My thoughts were much the same as yours, I liked the Sonic Comms system for its streamlined helmet mounting and remote PVR. After some persistence with emails and phone calls to them I got a response and product data sheet but then they lost interest and despite further prompting I couldn't get prices or detailed specs, so I gave up. That said I'm not sure it would have been useful to pursue it as their website suggests their core markets are police and security services, which in turn suggests their products will be on the pricey side and not suitable for anyone on a non movie star budget.

So I turned elsewhere, and again like you have shunned the Go-Pro route. As cameras they are good, and the battery life isn't bad. In fact you see plenty of TV motoring programmes where they have rigged up Go-Pros round the vehicle so the quality is evidently top notch. But for bike cameras I don't like them. Too big, too obtrusive, particularly as helmet cams.

What I've come down to is using a Drift Stealth 2 as helmet cam with wifi remote (wrist mounted). The battery and memory isn't as good as the GP but you can easily get round that. Set the camera to "tagging" mode so it only records a predetermined amount of footage when you press the remote. Mine is set on 1 minute so when you hit the button you get the previous minute, plus the current minute and the next minute. So a total of 3 minutes footage including a little time before you hit the button! Ideal if you want to record an incident or a particular bit of road without needing to edit down hours of uneventful footage, and thereby doesn't clog the memory card. Battery life is also a bit restrictive but you can charge it up each time you stop.

For extra footage without needing to worry about charging up stuff I'll be getting one of the neat little on-bike camera systems from Innovv. This can be powered from the bike's electrical system and do front/rear recording or both, with very unobtrusive cameras. This is more like a conventional dashcam and again you can do tagging with a handlebar mounted button - otherwise it does permanent loop recording.

A word of warning though. If you are engaging in "spirited" riding be aware the police can and do seize camera footage to use as evidence against you.

Links for anyone who'd like to find out more

sonic-comms.com - Motorcycle Communications

Drift | No matter what moves you, capture it best with Drift - Drift Innovation

Motorcycle Camera | Motorcycle Traffic Camera | INNOVV