Launch Helmet Cams - Blog

Which is the right helmet cam for me?

admin — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 13:20:01 -0400

How to choose the right camera? This is a question that we get asked quite a lot and can heavily vary from person to person.

These days there are lots of different offerings from multiple suppliers that all present very good products. Manufacturers vary their features and key points quite significantly and it often leaves people wondering which one is right for them or which ones wouldn’t even work at all.

The main question that needs to be answered is what are you aiming to use the cameras for? That is, is it being mounted to a car, helmet or surfboard? With this answer, then look into if the camera needs to be waterproof for your application, if the shape or size matters and the features and usability of the camera that best suit your self.

New Contour 360 helmet and surfboard mounts

admin — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 19:09:15 -0500

Contour have been in the lab cooking up a couple of new mounts that are quite different from their previous offerings. The new Contour 360 helmet mount looks very similar to the other new mount, the Contour Surfboard Mount, but there are some subtle differences. The Contour 360 helmet mount is designed around a ball joint that is held in place with a really strong clamp. The idea of the new Contour 360 helmet mount is make it easy to adjust the mount so shoot backwards, sideways, forwards, up, down - pretty much anywhere you want. The top of the 360 helmet mount detaches from the base when you don't want to use the mount. Don't let the name of the mount fool you though, the Contour 360 helmet mount can be used on pretty much any flat or curved surface thanks to it's six-pronged base that is flexible enough to mould to different surfaces and comes with 3M VHB adhesive that is super strong. The top of the mount has a clip that hooks the plastic on the front of the camera (just above the status light) to make sure it can't accidentally release from the mount.

Card Format Issues

admin — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:27:19 -0500

We have in recent times been coming across quite a few card issues that customers are experiencing. The big issue is the way that the card is formatted and recognized by the camera. Most cameras now come with an option in the menu to format the card while inserted into the camera. This really needs to be done as gone are the days of being able to generically format the card in a computer then put it in the cameras and go. Each camera will name and format the card slightly differently to best suit it for the particular device. It is also a good idea to reformat your card regularly to make sure that there are no corruptions on the card. Some of the errors that you may find with a corrupt or improperly formatted card are things like video files that are corrupt and cannot be played, the camera may refuse to start recording and glitches through the footage. It is recommended by some manufacturers to format the card each use. But be sure to make a back up of all the footage before formatting as it will delete any data on the card.

Holiday opening hours

admin — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 17:31:16 -0500

It's that time of year where everyone gets to breath out, relax and enjoy some fun times with friends and family. The crew at Launch are going to take a well deserved break over the Christmas and New Year period and as such we will have limited opening hours:

Friday 23rd: 9am - 3:30pm
Saturday 24th: Closed
Sunday 25th: Closed
Monday 26th: Closed
Tuesday 27th: Closed
Wednesday 28th: 9am - 4pm
Thursday 29th: 9am - 4pm
Friday 30th: Closed
Saturday 31st: Closed
Sunday 1st: Closed
Monday 2nd: Closed
Tuesday 3rd: Normal hours resume, 9am - 5pm

From everyone at Launch Helmet Cams we wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Early snowboarding session with the Drift HD camera

admin — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:57:55 -0500

Matt from Drift Cameras Canada recently took advantage of the early snow that has been hitting mountains across the west coast of North America. Matt and some buddies headed up Cypress Mountain in Vancouver, BC after they had their earliest opening day ever to see if they could get some fresh tracks. They took up a Drift HD camera attached to a Drift Monopod to get some cool angles and shots. The Drift HD is an awesome option for snow sports thanks to it's remote control which is easy to use with gloves on. The LCD screen on the Drift HD makes it easy to line up different shots when using the Drift Monopod too. Check out this short edit they put together of snowboarding on Cypress Mountain with the Drift HD camera:

GoPro HD Hero 2 open box review

admin — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 18:05:34 -0400

We've put together an open box review of the outdoor edition of the new GoPro HD Hero 2 to show you what comes with the camera and give you a quick overview of some of the new features. Some of the big differences we noticed upon opening the GoPro HD Hero2 were the improved instruction manual which is more comprehensive and easier to read, the inclusion of some free stickers (although they are very hard to get off the backing), the louder status beeps which should make it easier to know when it is recording or not and the improved LCD screen which is much easier to navigate. We used the GoPro HD Hero 2 over the weekend and will put together a video of our findings soon. In the meantime, sit back and enjoy our open box review of the GoPro HD Hero 2:

PWC and boating cameras

admin — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 16:33:32 -0400

We often get asked what is a good camera for boating and personal watercraft (PWC) use. There is a pretty wide range of options available for boat and personal watercraft users with all the major helmet cams being either waterproof or having waterproof housing options. One camera that does stand out as being particularly good for boating and PWC use though is the Drift HD170 Stealth. The reason the Drift HD 170 Stealth is such a great boating camera is that it is really easy to use (thanks to a wireless remote control for starting/ stopping and an LCD screen for setup and review). With the remote control you can set up the Drift camera anywhere on your boat or PWC (such as on the mast of your boat or rear of your PWC) to get some really unique angles. The Drift HD170 Stealth is water resistant and you can wash it under a tap after use to get any salt water off it. If you plan to go underwater you can get a Drift Waterproof Case.

Contour Chest Mount (part 2)

admin — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 14:57:37 -0400

A couple of weeks ago we posted the Contour Chest Mount (part 1) blog story which showed an easy way to create a chest mount for any Contour camera. The Contour Chest Mount is now available in our store for a special bundle price. This week we've put together an instructional video on how to get the most out of your Contour Chest Mount.

If you find your Contour camera is sitting too far out from the Contour Chest Mount, you can swap out the J-mount that comes on the GoPro Chest Harness for the smaller standard GoPro clip which is available in the GoPro Grab Bag of mounts. The GoPro white rubber plug also comes inside the grab bag of mounts and is handy to eliminate any shake from the GoPro mounts. Check out the video below for more details and to see some example footage shot with the Contour Chest Mount with a Contour GPS camera attached.

Contour Roam open box review

admin — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 17:23:26 -0400

Markland from Launch in Australia put together a nifty little open box review of the new Contour Roam camera. The Contour Roam is Contour's new entry level camera that has a lot of cool new features such as Instant-On, which powers the camera on and starts recording with the simple flick of the large sliding switch on the top of the Contour Roam camera. It might not sound like much but not having to turn the Contour Roam camera on first and then start recording is the type of simplicity you want in a helmet cam so that you can focus on the task at hand.

The Contour Roam is available down under from the Contour Cameras Australia division of Launch Helmet Cams. Here in North America we should have the Contour Roam in stock and ready to go next week.

North Shore Overlord mountain bike race

admin — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 15:06:05 -0400

The Launch team up in Canada recently sponsored the innugrual North Shore Overlord GPS mountain bike race in Vancouver, BC. Sponsoring the event as Drift Cameras Canada, they set up riders and marshals with Drift HD170 Stealth cameras to capture all the action. The North Shore Overlord saw teams of 2 and 4 racing to see who could cover the most ground in 6 hours on the infamous Mt Fromme on the North Shore of Vancouver, BC. Teams were only allowed to ride a trail once and were constantly monitored using Flaik GPS tracking. Mountain biking legend and all round madman Brett Tippie was onsite to commentate the race and keep the fans entertained.

Congratulations go to the team West Coast combination of Ray Lachance and Rod Daneau who took the overall win with close to 50km each. Apart from having a superb level of fitness, these guys rode two of the true double black diamond trails on the mountain, Lower Crippler, and Digger. Team West Coast took home a brand new Drift HD170 Stealth along with other swag for their efforts.