What's this, another way to capture for posterity the extremeness of our helmet-requiring pastimes? Yes indeed, a new player has entered the increasingly crowded POV/action/helmet camera market, the Drift Innovation HD170, offering 1080p recording in a durable case that stands poised to take on GoPro's and VHoldr's.
However, the built-in color LCD here lets you do something you just can't do on either of those two: check your footage on the camera itself. Does this make up for some of the cam's other shortcomings? Read on to find out. Unboxing and first impressions First thoughts on unboxing the HD170 is that this is one big mamma jamma - relatively. It's about two full inches longer than the ContourHD and easily dwarfs the GoPro HD. It's the heaviest of the three, too, weighing in at 175g compared to the ContourHD's 127g and the GoPro's 100g. However, throw the GoPro into its polycarbonate case, which is required for mounting, and that jumps up to 169g so the difference between those two is minimal.
However, the extra weight between this and the ContourHD is magnified when it's attached to your head, and the HD170's size makes it a little tricky to mount in some tight areas. Its size and styling also makes it hard to miss, despite a design that has a lot in common with the rather more stealthy ContourHD. Like VHoldr's offering, this camera is long and narrow, rather more aerodynamic than the tiny toaster design of the GoPro.
It also offers the rotating barrel of the ContourHD, meaning regardless of the mounted angle of the camera at you can easily ensure a perfectly vertical image. This makes mounting on angled handlebars easy, a feature made even more useful by the integrated LCD, something neither of the others offer. Despite its First Class Forever size the screen is hugely handy. If you're mounting on a rollbar or frame or the like you can turn on the cam and instantly tell whether you have it oriented just right. However, if you have the thing mounted on the side of your lid you'll still have no idea what you're filming until afterward. For this situation we still prefer the ContourHD's laser sights.
The LCD also means on-device reviewing of footage, so that you can ensure every moment of your last yard sale was captured in glorious detail, and provides a helpful UI for changing resolution, exposure, and other settings on the camera. This is a definite improvement over the clunky button presses required on the GoPro and the inability to tweak much of anything in the field with the ContourHD. Flip open the back and you'll find room for the 1110mAh battery, an SDHC card, a miniUSB connector, and a second connector for the included component/composite video and audio outputs - unfortunately no HDMI.
Also included in the box are mounts for attaching to a helmet, affixing to goggles, clamping onto handlebars, or strapping on to just about whatever you like. There's no suction cup mount on offer, but the sliding clip mount on the bottom unscrews from the body, leaving a standard, threaded receiver which you can use to attach just about anything you like - no proprietary adapter required. Finally, there's the remote control. Unlike the one on the it is not infra-red, meaning you don't have to worry about line of sight. And, you can even strap it onto your wrist. The novelty of having a camera strapped to your head has largely worn off, so if that noggin-borne device doesn't capture good-quality footage it simply isn't worth having around.
The HD170 records at a maximum of 1080p30 at about a 12MBps bitrate, matching the resolution and frame rate of the other two here with a quality that's comparable as well. We filmed most of our footage on an unfortunately overcast day, not ideal conditions for these tiny sensors, but the HD170 delivered footage very close to the other two in terms of ultimate brightness and color reproduction. Our initial tests revealed what appeared to be some excessive jelly vision, a CMOS-specific issue that we quite often see on DSLRs like. It's an issue caused by the sensor not capturing the entire scene at the same instant, which can appear to compress, stretch, or shift the resulting image as the camera moves. When mounted firmly onto the chassis of a race car or the handlebars of a motorcycle and subjected to vibrations, the image here does suffer some funky distortions. However, testing the competition's cameras using similar mounts proved video quality to be comparable - they all have a little jiggle going on. However, they don't compare when it comes to audio quality.
We've already lambasted the ContourHD for its excessive wind noise and praised the GoPro for its clear sound seemingly regardless of speed. The HD170 doesn't match the other two, distorting sound at any speed as if it were recording underwater. The deep rumble of a motorcycle exhaust is turned into an odd high-pitched squeal. Like on the ContourHD you can adjust the mic sensitivity based on your racing situation to help out, and while that did help to reduce the wind noise, it didn't help to reduce the overall audio distortion. This is probably due to the camera's 'waterproof' nature and, while we hate to use unnecessary quotes, in this they feel appropriate because the HD170 is rated to survive a mere half-meter plunge. In other words: getting splashed with mud is probably okay, but whatever you do don't trip into a kiddy pool. At $329.99 the HD170 is a bit of a hard sell compared to the competition.
Firmware
That's $30 more than the ContourHD 1080p or GoPro HD Hero, either of which are available for $299 (or less, if you shop around). It's certainly nicer and easier to use than the GoPro, thanks that camera's clunky exterior case and two-button menu system, and it offers comparable video quality to the competition - if you left room for Jell-O. But, it's considerably larger and somewhat heavier than the other two and, while it does come out of the box with more flexible mounting options, at the end of the day it finds itself attached to a third place out of this trio. Update: This review originally and incorrectly stated that the HD170 suffers from excessive 'jelly vision' effect compared to the competition.
Further testing has revealed that to not be the case. We've updated the text and added a new video. Also, the folks at Drift have passed on a few additional videos to share.
The latest action sports video camera to hit our desks is this HD version of the Stealth 170 from Drift Innovation, which records full HD 1080p footage straight to a plug-in memory card (also does 720p). The unit also has a 1.5in colour LCD screen, allowing you to preview action you’ve already captured or suss out camera angles while fitting the unit to your helmet or bike – a feature that’s not yet standard on the Drift’s main rival, the.
After charging up the internal battery (via USB) and slipping in the SD memory card from our office Canon SLR camera, we then figured out how to attach it to the bike. We got the bar bracket tight on our carbon riser, but only where it had reduced to grip width.
Frustratingly we wanted to fit the bracket on the oversized section of the bar (next to the stem) but the bracket isn’t big enough to accommodate the 31.8mm bar diameter. We think this is something Drift need to fix quickly as it seriously reduces the fitting options on mountain bikes. fitting is easier, with pre-shaped plastic mounts that can be attached in seconds to almost any helmet, full- or open-face. While we’re on helmets, the other handicap for the HD170 Stealth is its weight. At 171g it’s not too heavy, but on a lightweight open face lid it can make its presence felt unless you’ve got it well strapped on, which can be uncomfortable on long rides.
We were impressed with the footage from our rides with the Drift. For all our concerns over its size and weight, the 300-degree adjustable orientation lens allows you to tweak the shot angle to compensate for odd mounting angles and then output pin-sharp pictures direct to your TV. The buttons and menu options allow fast management of data at edit time. Get inspired by our deals. Description. Sensor type: CMOS. Water Resistant.
Video resolution: 1080p, 720p & WVGA. Video format: H.264. File format:.MOV. 25 / 30 / 50 / 60fps in 720p or 25 / 30fps in 1080p.
Video format: 16:9. Michael ross actor. Lens Rotation: 300°.
Recording Angles: 127° in 1080p, 170° in 720p & WVGA. White balance: Auto. Exposure: Auto / Manual (advanced users). Zoom: Digital x4 (in 720p/30/60fps & WVGA mode). Remote range: 10 ft. Range.
Built-in Microphone. Inputs: Optional External Microphone.
AV Output: HDTV out (cable included). Battery: 1110mAh rechargeable lithium-ion/ Optional 1700 mAh Li-ion rechargeable.
important Update: The orange and black Drift HD170 camera has been discontinued so availability has become severely limited. Drift Innovation’s closest model is the Drift HD170 Stealth camera which is a new and improved version of the HD170. Read more about the here. However, you may be interested to learn about the from Drift Innovation which is smaller, lighter and even better than the HD170 Stealth. /important Tossing up whether to get a or the?
Let’s compare these two popular action cameras and review which one is the best overall by way of features, specs, reliability and of course price. Admittedly, both are great performing HD action cameras right out of the box, but what it really comes down to are the smaller features, the size and the price. And of course, your taste in styling. The Difference in Features?. Drift HD170 has a color monitor built in the side of the camera, where the GoPro 1080p doesn’t.
Drift HD170 has a wrist attachable remote control for turning the camera on and off. Drift HD170 has a rotatable lens at the front so getting the shot right is a piece of cake. Drift HD170 battery life is a little longer than the GoPro.
(about 3hrs vs. 2.5hrs – manufacturer specs). Everything you want in an Action camera?
So far it’s looking like the Drift Innovation HD170 is streaking off to a big lead! Nearly all other features are the same.
Both shoot great quality hi-def HD footage (1080p, 960p, 720p etc) with a range of frame rates for slow-motion replays, are water resistant and come with a plethora of mounts for any mounting option you can think of. The Difference in Size? It’s pretty easy to see that the model is quite a bit smaller than the HD170 model. Then again, you’ve got to remember that there needs to be extra room for a monitor on the side of the HD170. But if size is an issue, then it’s the GoPro. But is that all that it has going for it?
The name too? I understand some might be put off the Drift HD170’s design and color.
It does look a little tacky at first, especially in the photos. Update: Have you seen the all-black colored camera yet?
Looks a million times better with the all-black styling – very HOT! Difference in price? Here, tables turn a little again in favor of the GoPro HERO. Retail price for GoPro HD HERO.
1080p standard package is $299.99. is $374.99. will cost you $659.99 Retail price for the HD170 NOTE: Because the HD170 has been discontinued, the following prices are for the HD170 Stealth model. standard package – $349.99,. is $419.99,.
is available for $659.99 (all prices as of Feb 2011 at PointOfViewCameras.com) Not a huge difference in price – about $25 – $30. For some this might be a deciding factor, but I don’t see it as a real major price gap. Who’s the Winner?
The Drift HD170 from Drift Innovation gets 5 stars! It’s a complete package that you can’t go wrong with. I’m not knocking the GoPro HD at all. It is a very good camera that produces great HD videos.
It comes a close second thanks to it’s small package and slightly lower price and if the extra luxuries of color screen and remote don’t matter, this would be a great one to get. Which is better for you? You’ll have to weigh up the differences and consider which is better for you and your application for it.
I hope this review has revealed some extra info to help make your decision easier. The real deciding factors for me to choose the Drift over the GoPro was the Drift HD170’s built-in screen, remote control and rotatable lens. It is a little bigger than the GoPro but if you’re mounting it in or on your car or other motor vehicle, (even helmet) it isn’t be too heavy. If you’re dead set on getting the smallest and lightest camera available, the GoPro might be the better option.
US and Canada customers get free shipping with any purchase over $99 plus you get a free filming guide. Australian customers also get free express post delivery to anywhere in the country when you order via the Australian retailer. EXCLUSIVE BONUS OFFER: All customers who buy a DriftHD170 Stealth or GoPro HERO (or any other camera) through a link on this website qualify for our free bonus offer.
For full details about the bonus offer. – Drift Cam p.s. Remember that Drift Innovation has released a new smaller HD action camera called the. It’s got all the same cool features of the bigger Stealth camera but comes in a smaller package and has a few improvements.
NOTE: This is a tutorial to play NES games on your PSP. Nesterj nes emulator 1 11 psp 3000.
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Action cameras generally follow one of two designs, box or bullet, but the small Stealth 2 is a mixture of the two. It looks very similar to the larger Drift Ghost-S with the same long rectangular shape, twist lock back, screen on top and rotating front lens element. This design made the Ghost-S exceptionally easy to mount, but the size and weight of the Ghost-S can be an issue, but while the Stealth 2 looks similar it's 40% lighter and 50% smaller.
Physical appearance is where the similarities end because the Stealth films at 1080p at just 30fps compared with 60fps on the Ghost-S. The screen on top is just for navigating through menus rather than offering Live View, the battery is internal and it requires a waterproof housing if you want to venture into water. There are also a few differences with the way the Stealth works when it's controlled by the mobile app. For the most part, though, the Stealth 2 is still very much part of the same 'get out there' action-ready family, despite its differences with Ghost-S.
Mount options An action camera's mount is always an important aspect of any system and while the GoPro mount is at present by far the most popular, Drift has been around for a few years too, so there's a good selection of bike, chest to helmet mounts out there. Prices are very competitive and the mount quality is very high. The mount itself is a simple compression clip – you just slot it in and it's attached – yet despite this simplicity it holds the camera nice and firm with no play. Which is important in order to avoid vibration when attached to moving vehicles or people. This design also makes it easy to remove the camera quickly just by pinching the release tabs, so there are no fiddly knobs or bolts to undo. The compression clip itself fits to the bottom of the camera casing and can be removed to reveal a standard 1/4-inch thread, meaning that the Stealth is able to mount straight on to a tripod without the need for any additional accessories. Underneath the compression clip is a standard 1/4-inch tripod socket.
Modes and settings Settings and start/stop recording are all set through the three buttons on the side, with the illuminated LCD on top letting you know where you are and what settings you've selected. The mode button enables you to cycle through the modes, which include movie, stills, time lapse and burst and also give access to the settings. There's also a handy car DVR mode which can be activated in the settings. Once the Stealth is on, the power button doubles as 'select' and the middle button enables you to scroll through the settings. All areas of the interface are well thought out and finding the settings that you want to adjust is all relatively easily.