Versatile and simple

The battery life is very good – I used the Bandit to shoot and edit video over a period of more than five hours. A full charge saw it last for over two and a half hours of solid shooting at 1080, and as the camera goes into a sleep mode automatically when it’s not used (and is easily woken with the button or remote), this is far more suited to a day’s riding than my GoPro, which runs out of juice much more quickly. Charging is simply a matter of removing the combined battery and memory card (Batt-Stick), and plugging it into a USB port or charger. Additional Batt-Sticks are available, but I can’t see myself needing one.

The innovative Bandit has changed the way I shoot video – creating even the shortest movie used to require too much commitment to sitting in front of some rather complex software on the computer. Combined with the app I can now shoot and share superb quality video with little less hassle than taking a photo on my phone. If I want to get more involved with the editing, I still can, but I doubt I’ll feel the need.

I’d recommend the Premium pack, at £379.99, which includes the remote, a bar mount, waterproof lens, 360° pitch mount and a power cable that’s useful for long time-lapse shots.

I filmed one for eight hours, and the battery still showed 46%. The Bandit is not cheap, and it’s let down a little by the sound when fixed to a bike, but it’s still a system I expect to get a huge amount of use from – shooting video just got a whole lot easier!

Linking though the app allows the Bandit to be very easily updated, and as long as you have a tablet or smartphone, you need never touch a computer again. The app streams everything shot on the camera instantly, allowing you to mark favourites and edit your own videos to a basic level, before exporting them. Of course, you can just plug the combined memory holder (it takes standard micro-SD cards) and battery into your computer to edit the files, and while the app can’t offer the same level of control as ‘proper’ editing software, the ability to create little movies while sat on the sofa mustn’t be underestimated.

I have hours of previous footage that I’ll probably never get round to editing, but this morning I filmed our daughter riding an electric bike for the first time – I edited it on my phone in a couple of minutes and I had a fun little video that, while it won’t win any Oscars, is a memory that my wife and I will treasure.

When I first started testing the unit, I thought I’d stick with Final Cut for editing, but now I’ve used it, I much prefer the immediacy of the app. It’s like stills – I’m a keen photographer with a collection of decent kit, but the photos my wife and I really love are the ones grabbed with our phones; technically not the very best they could be, but wonderful moments captured all the same.

You can very quickly add music from your own playlists, and as the TomTom has a built-in GPS, you can also add an overlay showing your speed, G-force, altitude or – if you have the after-market sensor – your heart rate. The camera automatically marks highlights based on this data, and you can mark favourites during the action with the large rear button, via the optional remote or while editing the clips.