Xdreme Hd 1080P Waterproof Gopro Alternative - Review

[Dodgey]

Hi - was reading about the Go Pro 2 and it reminded me to do a quick review of the Xdreme HD "action cam".

I ended up with this as I was looking for a car-cam solution but didn't like the price of the GoPro, and particularly, the price of any accessory that has GoPro written anywhere near it :-) I also needed a rear screen, and an external microphone input. Whether I've ended up with anything the same or better, I don't know. I have certainly ended up with some fun toys that have their own strengths!

The Xdreme HD is a 1080p 30fps capable camera that is totally waterproof. I won't bore you with the specs - take a look here: (it comes with all the usual brackets and helmet straps)

http://www.amazon.co...47965705&sr=1-1

The camera does one rather clever thing: - Flips the picture round if you flip the camera upside down - gives you loads of mounting flexibility. It'll shoot Full 1080p at 30Fps, though I shoot at 25, as that's PAL, and it keeps it simpler if I end up burning a DVD for someone. Like a lot of other similar cameras, if you shoot 720p you get a wide angle effect. Not bothered with this so far.

The rear screen is totally essential for setting up the cam position, not to mention , to visually check it is recording. It is, however, very hard to see if there is bright sunlight behind you.

The camera makes a very loud and clear tone when you switch it on and off (different tones for each) and again, the same for when you press record or stop - this I found invaluable at the track. I could sit in the queue with my helmet on, and still be able to start the cam from my driver's seat, and hear if it was on, and recording.

If you open the back you get access to all the gubbins:

The thing in the middle is the battery hatch. The other bits are self explanatory.

If this cam has one failing, it is the same one as seemingly all other "action cams". The audio. I was aware of this when I bought it. The results are:

- With the rear camera door closed - everything is muffled to the extreme - you can't understand what people are saying. BUT - this does limit the audio level and let you get away with a fairly loud car, and the audio comes across not too bad. There is a price to pay for this: if you have a car that vibrates a lot (we all do I imagine) then you can hear a rattling form inside the camera which I've worked out to be the sensor for rotating the image when you flip the camera . It's quite annoying. I've even taken the cam apart to check.

This is a clip with the camera directly behind the screen so it is protected from the wind: You can clearly hear the rattling.

http://s97.photobuck...=Roundabout.mp4

With the cam mounted on the roll cage, not sheltered from the wind, with some more speed, it is a disaster:

http://s97.photobuck...tinMicshort.mp4

Here is the clamp I used btw: (the L shaped bit comes with the camera - so it just slides and clicks into place - very securely)

http://www.dogcamspo...mera-mount.html

Using the cam with the door opened un-muffles the audio, and at normal levels (i.e. not driving a 100db car) it's great. But, it distorts horrifically once you start the car up. You can forget that method.

The camera comes with an external mic which I had high hopes for (not!) - there is an immediate catch - if you use an external mic plugged into the camera then you have to have the back open, and therefore forego your waterproof-ness. Regardless, it was a disaster - super distortion. Just as bad as the distortion when you use the internal mic with the door open.

I tried a low gain powered 12v mic and still ran into terrible distortion. In the end I decided the internal gain in the cam is way too high. It is set for filming normal, non 100db things!

At this point I tried recording the audio with a separate device and splicing the audio and video tracks together on the PC later. I tried my Canon S95 camera, my old Canon MiniDV camcorder and even my phone. They were all improvements but all still distorted. in the end I decided to buy a professional grade audio recorder. A Tascam DR-05 - £85

http://tascam.com/product/dr-05/

This bad boy records (in stereo) to a built in memory card (that you can upgrade) and can handle up to 125db! (that's a LOT). My initial test were fantastic. It's a real boon to be able to plug headphones in and monitor the audio real-time so you can check your levels. I ended up leaving it in "peak adjust" mode. You wind up the recording level, and it then backs it off each time it clips/distorts, until it doesn't need to any more. It does this instantly and seamlessly.

I mount this on my handbrake lever using the bicycle handlebar mount that came with the Xdreme cam - it has a standard tripod socket on it's back (as does the camera).

The last thing to buy was a wind gag - I bought a "wolf windshield" for £15

http://wolfwindshiel...scam-dr-05.html

It works wonderfully (without it you of course get lots of wind noise - I tried!)

Here is the final result. Bear in mind the mount shakes a tiny bit - I got a clearer picture with it mounted behind the windscreen, pressed against the dash. Be sure to change youtube settings to 1080p to get a proper idea. (note at 2:05 - a good test of "external tyre noise :--) )

Overall I'm very pleased. I have an easy to use cam that I can take on holiday and go diving with. It has a screen on the back for setup. It easily lasted 5 sessions on a track day with loads of battery to spare and used about half of my 15Gb card. On top of this, I have an excellent sound/music recorder which will outlast the cam, and probably all my cams for life - it is used by many a pro-am cameraman as their main audio recording device.

I've spent

£118 Camera

£85 Tascam DR-05

£30 Dogcam Bracket

£15 Wind gag.

[Rory's Dad]

That's very good - both sound and vision

Rory's Dad

[alexander72]

nice job Thanks for the review

[XTR2Turbo]

good review.

How easy is it to splice the video and audio back together in sync? Do you use special software?

David

[Dodgey]

Thanks - more of a roundup than a review - plenty of sites go into more picture detail.

Putting them together. Piece of cake, you can even do it easily in Windows Movie Maker. It , in any editing software, is a fundamental of movie editing - think about it - when you are watching a program and they keep switching cameras, but the sound remains constant... that's what they do.

In most packages you :

a) drag the movie clip (with it's own sound) onto your timeline. Normally the audio and video tracks are shown on top of each other. so you can see both.

b) "Unlock" the video's audio track by clicking an unlock icon.

c) delete the audio track and drag your seperate one down OR drag your seperate audio track down to a new "track" and then tick it, and untick the original audio.

The last thing you always have to do is sync the audio to the video. In all of my videos I put my hands in front of the camera and clap twice - with the separate audio being recorded as well. Then, when it comes to editing time, you just drag the audio track left or right so the clapping sound matches the clapping hands in the video (it's why the movie industry use the clapper boards you see occasionally). Takes 10 seconds

[XTR2Turbo]

thanks

It's more the sound recorder I am interested in for use with my existing cameras.

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

Indeed, I've looked at the Zoom's before now, but not really been won over. This looks more promising.

Thanks.

[GreigM]

very interesting, I've always wondered why no-one has come up with a lower cost rival to the GoPro - its a decent bit of kit, but for what it is the price is pretty stupid - I would have thought it easy to have a better lower-priced competitor....this might not be it, but its a start!

Interesting about the audio recorder - have thought about an external mic for the gopro, but the lack of waterproofing worries me, so going to have to look at the tascam - already have to sync the 2 different video feeds and the data overlay, so why not throw the audio into the mix!!

[Dodgey]

Yeah, if you are editing videos anyhow, then overlaying the separate audio is no work at all.

I looked at the zoom recorder too but didn't like the overall review opinions. Thinner (makes no odds to me) , far cheaper built, far less control with the screen menus, rattles (no way) , and doesn't come with any memory (Tascam comes with 2Gb which is more than enough).

Only tips I'd give for seperate audio recordings is to do the clapping for easy sync'ing, and also make sure the date and time are set properly on both your cam and your Tascam, so marrying them up later is much easier.

[Croc]

If you want to save some more money on the Xdreme camera that Dodgey has kindly reviewed then order through Chinavasion. They are sourcing the product and supplying it to the people reselling it on Amazon and Ebay.

http://www.chinavasi...ion_Camcorders/

I bought the Crocolis camera (underneath the Xdreme on the linked page) about a year ago from Chinavasion who are based in Hong Kong. Ordered online easily and about 4 weeks later a very well packaged box arrived in the post. No customs or tax issues for me but then I am not in the UK. I have not had any product issues but I do wonder what would happen if I did - no worse than Ebay or Amazon I suppose? My experiences with the Crocolis camera are pretty much the same as what Dodgey has written above.

Sample video with the Crocolis camera is below - watch in 1080HD. The sound is terrible because I was using the unpowered external mic that came with the kit. I have done much better since then with a powered mic mounted in the boot box area but it will never be great.

The 5th camera down on their list for sale ("Cubicam") is supposedly the same internals as a Gopro if some of the video forums I read are correct?

Edited September 19, 2012 by Croc

[Dodgey]

Wow! £75 is nice, but UK customs are currently S***-hot on imports :-( £75 + vat = £90, plus, say a £10 handling fee = £100. That's assuming the postage is included (which it is often in China now). I paid £115 on Amazon which means I've got their rock solid warranty.

Which city is that in Croc?

[XTR2Turbo]

Is the Tascam reasonably waterproof?

David

[Dodgey]

The tascam is in no way waterproof - though I cant see the odd rain drop causing a problem. If it had rained on my track day, I planned to put it in front of the gear stick, under the dash

[Croc]

Dodgey - Excellent camera review! It is always good to see someone other than me trying to push the boundaries of cameras on our types of cars. My video is of NYC on Interstate 78 heading to the Holland Tunnel and then into lower Manhattan. 1 WTC or Freedom tower appears as a glimpse at 1.46 and at the end of the video as I drive down the lane way you can see Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty above the white picket fence.

I have used the Tascam on a wet day. I mounted it to a chassis bar way way up under the dash above the centre tunnel using a Manfrotto mini-clamp. It did not appear to get wet at all. Sound was still excellent.

Edited September 19, 2012 by Croc

[Dodgey]

Croc - With all those "square" crossroads with great visibility it must be impossible to resist drifting round them ? :-) (I'd be arrested in minutes!)