Compact Flash-based video recorder?

[450R]

Hi,

I'm looking into purchasing a helmet cam. Most people throw a mini-DV cam in a protective case and run the helmet cam into that for recording, but that's bulky and fragile. I'd like to find, or possibly make, something smaller, more durable, and just plain cooler.

So my first thought was solid-state storage. CF seems to be up to the task as far as transfer speeds go (the helmet cam's resolution is 510x492 NTSC) and 2GB cards are in the $100 range, so that seems like a really good option. My only problem is I'm having trouble finding the right piece of hardware; I don't want a screen or playback capability ... just something to store the video and audio on the CF card.

The cam has a 3.5mm A/V output and 12V DC power.

Anyone know of something that would fit the bill?

Thanks very much!

 

[450R]

Bump.

 

[Pliablemoose]

JVC

 

[Sphexi]

Radioshack had one at last Christmas, small thing, used SD cards and AAA batteries. Honestly can't remember the brand name, but it cost like $130.


Found it

 

[CFster]

Well, seeing as an hour of uncompressed DV AVI is about 20 gigs, I suspect the video quality on one of these would lousy just like the DVD camcorders.

Quality on the fly AVI to MPEG conversion isn't really happening - so I would expect some serious loss of video quality.

 

[450R]

Thanks for the replies! Those are great ideas but not exactly what I was hoping for.

Maybe I can scratch the CompactFlash storage and go with an MP3 player or similar device...? Anyone know of one with a 3.5mm input?

 

[Steve]

Let us know when your porn site is up and running.

 

[450R]

Not a bad idea, but unfortunately that isn't what I'm going for. I ride quads and I wanted to film some trail/track fun ... but that's probably an alien topic on forums like these.