Camera Notes: Drift HD

Just got mine in today (10/21).

So they bailed on the handlebar mount in the package.  Great.  Need to make one...

I was going to goggle mount this bitch, but I just realized that my Vents Avatar has goggle straps on the inside of the panel, not the outside...

Gonna have to figure this out...

... 2 days later.

I looked over the camera and the goggles and came up with some solutions for mounting the camera.  Mounting stuff seems to always be an issue with these things.

For starters, here's a size comparison of the Drift against the HD Hero and the old piece of shit ATC3k.    Clearly, the form factor is comparable to the ATC3k, so it's a suitable on-gun replacement if you can figure out the mount.

Here's a shot of my Vents mask.  Note that the goggle strap is on the inside of the panel, and there are no continuous surfaces to stick the mount on.

So, zee plan eez...  I take one of my spare Vents mask retainers and drill a 1/4" hole through it.

Then I cut out a matching oval out of a silicone cooking mat, and punch a 1/4" hole in that using a sharpened archery shaft I had laying around.  Finish up with a 1/4"-20 screw cut down to just the right length...

Assemble and...  VIOLAS.

The mount is quite secure and probably has a lower profile than the mount that came with it.  The caveat is that it's not a quick-release mount, so if I have to take it off to futz with it...  well it's not a simple process.  Like if I get shot on the camera.  ("BEECH MOVE!")

I also constructed an on-gun mount using similar methods.  I took a 5 inch strip of Kydex and wrapped it around a barrel, drilled a 1/4" hole in there, and made a similar silicone washer to snug up against the camera.  Haven't tried it out yet, but I think it will hold.

Here's a sample video.

A couple of rambling, bumbling thoughts:

• The thing's got some pretty serious fisheye.
• Wee bit of purple fringing around the edges.
• Image quality is reminiscent of a really, really, good keychain cam.  Detail is good, but the colors are somewhat off; the Gopro and Contour are slightly better.  Might be fixable in postprocessing, but it's not exactly terrible.  Low light performance is also not quite as good as a Gopro.
• The remote control is great, although the design is totally awkward.  The thing isn't curved or anything, and the velcro strap sucks.  Also have no idea if it's waterproof.
• Battery life is iffy; recommend getting a second battery.  Apparently you can't use one of their extended batteries, either.  And these are proprietary batteries as well, tsk tsk.
• No lanyard attachment point?
• The casing looks pretty good; but there are a few questionable things:
• The microphone section looks a bit weak.
• The speaker section also looks weak.
• Now, if they were smart, those would be isolated surface transducers or something, and underneath would still be sealed up
• But really, I don't think the speaker needs to be that...  out there.  As long as I can hear the beep, that's all I need.  Considering the thing's right next to my head...
• And before you say it -- if you really want sound in the video review, they should use bluetooth for that.  See Contour GPS I think.
• Does have a 720 60fps mode for those of you who care.
• 9MP photos is actually pretty decent
• Rotating lens allows for more flexible mounting options
• Has a standard 1/4"-20 standard mount in the camera itself, unlike the Gopro.  Honestly, the Gopro is the most awkward camera to fucking get mounted on anything.
• Capable of external mic...  this is what pushed the purchase over the edge for me, as I can use it for other things like narrated videos...
• Replaceable lens.

All in all, this is a pretty good helmet/paintball gun cam.  Picture quality is not quite up to Gopro, but the built-in 1/4" hole and rotating lens allows for better mounting.  And the remote control and external mic capability round out the features, but the drawback is clearly the cost at like $370 or something.

I think the closest competitor would be the Contour Roam, although it doesn't have a 60fps mode.  If you don't care about that stuff, I'd say that might be a better option at $200.  Super caveat:  non-removable battery.

Couple other pics.