Oregon Scientific ATC-1000 Action Hands Free Video Camera

by Oregon Scientific

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 9 x 9 x 9 inches ; 2 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000A7QI5O
• Item model number: HC18
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #13,105 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: November 18, 2005

Product Description

Manufacturer Description

The Oregon Scientific ATC1001 Hands-Free Action Sport Video Cam really takes you where the action is! Film your bike riding adventures, skateboarding exploits or ski activities from any unusual perspective that you decide. This high-tech wireless sports video cam mounts easily on helmets, handlebars, legs or just about anywhere you can think of!

Featuring 32MB of built-in memory and a fixed range focus from 1.5 meters to infinity, this unique video camera can be mounted in various ways using the included Velcro patch and straps.

Once you've finished filming your very own extreme action clips simply connect the camera to your PC and download the footage or photos for viewing -- then watch the results on your television or share the clips via e-mail. It's that easy!

Features include

• Benefits: Mount on helmets, handlebars or other sports equipment.
• Auto shut-off after 10 minutes.
• Movie images in AVI format; photos in JPEG.
• Instruction manual included.
• USB cable and software included.
• 32MB of built-in memory.
• Three resolutions at 15fps: 640 x 480 (default); 320 x 240 or 160 x 120.
• SD memory card drive.
• Hands free audio/video capture.
• Shock and splash resistant.
• For ages 8 to adult.
• Minimum system requirements: Pentium III 800 MHz or higher; 256MB RAM, 800MB free hard disk space; SVGA 800x600 resolution video support; 16 bit Windows sound device; Windows 2000/XP required to operate software.
• Powered by 4 AAA batteries (not included).
• Includes 90-day manufacturer warranty.

What's in the Box:
ATC-1000, USB cable, CDROM, velcro strap, instruction manual, AV cable, velcro patch, rubberized patch.

Product Description

Extreme sports enthusiasts can’t wait to get their hands on this one – and attach it to their helmet, arm, leg or bike! Both shock- and splash-resistant, the ATC-1000 is ready to capture challenging feats down mountain bike trails, up the skateboard ramp or across the sky on a hang glider.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Lousy image quality, few functionalities - OK for the price..., December 28, 2005

By 

Nuits Blanches in Seattle (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

A low-price, handy headcam, but with very poor performance. I'd rather spend the money and get good quality, specially for those braggin' shots I'm expecting to show off. :-)

With only 15 frames per second, the images are at best jerky, at worst unviewable, for instance as soon as there is any semi-fast panning or movement. Very bad for "action" shots, for which the camera is supposed to be designed.

Resolution is poor, and low light shooting is hopeless. Probably not a huge problem if you limit your filming to outdoor sunny days, but results were useless while simply biking on a typical Seattle grey afternoon, in and out of trees. White balance seems to be way biased to outdoors as well, so colors indoors can be, mmm, interesting :-) Again, not really a big issue for the intended audience.

There is no way to see what you're filming (no built in screen, no "live" output to a monitor screen) so aiming will be slow trial and error the first few times. I found that i need to consistenly aim lower than what you think is right.

Front lens is small and recessed - difficult to clean when wet or, hopefully, splattered w/ mud :-) Plus, there is no front cap to protect it during transport - minor inconvenience, but still something to think about.

4 new 2500 mAh NiMH batteries only lasted for ~10 mn of shooting + ~10 mn of standby in ~50 degree temperatures - I've only run a couple sets through, so that will need to be confirmed, but I was disappointed as I expected a lot more, as there is no big LCD screen to power.

Interface is very bare. Annoying feature is that you can't preview what file you're deleting, and can only delete the last video or photo in the list.

To end on a positive note: it _is_ fairly cheap, self contained, the sound works OK (quite directional, though, not so good for "ambience", I can't quite decide if that's good or not - probably depends on the situation), and light enough that I didn't really notice it on my bike helmet. It comes w/ a number of simple, but effective, mounting options that do give it some flexibility. It seems to be well built and, although only "water resistant", rugged enough to take some abuse.

I'll give it to my kids and see what they get out of it, but I will get better gear for regular use (or simply keep using my regular, jury-rigged, small digital camera, which gives much better pictures.)

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great camera at an even better price!, April 8, 2006

By 

James Hatsis "AHR" (Greensboro, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Oregon Scientific ATC-1000 Action Hands Free Video Camera (Electronics)

I want to expeirment a little with videos, but I don't want to risk my high dollar camera and lose or damage it. This camera is perfect for my needs. I have strapped it on my dog Leroy for real interesting dogs eye view videos. I have attached it to the front bumper of my car for some really cool driving footage...
The video is fine for projects you want to post to the web or email to friends. As other reviewer says, you can get 45-55 min. of video on a 1 Gig. SD card. This camera will only support cards up to 1 Gig.
well made, easy to attach to other objects. and tons of fun.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for a little fun ..., November 22, 2005

By 

Chazzr D (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Oregon Scientific ATC-1000 Action Hands Free Video Camera (Electronics)

Okay, this wee camera is not going to give you HD Broadcast quality footage but that is not what it is for... It allows you to strap it on, take some footage and then play it back to your mates via the TV or PC :-) Shows as a drive on the PC so making simple edits is a breeze... Now that is fun !!!