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The first movies from a new POV camera released this week seem so stable that it’s as if a leprechaun with film-school experience is perched upon your shoulder.
VIO gained notoriety among the daredevil set last year with its first POV camera, but its new POV 1.5 adds higher-res video (at 720 x 480 pixel resolution), more shooting speed options (up to 30 fps), and a smaller body weighing only 2 ounces. Videos shot with it (see below) show detail you wouldn’t expect from a camera at that size.
According to the company, it’s also way more rugged, with a shock- and water resistant red anodized body. Part of the gadget’s durability also involves a new mounting design that tethers the camera within a large metal ring grip/Velcro combo, preventing it from flying off mid-jump.
The camera records up to 8GB of video (with an SDHC card), its focal length is at 2.97mm, and the wide-angle lens takes in 110-degree views.
But what’s interesting for a camera of this type is that it also has a wireless control and a live-view LCD in an additional mounted player, which means you can check on videos in the middle of a ski run.
This might not seem like a big deal for all the Flip camera owners out there, but other adventure POV cameras tend to record video without a live preview. If you point in the wrong direction at some point in the jungle or mountain, you can’t find out about until you check on your computer at the end of the day. By then, any mistakes are irreversible and the experience is over.
And of course, the difference between this rugged high-res cam and using a Flip cam on your helmet to capture fast adventures is that the latter would probably end in useless, jumpy footage.
One bad thing about the VIO set-up is that there’s a cord that runs between the body with the screen and the camera. That is potentially restrictive and even dangerous. If you’re an adventurer, though, it is probably not enough to stop you from adding it to your arsenal.
At $650 dollars, it is a specialty item. If you’re a city dweller who sees the same trail of drudgery day after day, buying it is a waste of money. But if your point of view is exciting enough to be recorded, by all means, put in on YouTube and let others live through your crazy adventures.
Check out videos shot with the VIO 1.5 after the jump.
Downhill Mountain Biking in the Swiss Alps from big mountain on Vimeo.
