I had contemplated at times buying a camera to use whilst cycling, but had never taken the plunge. The main reason being that the majority of bike cameras were of the type built into lights, which were no good to me as I do a lot of off-road cycling and the lights I have are far better (brighter) than any of the light/camera offerings. This left helmet cams which I liked the idea of as they recorded whatever you were looking at, rather than where the bike was facing. I had seen people with a GoPro on their helmets which just looked very unwieldy. After a particular incident, and near miss, with an aggressive driver I decided a camera was a top priority so started looking in earnest. I soon came across the Techalogic DC-1 and what was immediately appealing was that it recorded both front and rear in the same unit. No other camera I could see did this, you needed separate front and rear cameras. My only reservation was that it was a helmet cam, and I didn’t want to look like a Teletubbie once the camera was mounted! I took the plunge and ordered it. Once it arrived I familiarised myself with it and it became immediately apparent that they had really thought all the details through – such as the simple way it turns on and off (giving a vibrating feedback so you know it’s on and recording) and all the mounting options. Also, details such as having removable screw-on lens covers so that if, for example, a stone gets kicked up and hits the front or rear of the camera it’s not the actual lens that is damaged. You buy a spare screw on lens cover easily and cheaply (compared to a damaged lens!). I tested it with the app they recommend (Viidure) and it worked flawlessly, connected easily to the camera and allowing viewing and downloading of the files to my phone. I initially mounted it using the strap option to the side of my helmet, but felt that the weight imbalance would probably drive me nuts on a ride, so attached it to the top of my helmet. Apart from the concern that I now looked like a Teletubbie!, when I sat on my bike in a riding position (head slightly tilting forward) there was a weight imbalance where I could feel the camera pulling the helmet forward. I then realised I was able to attach it still on the top of the helmet but at the back. This solved any weight imbalance and after a quick ride down the cul-de-sac I hardly knew it was even there – plus it had also help resolve the Teletubbie look! Time for a test run! I cycled up to the local shops and back again and reviewed the footage back home. I could make out the number plates nice and clearly of any cars that came the opposite direction or passed by me. The great thing about the dual front/rear capture is that you get two opportunities to catch the number plate of a vehicle! Over the course of the next few days I went on a bike ride each day – camera fitted. I chose to do more road based routes to give the camera a good real world test – seeing how well it recorded number plates and drivers too. The quality of the recording is superb. Colours are great and, after some experimenting, I found that the 1920×1280 30fps was my preferred option over the 1280×720 60fps. I thought the 60fps might have caught plates better, even at lower resolution, but found the higher resolution gave the best result. The camera came into its own on two of these rides where I encountered three separate incidents – two within 10 minutes of each other on the same ride! These were uploaded to my Police force’s anti-social driving web site with the conclusion that two of them were sent advisory letters. I doubt this would have happened without the footage. For one of the incidents in particular, if it hadn’t been for the rear capture it wouldn’t have captured the vast majority of the incident. It is such a crucial feature to have this dual recording. Whilst I was getting to grips with the camera I had need to contact Techalogic Technical Support on a few occasions to clarify some details and check on something regarding the firmware. Each time I spoke with David who was superb, answering all my questions and for one question he said he needed to check with someone else and would get back to me. As promised he called back the following day – as I was on a bike ride ironically! �� The product is fantastic and backed up by great Customer Support. I wanted to buy a couple of additional accessories and this was dealt with promptly and I received them the next day. I’m extremely happy with my purchase. The camera works superbly and it just gives that added assurance that you know you are capturing front and rear as you are cycling along. As well as the obvious use for capturing any incidents, it’s also great to play back footage from a ride and see the highlights again – saving any particular bits for posterity.
