A while back when I was talking about getting a POV cam for USPSA, OpticsPlanet.net emailed me and asked if I’d like to review the Epic HD1080 High Definition Adventure Camera (at a discount) to which I replied “Duh!” Not but a few years ago, any video camera that was mountable and not a bajillion dollars ran at 15fps at 640x480 and made your webcam look crystal clear in comparison. Technology marches on and today you can get a high-definition video camera like the Epic HD1080 for under $200.
I was pretty picky about what I was looking for. I wanted full 1080p definition since I needed to see details, I wanted 30fps since slower frame rates can make your video look choppy, and I wanted a very, very wide angle to capture everything around me. Oh, and it had to be less than $200. I’m a cheap bastard.
The Epic HD1080 fit that bill to a T.
Some specs - The EpicHD1080 supports resolution/frame rates of 1080P/30 FPS, 960P/30 FPS, 720P/60-30 FPS, WVGA/60 FPS. It’s nice that you can jump up to 60fps for even smoother video (plus you can watch at half speed with no loss of frames!). 720p ain’t no slouch either. It has a still capture of up to 8 megapixels as well as time lapse photography up to 1 frame per minute. I probably should have used that mode for my last USPSA match so it would have looked like I actually was moving.
Controls are simple (4 buttons) but that comes at a cost – switching modes isn’t intuitive so you need to make sure it’s set up properly before hand. Once set up, however, starting and stopping recording is a single click which is what you want. There’s a beep when you start that is loud enough to be heard through your ear pro and I wish there was another sound to let me know the camera stopped, but at least there is audio feedback to let you know the tape is rolling. Nothing worse than thinking you’re recording when you’re not.
The camera has a 160° diagonal field of view which gives the video a bit of a bowed look in the middle, but if you want a wide angle to capture everything around you, that’s the price you gotta pay.
The one specification I couldn’t find anywhere (and thus is an exclusive here!) is weight. Since you’re going to be mounting this thing on your noggin, it’s important to know how much it’s going to bog you down. The entire unit, batteries and all, comes in at 4.0 oz. This is not heavy by any stretch of the imagination, but it is important to consider since you *will* feel it. The unit comes with several mounting options including straps, adhesive clips, and an articulated arm which is what I used to mount the camera on the left side of my ear pro. The adhesive mounts are, to put it lightly, permanent. It’s 3M magic that once it touches as surface, you’re not getting it off without a crowbar.
I liked the video the camera took. Colors are a bit undersaturated and the auto-adjust for lighting shows a little delay, but cameras like these are not something Steven Spielberg is going to be using. Sound wise, it has a built in microphone that actually worked well for shooting as it didn’t distort my gun shots and while it picked up voices and the buzzer nearby, it wasn’t powerful enough to pick up so much ambient sound as to make it difficult to hear what’s going on. To pick up voices, you’ll need to be fairly close.
I’m happy with the camera, it does what I need it to do and does it quite well. I’ve gotten a few items already from OpticsPlanet.net and have had no issues whatsoever, so if you’re looking for a good POV camera, give the Epic HD1080 a look and OpticsPlanet.net a try!
Let’s roll that beautiful footage once again for posterity.
FTC / FCC / FDA Disclaimer – The nice thing about the 168° field of view is that I won’t have to turn my head that much to film you guys kissing my well sculpted buttocks.