Go Pro or similar

Thinking about buying a Go Pro or similar camera to mount on the handlebar. Anybody have a recommendation for something decent from whatever brand? I'm not wanting to be a film makers so something that will work well for social media and be RELIABLE with the vibration is what I'm looking for.

Mike,
I have a GoPro 7 silver 4K video with video stabilization. (fairly old tech now bought it a number of years ago). You can mount it on your bike, chest or helmet with the purchase of accessories. Works for me but go for the latest that you can afford. I think the GoPro 12 is the latest version. I prefer removable batteries which you can purchase extra if you are doing long videos. Change out on the fly then You can charge them when you are not riding. I also have a Sena 10C with video capabilities mounted on my helmet, but it really drains the batteries when in video mode. It has 4k video quality and blue tooth coms and can communicate with up to 3 other riders on within a mile of separation.
You will need a "dead cat" to cancel out the wind noise on the GoPro at least on mine it needs it. Any more than +20 mile per hour, you just hear a lot of wind noise and not so much of the exhaust tune on the Norton.
The sena works better with wind. The GoPro is a dedicated video tool where the sena is a compromise being more of a com system and a Bluetooth to a Garmin GPS and phone but have video capabilities and can record 5 minuets on a loop if something needs to be recorded and kept even when not in Recording mode.
Hope that helps.
Cheers,
Tom

IMO wind noise pretty much ruins many or even most POV videos on bikes. These guys, (love ‘em or loathe ‘em) have the best audio capture I’ve yet heard and a while back they posted this to show how. I don’t think it possible with a GoPro though as they explain; they did a follow up comparing to the latest Go Pro too.

I have a GoPro 10 and I think it’s ok and comes with lots of accessories. There are 2 big cons as far as I am concerned:

- it gets over heated easily and shuts down.
- I have not looked in the last few months, but they have NO desktop editing software, even after paying for the upgrade. You have to create and edit movies on iPads or iPhones or equivalent using their app. I hope they resolve that soon. To me it’s a major issue.

Jerry

Go Pro kind of sucks

They should update their software.

So what brand is better?

I have a GoPro, it’s fine. Wind noise can be eliminated with one of the foam covers that fit over the entire camera.

My friends all use a Insta360 which is what I would buy now if I was looking to upgrade. The ability to record everything around you and choose a POV is remarkable. These are intended to be attached to a stick mounted to your handlebar or off the back of your bike although I suspect you can mount it anywhere if you are ok with limiting its range.

A couple of things that pose a challenge when getting into this. First, editing and producing your movie is very time consuming. There Is a variety of editing software, some free, to produce your movie. Then ensure you have the correct settings to post to say YouTube so you get full resolution playback. It takes hours to get it done.

Second issue is battery life and storage capacity. To film anything over say 90 mins, depending on resolution, requires additional batteries and storage chips. It’s something to prep for before you head out and takes time to switch them when you are stopped.

All this continually improves, so definitely start filming. I do it so I can experience riding once I can’t, which for many of us isn’t far off.

2WheelsUp said:

I have a GoPro, it’s fine. Wind noise can be eliminated with one of the foam covers that fit over the entire camera.

My friends all use a Insta360 which is what I would buy now if I was looking to upgrade. The ability to record everything around you and choose a POV is remarkable. These are intended to be attached to a stick mounted to your handlebar or off the back of your bike although I suspect you can mount it anywhere if you are ok with limiting its range.

A couple of things that pose a challenge when getting into this. First, editing and producing your movie is very time consuming. There Is a variety of editing software, some free, to produce your movie. Then ensure you have the correct settings to post to say YouTube so you get full resolution playback. It takes hours to get it done.

Second issue is battery life and storage capacity. To film anything over say 90 mins, depending on resolution, requires additional batteries and storage chips. It’s something to prep for before you head out and takes time to switch them when you are stopped.

All this continually improves, so definitely start filming. I do it so I can experience riding once I can’t, which for many of us isn’t far off.

Click to expand...

I agree on the Insta 360, but I will persevere with my GoPro.

On a side note to this:
Here at Access Norton, I have not allowed to upload movies at the forum directly as my server is getting full up. For now the only way to get movies here is by going to YouTube and uploading there, then posting the link here and there is nothing wrong with that.

Going forward I will be storing photos (and movies) at a 3rd party CDN which will give us much more space and it will operate better. After I have configured that (going to be a while), then I am going to allow members to upload movies directly here (same as you do with photos). I probably should have done this a long time ago.

Jerry

Interesting comments. I have a couple of cameras I could use, but I need something which is guaranteed to be good. I have wanted to an on-board for a long time now. But I cannot ride the bike on a public road, and the nearest race track which I can use is 350 Km away. The camera needs to be able to capture good video and sound before I drive that distance - a fail would be a bit costly. I should have done this while I was still able to access Winton Raceway - 11 Km from home.
I might charge-up the cameras and test them by hanging them out the window of my car whiledrivinga bit quick.

2WheelsUp said:

I have a GoPro, it’s fine. Wind noise can be eliminated with one of the foam covers that fit over the entire camera.

My friends all use a Insta360 which is what I would buy now if I was looking to upgrade. The ability to record everything around you and choose a POV is remarkable. These are intended to be attached to a stick mounted to your handlebar or off the back of your bike although I suspect you can mount it anywhere if you are ok with limiting its range.

A couple of things that pose a challenge when getting into this. First, editing and producing your movie is very time consuming. There Is a variety of editing software, some free, to produce your movie. Then ensure you have the correct settings to post to say YouTube so you get full resolution playback. It takes hours to get it done.

Second issue is battery life and storage capacity. To film anything over say 90 mins, depending on resolution, requires additional batteries and storage chips. It’s something to prep for before you head out and takes time to switch them when you are stopped.

All this continually improves, so definitely start filming. I do it so I can experience riding once I can’t, which for many of us isn’t far off.

Click to expand...

I use Minitool Video Editor and Minitool Video Converter every day. It is quick and easy

Jerry Doe said:

I agree on the Insta 360, but I will persevere with my GoPro.

On a side note to this:
Here at Access Norton, I have not allowed to upload movies at the forum directly as my server is getting full up. For now the only way to get movies here is by going to YouTube and uploading there, then posting the link here and there is nothing wrong with that.

Going forward I will be storing photos (and movies) at a 3rd party CDN which will give us much more space and it will operate better. After I have configured that (going to be a while), then I am going to allow members to upload movies directly here (same as you do with photos). I probably should have done this a long time ago.

Jerry

Click to expand...

I had my own Youtube channel until I mislabelled a video and got scrubbed for a copyright infringement. You can copy any Youtube video to your own channel if it has been authorised for use on Youtube, but if you lose the file identity - it creates an ownership problem.

I haven’t invested in an action camera to date mostly the daunting prospect of all the editing and colour matching to make it watchable. I have watched many on YouTube though and to me the Insta 360 already comes across as a cliche much like modern movies use a drone travelling at speed over water then lift to the horizon, yawn. The fisheye lens from above looks like Mario Cart POV too imo.

If I were to invest I’d closely look at the DJI Action Pro with its dual wireless mics mounting one on my back to guarantee no wind noise and to pick out the Commando’s awesome exhaust note; just my take.

I ended up ordering the DJI 400. It's not the current model but neither am I! I don't care about trying to do any major editing for internet posting - it would be for my own use and maybe send the family a few short videos.

When I dabbled with on board video, I used a sony Actioncam which mounted to side of helmet. It had a jack for external battery and mic...so i could run all day long with an external battery pack (the kind for phone charging...2k-4k mAH). Had it stuck on back of helmet or in a pocket. Having external mic let me place it in helmet for commentary or in back pocket of pants for excellent engine note, no wind noise.

I mounted mine just behind the windscreen, using a short arm to reduce shake, and ran the power straight to a USB port on the bars. Worked fine up to about 80 mph, then wind blast messed with the audio. If you're looking ahead, some of the best action cameras in 2025 have better wind noise reduction and improved stabilization, which should really help on a bike like the Commando.

I bought a DJI action pro 4 and a DJI mini mic. Tried it out first on my '76 Honda CB400F. I Mounted the mic behind me but it still ended up with wind noise at higher speed, perhaps due to the noise reduction setting on the camera that made it sound like the engine was misfiring/stuttering - which it was not. I'm learning more about video than I ever wanted to...

Below is a video clip. I don't have a UTube site but a friend offered to post it on his. If anyone has an idea about the wind noise/engine sound interference, I'd appreciate any input!!

MexicoMike said:

I bought a DJI action pro 4 and a DJI mini mic. Tried it out first on my '76 Honda CB400F. I Mounted the mic behind me but it still ended up with wind noise at higher speed, perhaps due to the noise reduction setting on the camera that made it sound like the engine was misfiring/stuttering - which it was not. I'm learning more about video than I ever wanted to...

Below is a video clip. I don't have a UTube site but a friend offered to post it on his. If anyone has an idea about the wind noise/engine sound interference, I'd appreciate any input!!

Click to expand...

I don't know how big the microphone is, but try some microphone windscreen foam. https://www.amazon.com/Microphone-W...cphy=94731&hvtargid=pla-4583795283730332&th=1

The mic has a windscreen and I had it mounted behind me - actually attached to my belt in the small of my back. I would have thought that would have eliminated any wind noise. Maybe I had the volume set too high and it's clipping? It was at the default value of 50 (of 100). I don't know nuthin' bout no video!

MexicoMike said:

The mic has a windscreen and I had it mounted behind me - actually attached to my belt in the small of my back. I would have thought that would have eliminated any wind noise. Maybe I had the volume set too high and it's clipping? It was at the default value of 50 (of 100). I don't know nuthin' bout no video!

Click to expand...

Yep, that’s clipping alright. You’ll need to turn the input/recording gain down if you can. That has nothing to do with volume in video processing or uploading its in the original recording. AFAIK not all action cameras allow gain adjustment or if they do, not enough. The DJI Action 5 does though.

Café au Lait said:

Yep, that’s clipping alright. You’ll need to turn the input/recording gain down if you can. That has nothing to do with volume in video processing or uploading its in the original recording. AFAIK not all action cameras allow gain adjustment or if they do, not enough. The DJI Action 5 does though.

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Just a polite reminder that this is an English speaking forum gents… please revert back to English…