Tough little “bullet style” action camera, This makes for an alternative to the traditional box style cameras which have come to dominate the area. Using a bullet type styling though can have some advantages it;s more discreet (the matt black casing also helps here) and it creates a much lower profile. Box contents includes in addition to the camera a head strap, bike mount, and a pad which has one part removable with Velcro and the other with an adhesive backing this has two loops which are silicone lined (to grip the camera) a micro USB charging lead and manual. As you have no screen you have very simple controls a top button for power and to start stop recording and you get visual feedback too with two LED;s just in front of it and built in vibration feedback (pretty useful if you have it head/helmet mounted one shake it;s started recording 2 when you stop it 3 powered off) A back screw section reveals a micro USB port for charging and a mode button for video/stills.
It;s quite well thought out because the mode button cycles through the 3 options and the right LED will be red in 1080p, blue 720p and green when it;s in the photo mode you can;t really go wrong after a short time using it I was quite pleased how they implemented this so you can;t make any mistakes. Only downside you can can;t change the mode unless the back cap is off. It is possible to record whilst charging though this does mean the back cap is off but it could find some use with an external power bank for longer recording times in better weather conditions. To adjust some settings you will need to modify the text file on the micro SD card this is easily done so you can set the date or turn off the time stamp, car DVR mode or record protection etc no other way to do this as you;ve no rear LCD.
One upside though is you;ve extended battery life I got about 2 hours 15 minutes off a single charge that;s a good hour above many normal action cameras. At times I did mess being able to review footage or photos, but you;re free to concentrate on the capturing it;s a compromise with the form factor it will work for some and might not for others. Camera is strongly made and the back screw on cap ensures water resistance and protection for the card a small loop on the back of this so you can attach it to something like a lanyard. Can;t fault the build it;s solid and the threads are clean easy to screw on and with an O ring seal. Field testing this I went for a cycle using the bike mount this has can Hex socket screw rotate the side to side view via a click mechanism a solid fit though I;d prefer a touch more tightness on the fully rotatable head. Footage was good details dynamic range and the exposure seemed consistent as was the white balance and sound was clear too though as you;d expect you can pick up a bit of wind noise it; wasn;t overbearing on my test run.
Files sizes are about 90-100MB for 1 minute in full HD a few compression artefacts in the sky were seen nothing too annoying though. Photos were pretty good for an action camera not up to a dedicated camera comparable to other models I;ve used. I did note the first second or so seemed a bit off on the footage not sure why it was the same on all the media players I tried (blocked up just for one second then the video is fine after that at the start of a clip this is) There are some other minor areas I would change with this (would be handy to be able to switch modes on the top of the camera) but for an affordable camera in this style it;s worth investigating.
chicagoscrews