Electronic rear view mirror?

[kitchenman]

Just having a look through past threads and spotted this one, thought I'd chime in about the Archos AV500 stuff.

I've owned an AV500 for years, along with the camera attachment.
Here's a couple of videos I took years ago with the AV500+camera attached to the forks of my Urban Mover:
Archos Bullet Cam Day - YouTube
Archos Bullet Cam Night - YouTube

The digital mini-cam is actually a Sony HAD 420 line CCD 1/4" sensor, the Archos records video at 640x480 max resolution, at 25fps (PAL) or 29.97fps (NTSC). The lens on the camera can be replaced so you can have a wide angle picture (1.8mm = 180 degrees, 2.5mm = 120 degrees, 3.6mm is the standard that comes with most cameras).
The AV500 is a very nice device, if a little old now, one major downside is that the harddrive is locked in, it is possible to physically replace it with the right tools but the firmware refuses to use another drive, so don't buy one with a borked drive in the hopes of simply putting a new drive in and make sure you never drop it.


One aspect almost everyone overlooks when buying a mini DVR with internal/external camera setup is the type of camera pickup being used, if it's CCD then you're looking at a global shutter (good) but CMOS and you're more likely looking at a rolling shutter (bad). Don't know the difference? Have a look at this:
CCD/CMOS-
And when you're recording from a vehicle with a rolling shutter CMOS camera you may end up with footage looking like it was shot through a jelly:
CMOS Vs CCD Rolling Shutter Effect + Jello Effect Kawasaki ZX-11 - YouTube

Nice contribution. I've got a Archos 404 which I've tested with a big camcorder. Just need to get a bullet cam like yours. Good stuff. Have you got a photo of your mount?

 

[kitchenman]

Wanted to get my cams hooked up to my new ride and came up with this "side table" idea where I've lashed a tripod to a pannier rack mounted on the side. Tested it this morning and it worked fine and even survived the crash. I'd like to have it a bit higher and to the front and will experiment more when my bike is up and running again. Here it is:

 

[morphix]

Wanted to get my cams hooked up to my new ride and came up with this "side table" idea where I've lashed a tripod to a pannier rack mounted on the side. Tested it this morning and it worked fine and even survived the crash. I'd like to have it a bit higher and to the front and will experiment more when my bike is up and running again. Here it is:
View attachment 2838
View attachment 2840
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Very creative Alan! I haven't made any further progress on my rear view mirror... two reasons really.. firstly I've sort of grown accustomed to my regular mirror..it's a pain in the ass the way it keeps moving all the time, but I just re-adjust it and have gotten used to it now. The other reason is because now it's getting darker I'm now wondering just how practical/safe an electronic rear view mirror with a camera is.. perhaps it would be difficult to see traffic very well on the screen unless you had night vision camera.. something I hadn't thought about in the summer when I came up with the idea!

 

[kitchenman]

Thanks Morphix. Yes. I agree it is not as useful in the dark. Although if I get one of those 1600 lumen torches it would be a different story! ...

 

[hugh burden]

Try the Busch and Muller Cycle Star Mirror - Long Curved Stem

£16.09 from Dotbike. Mirrorsdotbikecycle accessoriesmirrorsvisibilityUnbeatable range of Cycle Mirrors including Busch and Muller Mirrors from Dotbike on-line cycling shop. Free Delivery UK Mainland and Worldwide shipping. Excellent Service assured.c105_250.jpg

I have one on `Dutch' handlebars. The mirror is small and fairly free from wind shake and vibration. Much better than a big Raleigh I had previously - that did move like a flag in a breeze.

Couldn't find dotbike but £20 on Amazon for long arm, end handlebar fixing