Okay, so I’ve been messing around with this idea for a while now: getting a camera view from inside my helmet. Not the usual action cam stuck on the top or side, but actually looking out from, well, where my face is. Seemed like a cool perspective to capture.
Getting Started
First thing was figuring out what camera could even possibly fit. Your standard GoPro? Too bulky. No way that’s fitting comfortably or safely inside. I looked at those smaller ‘cube’ style cameras. Still seemed a bit chunky. I ended up digging through some old tech drawers and found a really small, older action camera. Like, one of those knock-off brands, super light and basic. Didn’t need amazing quality, just needed to fit.
Then came the “where the heck do I put this?” part. The obvious spot seemed like the chin bar area. It’s kinda the only spot with any space in a full-face helmet. I tried just holding it there while wearing the helmet (not riding, obviously, just sitting in the garage). Looked promising.
Mounting – The Tricky Bit
Alright, mounting. This was the headache. Standard sticky mounts? Too big, wouldn’t conform to the curve inside the chin bar. Plus, I worried about it coming loose. Didn’t want a camera bouncing around in front of my face while riding.
I messed around with a few things:
- Sugru / Moldable Glue: Tried making a custom mold around the camera base and sticking that to the helmet liner. It kinda worked? But felt temporary, and I worried about blocking vents.
- Velcro: Stuck some heavy-duty velcro inside the chin bar and on the camera. This was better. It held, but the camera wobbled a bit. Not ideal for video.
- The Final Attempt: I ended up using a combination. I found a very small, flat sticky mount that came with some other gadget. Trimmed it down a lot. Stuck that inside the chin bar, really pressed it in. Then, I used a tiny bit of that moldable glue stuff around the edges of the mount, just for extra security, avoiding any vents. Attached the camera to that. It felt much more solid.
Power and Testing
This little camera had its own battery, thankfully. Didn’t want to mess with running wires inside the helmet initially. Too complicated. So, charged it up fully.
First test run. Put the helmet on. Okay, definitely feel something there on the chin bar, but not too intrusive. Started recording. Rode around the block.
Checked the footage. Woah. Okay, a few things:
The view: Pretty cool! Seeing the handlebars, the dash, the road ahead, all framed by the bottom edge of the helmet opening. Exactly what I was going for.
The problems:
- Fogging: My breath fogged up the lens almost instantly when stopped. Had to crack the visor open a lot.
- Sound: Terrible. Just wind noise and muffled engine sounds. Expected, but still bad. The mic was basically right in front of my mouth/nose.
- Angle: It was pointed slightly too low. Saw a lot of my gas tank.
Refinements
So, back to the garage. I carefully adjusted the camera angle on its little mount, pointing it up just a fraction more. Took a bit of trial and error putting the helmet on and off.
For the fogging, I tried an anti-fog spray on the tiny camera lens. Helped a bit, but still needed good airflow.
The sound? Didn’t really solve that with this basic setup. If I wanted good audio, I’d need an external mic run somehow, probably closer to my mouth but shielded from direct breath. Decided to just live with crappy audio for now; the video perspective was the main goal.
End Result
So now, I have this tiny camera tucked into the chin bar. It’s held securely. It records a decent forward view, framed by the helmet. Battery life isn’t great, maybe an hour or so, but it’s enough for shorter rides or specific shots. It’s definitely not Hollywood quality, and the audio is basically useless. But does it capture that unique inside-the-helmet perspective? Yeah, it does. Was it worth the fiddling? For me, yeah, it was a fun little project, trying to make it work. It’s not something I use on every ride, but it’s cool to have that option.
