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Adventure Cams –
YOU are part of the action!
These tiny camcorders have created quite a stir recently,
with some sensational footage of some of the world’s best
action sports. Here we take a look at the market leaders –
where YOU can get up close and personal with the action!
Y
ou must have noticed quite a
number of TV programs, especially extreme sports, which
feature “action” sequences from positions which would either be impossible to film using traditional techniques
or at the very least, would have posed
great risk to life and limb.
Many programs, action sports in
particular, feature amazingly detailed
footage from “right inside” the action
– more often than not you see exactly
what the participant sees.
How do they do it?
Just as in most things electronic and
photographic, great advances have
been made in recent years. Miniaturisation has been the byword but that
miniaturisation has not come at the
expense of quality – in fact, the opposite is usually true.
If you’re used to seeing “webcam”
quality (at best VGA, usually a lot less!)
look again – full HD (1080p) is now
the norm with full broadcast quality
almost passé!
I’ve seen a lot of these so-called
“adventure cams” in recent times. But I
still marvel at how “in your face” they
can make the action and just how good
the quality is!
Several months ago, I witnessed just
such action first hand at the NSW Surf
Lifesaving Championships, and the lat18 Silicon Chip
er two-night highlights program shown
on Foxtel. I knew that a company had
been contracted to put together the
program and indeed, saw their “typical” (read large tripod-mounted!) video
cameras in action.
It was only when it came to the
“flags” event, where competitors race
each other across 20m of sand and
dive for lengths of rubber tube stood
vertically in the sand, that I noticed
the other cameras in their “arsenal”;
tiny cameras, no bigger than a couple
of cigarette packets.
There are a couple difficulties in
filming flag competition. One is that
sufficient clearance must be made
between a fast-running then diving
competitor and any film gear (it’s
common for stills photographers to
use pretty long lenses for this reason).
Another is that in that dive and mad
scramble for flags, sand literally goes
everywhere. Pity help a ten or twenty
thousand dollar professional video
camera that’s within range (salty sand
and precision optics do not make good
bedfellows).
Then there were all of the water
events – surf swimming, boards, skis
and the perennial surf boats. Practice
by Ross Tester
in the past has been to put the camera
in a waterproof case (even more size
and weight) and place the cameraman
in a rubber duck (IRB) or on the back
of a jet ski.
At these championships, they went
one better – the tiny cameras were
in waterproof housings all right but
these were secured to the front and
rear of the boards, skis and boats in the
competition, or fastened to the helmet
of the sweep in a row boat (for example). Others were actually held in the
hand by cameramen swimming with
the competitors for some sensational
water-level and indeed underwater
action.
Of course, surf lifesaving is not the
only area where video action is captured in this way. Yachties love ’em, because a tiny camera secured to the mast
(or elsewhere) isn’t going to affect the
yacht’s performance but will still get
some memorable footage (what is the
right word in the digital age?)! Think
Sydney-to-Hobart or Olympic Yachting
and you’ll probably remember some.
Mountain biking, surfboard riding,
snow skiing and snowboarding, scuba
diving, kayaking, even skateboarding...
just some of the sports where some
amazing footage has been taken. It’s
also used extensively in advertising,
on board aircraft, racing cars and bikes
siliconchip.com.au
– in fact, anywhere you can strap on
or clip on a camera!
The media used in the camera (or
more accurately camcorder) is normally a microSD card.
By far the largest share of this “sports
action” video camera market belongs to
a company called GoPro. They’ve been
the innovators in this area and have
certainly earned “the name”.
To prove what I’ve been saying about
the quality of the video shot by GoPro
gear, even if you never intend to buy
one, have a look at the GoPro website
and take a look at their opening page
video. And be gobsmacked!
In fact, it was GoPro gear that I was
referring to above at the SLS NSW
Championships.
There is a range of cameras in their
latest “Hero3” edition, from their 5MP
“White Edition” featuring 1080p <at> 30
fps (frames per second), through the
11MP “Silver Edition” (also 1080p <at>
30 fps) up to the latest and greatest
12MP “Black Edition” which does
1080p <at> 60 fps – ie, virtual broadcast
quality, especially with a bit of postproduction!
They’re sold just about everywhere
these days from sporting stores and
outdoor stores to many photographic
stores and even some department
stores, with prices of the three models ranging from about $269 to $489,
depending where you buy.
The earlier, similar “Hero2” models
are still available in many stores – in
fact, you have to be a bit careful that
you’re being sold the model you want.
Apart from the camera itself, the
thing that sets GoPro apart from its
competition is the huge range of accessories available.
Some of these are “necessaries”
rather than accessories so you need to
factor them in before you slap down
your plastic.
We were so impressed with the
GoPro that, after many “dead end”
phone calls we finally tracked down
an Australian distributor who said
that they would be happy to supply
one for review.
And we waited. And waited. And . . .
GoPro’s Hero3 series is by far the
market leader with a well-earned
reputation. Shown here is the “Silver”
model, middle-of-the-road in both
features and price.
Here’s the Contour +2 inside its
waterproof case. While many
sports don’t require immersion, the
case gives a lot of protection from
inevitable splashes.
Much ligher
and cheaper is Sony’s
Action Cam. Picture quality might not
be up there with the big boys but it’s
still certainly worth another look!
Go-Pro
siliconchip.com.au
August 2013 19
So we would have liked to bring you
a “hands on” report on the GoPro Hero3
but we’ll have to limit ourselves to the
observations already made.
Contour +2
This is a rather different beast from
the GoPro but from reports we’ve heard,
is gaining a very healthy reputation.
The main thing that sets it apart is
its built-in GPS (so you not only know
what you’ve seen but where you’ve
seen it!), a rotatable lens, a laser-sight
level and the ability to mount it without putting it in its waterproof case.
That case, by the way, gets you down
to 60m.
It’s no lightweight at 155g but it can
shoot 1080p <at> 30 fps right through to
480p <at> 120 fps.
Battery life, too is a possible gamechanger – we’ve heard reports of 4
hours of life in the Contour +2, versus
~1 hour (or less) for the GoPro Hero3
Black. Its low-light performance is
supposed to be right up there.
The Contour +2 is also controllable
from your iPad or Android smartphone. In fact, to access most settings
you’ll need to pair it with your phone
or connect it to your computer.
Price-wise, there’s not a lot to choose
from between the GoPro Hero3 Black
and the Contour +2, at least as far as
Australian street prices go. But shop
around!
is the easiest to point and shoot.
The Action Cam starter pack represents pretty good value at $299 (RRP)
and there are many, many accessories
available for it.
Sony Australia (www.sony.com.au)
are the importers but both the Action
Cam and Contour +2 are available just
about everywhere!
the case. It offers full HD (HDMI 1080i)
resolution in movie mode and can
also shoot stills at up to 3200 x 2400.
With just 1 lux minimum illuminaton
it can handle dark scenes with ease.
It’s just 30 x 52 x 26mm and weighs
in at around 24g. www.altronics.com.
au; tel 1300 797 007.
Ion Air Pro Plus
Another one that hasn’t received
the rave reviews of the GoPro but is
nevertheless attracting a lot of attention is the Drift HD Ghost. It’s quite a
different beast to look at and it’s quite
a different beast in operation.
It shoots 1080p like the rest and it
sports a 170° wide-angle rotating lens
– mount the camera on whatever angle
and the lens rotates itself to ensure the
perfect horizon/angle. It’s waterproof
to 3m without an optional housing.
(There is an optional housing which
goes down to 60m if you want it).
With built-in WiFi it can communicate instantly with smartphones,
while the battery life is claimed to be
the longest on the market, at 3 hours.
Included with the Ghost is a twoway remote control, a spare rear connector hatch, USB cable, 3.5mm mic
extension cable, accessory travel case,
1700mAh battery and three mounts: a
goggle mount plus one curved and one
flat adhesive surface mount. Recommended retail in Australia is $459.00
Camzilla in Sydney (02) 9880 9883
(www.camzilla.com.au) is the only
Australian retail showroom dedicated
to action cams (including the Drift) and
will be glad to advise you on the best
suited camera for your purpose.
One you may not have heard of is the
Ion Air Pro Plus. It’s distributed by CR
Kennedy in Melbourne (www.crkennedy.com.au). It’s one of the lighter
action cams at just over 120g and is
waterproof “as it comes” to a depth of
10m, so no separate casing is needed.
It also comes with a waterproof microphone so you can dive with the whales
and record their discomfort at having
you in their domain. It’s claimed to
have a super-low-light sensitivity of
>1.4 V/lux-sec.
It also features 1080p (HD) 30 fps
video and 5MP stills – these can be
sequenced in three per second or one
every 10, 20 and 30 seconds to create
“step photo” video.
The microSD card can be up to 32GB
and on this you could fit up to about
250 minutes of 1080p video. Battery
life is a bit limited at 2.5 hours.
Altronics HD Action Cam
For those looking for a much lighter
action cam, you might look at the 55g
Sony Action Cam.
According to most reports I’ve heard,
its video quality is not quite up to
other action cams on the market (when
compared A:B) but in isolation, you’d
probably be pretty happy with it. However, it’s the only one that offers image
stabilisation (called Steady Shot) and
Altronics Distributors (Perth, Melbourne and Sydney) have this lightweight (24g) camera which offers 1920
x 1080HD or 848x480DI resolution
but also has a low-resolution mode to
extend recording time. The 450mAh
Li-Ion battery gives up to two hours
recording.
It comes with a waterproof case
(rated to 20m) and a range of mounting
accessories, including helmet strap,
bar mount and neck hanging strap, all
of which can be used with or without
The barrel-shaped Ion Air Pro Plus is
waterproof to 10m without the need
for an external case. It features 1080p
resolution and inbuilt WiFi.
This model
from Altronics includes a selection of
mounting accessories including helmet
strap, bar mount and neck hanging
strap all of which may be used with
the waterproof casing.
Sony Action Cam
20 Silicon Chip
Drift HD Ghost
Epic
At around $230, the EPIC SSTCEPIC1 is one of the lower-price models
on the market. The Epic is described as
ultra-light-weight (70g) and it’s a bar-
The Drift HD Ghost certainly looks the
part. I’m not sure about the 170° field
– it makes everything look a bit “fisheye-y”. But it’s a neat package!
siliconchip.com.au
rel shape which measures only 75mm
long. It too will shoot up to 30 frames
per second with up to 100 minutes of
video on a 4GB card.
We don’t know of anyone with an
Epic, nor have we found an Australian distributor – though there are
several retailers that pop up on good
ol’ Google – LeGear (Gold Coast) and
Sportscamera (Sydney) for example.
Navig8r NavsportPro
We didn’t know much about this
brand, apparently from the same people who bring you the Navig8r GPS
units (among other things), until we
spotted an advert for it in a Target Toy
Sale flier, of all things.
The thing that attracted our attention was the price – just $59 (reduced
from $99) – but then we noticed that
this was for a 720p model so it doesn’t
really compare with the others shown
here. There is a second 720p “Mini”
sports camera on their website selling
for $69.95 but it is marked as “not
available” at the moment.
But further investigation showed
that Navig8r (part of the Laser Corporation, an Australian company) do
indeed have a 1080p model (60 fps)
with a housing claimed to be waterproof down to 100m, a wireless remote
control, an additional battery pack and
an assortment of “premium mounting
accessories”.
One nifty feature of the Navig8R
NavSportPro is a built-in laser pointer
so you can aim the camera exactly
when it is mounted, for example, on
your helmet.
The Pro model (shown below) is
priced at $299.95.
Incidentally, Laser Corp also have
a range of in-car event and accident
recorders including (as you might ex-
Then
there’s the
EPIC – one of
the lower-priced models on the market.
siliconchip.com.au
pect from this company!) GPS tracking.
Further details from the Laser website, www.laserco.net/products/gps/
navig8r-sports-camera
And then along came Jaycar!
Purely by coincidence (honestly!)
while we were waiting for GoPro to
get back to us, the manager of our
local Jaycar emporium (knowing
my interest in photography) told me
about the new action camcorder
they were stocking
(thanks, Zig!).
A call to Jaycar’s
marketing manager
soon had a sample
on its way to us for
a review.
So while this feature is about several of the sports/
action/adventure
camcorders available in Australia we
will concentrate on
the Jaycar 1080p HD
Sports Camera (cat no
QC8020).
The most noticeable Jaycar’s HD Sports Cam is the cheapest 1080p on the
feature, even before market yet offers at least as good facilities as most, and
you open the box, is more accessories than most! The remote control and
the price. At $169 it’s waterproof case are included.
significantly cheaper
mount and a surfboard mount, along
than most of the other action cams
with an infrared remote control. That’s
sold in Australia. The “gun” price in
a pretty impressive list to be included
Australia for the GoPro Hero3 White,
in that $169!
which the Jaycar is very close to in
specs, appears to be about $230 – but
OK, so what are its specs?
ranges up to about $300 or so. And
As we said, it comes pretty close
that’s the naked camera – if you want
to the GoPro Hero3 White: 5.0MP
any accessories, you need to add them
resolution, f/3.1 2.9mm lens with 120°
on.
angle, a 4x digital zoom and can shoot
The Jaycar sports cam comes with
at three resolutions – 640 x 480 (VGA)
a fully waterproof case, a handlebar
<at> 120 fps, 720p (1280 x 720) <at> 60 fps
mount, glass suction mount, helmet
and 1080p HD (1920 x 1080) <at> 30 fps.
In still image mode you can get up to
a 12MP (4000 x 3000) image and the
built-in microphone adds sound if
you want it.
With up to a 32GB microSD card,
you can store up to 192 minutes of
video; however the drawback here is
the limited (1 hour) battery life.
Weight is a very respectable 50g and
size of the camera (out of the waterAnd
proof case) is 74(l) x 52(w) x 30(d)mm.
finally, the
So as you can see, it’s not dissimilar
Navig8r Sports
to the other action cams we’ve listed
Cam Pro, in
above. Of course, it won’t match the
its 100m-rated
performance of the GoPro Hero3 Black
waterproof
– then again, none of the others will
case.
either – but you’ll pay the best part of
August 2013 21
OK, so the front of the Jaycar Action Cam is pretty bland –
but then again, given the usage of the device and minimal
user controls, why wouldn’t it be?
$500 for one of those from an Australian retailer. There are better deals from
some stores who sell overseas-sourced
models but questions are then raised
about warranties and so on.
Controls
There are only three instantly accessible controls: power, shoot and
display on/off (to save power). And
when inside the waterproof case you
only get the first two. Arguably, that’s
all you need – especially when in an
action environment.
The infrared remote, which of course
works through the waterproof case,
has power, snap (ie still photo) and
video buttons.
Attachment to the camera is via a
standard 1/4-in thread so as well as
using any of its mounts, it will fit on a
standard photographic tripod thread.
A rubber cover on one side lifts to
reveal the microSD card slot (it will
handle up to 32GB, though this needs
to be a class 10 for optimal performance – class 4 cards will give error
messages).
On the opposite side is another
rubber cover which hides the standard mini-USB socket (used for both
22 Silicon Chip
Almost the whole of the rear of the cam is this 2.4-in
colour touch screen which doubles as a menu selection
device.
charging and connection) and an HDMI
socket for connecting your HDMI TV.
The back of the cam is, with the
exception of the display on/off switch,
taken up almost completely by the
2.4-inch colour touchscreen display.
This shows real-time images along
with settings for date/time, mode (video/still), resolution (FHD [30 fps], HD
[30 fps], HD [60 fps] and VGA [120 fps],
+ and – (for zoom) and elapsed time
(ie, amount of video stored) in h:m:s.
In use
With only two buttons, even the
most non-technical person should be
able to figure this one out – power it
up and press the “go” button to start
recording. Oh yeah, you have to press
the “go” button to stop it again.
Even the display-driven controls are
pretty-much self explanatory.
So how did it go?
Well, I have to admit that, being the
middle of winter and in a particularly
nasty week of weather in Sydney, I
didn’t exactly take it underwater. However, I did try it mounted in the car and
it behaved exactly as I expected it to.
Incidentally, that’s been a somewhat
unexpected application for a lot of
action cams: vehicle recorders. It’s
become quite popular for owners to
put them in their cars when not using
them as “nature” intended, thereby
keeping a video of their car and those
around them. Very handy for road
rage incidents and accident insurance
claims, I’m told!
My son and heir, who is a lot more
athletic than I, volunteered to take
it skiing and get some real action
video (well, in his case, probably more
upside-down-in-the-snow video!). He
did, and he did . . . and no, I wouldn’t
let him keep it. While the snowboarding videos Craig took were tame by
comparison to the off-the-side-of-themountain footage on the GoPro site,
they’re nevertheless quite impressive
and demonstrate the potential of this
remarkable little camera.
OK, in a nutshell? Impressive. And
at the price, it’s a bargain, especially
compared to the big name models.
Please note: the only action cam we were
able to actually use was the Jaycar model
(even though we’ve tried out a GoPro Hero2
Silver in the past). All other information came
from the various company literature and/or
websites.
SC
siliconchip.com.au
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