Pros :
1. Great small size
2. Bluetooth integration with smart phone is an A+ idea.
a. You can control settings.
b. You can see/ensure it's pointing in the direction you want.
c. You can review video, (although it looks choppy via bluetooth)
d. Haven't tested it yet, cuz I probably will never use it, but you can have it instantly upload videos.
3. Night mode is pretty decent, although movements can get more blurred. Fast camera panning in this mode will show blurry video, but mounted it to my helmet, took a ride on my motorcycle, and the video was pretty good! It was way brighter than the youtube video from 808yewtube (search for her) using the HD170 Stealth. Maybe not as smooth/sharp, but definitely brighter. Though you lose detail next to bright light sources.
Cons :
1. Video quality is so so, but of course, that's in the specs anyways (480p), and the lens is small. I never knew what 480p meant...all it means is regular 640x480 video. 320p is simply 480x320 video. But good enough for my needs.
2. Making video clips has problems.
a. When trying to make a clip from the looping buffer, the "progress" bar did not reflect ALL my video I shot that day. I had to move the progress marker to the beginning, then I had to press REWIND quite a few times to get to where I wanted to start my clip. Then when the clip was created, the beginning of the clip WAS NOT where I selected, but rather somewhere in the middle of my 15 minute drive.
b. I attempted to make a second clip, this time for a snippet of time farther back. This time, there was no "creating clip" message, and it instantly said my clip was created. Upon examining the clip, it was empty.
c. I attempted to do this the following day, and this time I was successful in making both clips. I wonder why. This time though, the "progress" bar properly indicated ALL of my video I recorded. I did not have to press REWIND. However, once I selected my start point for the video clip, there was some re-calibration that was done with the Android software, and once I did this, the progress bar no longer reflected ALL my video. However, I was able to make both of my clips that I failed to make the day before.
d. When setting the Looxcie Moments to 480p, I recorded video. I was able to view the video via the Looxcie Android app. I made a clip. I was able to view the clip with the Android app. I downloaded the video to my PC. Not viewable. I connected the Looxcie to the PC, and used the PC program to download the entire buffer (I had cleared the earlier video, so only had this 480p stuff on the Looxcie). That download was also unviewable. Later, I repeated the process (cleared buffer, set to Moments to 480p, recorded video, previewed video, made clip, downloaded clip, downloaded buffer), and twice more it failed, but then on my third time everything worked.
By the way, I just now copied back one of the bad videos back onto my Looxcie, and I was able to view it again using the Android app. It just won't view on my PC.
Sooo...to summarize my clip issues, it is inconsistent but mostly good. Works now as I tested everything again today, but the fact that it failed a few times earlier, makes me just a little bit uneasy.
3. Bluetooth connection sometimes had problems. I would launch the Looxcie Moments Android app, and sometimes it would not "initialize" the device. I once had to do a combination of turning off the device, and also rebooting my phone in order to get connection again.
4. The Bluetooth transfer of files from device to phone is buggy. Just now, I tried to copy/save an 8 minute/49 MB clip to my phone. It showed the green progress bar that was progressing along...but then a little less than half way through the process, the green progress disappeared and it was all gray again like it did nothing. But I just waited a little bit. After a short while, I got returned to the preview screen for the clip. I checked my phone, and no clip was copied. I attempted the transfer again, and once again the progress bar showed the green bar progressing along, then it just turned all gray around the same point. Then a few minutes later, I got returned to my clip preview screen. I checked my phone, and this time the clip did copy over.
5. Audio is so so. When in my car talking with someone with windows closed, our voices sounded muffled. Forget about it when I'm on my motorcycle, where audio sounds like hurricane winds.
6. Not water proof.
7. I could not get it mounted to my ear properly. Kept flopping left/right, and was uncomfortable regardless of what I did.
8. When using the Looxcie Moments Android app, I set it to night mode, after a minute, the preview I was seeing on my phone started showing artifacts across the bottom. But the moment I switched back to auto, it went away.
Conclusion :
It's good for my uses.
a. I wanted a small camera to document all the bad driving I encounter while on my motorcycle.
b. I wanted something not so big/obvious, and cheap.
c. Audio was secondary.
d. I just won't use it when it's raining.
e. I don't need the highest quality video for my uses.
f. I don't plan on wearing it over my ear.
I thought of the Contour, but there's no way to review your footage until you get back to your computer.
The HD170 Stealth had a display on it, but you can't see the display when you have your helmet on. And it's big.
The Drift HD 1080p was smaller, but had the same issue as the HD170 Stealth, and is $336.
The LX2 was small, cheap, and I liked the fact I could put on my helmet, then turn on my phone and ensure it's shooting where I want.
But I hate that sometimes the Bluetooth connectivity gets buggy.
I remember sitting on my motorcycle, engine idling, spending 5 minutes getting my phone to connect back up with the LX2.
I like being able to check on the camera via the phone too, to ensure it IS recording, and recording the direction I want, but then again, the issues of Bluetooth connectivity come into play again.
The fact that I had a problem a few times copying off video/making clips has me worried, but then I don't plan on using this for any serious video shooting, so I think I can tolerate some bad/lost video.
Overall, I look at it as a neat gadget that meets my limited needs, so it's good enough...but I need to test it a little more.
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UPDATE
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I don't mean to put this device down. It is novel and neat.
The problems I encountered were all transient, meaning they did not happen all the time, and the problems seem to have cleared up. I can't explain it. I'm no novice tech/gadget user, and I followed all the directions that led to the problems, but the problems I experienced did clear up.
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UPDATE 2012.05.19
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Well, there are still some bugs with it, so here's my final review statement :
Pros
1) It's small. So if you want size convenience, this is it! Amazing piece of technology in a small package!
2) Video is adequate. 640x480 (aka 480p) is good enough for miscellaneous video.
3) Battery life. Haven't tested it yet for extended use, but I have a feeling it will come close to specs.
4) It's GREAT that you can use your phone to help you point it when it is mounted. This is by far a very useful, AND its BEST, feature. Lets you me know I have it leveled, and pointing to get the correct field of view. (I just mount it on my motorcycle helmet.)
5) It's low-light mode looks brighter than other videos from other POV cameras I've seen posted youtube.
6) Seems to automatically know which side is "up" when you film with it. So if you mount it on left side or right side of your head, it will be turned one way or another, but it will know.
7) Two video shooting quality modes, to help extend your recording.
8) Two separate video storage (Looxcie Moments mode/Looxcie Camera mode) for added recording space.
Things I wish were better :
1) Audio is so so, but okay
2) Not waterproof.
3) Very light, which is good, but makes it feel fragile.
4) No replaceable battery.
5) I've tried mounting to my ear per their directions, I can't see how that works. Always flops around my ear, pointing off to side, and never securely against my ear.
6) Preview mode on the android phone is choppy, which is expected, but sometimes it takes a few seconds to refresh...so as you are trying to fine-tune your direction pointing of the device, you will sometimes have to wait a few seconds after an adjustment before you can tell if it's okay; only an issue if I'm in a rush.
7) No real high quality video mode..but this device not meant for such recordings anyways...
Cons
1) Looxcie Moments feature kind of useless. This is the mode where you have the video in looping mode, where you just always have it on, and when it reaches the end of its storage, it loops around and starts recording from beginning of storage. Novel idea! But the novelty of this idea is that you should be able to just get the snippets you want, and forget the rest. I've had tons of problems doing this. You work this by using your smart phone to display the entire buffer...but many times, it does not show the entire buffer, so I can't grab only the snippet I want. And sometimes when I was able to select the snippet I want, I was not able to use the android software to extract that snippet.
It was recommended to me to just download the entire buffer onto my PC and grab the snippets I want.
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