mglobe

The Swann Freestyle HD. http://www.swann.com/s/products/view/?product=1297

I just picked one of these up from Woot last week for $139, and then promptly found that Amazon had them for $129. The price is now back up to $175 on Amazon. Still not too bad of a deal. Here are the details.

Films in 720p/30fps, 720p/60fps, and 1080p/30fps
Built in laser for alignment
Included, removable LCD screen
RF, wireless remote

I've had the camera for only a few days.

Things that I like:

• Decent picture quality.
• Very clear and visible indication that the camera is recording.
• RF remote is excellent. One button for record, a different one for stop. If you push record twice, it just keeps recording.
• Small and light.
• Farily wide field of vision, with no fisheye affect in 1080p.
• Low price

Things I don't like:

• Requires a Frankencharger to be able to record while running on vehicle power
• Can only record 30 minutes to a single file. Starts a new file after 30 minutes, so if you want to watch an entire 1hr race, you would have to splice the two files together.
• Picture quality is probably on par with Hero, but not as good as Replay
• Mediocre white balance
• Poor sound quality

Here is some video I recorded this past weekend. It was recorded at 1080p, but then resampled down to 720 to put on Vimeo. I'm pretty sure I can get a significant improvement on the video by getting the camera a little closer to the windshield so that it is averaging less of the dark interior when it does it's white balance adjustments.

https://vimeo.com/43436856

I'll post some more videos after I change the location of the camera in the car.

ProCoach

Open source AVIDEMUX 2.5 is the way to join two video files. Easy.

mglobe

Easy to do with Quicktime pro also. I don't view the 30 minute file lengths as a big deal. I don't want to watch more than 30 minutes of my own races, let alone of someone else's.

So far this camera is looking like a decent option.

mglobe

Ok, I've now spent a race weekend with this camera, and I really like it. The wireless remote works well. You can't accidentally turn it off because there is one button for record, and different button for stop. If you push the record button multiple times, the camera keeps recording. I've not yet fabricated a frankencharger, but the power management on the camera is good enough that it can make it through a full day without a charge. The camera shuts itself down after 5 minutes of inactivity to save power. But it stays in a standby mode, and pressing the record button wakes it up. There is a very bright LED on the front of the camera that flashes when the camera is recording. It is very easy to see in the rear view mirror, so there is no doubt as to whether or not the camera is recording.

I moved the camera position so that it is not capturing as much of the interior of the car, and the white balance improved dramatically. Here some new footage (and fun racing video)

https://vimeo.com/43819487

mglobe

I've got the hardwire power issue sorted now. Purchased one of these:


Hardwire it to a 12v source. It puts out the USB standard 5v power, and the camera operates in record mode while powered. You can even run the camera without the battery in it.

IcemanG17

nice video for a great price!!

Van

Good racing, Mike. What's with that bumpy/slippery turn where everyone goes off??

I felt your frustration on those missed shifts!

mglobe

Thanks Van. The transmission grenaded 3/4 of the way through the first lap of the next race.

That turn has about the latest apex you will ever see. It's really easy to be early on it, particularly when someone is in your mirrors.