You may know Shimano more for their cycling and other sporting equipment, but the company has now gotten into the action camera game. Like similar POV cams, the $299 Sport Camera can be used for a variety of activities.
Don’t let the photos mislead you: The 3-ounce Sport Camera is actually very small and lightweight, making it an obtrusive accessory for biking or other activity. It uses a 16-megapixel back-illuminated CMOS sensor and a f/2 lens that captures either a 135-degree-angle view or a 180-degree “super wide” mode. The camera records video up to 1080 at 30 frames per second (it will do 120 fps at 720), with stereo sound. It’s rugged out of the box, sealed for protection against dust, dirt, and mud, and waterproof down to nearly 33 feet. Video and stills are stored on a Micro SD card, and it has a rated battery life of 2 hours.
The Sport Camera has two buttons and two LED indicators, so there aren’t a lot of controls to fumble with, as the settings are automatically adjusted for you. For greater control of the camera, you can use the built-in Wi-Fi to connect to a smartphone, where you can change settings, remotely frame your shot, or upload the content to the Web. The camera also supports the ANT/ANT+ wireless technology, so you can pair it with Shimano’s new D-Fly Di2 bike computer that records information related to a bike ride; the data is transmitted to the camera, which embeds that info over your video, for you to review when you playback the footage.
Besides some standard mounts, Shimano also has an optional chest mount harness and cap mount harness for attaching the camera to your baseball hat. The Sport Camera hits stores in May. Click here to check out some sample videos shot with the camera.
(Via Pop Photo)
