Capturing moments in your kids life has never been easier with cameras on cell phones, but capturing their experiences riding ATV’s from their perspective using kids ATV helmet cameras is the next level.
Helmet Cams are great fun for children. Rewatching their adventures after the ride is exhilarating for them, especially with the latest editing apps allowing for instant creation of videos. You can send them to your friends and family of the young rider’s day out, or use them to help improve their riding.
If you’re new to helmet cameras for ATV riding, this guide will help you with the technical jargon and how to use them. I also go through my 3 top picks for ATV helmet cameras for different budget ranges.
Technical Jargon For ATV Helmet Cameras
Resolution
The higher the resolution, the better the picture quality. With 4k TV sets becoming the norm now, it is the same for cameras.
Resolution is measured in pixels (p), with cameras being able to switch between different resolutions of 720p, 1080p, 1440p and 4K.
File sizes will be larger on the memory card for 4K than 1080p, so make sure your memory card can hold all that footage. If you are running low on memory, it is best to switch to a lower resolution of 1080p than keep filming in 4K.
Frames Per Second (FPS)
Frames Per Second (FPS) goes hand in hand with the settings for the resolution. The higher the FPS, the smoother the video will be. 30FPS is the standard for most video, though that does depend on what resolution you’re filming at.
Most cameras shoot 4K in 30FPS, with the exception of the higher end models like the GoPro Hero 7 Black shooting at 60FPS.
For super smooth video, 1080p is shot at 120fps or (240 fps on the Hero 7), which is great for slow-motion shots. If you’re not bothered about 4k, 1080p is perfect considering the high frame rate. Everything is buttery smooth and makes rewatching your kids time on the trail very enjoyable to view.
Lens
ATV helmet cameras offer many different perspectives when filming for field of view (FOV), including the preferred wide field of view, medium or narrow.
In all honesty, I find that the wide field of view is perfectly fine and is the best for capturing everything from the ride.
Stabilization
When riding an ATV, it is usually a bumpy ride.
If a camera has stabilization, it ‘irons out’ a lot of the bumps, making for a much smoother video. To increase the stabilization of the video, you can purchase a gimbal which will make that playback even more silky.
The cheaper cameras do not come with stabilization, so it’s worth bearing in mind when purchasing a camera. For example, in my recommendations below, the Yi and Hero 7 both have it, but the Akaso budget option does not.
Camera Memory
Some cameras come with a pre-built memory, but you always want to get a memory card (like a SanDisk) as usually the internal memory is not enough.
Having an SD card is great because you can take it out and put into a PC. Take multiple cards on your rides for backup, just in case you fill one up. They are really cheap these days – you can check the price of them here on Amazon.
Also, always check you have a memory card in your ATV Camera. The amount of times forgetting something this simple can put a real downer on your ride if you didn’t put one in!
Battery Life
Battery life on an ATV helmet camera is usually 90-120 mins depending on what resolution you are filming on.
Filming 4K will drain the battery quicker than filming in 1080p.
Obviously, always charge your camera battery to maximum before you go on a ride!
Extra Features
Depending on the camera, there are usually a load of extra features available.
- Different types of shots, like burst, slow-motion and time-lapse are available.
- GPS tracking allows you to see where you’ve been filming.
- Waterproofing negates the worry of your camera getting wet.
- Wifi connectivity allows you to stream your recordings to the cloud or other devices.
- Cell phone apps allow for instant editing.
Mounting Your ATV Helmet Camera
There are lots of options when mounting a camera on a kids ATV. You can get handle bar mounts, under the seat and strap mounts.
For the rider, you can have chest mounts or the preferred helmet mounts which are usually the best.
Here is a great video on how to mount your camera to a helmet, with different positions – it is for dirt bike riding, but makes no difference in ATV riding.
Xiaomi Yi 4k Action & Sports Camera - My Recommendation
The Xiaomi Yi 4K is my favorite helmet camera for ATV riding and my kids love it.
Why? Because it’s easy for to use for kids and is a third of the price of the latest GoPro, having nearly all the same features.
I’m not one who wants the best and most expensive tech – though in this day and age I do want a camera that can give a crystal clear HD or 4k picture, has a decent battery life and is compact and robust. The Yi 4K ticks all those boxes for me and has a load of extra stuff packed inside it.
Below is a great video review that shows off the camera quality:
So what can this camera do?
The quality of 4K at 30 frames per second (FPS) is great, however if you want a smoother shot, you can have 1080p at 120 FPS. What’s more is that it has image stabliziation which means that whilst riding around the camera doesn’t wobble much when riding over rough terrain.
Battery life has a solid 2 hours whilst filming 4k, which is long enough for any ride for kids. The housing of the camera is robust, with an LCD Gorilla Glass touchscreen, which is scratch resistant and can take a battering. It’s also waterproof too.
There’s also some great advanced features, including options for slow-motion, time-lapse, burst shots, plus voice control. The Wifi capability allows you to instantly send to cloud storage or your phone – which has an app to instantly edit videos on the go, during or after your ride (great for the car journey home – kids can edit their adventures straight away!).
As far as accessories go, there are a ton of options for the Yi 4K, with all manners of gimbals, fittings etc. Here’s a link to the accessories pack which gives you loads of attachments on Amazon.
Overall, I highly recommend this camera as it won’t break the bank and has nearly all the features of the GoPro range and will last years!
- Superb Image Quality For The Price (4K/30FPS, 1080p/120FPS)
- Long Battery Life of 2 Hours Recording 4K
- Advanced Image Stabilizer
- Intuitive Touchscreen
- Advanced Features for ISO/WB/Shutter Speeds
- Waterproof
- Not as smooth as the GoPro Image Stabilizing or 4K at 60FPS, however the Yi is a 1/3 of the cost!
AKASO EK7000 4K Action Camera - Budget Option
For those perhaps not looking to spend much money, the AKASO EK7000 4K Action Camera is one of the cheapest and highly reviewed cameras online.
Just to clarify, this camera is obviously not going to be as good as the Yi above and the expensive GoPro below.
However, for the very low cost and what it can do, it’s a bargain for recording on the cheap.
This can shoot in 4K at 25 fps, 2.7k at 30fps and 1080p at 60fps, has a battery life of 90 minutes, fully waterproof, has wifi sharing capabilities and a wrist remote for controlling the camera, framing shorts and choosing when to record.
There’s also a full pack of accessories with the camera, including:
1x AKASO EK7000 Camera
1x 2.4G Remote Control
2x 1050mAh Battery
1x Waterproof Case
1x Bicycle Stand
7x Mount
2x Clip
1x Helmet Mounts
1x Bandages
5x Tethers
1 x Protective Backdoor
1x USB Cable
1x AC Charger
1x Lens Cloth
1x Manual
Below is a good solid review comparing the Akaso to the Yi and GoPro. It’s never going to be as good as the other two in this list, however for the price it’s definitely worth it if you’re looking for a cheap and cheerful option.
At the time of writing there is 10,000 positive reviews for this camera on Amazon, so for a camera this low in cost and including all of the above, it’s a great little one stop shop for action filming with your kids on ATVs.
- Excellent Camera for the Price
- Films in 4K, 2.7K and 1080p
- Decent Battery Life at 90 Minutes
- Touchscreen
- All The Accessories You Need Included With The Camera
- Limited FPS on 4K at 25fps
- No Image Stabilization
GoPro HERO 7 Black - Luxury Option
No doubt you’ve heard of GoPro and that they’re the best on the market for action helmet cameras.
Well, it’s true.
The GoPro Hero 7 Black is excellent in every single way. And it’s the most expensive action camera on the market (check the price here).
The visual quality is outstanding, with 4K/60FPS available, 2.7K at 120fps, 1440p at 120fps and 1080p at a staggering 240fps. Those slow-mo videos have never looked so good.
The colors are dynamic and vibrant, low light video performance is the best out there and the new electronic image stabilization is unlike anything out there with their Hyper-Smooth technology.
One thing to mention, if you’ve owned a GoPro Hero 5 or up before, it uses the same accessories, so you won’t have to buy new ones for the 7.
Despite being excellent in video capture and features, there are a few things that let it down. The battery life clocks in at around 1 hr 45 mins for 1080p 60fps, or 70 minutes at 4K/60fps. Yes, the camera’s processor is doing more things, but when compared to the Yi that can record 2 hrs at 4K, this seems a bit of an oversight for a high end device.
The interface can take a bit of getting used to and isn’t the most easiest thing to use either. Also I’ve heard people complain about the connectivity can drop sometimes with other devices, though that may be just user related!
Below Is a great video of the features on the Hero 7 Black.
Overall, the GoPro Hero 7 Black is fantastic for what it is designed to do – film and capture action events in pristine quality. The 4k 60FPS with their stabilizing technology is second to none, but you do pay a premium price for it. For those with a bit more money and want to treat themselves and the family, this is definitely for you.
- Picture Quality of 4K 60FPS is The Best Out There
- Stunning HDR Photo Quality
- Stabilization Is Perfect
- Waterproof
- Battery Life Could Be Better
- App Interface Is A Bit Frustrating