Hedcam Review |
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| Monday, 19 December 2011 12:10 | |||
 Technology is a wonderful thing, as things become smaller, lighter and normally cheaper. Take cameras for instance, nowadays it is almost impossible to take a bad picture and thanks to digitalisation you don’t even have the cost of film to worry about.When you see the size of cameras and battery packs used to record some of the on-board motorcycle footage even going back a few years, you begin to realise just what an amazing piece of equipment the Hedcam is in every respect. Not only that how useful and versatile it is for everyday use. Having seen some examples of the HD broadcast ready footage taken by one of the bullet sized cameras, I could not wait to try it out, choosing the wide angled version. (Both versions are identical apart from the lens, which in this case give a 135 degree recording angle compared to the standard 63 degrees.) It arrived in a small neat box with just about everything I could possibly need to become an ace cameraman and start producing the sort of on-board action normally seen on the TV. In the box was the small self-contained camera itself, with a built-in battery that gives 1.5 to 2 hours of filming in 720p HD mode. It weighs just 32.5grams and measures 22 x 78 mm making it one of the smallest HD camcorders in the world. It takes MicroSD cards and comes with a 4 GB as standard, but will take up to a 32 GB which will give you hours of 720p video footage. The onboard battery restricts filming to 2hours, but this will be more than enough for most people. In addition were two end caps, one a waterproof unit allowing it to be used up to 10metres under water and an open version to capture sounds, but only waterproof to 1 metre. It comes with a charger, a USB lead to plug directly into the computer and will work directly without the need for any special programs. A whole range of mounting options are also provided, allowing you to mount it on your goggles, helmet, handlebars and there is also a flat mount and numerous Velcro pads to cover just about any possibility. Although ready charged, a 12 charge is recommended and then you are ready to go. Once mounted with the single on/off switch at the top, it is just a case of switching on and off when you have finished filming, it works continuously. Having completed your filming, all is needed is to connect the USB cable to the camera and into the computer and viewing you Oscar winning ride, or whatever. Saving the films to files is a doddle as you need nothing other than standard Windows programs. Certainly the ability of the camera to cope with light and dark and continually sharp focus on the move is amazing for such a compact unit the size of a lipstick! I have found it simplicity itself to use producing excellent small films and the only real problem was initially working out how wide the field of vision was, so I could mount it to exclude parts of the bike when mounting on the bike itself. On a helmet or goggles it is no problem at all really and thanks to the simple on off switch it is very easy to work even when on the move. I have not found any problems mounting it and rain has not affected its performance at all, in fact I think it is just brilliant. Sure I need to carry a Netbook if I want to view anything on the journey, instead of waiting until I get home, but given the size and cost of this unit compared to those that larger items on the market with built- in screens, this is small price to pay. Being so small it unobtrusive when mounted on the bike and therefore more secure, although all the mounts allow it to be removed in seconds, despite holding it totally secure even over rough going! If like me you are not into real hi-tech gadgets that need hours of learning to get the best out of them and don’t want to pay fortunes, this has just got to be the camcorder for you in every respect. Simple, robust and brilliant recording quality, it is just simply brilliant in every respect especially at £149.99. (The normal version is £20.00 cheaper, but at that small price differential this will be the better option.) Available direct from the nice guys at Hedcamz www.headcamz.com Review by Ian Kerr
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