Eyes in the back of my head...

No, not like what your Mother had.

Joan suggested a "no destination" ride today, which was fine for me - I wanted to try out the Akaso V50 Pro as a helmet cam.  Yeah, I set it up on the helmet once, but haven't tried it in actual use on the scoots.

In order to run the Akaso while on the helmet and see what the camera sees, you set it up as a wifi hotspot and use your phone to operate the shutter release and switch back and forth from stills to video.  Pretty slick in use.

With an empty Ram Mount on the mirror, I decided to try a "regular" camera on that mount, my Lumix/Panasonic pocket camera.  Now to be fair, the Lumix has a Leica zoom lens and is a much more capable camera than the the way less expensive Akaso action cam.  I grabbed a quick shot with the helmet cam, and didn't get the whole "cockpit" in the frame...

My iPhone is on the left mirror stalk, the Lumix is on the right; the Akaso is mounted on top of my helmet.

As a test, I went back and forth between the Lumix and the Akaso...

Lumix above, Akaso below...

The Lumix (glass lens) has more detail than the Akaso (plastic lens).  With images the size I use on this blog, it is mostly insignificant.

I did some video with the helmet cam - NOT as good as when the camera is mounted on the mirror stalk.  With Joan riding behind me, I check my mirrors frequently - the jerky motion of the camera going right, then left as I glance in the mirror makes it less than great to watch.  No, I won't subject you to it here.

A few more shots from the Lumix...

We stopped in Keystone so I could swap the Akaso from its forward facing position, to rearward.  This gives me one camera looking forward, one looking back...

 The county road from Keystone to Hill City once again...

A Momma and two baby deer decided this was a good time to cross...

The baby above couldn't make up its mind, so ran down the middle of the road for a bit before heading back to the left... away from the Momma and sibling. 

Back to the riding...

I like the camera mounted backwards on the helmet.  The test video was much better, with less jerky movements, as well.

This works much better than shooting over my shoulder with a DSLR.

We stopped in Hill City for gas (87mpg for me, 125mpg for Joan - these numbers are crazy).  And a hot fudge malt at the DQ.

I put the cameras away and left them in the top case for the rest of the ride.  I consider this another successful test of the function of the Akaso and a good way to mount the Lumix on the bike, as well.

Rather than take back roads home, we went for the highways; maybe a few less miles, but definitely gets you back there faster.

The weasels were calling for a big chance of thunderstorms this afternoon, but that didn't materialize.  There will be some grilling this evening, if the weather holds.  A bit warmer today, but another nice ride.