Is there such a thing as a cheap beginner setup?

Ziborlun

Ziborlun

Wannabie Member
I feel like I might want to try filming a few 'on bike' videos as there are quite a few local roads that would lend themselves to some interesting footage I think. However the bar to entry on this is the cost - there doesn't seem to be anything between the super cheap clones that flood every online marketplace, and shelling out hundreds on a GoPro.. Especially if you want more than one camera angle... I did search on the forum but without success. Anyone got any suggestions? Looking on the bay of plenty, even battered gopros seem to go for quite a bit..
It's not just the camera of course, there's the bar mount, chest mount, helmet mount etc etc - it's expensive to experiment until you find what works for you.
 
You could get a GoPro clone for very cheap, and rig the mic from the headphones that come with your phone to record your in helmet audio onto your phone. If you have a smart phone already then you could do a 2 camera setup for under £100/$100 and that includes mounts.
 
I would also suggest some older equipment that can be picked up cheap. My helmet cam is an old Hero 3+ , it does the job and doesn't require an additional mic adaptor to be purchased. Picking up a used older cam should be really cheap, then my mic is a under $30.

If you like it and grow, then you can invest in newer stuff if you want. I'm ok with my setup, it isn't as sharp or as good as the newest cams, but I don't think the quality is bad either.
 
I vote for Hero4 Silver. They record 1080p60, have touch screen, and you might be able to find a mic adapter.

Do not go cheap on mounts as even the genuine thing can wear out and break.
 
From what I've seen, it's a pay once, cry once sort of thing. The cheaper competitors are just that - cheap. You can get the older cameras cheaper, but the newer ones have features in them you may find invaluable, and the image quality has gone up a lot in the last few generations.

I'd say look for a good used Hero 7 Black or Hero 8 Black, which you can get for $200-250, and build up your gear over time.

I started with a Hero 8, Media Mod, and Purple Panda mic. Over the last year, I've bought a lot more gear, but I'm not normal.

-John
 
I started out with cheap gorpo clones. I got two cameras for less than 120 usd, at the time. The video quality was fine. What I found annoying over time was the fact that batteries capacity dropped rather quickly, and the general operation of the camera was not quite as easy as with known brand cameras. Still, a valid option, if you just want to find out if this is for you. You can easily get by couple of years with something like that, and if you want to do modding and such, then it's not going to break your heart, when you mess up. Just before you decide upon which to buy, look if there are independent review and quality samples on youtube.
 
I'd say the best value for a beginner would be to buy a used GoPro Hero 7. It's old enough that you can find them at good prices, but new enough that the tech and performance of it are really great.
 
Shadetree Surgeon has a few videos on how he sets up vlogging rigs cheaply. Here is the title of his video on setting that up -

CHEAP Motovlogger Helmet Camera Setup 2019 | Shadetree Surgeon​

I also have a video called My Vlogging Rig where I show what I used for a long time and the way that I got started.

To summize, I used the headset that came with my phone, I just cut off the ear buds as they weren't working anymore anyway. I ran that to my phone and used an app called Voice Record (there is a free version and pro) in which you can control a lot of functions such as GAIN, which is important. Lower the gain to pick up less of what is outside of your helmet.

I started with a gopro hero 2 I got for 75 bucks on Facebook Market place. I have since picked up multiple cameras off of Faceyspace and never paid more than 100 bucks. I see Hero4's, 5's and 6's under 100 bucks all the time and have to slap my hand from messaging them as I don't need anymore cameras.

Next up is editing. You will need to edit this stuff and DaVinci Resolve is the cheapest, best bet out there. I still use Resolve in some instances even though I pay for Adobe as the color correction is superior in Resolve. If you get the mic adapter for the gopro you won't have to worry about syncing, but if you go the app and phone recording route, practice syncing and youtube is your best teacher for learing how to edit in general. There are tutorials for everything video editing wise on there.
 
@LoneWolfer is right about Resolve - it's awesome - but resource-hungry. It'll soak up any and all resources you give it, and ask for more. It'll RUN on medium-quality hardware, but really wants 32GB of RAM and a fast CPU and GPU to really cook through some videos. Also the paid version is $300 [but comes with a speed editor keyboard] and really unlocks your GPU and some extra [not needed] features.

I have some Resolve tutorials on my channel - specifically syncing & multicam, which LW mentioned, and like LW said, there's lots of tutorials on YT.

-John
 
Hi all, thanks for the replies. Yes I haven't pulled the trigger on a cheapo camera yet as there are so many clones about in the same casings, it's hard to know exactly what you're going to get.
I've already 'invested' in a Boya mic (a whole £10 ;-) which has (I think) improved the audio on my phone.
So far my videos have all been desk / workshop based - I just want to try out some 'on bike' stuff as mentioned (hence not wanting to spend £££ right away).
I'm only doing YouTube for a bit of fun, and given my <checks> oh, 241 subscribers, am of course not (and will never be!) making any actual money from it.
As mentioned in another thread, I've been an OpenShot user for years, and am moving to Resolve (got a non bike related video half edited in it already)
It looks like '2nd hand go pro' is probably the best way to go.
Cheers!
 
P.S. I will look back through Shadetree's channel for the setup vids, thanks. Used to watch his stuff but, if I'm honest, got bored with the way he was taking it. Not a criticism of him, it just wasn't my thing any more. Shame, the 'real biker' vids were always a good laugh :-)
 
Cool, can't wait to see what you do with some on-bike stuff! BTW, if you want even more setup vids, I have a bunch of setup/testing vids on my channel, which may give you some ideas. I have a Motovlog Gear Setup playlist :D

-John
 
I recently purchased a Dragontouch 5 action cam that came with a lot of accessories, a waterproof diving case, touch screen, and it has stability. It claims to be 4K but I've no interest in testing those stats as I don't believe it.

However, I got it on sale for $25 USD. Here's a current link. In my latest motovlog I do an unboxing of the camera along with some other items I've purchased. And yes, I've been very happy with it.

www.dragontouch.com

Vista 5 Action Camera

Specifications: Touch Screen/ Electronic Image Stabilization/ Adjustable View Angle/ Diving Mode/ Distortion Calibration/ H.265 Video Codec/ Still Photo/ Burst Photo/ Time Lapse Photo/ Time Lapse Video/ Slow Motion Video/ Loop Rec
www.dragontouch.com www.dragontouch.com

- Wolf
 
Ta, there seem to be a plethora of similar-but-different DragonTouch cameras here in the UK. I will check them out.
I agree re: 4K. Not something I'm interested in, and I assume most cheap cameras are lying about it anyway.
 
Well, I've still not found anything. Man there are a lot of dodgy sellers on the bay these days (well, twas ever thus I suppose).
I'll keep looking! I think I want an external mic port, that seems to be a sensible option from some of the reviews I've seen. (It would help if there weren't 10,000 (approx) different types of GoPro ;-)
 
I have gopros, but the DJI osmo action is way nicer to use. So I use it more. Even 2 years ago I was running an old hero 3 with a Sena audio pack as my “B” cam. Now, I’m always using the DJI connected to a Sena for audio.

You want to use a hero 6 or newer or the DJI for the stabilization.
 
Look for Akaso / SJCAM and get the GoPro compatible mounts from China / Aliexpress .com

That should be a cheap start to get some recording and testing good mounting points / angles.
 
Does the DJI Osmo Action 4K have an app with "live view'? That'd be handy for setting it up to be sure angle is correct before setting off on a ride.
 
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