I'm thinking of getting a helmet cam. Footage from friends cams in the last couple of years has been awesome when touring, and of course there's the safety recording aspect too.

But which one? A couple of years ago I looked at the Contour Roam, and wish I'd bought it then. I don't actually like the square bulk of the top mounted Go-Pro, and would prefer something side mounted.

So - recommendations? Opinions? Reviews?
All advice welcomed, and pros and cons would be useful too.

It depends on how much you want to spend. Panasonic do a camera where the bulk of it is in a box that sits on your belt and it's only a tiny camera that sits on your helmet. You can get side mounts for the go pro or strap it to the bike, but then you might not be able to get the views that you would with it on the helmet. You really don't need to spend lots as there are cheep cameras out there that have good quality. Just look out for the resolution, frames p/s, but the biggest one is the battery life.

I used to use a DriftHD 1080p ghost. Its small enough not to be that noticable when on your helmet there are plenty of mounting points for your bike also and a fully 360 movable lens for any angle. Think they are going for about £100ish these days.                                                                                                                                                                             

Good suggestions so far, will look into those. Please keep 'em coming                                                                                                                                                                             

I have used a contour rome for a few years now mounted on the side of my helmet. Really good camera for the money and one charge lasts around 3 hours, which is more than most others that I was looking at. It's waterproof and Software does the job for downloading the footage. I'm also not a fan of the go pro look as it just stands out to much for me.

Also this camera helped me easily prove liability when I was knocked off my bike twice. It survived two accidents with a crack on the lense which is barely noticable in the videos, so still using it. Got my moneys worth 3 times over now :)

I use the Sony HDR-AS200V, side mounted. Picture quality excellent, up to 1080p, image stabilisation, GPS tracking etc. Battery life is only 2 hrs though, so carry 3 plus charger on hols. 64Mb SD card holds about 22 hrs at 720p MP4 SD@ 6Mb/s (I recall), the setting that I found was the best compromise between image quality, battery usage and storage. Looks neat too. Not waterproof though, so you might need the waterproof case. Poor Sony Play Memories software is needed for it on phone/laptop to view/manage images. Can use all of the Go-Pro accessory mounts via an adapter.
UPDATE: Had a brainwave! Just bought a micro-usb female to male coiled extension cable. Will attach to 4100 ma/H Energizer Power Bank in top pocket to see how long a battery will last. If calc's are correct, should be about 9+ hrs!

Managed to find a NOS Contour Roam 2 going cheap - in an online cycle shop!
So have ordered that, but also signed up with Contour to await news of the soon to be launched Roam 4.
Now all I need is a touring plan for the summer...