Saturday 14 June 2008

ATC3K First ImpressionsATC3K First Impressions

Left QuoteAshCam v2.0 - the all new Oregon Scientific ATC3K arrived today, with a shiny new SD card from PicStop.

First impressions are good. They've upgraded the packaging from the ATC2K all-plastic effort, to a bigger, tidier-looking box. All the same mounts and straps are included, the only difference being the inclusion of a mini-tripod. The ATC3K can be used as a webcam, which is new, so I'm guessing that's what the tripod is for. In reality, you would need an additional microphone if you were to use this as a webcam, so I'd say this feature is surplus to requirement.

Other than that, it looks identical to it's predecessor. I have two sets of mounts for it now, so hopefully I'll be able to get some decent footage sometime.

In the meantime, here's the first video from the ATC3K, taken in Puddletown Forest. The helmet mount's not too stable, so I'll work on that. Apologies for the quality too, I had to compress it loads to get it onto YouTube ...



It works well in open daylight, but the camera really struggles when we head into the trees at 1:35. This video was taken around 7pm on a summers evening, so there really should have been enough light to record. When the trees get thicker around 2:55 the camera gives up completely and barely captures anything.

I can't really complain, I intend to use this camera mostly for windsurfing, and nothing else will do the same job for £99, but I am disappointed with how it copes with fading light.Right Quote

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