| |  | Brand: VholdR
Category: Photography
List Price: $299.99
Buy New: $279.95
You Save: $20.04 (7%)
New (9) from $279.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  29 reviews
Sales Rank: 417
Color: black
Media: Electronics
Batteries Included: Yes
Memory Type: SDRAM
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7 x 5 x 2
MPN: 1102
Model: 1102
UPC: 793573477392
EAN: 0793573477392
ASIN: B0019Y8AAI
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Perfect for the Action Sport Enthusiast November 24, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Where do I start? As a snowboarder and biker, I find this camcorder perfect for my endeavors. So many reasons why Im giving this camera 5 stars:
-Small and light camera. Perfect to attach to a helmet.
-Shock regulatory system and shatterproof; the rough and tough of my mountain biking or snowboarding didn't create any disturbances in the recording process.
-You don't have to worry about breaking a memory disk or data disc... because it records straight to the camera's internal memory! The memory can hold up to 100 minutes of recording!
-The USB port makes transferring videos to your computer easy.
-Video quality is great too! The camera's recording ability is 30fps with resolution 640x480 lines. Videos are downloaded into your computer in a TV-quality .mpeg4 (avi) file.
With the holidays coming up, this would make a perfect gift for those with children involved in skateboarding, snowboarding, and other action sports. Its also great for parents who want to capture their child's first moments on the ski slopes or a family's skiing vacation!
 Cool Helmet Cam with some drawbacks. November 20, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've often thought to myself "Wouldn't it be cool if I had a helmet cam and then I could show people all the cool stuff I see when on a bike ride." Well, looks like I got my wish.
As with any electronic, there are pros and cons. First, this thing is so small, I could've only dreamed of something like this when I was a kid and playing simple video games on Atari. It's very lightweight and that's a good thing if you're going to attach it to your helmet. I wish the handlebar mount came with the package, but that has to be purchased separately. I suspect I will purchase that in the near future.
The video quality is okay. It's not superb and my cheap digital cam gives better video quality, but this is not meant for preserving wedding vows, it's meant for high-flying action shots and a less-than-crisp picture is acceptable for this type filming. I enjoy showing my videos to people. I don't know that they enjoy it, though :)
***The booklet that comes with this thing is critical to success with this cam.*** First, please do all the troubleshooting steps first before attempting to download the newest updates, etc. If I had done that, it would have saved me a lot of time. Why did they include such a SHORT USB cable? It makes it very difficult to attach to my computer tower without it just dangling in mid-air because the cable is only a few inches long. I had a lot of issues with the battery charging, etc. A lot of light indicators didn't perform as expected. For instance, a green light is supposed to come on when fully charged and this never happened for me and still hasn't, although my battery appears fully charged. Sometimes, it's difficult to get this thing turned on or off. Lots of button holding and checking for lights to turn on or off to indicate whether the unit is on or off. This should have been made simpler. Once you conquer those hurdles, it's VERY easy to start and stop recording with a nice, big slide bar and beep-sound indicators.
The only other down side is the wind noise. The booklet mentions this can be resolved by putting a piece of tape over the microphone. At this price point, shouldn't a "mute" button have been offered or some other solution? I really don't like expensive gadgets that require me to play MacGuyver.
All told, this is a really cool gadget that will be a whole lotta fun for daredevils, especially teens. My nephews can't wait to visit and try it out. For seasoned adults that expect more for their money, you may wind up a bit disappointed because in my opinion, this cam still has some design adjustments that need to be made and then relaunched. In particular, it should be easier to turn on and off, since that is a very basic function that has given me much grief. Also, better, working indicators for battery charging.
It's too bad that we didn't have a camera like this when I was younger. November 20, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
When I first opened the box of the VholdR Wearable camera I had flashback to the days of my youth: skydiving; amusement park rides; helicopter trips; martial arts, etc. I even thought about what great video memories I could have captured of my own children when they were younger and involved in skateboarding, rollerblading and BMX bike stunts if had attached a camera like this to their helmets. Oh well... that was the past for me, but I can still find many, many uses for a camera like this that does not involve risking life and limb.
I attached my camera to one of those model race cars that I see grown men racing near where I live. Wow! Even they were impressed with the shots. It looks like an action movie, going at break-neck speeds, zooming past other cars. Truly impressive (although the sound was poor).
I am planning on taking it on my next trip to the Amazon. I don't know how many people would enjoy seeing what I see as I trudge through the jungle, but I know that I will love having the record.
This is a very well built camera and although there are cheaper models out there, this is one hella-va unit. I plan on coming up with more things to do with it in the near future.
A decent product with many shortcomings November 19, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
VholdR Wearable Camcorder is a great camcorder for anyone who is interested in shooting videos of themselves while doing some outdoor activity - rock climbing, biking, parachuting, etc. It is made of high quality durable materials, so it will probably withstand most major blows, although I have not tried using it under extreme conditions. There are, however, many features that I did not find all that impressive.
*It has a permanent tape attachment. If you decide to mount it onto something else later on down the road, you may have to get another piece of durable double-tape and scrape the old one manually.
*The video quality is not that great. 640X480 is pretty inadequate these days. The video is very grainy, and suffers from a lot of spherical distortion.
*The software that came with the camera is very primitive.
*The sound recording is even worse than the video. On a windy day or at a high speed sound recording is almost useless.
*The camera is pretty heavy for its size. This is particularly noticeable if it is mounted on your helmet. Its weight will tend to tilt your head in a certain direction, and consequently your whole video will end up slanted.
Easy to use, but it comes at a price... November 19, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I can honestly say I was surprised when I opened my package - this camera is so small! It was incredibly easy to set up, in many ways intuitive if one is a heavy consumer of technology. As soon as it was charged up, I was able to use it right away with no further need to consult the manual. Just power up, a quick press on the slider, and I was recording.
At this point I must echo the warning given by another review, please DO NOT aim the camera at people when you first start your recording. The lasers provided for you to line up your shot can result in eye damage to your target.
The first time I used it, I just did a quick walk around my house and then a little walk outside just to get a sense of the quality of the video and audio. For such a little camera, I was amazed at the quality of both. Be forewarned, it will pick up pretty much every sound, including the wind whipping by. It is certainly not professional quality, but as others have noted, it is perfect for posting to the web or for your personal review.
Taking the advice of another user, I did not use the mounting system but instead used zip ties so I did not have to shell out for multiple mounting options. This will not work for all mounting purposes and if you were going to do something fast and dangerous, you would want the more secure mounting. Since I am not much of a daredevil - just off-roading in a 4x4, biking, and hiking - I do not really need anything built for speed. This model is water resistant, not waterproof, so I will not take it rafting or kayaking.
After I was finished recording, I downloaded my video and I checked out the VholdR website. I have not had an interesting enough video to post yet, but I think the idea is very cool. I can share video with my friends ASAP and I can check out the things other people are doing and get ideas.
A couple of notes - You have to power the camera on when you start out in order to use the slider and once you use the slider it will take a little bit to start recording. So, if you think you are going to do something neat you want to start recording well before the event. Also, the camera must have some power left to download. If you ran out of juice, you have to recharge before you can move the video.
The biggest turn-off for me is the price. At $330 I was hesitant to do anything too dangerous, no matter the assurance that it is wonderfully sturdy. I might not find the price too daunting if the package came with loads of accessories. However, other than the basics, you have to buy every accessory. It does not even come with an A/C adapter, so you must have a USB port to charge it and the cord provided is very short. Fortunately, I lug a laptop around with me like a third arm so I am never far from a USB port and they are easily accessible for the short cord. Others may not be so lucky.
I really think this camera is wonderful at what seems to be its intended purpose - recording daring video for posting on the web. However, I think the price might put it out of range for many of the people who would be more likely to use it that way and for those who can afford it, it may make them reluctant to push it to the limit. For this price, they really need to include more accessories. Otherwise, I think they will need to drop the price to get more users.
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