Nigel
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2014
- Messages
- 16,804
- Reaction score
- 8,773
- Location
- Wales
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Dash Cam
- Gitup F1+G3ꞈꞈꞈꞈꞈ Viofo A229ꞈꞈꞈꞈꞈ Blueskysea B4K
The Viofo MT1 is a Dual Motorcycle Dashcam, so I installed it on my bicycle, excellent results, but a few issues to note:
This video has 4 clips:
I've tried a number of mounts, they all vibrate to some extent, aluminium is useless, the thicker the aluminium the slower it resonates and the more visible the problems. Plastic Gopro mounts are surprisingly good, but I ended up making my own from carbon fibre, at 6mm thick you can hit it with a hammer and not see the image move!
Rear camera (started with an aluminium mount like on the reflector, but that had visible vibration):
(orange cables are the lights)
Microphone and remote control (if you don't want wind noise, then you do want a fluffy wind shield):
Front camera, the mount can't come off the front of the frame due to the brake cable which rotates with the steering, the camera cable should follow the mount (not finished yet):
Frame grab:
- The MT1 runs on 12 volts, 9 volts minimum, not sure what the maximum is, but probably over 24 since most hardwire kits work with 24 volt truck batteries (needs checking when the specification is available). If like me, you want to run it from a USB power bank then you need a USB to 12 volt converter, or use a USB PD power bank and connect through a voltage negotiator such as the ZY12PDN - http://budgetlightforum.com/node/69061. I run mine at 9 volts from a USB PD power bank because that should be the most efficient, better to have the power bank output close to the correct voltage.
- There is no EIS stabilisation, so you need a good mount, but of course even with EIS a good mount will give a better image, and if you have a good enough mount then you don't really need EIS.
- The cables are a bit long, and the excess takes up storage space, which I don't have a lot of. Of course it is better to be too long than too short, but it might be nice to have a short cable version for bicycles.
- Discrete compared to a teletubbie action cam on your helmet!
- Permanent install, just plug the power bank in.
- Properly waterproof, or at least rain proof, even the power connector, although not my power bank. (Keep the SD card slot pointing downwards unless it is under cover.)
- Good audio quality, certainly compared to an action camera in a waterproof case.
- Good video quality, the IMX291 is good in the dark, has good dynamic range for the shadows, and low motion blur. Only 1080 resolution, but do you really need more from bicycle video?
This video has 4 clips:
- Slow speed and stopped with rear view picture in picture.
- Riding over cobbles, stabilised on the computer using ffmpeg, produces a nice result, don't want it too floaty but the centre is steady, just some rolling shutter distortion at the top and bottom that makes it look realistic.
- Faster speed on smooth cycletrack, with a lot of traffic in the coronavirus lockdown!
- Timelapse, the front view is stabilised using ffmpeg because my steering is not smooth at 5x speed, rear view is not stabilised.
I've tried a number of mounts, they all vibrate to some extent, aluminium is useless, the thicker the aluminium the slower it resonates and the more visible the problems. Plastic Gopro mounts are surprisingly good, but I ended up making my own from carbon fibre, at 6mm thick you can hit it with a hammer and not see the image move!
Rear camera (started with an aluminium mount like on the reflector, but that had visible vibration):
(orange cables are the lights)
Microphone and remote control (if you don't want wind noise, then you do want a fluffy wind shield):
Front camera, the mount can't come off the front of the frame due to the brake cable which rotates with the steering, the camera cable should follow the mount (not finished yet):
Frame grab: