Helmet Cam Review Pt 2: Twenty20 Cam review

[Scott]

Another player on the helmet cam scene is Twenty20. You might have even seen the product in person before, since this is the only helmet cam I’ve seen that has been sold in bicycle retail stores.

Check it out here.

[Screaming Gecko]

The Helmet cam reviews have been great ... Just a little more info for those looking to buy a cam.

CMOS cams are pretty crappy, they are very grainy and have a stuttering feel to the video image ... Not nice. So at $500 big ones for the cam reviewed, why would you ??

If you want Camcorder type images, you need a CCD imager, this is what Launch Helmet cams use. In terms of price you could get a Launch cam off ebay for approx $299 ... $267 if you are patient and find an auction where nobody else is interested. This is a big price difference for a unit that has a better imager (CCD vs CMOS) and has higher res (480TVLines vs 380). I have also seen a 420 TVL on auction as well (a little bit cheaper again). The final benefit is that the cabling also fits direct into the A/v cables that come with your camcorder via RCA connectors

I do not own a helmet cam yet , so this is all from my research ...

Hope it helps

[Techno Destructo]

CMOS cams are pretty crappy, they are very grainy and have a stuttering feel to the video image ... Not nice. So at $500 big ones for the cam reviewed, why would you ??

True, CMOS isn't the best technology out there, but I think Twenty20 shines in certain areas that other helmet cams don't... those being the refined design, compactness, and it's being lightweight.

If you want Camcorder type images, you need a CCD imager, this is what Launch Helmet cams use.

Well, to add to your input, there is an upcoming review on a Launch Helmet cam! Stay tuned!

The final benefit is that the cabling also fits direct into the A/v cables that come with your camcorder via RCA connectors

Do note, however, that with Twenty20's 3.5mm connection, teamed up with a compatible camcorder, results in a setup with much less messy wiring than the RCA connectors. The key thing is to just check ahead of time to what kind of A/V input your camcorder has...

[jda]

A question for you Techno,

That resolution chart you put up for the Twenty20 looks terrible, is it a capture problem or is that what the chart actually came out like for the Twenty20 helmet cam?

The whole thing is blurry!

[Techno Destructo]

A question for you Techno,

That resolution chart you put up for the Twenty20 looks terrible, is it a capture problem or is that what the chart actually came out like for the Twenty20 helmet cam?

The whole thing is blurry!

Hi JDA!

There were no capture problems that I was aware of.

The captured footage was converted to uncompressed 4:2:2 from DV-PAL. Since it was a still video image, shot from a tripod, I knew there wouldn't be issues of interlacing, and you get the truest, sharpest, rawest image from the video.

Any images of the test resolution pattern that you see from these reviews are 100% size, and 100% quality JPEG (which is pretty much no compression artifacts). I can assure you the test pattern images you see in these reviews are EXACTLY what you see from the captured footage. (apart from the thumbnails... )

So I guess to sum it up, yep... that is exactly what the helmet cam image looked like. Not entirely surpising due to it's resolution of 380, and that it's a CMOS cam.

If you'd like, I can send the "uncompressed" image in a completely lossless format, such as TIFF or TARGA, but it'd be impossible to see the difference. And the file size would be 6x the size.

[jda]

Cheers mate,

That's ok, I was just supprised. I guess its ok if you only watch your footage after a few beers!

[risky]

A question for you Techno,

That resolution chart you put up for the Twenty20 looks terrible, is it a capture problem or is that what the chart actually came out like for the Twenty20 helmet cam?

A little from Column A and a little from Column B

New capture of the Twenty20 resolution chart up now. Looks a tad more respectable.

[twitchy]

Techno I am going to have to get you one of my systems soon as I have new cameras now that run 1/3sony ccd on the 420 & the 1/3sony super HAD on the 520 I now have!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I also am testing an MP4 with a removeable 20gig HD that runs CF cards as well!!!

[Bodin]

G'Day Twitchy,

After I completed my small part of the Twenty20 test, TD & I both discussed your system and we are very keen to test and compare. You've obviously done expensive testing yourself and the results on your website are a great feature, but there's nothing like having it in your hands (or backpack) to know how the system really works.

Get in touch with TD or myself (if you haven't done so already) and we'll hook something up.

Cheers,

Bodin

[THRILLHOUSE]

My mate got one of these from the states and it is awesome.. wise investment