BlackEye Head and Helmet Cam
Here’s a new helmet cam entry from BlackEye - the BlackEye Head and Helmet Cam. The basic jist of this product is their unique mounting setup. Instead of a top mount or side mount, the BlackEye head cam uses a unique shorty camera that mounts right in the center of your helmet, just above your eyes - or it is simply worn like a headband in the same location. This product is being marketed towards bikers, climbers, etc. Click below to read more…
The BlackEye comes in NTSC and PAL versions. The resolution comes in at 420 TV lines (510×492), which is currently not at the top end of the helmet cam quality spectrum. The microphone is also integrated into the headband. The power source is a 8 AA battery pack which provides quite a bit of battery life, 10-15 hours. The camera also appears to have a quick release cable connector. No word on the chipset they use. Lastly, the camera Field of View is stated at 92 degress, which is a unique angle. Most helmet cameras out there come standard with a 70-80 degree FOV.
One of the marketing points for this setup is the BlackEye’s “No screws, No Tape” mounting approach. The helmet mounting adapters grab the front lip of the helmet, which is supposed to prevent the unit from coming off the topside. It does not say what would prevent it from slipping forward, and blocking your vision. We are assuming that the band needs to be tight and the mount correctly setup. Overall it makes it easy to move the camera from helmet to helmet, or just wear it right on your head!
The price: $240 NTSC and $287 (~EUR 239.00) for PAL. Pretty good for the clean look and the integrated video,audio, power cable setup.
HelmetCamCentral.com Recommendation: We like the simple setup and clean look. We prefer a center mounted camera, over sidemounted. It is hard to say how it would work to point the camera backwards on a helmet for chase cam footage. The resolution of the camera is not top notch, but decent. Clean wire harness - One wire for power, video and sound - straight from camera to battery to camcorder. Go for it.
December 4th, 2006 at 12:11 am
I’m in the army and i’ve been thinking of getting one of these for deployment in march. There are two things that make me question it though. First , the resolution. If it’s not topnotch but decent , how good is that exactly . Is it black and white ?, how close up and how far away are things clear? And second, the battery pack and recorder. How bulky and heavy is this?, and how would it be to attach and operate in the environment i would be in? Obviously what i love is the setup which is it’s main feature. So if you know of a product that has the same setup and better features, could you please let me know.
Thankyou for your time, Royce Wagner
December 19th, 2006 at 5:14 pm
You can find out more info on the site for Blackeye http://www.blackeyeusa.com/en/products/.
The res is 420 TV lines (510×492)
The battery is:
BLACKEYEâ„¢TWO is powered by it’s
own battery pack. 8 AA batteries
provide enough juice for 10-15 hours
of operating time.
December 20th, 2006 at 2:36 pm
Black Eyed Head & Helmet Camera
I am interested in receiving information about the Black Eyed Head & Helmet Camera. I will look forward to hearing from someone.
December 21st, 2006 at 5:08 am
Hi there,
Please supply some info on the Blackeye camera.
What recorder is needed?
Thanks
Gawie
December 27th, 2006 at 1:31 pm
Hi, just wanted to say that your site roxx! Great reviews and excellent live video.
Gawie: http://www.blackeyeusa.com/en/pdf/recorder.pdf
February 6th, 2007 at 6:15 am
Here is a few comments about my blackeye head cam I got for Christmas.
I took it to Tignes, Skiing in the French Alps.
I got some amazing footage.
Just briefly, I had a couple of teething problems, nothing serious. The main one
was I skied for a whole day only recording Audio, the batteries had got too low
to capture video but the green light was still on. Reading the instructions
again they do touch on that but short of getting your camera out of your bag
and checking at regular intervals, the crucial moment that it happens is
difficult to pinpoint so as not to loose footage. I’m going to solve that
problem by getting two sets of rechargeable batteries and insuring I go out
with a freshly charged set each day! Maybe the Blackeye three could cover this
eventuality with a change in LED colour when the camera is only receiving
audio?
The other thing which is more of an observation than criticism, the microphone
records the operators voice very well but doesn’t pick up the voices of the
people around you as normal camcorder would.
These two minor issues aside I thought the blackeye was fantastic.
I did loads of research before I chose it and looked for footage already taken.
I notice on the blackeyeusa website there is a lot of mountain bike footage but none of
skiing. Had I seen the quality of my own footage from from Tignes, my research
would have been over immediately and the blackeye ordered straight away.(I am
by the way praising the camera and not the operator!)
The first days recording was almost white out conditions but the camera picked
out the definition in the snow much better than my own eyes amazingly.
When the sun came out on later days the quality got even better!
One aspect I would really rave about is the wide angle of the lens, I had the
camera on the back of my head a couple of times to film my mates facing me as
we zoomed down the slope. Despite the pot luck aspect of me not knowing what I
was filming, everything was captured due to the superb wide angle (much better
than any of the bullet cams I researched.
Just to add, I used the camera in conjunction with a Lanc remote from a company
called skytools (www.skytools.m.se)which allowed me to turn my camcorder on and
off, record or standby and see a low battery and tape indicator without getting
it out of my rucksack at all, I just fed the remote out of the rucksack, down
my jacket sleeve and into my glove. Had I not done a bit of research I wouldnt have known they existed. It was the icing on the cake for the whole system.
I would strongly recomend the Blackeye
July 30th, 2007 at 5:18 am
Ausführliche Informationen und Beratung zum Thema Helmkamera findet Ihr unter
http://www.helmkamera-systeme.de
Die Firma HeKaSys hat ein umfassendes Angebot von Helmkamera-Systemen und erklärt auf ihrer Seite wie es funktioniert, welcher Rekorder bei einer Helmkamera eingesetzt werden kann und hat allerhand Zubehör zu Helmkameras: Rekorder, Halterungen, Mikro, Akkus etc…
Unbedingt reinschauen:
http://www.helmkamera-systeme.de