5 of the best ACTION CAMERAS
THEY’RE an almost ubiquitous bit of kit these days for everyone from commuting cyclists and runners to the winter-sports and surfing crowd. Designed to attach to helmets, surf boards, cars and other objects, they’re compact, rugged and very easy to use, and often have high-definition video. But with a bewildering number on the market, which one is right for you? Here we give five top options...
1 TomTom Bandit
£299.95, johnlewis.com
Bullet-shaped cameras are said to be best for head or helmet mounting because of their slim profile. This one is just 190g and has built-in sensors that record location and speed, and can automatically tag footage, allowing ‘the best bits’ of a journey to be edited, ready for viewing.
2 GoPro Hero4 Silver
£250, tesco.com
GoPro are the market leaders and the Hero is their best-selling model. Chosen by professionals and home users, there is a wide range of mounts, from arm and chest to helmet. Hand-held options are also available. The screen allows you to view footage and makes changing settings easy. But it’s not waterproof.
3 Drift Stealth 2
£149.99, surfdome.com
This is said to be a halfway house between a bullet and a box-camera (it’s a flat-sided tube). Despite the small size, the battery lasts a staggering three hours. A good selection of bike, chest and helmet mounts is available and the casing is waterproof, should you be planning to get wet.
4 Panasonic HX-A1 Orange
£129.00, parkcameras.com
Another bullet-cam, best suited to head mounting, and the most affordable option. It features a night mode that lets you capture great-looking footage in low light – ideal for wild animals, night fishing or survival games, for example.
5 iSAW Edge
£179.99, hedcamz.com
The high-end spec of the GoPro but at a more budget-conscious price – and it’s compatible with GoPro mounts. The iSaw gives ultra-sharp real-time and slowmo footage, in a waterproof casing. The only downside is that the speed of the camera isn’t quite up to capturing fast-action movement in high resolution.