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TECH NEWS: FILMING FROM THE SADDLE
Road Bike Action
August 9, 2011
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Braggadocio is a long-established ritual among cyclists, and, until now, riders were free to share tales of hard-won sprints, epic climbs and bike handling bravado with nary a rival to protest otherwise. But now, taking a cue from various action sports athletes, cyclists are utilizing video cameras to record and preserve their exploits—perfect for validating bragging rights or simply sharing route information.
GoPro has been the reigning king of the action camera world, but now a new contender is stepping up with a radically different design that they hope will best meet the needs of roadies.
GOPRO HD
In recent years, GoPro has become the undisputed king of the miniature, self-contained camera realm. Their products have proven durable enough for such sports as skiing, mountain biking and even surfing, while still providing high-definition video results. But, big performance requires big features. So is the hefty camera that was made popular by motorsports athletes the best choice for weight-conscious cyclists?
THE TECH
With three available resolutions, including high-definition 1080p (30fps), 960p (30fps) and 720p (60fps), the GoPro provides impeccable picture quality. The fixed-focus lens features a f/2.8 aperture, as well as a “fisheye” style outer cover, which provides a 127- degree angle of view in 1080p mode, and a 170-degree wide angle in the other two resolutions. The GoPro also features a still-camera mode capable of shooting 5-megapixel photos at 2-, 5-, 10-, 30- or 60-second intervals courtesy of an automatic setting. A built-in microphone adds sound to the video modes, which are automatically formatted to an MPEG4 setting and compatible with both Windows and Mac computers.
GoPro provides a variety of camera packages, each with a different set of mounting brackets, straps and accessories.
For cycling purposes, we recommend the “Helmet Hero” package. It retails for $299.99 and includes a generous amount of 3M adhesive mounts for placement on your bike, as well as two different styles of elastic helmet straps and several adjustable “pivot adapters” that allow you to attain the perfect camera angle on any ride. The bundle also includes GoPro’s waterproof housing, a lithium-ion rechargeable battery and charger, a USB cable, component and composite video cables, and a one-year warranty. For an even greater variety of mounting options, we also recommend the handlebar/seatpost clamp which sells for $19.99 or the sports bra-like chest strap for $39.99.
THE RIDE
Inside the housing, which is mandatory (as that’s where all mounting brackets attach to), the GoPro is roughly the size of a bar of soap. The Helmet Hero’s helmet straps get the job done, but were designed more for the full-face helmet wearing mountain bike crowd.
Mounting the GoPro with the supplied 3M adhesive is a better bet for the highly vented lids of road cyclists; but no matter what, you will notice the extra 200 grams on top of your head during longer rides. Although it’s almost like wearing two helmets at once, the GoPro provides a fantastic first-person point-of-view perspective of your ride and captures everything the way you experienced it. Another mounting option is the optional chest strap, which proved surprisingly comfortable and adaptable to a variety of body types and figures. If you plan on wearing the GoPro, this is definitely the most comfortable option. Most riders will want to mount the GoPro to the bicycle itself, thus producing truly unique camera angles and perspectives that would otherwise be unattainable. Popular mounting locations among test riders were on the handlebar or seatpost with the optional clamp, as well as on the sides of bulky head tubes, forks and even chainstays.
Battery life averaged about 1.5 hours of total run time in our tests, and the GoPro is easy to operate with a two button interface. One button, located on the front of the camera, allows you to choose between the various video and photo-shooting modes and serves as the power button. The second button, located on top of the camera, starts and stops the recording process.
Viewing your photos and videos is a cinch thanks to the automatic upload feature to your computer. Simply remove the camera from its waterproof housing, connect it to your computer using the supplied USB cable, and you’ll be able to automatically save your work to your computer’s hard drive. Still photos are of nice quality, on par with most photos taken with current smartphones at 5 megapixels. But, the GoPro’s high-definition videos are its trademark feature and biggest selling point, with a clear, steady picture on hand even during fast-moving action.
REPLAY XD
RePlay XD launched its first action sports camera in 2010, and it hasn’t looked back since. Seeking to combine the benefits of high-definition video and a lightweight, easy-to-use camera body
RePlay XD’s unique design seems ideal for cyclists. With two new models set to debut sometime early this summer, RePlay XD’s currently available entry level model may be the company’s only
current offering, but we were pleased to test it out.
THE TECH
The minimalist RePlay XD camera has one resolution, 640 x 480, and it records at 30fps. The cylindrical, waterproof camera body is 2.75 inches long with a diameter of just under 1 inch-and it features a two-button interface with one button turning the camera on and the other turning the camera off. The flat fixed-focus lens has a field of view of 61 degrees, and two data ports are hidden beneath a screw-on cap: a micro-USB slot for a plug-in cable and a microSDHC slot for
minute memory cards.
The $189.99 bundle includes the camera itself, a 4GB microSDHC memory card and microSD adapter, USB cable, charging adapters for both home wall outlets and car power outlets, two mounting brackets, and a handy carrying case. This is a nice inclusion as it’s ideal for keeping all of the various parts of the RePlay XD system in one place. One of the mounting brackets is a “clip-on” type, featuring a tilt angle of 63 degrees, and is intended to be quickly attached to a helmet visor or other thin piece of equipment. The other mounting bracket utilizes 3M Dual Lock tape, which is an all-plastic hook-and-loop-style adhesive, and features a lockable swivel with 360 degrees of rotation.
THE RIDE
Every test rider who first held the RePlay XD asked the same question: “This is the camera?!” The camera itself is only slightly larger than a tube of lip balm and, even when attached to either of the two mounting brackets, easily fits into the palms of most testers’ hands. The “clip-on” mounting bracket was largely unused as it proved difficult to securely mount to any portion of a bicycle. And, when attached to clothing or other gear, many users felt pangs of anxiety that the camera would fall off mid-ride.
The other mounting bracket, however, utilized 3M Dual Lock tape and secured the camera to helmets, frame tubes, forks and the like with ease. With several strips of 3M Dual Lock included in the bundle, the RePlay XD was easy to move from one mounting location to another, allowing for various shooting positions over the course of a single ride. The 360 degrees of rotation is also noteworthy, enabling users to attain nearly any viewing angle that they can imagine.
Operating the RePlay XD is also a snap, thanks to the simplistic two-button interface. One button is for “on” and the other is for “off”—it doesn’t get easier than that. Pressing either button also engages a vibration function, which informs you that your button mashing worked properly without you having to look into the lens for the typical red recording dot (though it is there, for your convenience). Uploading video results to your PC or Mac is also simple—utilizing either the supplied USB cable or microSD card adapter, files are automatically converted to MPEG4 format.
Where the RePlay XD fails to impress is in the quality of its videos. Combined with a fixed 30 frames per second, the RePlay XD’s 640 x 480 resolution often yields choppy video results. Also, because the field of view is only 61 degrees, you need to ensure that the camera is aiming at precisely what you hope to capture—lest you discover after a ride that your camera angle produced an undesired result.
THE VERDICT
GoPro still remains the standard by which all other action sports video devices are measured. Its 1080p resolution produces sublime results, especially with its ultra-wide viewing angle and its system of mounting brackets get the job done—even if the overall package is a bit bulky for most cyclists.
However, RePlay XD’s entry-level offering is, far and away, more desirable for most road cycling endeavors thanks to its fantastic design, light weight, ease of use and value. And while its video quality was not up to par with GoPro’s in our round of tests, consider this: at least one new RePlay XD model is slated to be available by the time you read this, packing GoPro-equivalent 1080p resolution into its uber-intuitive design. So, for cyclists seeking to document their escapades, a new camera king may soon ascend the throne.
For more Information:
Go Pro
Replay XD
Reprinted from the July 2011 issue of Road Bike Action Magazine |
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