Hey everybody, Billy from Billys Bike Adventures. Thanks for tuning in today and watching the video
Now today i am going to be taking you through my moto vlogging helmet setup. I will be taking you
through from the very first helmet that I had and the setup that I had there, right through to the
setup that I use today on a different helmet. I will show you all the equipment that I use as well
and I will tell you which one I prefer and why. If that is of some interest you keep
watching and let's get into it. If you have not subscribed yet,
click the red subscribe button, the bell notification and then all to
make sure you don't miss out on any updates. So let's talk first about camera position on the
helmet, where I started and where I have ended up and the reasons why I have ended up there.
So first helmet, here we go. This is the Arai Tour X4. It is the very first adventure riding
helmet that I had and as you can see I have got the camera mounted on top of the helmet
and so I saw this on a couple of other videos when I first started so I thought it looked
like quite a good position. This is what it looks like when I am actually out riding.
Now as you can see in the shot of the the clip that you can see right now and it's only minor
but you can see the peak of the helmet. Now my personal view is is that you the viewer
should get an uninhibited view of what exactly what the rider can see and it should be
the best possible view of a bird's eye view from the riders perspective.
Whilst this does give a little bit of a bird's eye view from the riders perspective, it seems to be
a bit further away from the action because of where the camera is positioned so for me
it is not really doing justice to the views that you should have as a viewer. Now the other
issue with having the action camera on top of your helmet is that you can never be sure that you have
actually switched the camera off properly. You may accidentally just do a soft press of the button
and that might change the setting from video through to camera, so when you press it again
you might think that you have actually pressed start on the video recording whereas actually
you have actually started it and you have taken a picture instead so that is the other issue
for me. Given the position it is hard to to say whether you have tuned the camera off properly,
especially in the winter when you have got winter gloves on. The summer gloves are not too bad you
can actually feel a good press, but with the winter gloves you can never be sure that you
have actually done it properly, that is certainly my experience therefore I am not comfortable with
the view or the control that I have with the camera on top of the helmet and so therefore
I have moved away from this and I will not be using a top of the helmet mounted camera again.
Now let's talk about a different camera angle with a second helmet that I bought for adventure
riding. Again this is an Arai Tour X4, black and orange this time, that was meant to go with my
KTM that I used to have. Now as you can see I have got the camera mounted on the side of the
helmet this time. A little bit easier for the the reach around if you like, the reach around
for the button on top of the action camera. Again very easy to operate once you have got
summer gloves on, once you have got to winter and you have got thicker gloves on,
much harder again to make sure that you have actually switched it off, rather than pressing it
just slightly and then moving it on from video to picture etc. The nice thing where
it is mounted here is that you actually can check in your mirrors on the bike
that you have actually turned the camera off. It is a little bit of an inconvenience,
but at least it's better than not being able to see it on top of your helmet. So
the other thing with the hell, the action camera being on the side is that it's the weight. It is
actually noticeable, especially with all the plastic for what I use are the GoPro cameras,
the the bulk of the weight of the moulded mounts and the case for the camera, you can actually feel
the weight and so over a long days riding it does make a difference to the strain that you get on
your neck it sounds a little bit silly because it's not that much heavier, but it's enough to
make a difference and especially when it's windy. You have got an extra resistance especially if the
wind is coming straight on. Sometimes it will catch and just, you know, move your neck to
one side, so no not in a really bad way, but, it's enough over over a day to make it a little bit of,
I am starting to you know feel one side of my neck is a little bit more strained than the other.
So that's the side camera mounted view from me. Here is what it looks like filming from the actual
mount. So as you can see in this picture you do get a little bit of a better bird's-eye view from
the riders perspective albeit it is from one side so it is not a true front on view from the riders
perspective. Also in this scene as well you can see that the peak of the helmet and the visor is
in the shot as well and again that is something I do not like. You should have, as I said before, an
unhid, in an uninhibited view of exactly what the rider can see and so for me this is just noise
that is in the in the shot that we don't need. It is a distraction from the action that is going on
from the riders point of view. So again whilst it's, you do see a lot of side mounted cameras on
helmets, it is not one that I prefer now, I have moved away from that and I have moved away because
the weight of the helmet and the view of the visor and the peak in the shot as well.
So another con for the side mounted camera on the side of your helmet is that you can't always
be sure that you're going to get the camera horizontal with the horizon so sometimes as
you can see in this shot or cut the shot coming up you might get a slightly tilted view of the world
and that is not good for you the viewer not only do you have the lid and the visor in the
shot but it is also slightly tilted as well and so therefore I am not keen on this it takes a lot to
get it or a bit of an effort to make sure that it sits level with the horizon and it is time wasted
messing about with these things it takes time away from riding and doing some
good recording for you the viewer to be able to watch. So that is another reason that I
find the side helmet mounted action camera a bit of a challenge and why I am moving away from it.
So you can see on this helmet as well I have got a chin mount and so this is for me
the ideal location for where you should be placing your action camera when you are motor
vlogging or if you are just recording footage when you're out riding, doesn't
necessarily do motor vlogging, it could be just the capturing video for your own entertainment.
This for me gives the best bird's eye view. I have seen helmets that have had the camera
mounted on the underside on the underside of the of the lid but that for me you risk inhibiting
the view a little bit from what you can actually see. This for me is the safest and most practical
place to actually mount an action camera. Now the beauty of this particular mount is that
you have no sticky pads, like the GoPros okay, or other action cameras, you have got
sticky pads that secure the the mount to the helmet here you do not have anything this is a
a mount that is removable. So the beauty of this is that you can change it between the
different helmets that you have, got if you have got one more than one helmet,
that you use that is the beauty of this, it is really great. So it is a chin mount, so ideal view
from where the viewer you, get to see the riders perspective and it is interchangeable between
different helmets as well and that's why I love this mount and I am going to actually leave it
on my Arai. The issue I am leaving it on my Arai, the reason I am leaving it on my Arai, is because
on my Airoh Commander that I will show you now where I have got a different mount there,
it is actually hard to to securely lock the visor, so on this one I can just about get it done,
on my Airoh Commander I can't and I don't want to risk damaging or long-term damage to the helmet
and the visor so I am going to be leaving this mount on my Arai Tour X4 and I really love it.
So as I said I am sticking with the preferred view now of the chin mount and most of my
adventures now are going to have this view from it as well. So what have I got on my
new Airoh Commander helmet, that can still make me be able to record a chin view
point of view for you the viewer whilst not using this
mobile amount, so let's take a look at that. So we have the beautiful Airoh Commander
in blue red matte beautiful looking helmet, there is a card up top if you want to know
more about this helmet take a look at that that's my first review of this particular helmet. Now as
you can see here I have got the camera, my GoPro, mounted on the chin of the helmet,
best place I think for the best view. Now, all I have done is I have used these sticky mounts again
as well for this particular mount. It is probably the the the easiest and best mount I can secure
the camera with and being able to lock the lid closed as well without using the ribbons to wrap
around the front so I am happy that, I don't mind having the mounts here and that's a nice setup for
the GoPro on the front of the helmet and I can still get a little bit of air intake from the from
the vent here as well. So really happy overall with this particular mount. Looks really nice,
it doesn't inhibit my view from the broad visor view that we get on the Airoh Commander
and the other thing that you will have to do is of course if you are using GoPro you will have to use
an adapter. So the adapter for me moving on from where I mount the cameras. Now the adapter has to
plug into the left hand side of the camera so that will just slot in there and what I will do I will
then mount with double sided sticky tape velcro, I will mount the adapter for the microphone just
to the side of the helmet there, so we have got the mount on that side and the microphone
adapter connected to the helmet attached to the helmet on this side. So that is how my camera
position and the adapter has changed over time. Now before we move on to the topic of microphones,
I want to talk to you about these things so that you will recognise these as the GoPro
securing mount screws and as you can see on this mount I don't have any on this mount at all. The
reason being is that these these are quite fragile and they have started to disintegrate a little bit
as you can see there and so what I have started to do is to just use these small screws instead. So
phillips head screw and what that does, that means that I get a very nice clean looking mount with no
handles obscuring my my chin or the view or it is just nice and secure so once these are done up
that mount is not actually going to move. So very happy with how neat it looks and no bars sticking
up below. I have one obviously on the side here for the for the camera, I can't get away with
not having that there but apart from that there is no others and it makes the the mount look
nice and tidy nice and clean and is the best option i think. So don't use the the normal
hand screws that you get for the mount start using just these normal screws to secure your
mount for your camera. Now then let's get on the subject of
microphones and so this is a lav mic, lavalier mic. It's actually quite a long cable on this one.
Important things that you need to know with this. The end of it the din end, the pin end,
I don't know if you can see on here but it's got three rings on it. You need to
know what connection your action camera will take, so for the GoPro and the GoPro adapter
it is a two ring pin at the end. It is the same as the mic I am using to record
today but on the GoPro adapter you need, on the GoPro microphone adapter you need a pin with
two rings not three, so if you have only got a lav mic that has three rings you can get adapters to
convert this from a three to a two ring, it just means that you are adding a little bit of extra
extra length. The problem with that is where is it gonna go in the helmet if you are going to record
whilst you are riding. That's the problem. So if you have only got a three ring I suggest you
get a two ring if that is what's required for your action camera or your recording equipment.
The other thing that you will need is a little bit of dead kitty and so this is just a fluffy
dead kitten that they call it and that sits over the top of the microphone and then what that does
is to reduce or eliminate any wind noise that you are going to get. So a cover does come with
the microphone right so it does come with its own cover but that, oops I have dropped it,
but that is not enough to stop any wind noise that you will get within the helmet on this
mic so you will need a dead kitty and that just inserts in there you pull the drawstring
and then that's going to give you your best option for not getting any wind noise on the microphone
whilst you are recording in your helmet. Now the this particular lav mic has got quite a long lead
so what you will need to do is just wrap it up
and then secure the residual cable that you don't need inside the cheek part of your helmet,
so remove the cheek protector, stick that behind the cheek protector and secure your
cheek protector back in, the cheek part of the cheek pad of the helmet and then on your,
so I said with this helmet I am going to be having the mic adapter here so the
the cable will sit inside and take that away and the cable will sit behind behind
here behind the chin pad and then the end of it will come out here
and plug into the back of the adapter here which I am going to position here and I will just
use some black tape just to secure the the cable overhanging here and that is your recording setup.
It is very easy to do actually. Now what you have got to be is very patient with
your setup because you might not get it right first time. I certainly didn't get it right
first time. it has taken me a long time to get to this point not only with the camera angle but also
the position of the microphone. Now with this particular helmet at the Airoh Commander I have
got a a chin curtain underneath so what I do is that with the chin curtain I will put the helmet
on first and then as with this microphone, this microphone has a clip to secure it to my shirt.
So what I do I use that clip and I secure that to the chin curtain on my helmet once I have put the
helmet on. So I remove it from the chin curtain put my helmet on and then I just clip it on
to the inside of the, so that the microphone part is stuck on the on the inside of the helmet
on on the chin curtain and that is enough for me to secure it and make sure that it doesn't
get any wind noise on the microphone. So thanks for watching today. I hope that has been useful.
Whether you are a moto vlogger or you are setting up your lid just for recording your adventures
on your motorbike, hope you found that useful. Of course for the moto vloggers I hope the microphone
setup has been useful as well. Key thing here is to have patience and just keep trying
different things that you like and that work for you. It has taken me a little
while to get to the point where I can record without any noise in the helmet or wind noise
and have the right view. I am quite happy with my setup now so be patient and just trial and error
to get you to the best place for you and what you want to share with either people on YouTube,
other social media channels or just for your own prosperity. Links to all the products are
in the description below apart from the GoPro cameras. I don't, I am not putting
links in for those but for the this mobile chair mount and lavalier mics in the description below.
Leave me any comments or questions in the underneath as well and I will get back
to you as quickly as I can. You can also email me at billysbkeadventures@gmail.com.
So for now thank you very much for watching indeed and I will catch you again very soon.