Helmet cam review: the Twenty20 Cam

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. Packed and branded like a polished product, there is a certain alluring air about something a product like this that is packaged so professionally. This one was found at one of Sydney’s finest bicycle shops, Bike Addiction. This means you don’t have to order over the web, or guess what the product looks like, and might even be able to try it out in the shop! Big selling factors when a person is shopping around for a product like this. So although they're not an Australian based company, their product certainly is easily accessible to the Australian public.

Twenty20 offer two different products catering to the lipstick/bullet/helmet cam crowd: The Helmet Camera and the Motorcycle Camera. It appears the only difference between the two packages is that the helmet Cam is attached via a plastic clip, stuck on with our old friend Velcro (suitable for sticking to helmets), while the motorcycle cam uses a gimble mount, suitable for drilling and mounting onto hard surfaces on the bike (maybe this just applies to motorcycles... is there anywhere to firmly attach a gimble mount on a mountain bike?). They both use the exact same kind of cam, a 380 line resolution CMOS camera. The Helmet Camera retails for around $500AUD at fine bike shops everywhere. The Motorcycle Camera will retail for roughly $575AUD. But let's focus on the Helmet Cam here, shall we?

What do you get in a typical Twenty20 package?

a helmet/bullet/lipstick camera
a battery pack
microphone
Velcro and plastic mounting setup
And the packaging doubles as the manual

^{Twenty20's package. Not much clutter here...}

^{Twenty20's cam, attached to the provided mounting hardware}

The cam included has a resolution of 380 horizontal lines. (Note: The cam I received is 380 lines... the website advertises 400 lines now). This is well below the typical MiniDV camcorder resolution of around 500 lines, but if you’re compressing this footage for the web, or it’s just for personal enjoyment, you probably don’t need the high, sharp resolution anyway. The cam’s casing is waterproof (their site states that it can handle being submerged under a foot of water for 10 minutes… so not good for underwater filming, but sufficient for any kind of weather you’ll encounter), and is shorter and fatter than the Hel-Cam we’ve reviewed previously. The shorter length will definitely make it easier to fit under the peaks of visors of full-face helmets, where the Hel-Cam was a bit cramped. One thing I would have liked, however, is a clearer indication that the camera is the right side up. You have the screw port at the very back, but a white marker, or even better, a sunhood, wouldn’t have gone astray.

One thing that really struck me about the Twenty20 setup was how clean and polished it looked. The battery pack held a 9 volt battery side inside it’s case, which was no larger than a Matchbox car. Combined with the right small camcorder, you could carry your entire recording setup in a jacket pocket! Along with the battery being completely enclosed, it also had an external on/off switch on it. This is a nice touch - being able to easily turn the power on and off, without having to find the correct to cables and connect/disconnect them, as seen on other systems. It should be noted that the entire Twenty20 cam system weighs a scant 7 ounces!

^{Battery packs don't get much smaller than this!}

The cabling is very clean as well, with your cam, your mic, your camcorder cable, and your power cable all connected together. On one hand, this will reduce clutter a little bit. On the other hand though, the system doesn’t allow for much customization. The mic also comes with a lapel clip. Another nice little touch.


^{The mounting bracket made it hard to center the cam on the helmet}	^{Fine tuning the upward and downward aim is going to be a bit tougher without sticking a lot more velcro on your helmet}	^{The cam looks very tidy on the helmet}	^{Using just velcro would keep the cam more flush to the visor}

^{The tested mounting bracket, with velcro and cable tie}

As for the supplied mounting hardware, you’re given a small plastic plate which has velcro on the bottom and attaches to a corresponding velcro square that you mount somewhere on the helmet. The cam is held to the plastic plate via a cable tie. I have mixed feelings about this type of mounting. One one hand, removing the cam is very easy. On the other hand, being that there is only one small square of velcro holding the cam in place, it might make it too easy to rip off if a branch catches it, or there's excessive movement of the head, such as abrupt landings and the like...
But... the cam slid better in and out of the mounting hardware (when I wanted it to) than I expected, and seemed to be held fairly well by the cable tie when I wanted it to be secure. Mountings on different helmets would just require more velcro patches.
I suppose if you were disenchanted with the supplied mounting hardware, you could just buy some heavy duty velcro with adhesive on one side, and simply use an all velcro solution.

Note: Twenty20 have recently redesigned their helmet cam mounting attachment. This mounting system wasn't tested, and may not even be available in Australia. When purchasing the Twenty20 system, be aware of which mounting system is packaged with it (if it makes any difference to you...)

^{The new mounting bracket provided by Twenty20. NOTE: May not be available yet in Australia}

The performance of the cam


^{Resolution test of the Twenty20 helmet cam (380 horizontal lines).}	^{Resolution test of the Sony PDX-10P "pro-sumer" camcorder (530+ horizontal lines, and about $3000+)}

As for the actual performance of the cam…. For the resolution test, it plugged in quite nicely into the Sony PDX-10P “pro-sumer” camcorder (which has a 3.5mm A/V port), for which we took video images of the resolution chart.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to test it out in the field. The connection cable with goes to the camcorder is fitted with a 3.5mm plug. This is great and very tidy when plugging into the A/V port on your camcorder… IF your camcorder uses a 3.5mm connection! As I’ve lamented before, Sony doesn’t use this connection anymore, instead supplying most of their new camcorders with a stupid, proprietary 10 pin design. This Sony connection has caused me MANY headaches already, and here’s a new one. For me to use the Twenty20 helmet cam setup, I need to have a 3.5mm female to dual RCA female connection, which I’ve searched around my local large electronics chain store for, without any success. This isn’t a fault of Twenty20 at all. In fact, it’s another reason to hate Sony, but the problem is still there. If you have a Sony camcorder, you’re going to have some work in front of you trying to make the connection work between your helmet cam and your camcorder. If you are looking to buy a camcorder along with your helmet cam… this raises the question… which is more important to you: buying a helmet cam that suits the camcorder, or buying a camcorder that suits the helmet cam? Some would say worry about which is the more expensive part of the equation…. Note: after investigating several other brands of camcorders, it seems that there is a real trend towards these proprietary connections, sadly. Which makes me reiterate the point, CHECK and RESEARCH how the helmet cam and the camcorder will work together BEFORE you buy!

^{Could you imagine hooking up the Twenty20 cam with this camcorder? You would have one of the smallest, lightest, complete helmet cam setups out there! Even weight-weenies would dig it!}

The instructions included are very brief with no photos, but you actually don’t need them for this system, since it’s so simple.

One place where this system can really shine is creating a small, tight, clean and compact helmet cam setup. The tiny battery pack, with the single 3.5mm A/V connection plugged into a suitably tiny camcorder, and the very nice wiring setup, would create a full helmet cam setup that would be so small and minimalist that could keep the bulk of it in pocket of your jacket, or an XC racing hydration pack where spare room is sparse. And let’s be honest here… how much do you really want to be carrying on your back when you ride?

Videos

Bodin riding XC at the Pines at Castlemain, Vic

Everybody's favorite XC ridin' mod takes us for a tour of his horse-poo riddled trails in Vic...

XC at the Pines, Castlemain, Vic 9.1mb

(Right click > save target as)

Ourimbah, 05/03/06

The first was entirely filmed during the race runs, except for the helmetcam stuff.
The second, is a full helmetcam run with BA/Orange bitch, Tom Patton. Enjoy ...

^{(Note: This is the same footage posted by Squidly previously, for those who might have seen it already)}

Ourimbah Race - Med res 91.6mb
Ourimbah Race - Low res 31.0mb

Helmetcam run - Med res 81.9mb
Helmetcam run - Low res 27.5mb

(Right click > save target as)

Thanks to Fotoz Photographics for the equipment and filming.

Conclusion

Twenty20 has really tried to put a bit of thought and design into their helmet cam. The problem is, have they turned out to be too clever for their own good? The clean wiring system means you’re stuck with a mic no matter what. And the 3.5mm connection is about as clean and minimalist as you can get… but if you can’t plug it straight into your camcorder, instead having to use other cables, connections and adapters to get it to work, then that defeats the purpose in the first place.
However… if you can get the right camcorder for the job (a tiny one, with a 3.5mm A/V port), you will have one of the tiniest, lightest, uncluttered helmet cam setups going. And who wants more weight and more clutter when riding their bike?

Positives

3.5mm jack for A/V
Clean, refined design
Easily accessible at many retail stores
Very light and very small
On/off switch at battery

Negatives

3.5mm jack for A/V
Not much freedom with setup options
Mounting hardware makes adjustments difficult

Things I would do/buy differently next time

Search for the right connection(s) in order to make the cam compatible with RCA plugs
Buy some heavy duty Velcro to make my own mounting system
Purchase another camcorder with A/V and LANC input than the Sony DCR-HC32, and check how the A/V cables worked on it and then double check with Twenty20 if it was compatible.
Buy a super light XC bike and a tiny camcorder, and start filming XC races with the lightest, smallest setup around

Twenty20 Helmet cams are distributed in Australia by:

Black Phoenix Films
38 King St. Newcastle
NSW 2300
Phone: (02) 4926 1811
Email: drift@bigpond.net.au
Website: www.blackphoenixfilms.com

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