonably functional budget options I am not a candidate for a go-pro set up..

I used a cheapo Crosstour 4k action camera for years. affixed to the chin of my jawguarded helmet, it did a decent job of recording number plates in bright sunlight, but lacked full manual control over shutter speed to remove motion blur (less of a problem in bright daylight especially). It was ok for daytime recording overall. Mounting that to the bike would make it jitter a lot, and it has no Image Stablisation, which is something you need to much pay far more than £40 for if you want a decent implementation. The EIS needs to be very good for mounting directly on the bike, and that rules out even the more expensive cheapos, unfortunately. There's less jitter when the camera is chest or helmet mounted. The Crosstour 4k was utterly useless at night. The GoPro Hero 7 Black's night performance was unknown (Youtube reviewers shoot "cinematic" with "natural" looking motion blur, not clear night video - you never get the best use of any camera unless you use manual settings), so I bought mine secondhand from Cex - traded in a few phones I had lying around, and I'd say this is the minimum spec for night recording of bicycle-blind driver number plates. They're about £170 now, with a 2 year guarantee.

https://uk.webuy.com/product-detail?id=0818279023077b&categoryName=camcorders&superCatName=electronics&title=gopro-hero-7-black-b&referredFrom=search&queryID=33b8fe15fa99cd3435e20b07614c32c4&position=1

I use 1/384s shutter speed these days (I mean nights [also days]), not 1/240s. I let the camera determine ISO in the range 100 to 1600 - that way, I don't have to change camera settings as day turns to darkest inky night. I'm impressed GoPro has built in such DSLR-like manual controls. The camera goes completely mental and produces fantastically unclear and confused video if I allow it to decide night shutter speeds too, so I set that manually. At 1/384, every frame of video has little motion blur (there's more at the edges of the frame), as you can see from my previous post. At this level of blur, number plates are visible. I also have Hypersmooth on and now shoot@1080P/24 - I really must update this video:

 

[thelarkbox]

Food for thought thats for sure, I have been eying the bottom of the market of motorcycle dvr solutions without lcd displays

AS the nights draw in and mornings darken i will be cycling more in the dark, and have making myself visible plans in slow motion for that.

initial thoughts were that something comparable to my just better than vhs quality dascam would do but its total pants at night.. odly enough its great at picking up number plates go figure?
I did consider a PET bottle enclosure and 5v battery bank to use my ol dashcam, but never moved firther with the idea.

Thanks for all the info tho, and £170 while still beyond initial budget expectations isnt the £499+ ive seen previously..

 

[guerney]

initial thoughts were that something comparable to my just better than vhs quality dascam would do but its total pants at night.. odly enough its great at picking up number plates go figure?

Larger sensors and lenses gather more light, those paired with firmware more optimised for the job?

£170 while still beyond initial budget expectations isnt the £499+ ive seen previously..

Yep, new GoPro models are unfeasibly priced (also bigger). Hope you find a cheaper effective and waterproof solution for bicycle use.

 

[Az.]

affixed to the chin of my jawguarded helmet,

Wait... do you wear full face helmet while riding a folder?

 

[guerney]

Wait... do you wear full face helmet while riding a folder?

Top hats are rubbish at protecting jaws faces and teeth:

Dan Walker knocked out cold after being hit by a car & flung from his bike

THIS is the horrifying moment TV’s Dan Walker was hit by a car and flung from his bike, knocking him out for 25 minutes. The bloodied presenter, 45, said he thought he was going to die after the ve…

www.thesun.co.uk

...and I'd like to retain the tusks I have left! I think it's probably just me and @soundwave who use jawguaded helmets on this forum - his are much better than my cheapo. I'm grateful for being talked into getting one by SW and @mt247, because it's saved my jaw at least twice so far, and keeps my ears warm in the winter. Ventilation is good for summer use too. A hi-viz rain cover helps keep winter wind chill out.

 

[guerney]

initial thoughts were that something comparable to my just better than vhs quality dascam would do but its total pants at night.. odly enough its great at picking up number plates go figure?

Daytime is never a problem for the GoPro Hero 7 Black. Every frame's a clear photo, 24 frames per second.





Drivers deflected by the Oxford safety arm on my right handlebar-end:









I can even take a stab at plate ID when they're travelling in the opposite direction.






At night if the plates don't have lights (my bright lights help here), are dirty, passing too far away, too fast and too far away, or deliberately obscured to thwart speed cameras, things can go south... but it's far more effective than not. The Crosstour 4k would use a low shutter speed at night, blurring and overexposing number plates, which is something which can't be changed. The GoPro Hero 7 Black has a good set of manual controls.

(this one's in the rain)

 

[thelarkbox]

Ive been loaned a AKASO EK7000 go-pro rip off which i have just mounted onto my bike. regardless of the video quality its sure looks like the business inside its transparent plastic case mounted on the handlebars. if any good or good enough they cost about £50 so ??? battery life is 20-30 minutes which covers any trips i care to take locally.

I think in have it sussed so when i have some footage to share i shall post it for criticism and told u so's

 

[guerney]

Looking at the manual:

https://www.akasotech.com/imageApi//support/user_manual_pictures/47032_ek7000v2.pdf

...like my Crosstour 4K, there's control over exposure and ISO, but not shutter speed. The Crosstour was mostly ok during the day, but I end up having to cycle quite often at night, which made the GP7HB necessary. On dark overcast days, the Crosstour couldn't record number plates clearly - it would automatically calculate shutter speed and ISO required to produce pleasant looking video, it didn't prioritise for motion blur-free and sharp. I eventually gave up after trying every permutation of setting available. Hope you have better luck with your AKASO EK7000. Here's my chin-mounted Crosstour 4K fearful of being crushed by michelin man:

Thanks for all the info tho, and £170 while still beyond initial budget expectations isnt the £499+ ive seen previously..

£170 plus new "Old stock" genuine GoPro batteries from ebay. Batteries on used Gopros are well shagged out - compatibles can't supply high enough constant current for 4k. If there's a suitable cheap camera which will do the job night and day for cycling, I haven't seen it... but hope to.

 

[thelarkbox]

No doubt i will be out in the evening in the next week or so, and will then be able to check out the footage to see if it captures any useful video.

Its seems a little ironic that just as im about to fit a 12v psu and permanent extra lighting to my bike to replace the rechargeable extra lamps as i find recharging them a bore/chore I add a camera thats even worse with its battery consumption.

 

[guerney]

I've managed to avoid the need for a 36V to 12V converter by installing 12V to 80V lights, connected to my 36V ebike battery. There's one 12V to 24V connected in series with a 12V to 80V. With the colder weather, I may have to finally to buy a converter and an inverter, to connect a 240V electric blanket. Not kidding. Then a beer fridge for summer...

I used to get about 45 minutes from the Crosstour batteries. At 1080P/24 on the GoPro7HB, three batteries last well over four hours, which is long enough for my longer rides. Dual charger connected to a powerbank in my rucksack if required. The Crosstour functions connected to an external power supply via USB, without an internal battery, the Akaso might work like that too.

 

[thelarkbox]

The lighting im planning isn't to increase my vision but to enhance the visibility of my bike to ensure I'm seen.
So only available at specific voltage levels unfortunately.

If the camera is satisfactory??? my expectations could be a wee bit lower than others.. i will buy a new one with hopefully fresher less exhausted batteries, In its waterproof case there is no way to plug in an external psu?

tho no doubt it will fail on some other basis like the waterproof case leaks like a sieve or starts killing memory cards.

Also its bar mounted on a bike with no suspension.. ive done this intentionally to give it the worst conditions from the outset.

 

[guerney]

In its waterproof case there is no way to plug in an external psu?

@matthewslack cut a USB connector for external power into his Gopro 10 or 11 waterproof camera case, AFAIK it's still waterproof.

 

[matthewslack]

@matthewslack cut a USB connector for external power into his Gopro 10 or 11 waterproof camera case, AFAIK it's still waterproof.

No need to cut anything, there is a replaceable battery cover with cable entry hole.

New GoPro 10, 11, 12 recently £299 if you buy a half price subscription at £25. Regular checks for special offers saves that, if you want e.g. extra batteries.

I don't use the cable much, as a batteries worth of miles is 100 minutes or so, and time for a stop!

 

[guerney]

No need to cut anything, there is a replaceable battery cover with cable entry hole.

Aha, I confused you with someone else who did cut into a waterproof case, I recall who it was now, and it wasn't for a Gopro 10 or 11 either.

New GoPro 10, 11, 12 recently £299 if you buy a half price subscription at £25.

In case others don't know: Fortunately the app remote camera controls work for the GPH7B without subscription, after a click past the subscription nag screen (poke a screen area where the nag popup isn't), and there's no need to "Activate" a Gopro7 online before the darn things can function, unlike the Osmo Action and others. I only use the app to sync the clock for time and date, then stopped even doing that - all my video files since are now timestamped 2016.

I don't use the cable much, as a batteries worth of miles is 100 minutes or so, and time for a stop!

Mine still last for more than 80 mins (I think, haven't timed them) @1080/24, two of them do anyway, the third might have become ill with use - saw a Youtube video where they had to superglue pencil ends to batteries to pull the wedged-in bloated ones out of Gopros. Hope it never comes to that, but if it ever does, I'll use superglue+baking soda for a more secure hold.

 

[guerney]

The lighting im planning isn't to increase my vision but to enhance the visibility of my bike to ensure I'm seen.
So only available at specific voltage levels unfortunately.

My lights illuminate the scene at night for the camera, reveal potholes, and are bright enough to make my bike visible to drivers during the day - there's a 1800LM flashing red at the back too, day and night. Might all seem a bit mad, but the ensemble works well.

If the camera is satisfactory??? my expectations could be a wee bit lower than others..

I think even the Crosstour sensor and lens is capable, but it's software isn't. There simply isn't access to manually set shutter speed. It would also help if there was some way to tweak it's software to increase ISO (I don't mind noise, up to a point) and increase shutter speed, which the software automatically sets to produce pleasing looking videos with motion blur at a level we're used to seeing in TV programmes and films with low noise (low ISO). When there's no motion blur (high shutter speed), video looks jerky because every frame is sharp... but that's the sort of video I need as a cyclist when using the Crosstour as a flight recorder, as sharp as possible in every frame day or night, to record number plates. I don't care about high ISO noise, if noise grains don't obscure numberplates. On the Gopro7HB at least, that happens after ISO1600.

The cars in the night frames above are far away, and I've been trying to find images of number plates passing close, but that doesn't happen anymore because of the handlebar mounted Oxford safety arm When it does, that number plate will look larger and clearer.

 

[thelarkbox]

I dont have a 'media' a/c like utube so cant upload the vid snippets.. but its surprisingly good. considering 1) i had it pointed to the left a tad making the footage look like i was bar scratching all the parked cars and heading straight for pedestrians.. all number plates caught full on were easily read. and its a nasty grey day with the camera mounted on my boneshaking handlebars..

Night time resolution however is another thing.. but so far im very pleasantly surprised.

I need to become camera aware pointing the handlebars for the best capture, today at junctions i left the camera pointing away from the possible danger of on coming traffic. and find a forward facing mount position and stick to it..

I totally forgot it after parking outside the supermarket having to abandon my trolley 1/2 way through to rush out and check on the camera and retrieve it if it was still there.. it was, phew..

The battery seemed to last just until i got home with the camera appearing dead and pressing the button started it up? but the last clip ended as i stopped bedside the permanently parked car. ?? perhaps i pressed something with my gloves on without registering?? turning it on the 4 bar battery indicator is on its last bar? and over 40 minutes 8x 5 minute + a couple of shorter videos have been recorded 3 x watching tesco carpark..

I will look into reviving an old flickr a/c if its still free as it is apparently supported and upload some vids when the camera is pointed in better direction and not making me look like a kamakazi cyclist diving to the left.

Anyway any camera is better than no camera lets just keep fingers crossed its a wasted effort
cheers.