95 of 95 people found the following review helpful:
Great SECONDARY Cam
Alright this camera is not your HD super resolution camera that you will want to use as a stand alone unit for any event. What it is however is for a low price you are getting a WATERPROOF to ten feet dust resistant durable camera that can go places that few would even dream of taking much more expensive fragile units.
49 of 59 people found the following review helpful:
Great idea but poor video quality
Who wouldn't love a camcorder that is small, durable and shoots good quality video? Unfortunately the ATC 2K is not the solution. Checkout the videos on YouTube that were made with the ATC 2K before you buy it (search atc 2k). It seems to work OK when there is minimal movement but when the camera is moving the video is very grainy and jumpy. I found the following...
This review is from: ATC2K Waterproof Action Cam (Electronics)
Alright this camera is not your HD super resolution camera that you will want to use as a stand alone unit for any event. What it is however is for a low price you are getting a WATERPROOF to ten feet dust resistant durable camera that can go places that few would even dream of taking much more expensive fragile units.
for example I take mine and put it inside a plastic bag and jump off a cliff with it a little work and you can get some sweet shots as the water comes at ya and next thing you know your underwater. Try that with a handycam. Im excited for this summer because i want to try attaching it to the rope of our tow boat when wake boarding for a sweet up close and personal view complete with wipe outs.
when mud digging in my four by four I Velcro it right up on the front bumper for a extreme rarely seen angle. You could mount it underneath near the axles while flexing for a cool shot also.
You tube has some awesome videos of them being mounted onto the back of rockets and blasted into the sky. Be creative with the thing!
Your getting what you pay for here, a low resolution cheap camera that is waterproof and inexpensive enough to be somewhat disposable to get shots for action videos that would otherwise be very hard or impossible with equipment ten times as expensive. So long as you don't have to watch hours of this cameras video at a time the resolution is fine, set this camera up in a creative way than mix it in with higher quality video from another camera in a more conventional location on the scene and you'll have a great video to showcase.
This thing stays in the bag with my DV camera when I go out in the outdoors.
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This review is from: ATC2K Waterproof Action Cam (Electronics)
I am a police officer and I use this camera when interviewing people. I was initially disappointed with the sound quality, but found the video and capacity with the 2gig card excellent. The problem with the sound is the waterproofing. If you are not going to be using it in water or wet environments all you have to do is remove the mic cover and there is a black square rubber cover over the mic. It is 1mm or thicker and causes the sound distortion and lack of range. Remove it an re-install the cover and you get as good a sound as any other video camera. This camera is well made and a good value at the price. If it had an external mic jack it would rate five stars.
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I bought this after being involved in an auto accident and suffering an insurance rate increase because I couldn't prove what happened. Less than three months later I was hit by another driver who ran a red light. She and her passenger claimed she had a green light. I had this mounted on the dashboard and recording as I was hit and was able to prove she was lying. Without it I would have been blamed for the accident. It paid for itself already.
The camera provides reasonable quality video but very poor audio. It does not operate well in low light conditions (say 30 minutes after sunset). It's very easy to use and has the ability to change resolution, frame rate, date and time, and also to delete files using the built in display and buttons. At 640x480 30fps a 2Gb card (4Gb not supported) can hold about one hour of video. At 15fps it can record about 90 minutes. It only records videos up to 45 minutes, then seamlessly starts another file. It eats batteries so I bought two NiMh rechargables from Radio Shack and recharge them every other day. You probably don't want to use regular alkali batteries with this camera.
The construction is good with waterproof buttons and a waterproof end cap covering the USB and video ports, battery compartment and memory card slot. It has a good selection of mounts including a handlebar mount, helmet mount, and a big rubber strap that will attach it to just about anything. I used stick-back velcro to attach it to my truck's dashboard and it's steady over smooth roads, jerky over the rough stuff.
Recording is as easy as turning it on (press and hold the left button for two seconds) and hitting the record (middle) button. Stop recording by pressing the middle button again and turn it off by pressing and holding the left button. The right button is used to cycle through modes.
Downloading video files to your computer is done with the USB (about 45 minutes to download 2Gb) or by putting the memory card directly into the front of the computer which is much faster if you have that option.
As I mentioned, the only issue is the extremely poor audio capture. If you're most interested in video then this is an excellent choice for you.
----- Updated -----
I've owned two of these cameras for about 6 months now and I've noticed some serious problems...
1. Mounting clip snapped on one camera. It still mounts but when the other clip breaks the camera will be unmountable.
2. Slow response to button presses. For some reason it now takes 10-20 seconds between hitting the button to stop recording and actually stopping. Didn't do this when I first bought it.
3. Corrupts the memory card. Deleting files does not always release the memory so you eventually run out. I find I have to reformat the memory card every few days to recover the lost memory. The camera cannot do this so you need a computer with a memory card slot. If you don't have such a computer you are screwed.
I was thinking of upgrading to Oregon Scientific's newest model but decided not to given the quality problems I'm having with this one.
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This review is from: ATC2K Waterproof Action Cam (Electronics)
I've had the ATC-2K for a while now and I have to say it's exactly what I thought it would be. It's for extreme sports, is compact, no wires and all in one. The video quality is pretty good but can't be compared to my $500+ Sony camcorders. Obviously the camcorder will have much better quality but I'm not going to strap one to my head or bike, especially as it would be an expensive piece of equipment to smash if I wiped out!
To be honest, for the price, it's well worth buying. I mount it to wherever and then press record, after that I haven't got to worry about it. With the other helmet cams I've tried, the wires sometimes get tangled and I constantly have the thought of my camcorder, in my backpack getting smashed up, at the back of my head.
I was a little confused about whether the ATC-2K was waterproof or water resistant as some websites have different descriptions. I called Oregon Scientific and they said when the camera first came out they had not yet received the waterproof certificate so they had to advertise as water resistant. Upon receiving their waterproof certificate for the ATC-2K they changed the classification of the camera from water resistant to waterproof. They even put it on their website!
Oregon Scientific say they can confirm it is waterproof up to 3 meters. It makes a change from those cameras on the market pretending they're waterproof where you have to use a plastic case to make it water proof. Those things are so much hassle! It is kind of like putting the camera in a zip-loc bag!
The battery time (2 x AA alkaline) is around one and a half hours to two hours flat out. That's an ideal time considering I use a 2GB SD card and film on the highest quality. The max. recording time at 640 x 480 and 30FPS is 1hr and 1 min. If the batteries die I just change them with spares I bring with me.
I'm thinking of using it when I go snowboarding, the manual says to change to Lithium batteries, specifically Energizer E2. I think this is because the operating temperature for alkaline batteries is higher than that of a Lithium battery. If you tried to use alkalines in cold temperatures it would probably only last a few minutes! I also saw that there's a Cold Weather Pouch available. I'm hoping to buy one online, this is great, finally a company who think of multiple use scenarios!
I've made quite a few videos with the ATC-2K now and have to say that although there is a mic. It's not that sensitive. I asked Oregon Scientific, when I called them about the waterproof feature, and they said it was purposely designed this way as it's for extreme sports and underwater use. Thinking about it, who's going to be giving commentary hurtling down a hill at 40mph?!
Anyway, it's fine for my purposes, I'm usually traveling at high speeds when filming and wouldn't want to hear wind on my playbacks! I guess it would be more interesting to just add my own music or commentary to my ATC-2K clips. I've searched Youtube and so on and have found lots of people are using their ATC-2K's to post clips, there's a cool one of the ATC-2K strapped to a rocket! There's also a U.K. gadget show, 5 gadget show I think, where the host throws it out of his 1st/2nd floor window into a shallow pool below! Neat! Someone brought it back up to them and the footage was cool!
The Bottom Line is: For recording my kid's birthday party or my grandma singing, I'll use my camcorder, for my sports I'll use my ATC-2K! Worth the investment and does exactly what it says on the box!
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This review is from: ATC2K Waterproof Action Cam (Electronics)
Length:: 3:25 Mins
This is a jetsking video made using this product on Lake Washington in Seattle in October 2007. As you can see, it works really well and we're quite happy with the product. In fact, I have since recommended it to a bunch of friends who have all bought it and love it too. We've got a bunch of similar videos listed on youtube (account= rothstafari) and all of the jetsking ones were made with this camera.
A 2 gig SD card provides you with an hour (approx) of footage at the best resolution. This is a great feature. The camera is durable and works very well.
My only issue with the camera is the placement of the lens relative to the camera body. Because the lens is slightly set into the body (presumably for protection), water tends to pool at the base of the lens obstructing the view and making the end result look bad. We're going to try something like rain-x next time out and hopefully it will help.
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This review is from: ATC2K Waterproof Action Cam (Electronics)
I recently purchased my ATC2K here on Amazon and took it out for a spin in my 2005 Mustang. The video came out great and was one of a series of video tests that showed me how versatile this little unit can be.
Securing it was not too difficult and I was already well aware of the limitations of the microphone and really didn't expect or want it, since, for my purposes, an MP3 recorder and bone conduction microphone would be a better option for getting voice and to combine the video and audio track later when doing edits.
The interest I had was in getting the camera for was for a range of outdoor sports and also for chase support for motorcycle touring. I do wish there were a series of mounts either documented for the camera or specially built as optional purchases just for the ATC2K. I'm already researching some specialty mounts for the various sorts of missions I'm dreaming up for this neat little camera.
I bought a Kingston 2gb SD card and had no trouble at all using this card with the ATC2K. The unit is easy to turn on, is relatively simple to configure and turn on and, for the price, is at the top of it's genre. I didn't have to do any formatting as noted by others, so the Kingston SD 2gb card is a winner for me with this camera. I'm going to put the camera through it's paces over the winter, but my tests so far indicate the camera is a great little bargain and worth getting.
I won't rehash much more, since any Google search and the other reviewers have covered many of the strengths and weaknesses of the camera. My only observation that might be more of a wish is that I wish that Oregon Scientific would have a simple forum area on their site where people can trade knowledge and tips about the ATC2K and improve the product (and the manual). I found out most everything significant before my purchase from external reviews and Google searches rather than the manual...
Bottom Line: If you are looking for a great and inexpensive way to get into recording video with a rugged and wearable camera that can work almost anywhere, this is the one to get. If you can't handle the audio and other quirks that make it a truly individualistic and temperamental beast it isn't the one for you. For my missions and purposes, it's the right one. I hope this review helps you!
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This review is from: ATC2K Waterproof Action Cam (Electronics)
I bought this camera to use while paragliding. I haven't had the opportunity to use it that way yet, but have had time to fiddle with it and see what it can do.
It is very well designed. It's compact, rugged and very durable. As the other's have said the resolution isn't the highest, but it's not bad at all. I was amazed at how well it adjusts to different lighting conditions. I went from outdoors in bright sunlight to indoors under flourescent and it adjusted perfectly without my missing anything.
The camera mounts are great. The strap works wonderfully to mount it to a helmet, it is plenty big. I read in another review that they felt it was too small. Also in that same review they said the camera had a horrible wobble. Well, it was because they didn't cinch the camera strap down tight enough.
You absolutely must buy an SD card for it otherwise you'll be extremely limited in the time you can film. It only comes with 32 megs onboard which translates to next to no time at all in high resolution. A 2 gig SD card gets you just over an hour of footage at the highest resolution.
Someone in another review mentioned that the SD card can pop out. Either they fixed it in this version, or they weren't inserting the card correctly because just like any SD card slot you push it in until it clicks and then you must push it in again to release it so no problem with the card coming out.
The only down side to this camera I can see at all is the sound. It might as well not have any at all. Unless you scream into it you can't even here yourself. It doens't matter to me because while flying I'd only get wind noise any way, but if you want sound this is not the camera for you.
All in all it's a great camera for the price and there is nothing else out there like it.
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This review is from: ATC2K Waterproof Action Cam (Electronics)
Who wouldn't love a camcorder that is small, durable and shoots good quality video? Unfortunately the ATC 2K is not the solution. Checkout the videos on YouTube that were made with the ATC 2K before you buy it (search atc 2k). It seems to work OK when there is minimal movement but when the camera is moving the video is very grainy and jumpy. I found the following mountain biking video[...]be particularly useful since it looks like the photographer did everything correctly, yet the quality is still poor.
Kudos to Oregon Scientific for the idea. Keep working on it.
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