---------------------FEATURE - HELMET CAMS --------------------
Let us start by saying we tried several camcorder units and after the shakedown the only one still standing was the Sony HC96, the latest incarnation of the HC series of mini DV camcorders. If you are serious about buying a helmet cam, save yourself a ton, and we mean a TON of aggravation and buy the Sony. If you already have a camcorder, get rid of it. Or find a way to justify having two. Hoyt Tech has a great price on it. You might be thinking to yourself, I'll buy one of those new camcorders with the built in hard drive, tape is such a hassle. Don’t even think about using one, even though there are many compatible hard disk recorders, they simply will not work. (click here for a list of compatible camcorders) They seem like they would be the perfect solution, with so much HD space you could record a full day of riding without stopping. Truth is, the spinning disk of the hard drive will have you hopping as it skips the best part of your ride while struggling to record your 15 minutes of fame. Hard drive camcorders, great for catching junior being cute, not so great for catching daddy on his bouncing dirt bike. Leave them at home.

Next thing to address, and this is of utmost importance, make sure you use a camera has a LANC (Local Application Control Bus System) connection for a remote switch. Not all camcorders are available with LANC, another reason to just buy the Sony. You'll be glad you did. Having the ability to start/stop recording at the press of a button is as nice as having a garage door opener when it’s 40° and raining. There is nothing like having to remove the bag/backpack you are carrying the camcorder in every time you want to turn the camcorder on and off.

Finally, and we cannot stress this strongly enough, keep your camera in a protective case while riding, try pelican cases. They make hard plastic cases with pluck foam so you can custom fit the padding to your specific camera model.

And put it in a backpack with a zip tie on the zipper to keep it from opening by itself. Camcorders and other digital equipment are very delicate they don't like too much shock. Besides a fanny pack will feel heavier and bounce around more. We tried the fanny pack approach and paid dearly see photo. It may seem like a PIA to carry a backpack while riding, but explaining the new paper weight to your significant other, for us, is far less appealing.

Before you begin filming your feature length helmet cam movie there are some things you need to do. You will want to set up your video camera with your helmet cam so it uses the helmet cam lens instead of the video camera lens. Start by having a quiet, clean, clear, workspace. You don’t need any distractions while doing this. First start by connecting your video cameras AV out cable to the camera, then connect this cable to the helmet cam. Connect the power source to the helmet cam, turn it on. And… no picture! Now the fun begins. You see, for these helmet cams to connect and work with your video recorder, you need to be able to record in the play/edit mode and possibly enable the AV in by configuring it in the options menu of your camera settings. It is a total nightmare the first time trough. So give yourself a good hour before you start seeing your first picture through the helmet cam. If you come in under an hour, good for you, we didn’t. Again the Sony system was the most user friendly of all the cameras we tried.

Once you get the camera/ video recorder configured you will want to set the cam up on your on your helmet visor using the included mount system. Ask a buddy to help you with this. Getting it right will be much easier and anything you can do to make this entire process easier is a good thing. Go outside, for even light, put your bike on a stand with the wheels level and sit in a comfortable riding position.