Drift HD Stealth (camera)

[mealexme]

This is sort of bike related and have been asked to put a review up of it so here goes

What's it like size wise? Well its larger than many helmet cams out there, and people do stare at it on occasion, but being on a bike you are used to people staring. It is not overly huge, if it is on the helmet you do not notice it. With the stealth you should have a waterproof "boot" (an extra accessory which does not come with the camera) to go over the back if the mic is attached which makes it even bigger, but personally I dont bother, although the warrenty is voided if water gets in so probably not worth the risk. The Drift HD (the newer, smaller version) doesnt need the boot on the back.

Battery life - not sure as I have never run the battery out. Longest I have had it running was about an hour in 720p. You can buy an extra battery if you wish which runs longer.

Charging time - again, as I have never let it run down I do not know but I usually leave it connected to the computer from when I take the files off it via USB and leave it in there over night and it is charged by morning.

Can you record while charging? No, but if it is connected to power it can run straight off the mains rather than off the battery. To connect to a mains or car cigerette lighter thing you need to buy the accessory which has the correct connection.

It comes out of the box with a handlebar mount, goggle mount, helmet mount, USB connection, some wires to connect to the TV (I think), head strap, camera (obviously), very strong velcro which holds at 90 with ease, some sticky pads and a remote control.

You need to buy the mic and boot for the back if you want to use it to vlog in the rain.

The camera itself has a rotatable lens which means you can always get the correct rotation no matter how it is mounted which is very useful. It also has a screen for playback.

It comes with a remotecontrol which imo is very useful and I am surprised no other camera of this sort that I have seen has thought of adding one to their product. It has record and stop, but has the odd time that it doestn work when you press it.

I have had this camera for about 2 or 3 months now and already have my third replacement part in the post. The plastics on the mounts seem very weak, but if anything does break drift are very good and send you a replacement straight away.

Overall I think this is a very good camera, especially for its price, and comes with great customer service.

I think the only REAL advantage (it has others too) the drift HD comes with, over the stealth is that it has a removable lens so if it gets damaged the lens can be replaced. (the lens sticks out from the case so can e damaged if dropped or if it hits anything)

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Any other questions, ask away

[whitedevil]

STEALTH?!?!?! Its bloomin massive

[tryme]

they had cameras smaller than that in the 70s

does looks quite neat though

[mealexme]

I think its only called stealth because its black, whereas the other one is orange!

Also the newer one is smaller, and this one records in HD

[TC]

Thanks for that Alex

I'm still on the hunt for a helmet cam for my Scotland trip. The stealth is on the list

[Ali in Austria]

I've been using them for several years. The HD 170, Stealth and new Drift HD all record in 1080p HD.

They are very robust, I've tested this in anger on a few occasions. Never had any problems with any of the fittings and the various mounting options they do are very good. I use them for motorcycling, skiing, paragliding etc.

I have used them in extreme weathers and never had an issue with water ingress. I'm also a bit ham fisted but to date have not caused any damage to the lens.

I have an older XD170 which does not record in HD but which I now use to take Pictures. It has the same 5mb camera that the HD170 and Stealth has.

I also have 2 HD170's and the new Drift HD. No I'm not greedy, I use them as part of our business and for Tour Guiding.

The main difference between the HD170 and The Stealth is that The Stealth can record at a suitable rate for Slow Motion as can the new Drift HD.

The HD170 with a 32GB SD Card and 2 x Long life batteries will film all day without issue. You get between 3.5 to 4 hrs from the long life battery filming in HD.

The downside on the new Drift HD is that it only takes the standard battery which will last between 1.5 and 2 hrs filming in HD. It does have a 9mb camera though and as stated can record at a higher frame rate.

I wouldn't consider these cameras as big and they are certainly more streamline than the Go Pro. Added to which they have a viewing screen, rotatable lens and remote control as standard which means setting up and operating them is a doddle. I believe the GoPro incurs extra expense as add ons for these features.

None of this type of camera has image stabilisation so recordings won't be as smooth as a proper video camera but they do a good job. Sometimes you need to adjust the exposure setting. They are very versatile and can shoot video at various rates, take photo's on the press of the remote, timed intervals or burst shots.

The videos here involving motorcycling, paragliding and skiing were shot with the HD170 http://www.youtube.com/user/PensionHausMaria?feature=mhum

Action Cameras who supply Drift currently have some offers on this month http://www.actioncameras.co.uk/brands/drift/drift-cameras

[mealexme]

I wouldn't consider these cameras as big and they are certainly more streamline than the Go Pro. Added to which they have a viewing screen, rotatable lens and remote control as standard which means setting up and operating them is a doddle. I believe the GoPro incurs extra expense as add ons for these features.

 

Good write up!

Also the drift seems really good value for money!

The guy dealing with me about parts snapping did say it sounds like a bad batch because they don't usually snap so easily.

[rushwind]

i've had a stealth since xmas, ( actually 2), as first one fell off the sofa onto carpet( maybe 18 inches) and broke the screen, renewed by amazon,,,,,,,,,

on that cam i was able to record loads a minutes in full hd ( more than an hour anyway), but could not edit cos pc is not hi-spec enough.

the replacement has 'eaten ' 2 sd cards, i was recording at 720 ( so i could edit),,,,ended up wit h 2 corrupt cards, a waste of an 8 gb, and 16 gb!,,,,,

now changed frames to 70 ,seems ok,,,,,,,

otherwise i,m well pleased with this cam,,,,,,

it just ........LOOKS........ better than gopro

[TC]

Just stuck my neck out and brought the Drift HD the new smaller version.

Hopefully all being well i will put a reveiw up here once its arrived and i suss it out

[Boothy]

Just stuck my neck out and brought the Drift HD the new smaller version.

Hopefully all being well i will put a reveiw up here once its arrived and i suss it out

 

Very very nice... 170 degree wide angle ain't it?

[Ali in Austria]

Just stuck my neck out and brought the Drift HD the new smaller version.

Hopefully all being well i will put a reveiw up here once its arrived and i suss it out

 

Very very nice... 170 degree wide angle ain't it?

 

All the Drift models have a 170 degree lens. It does cause a bit of Fisheye round the edges and can't be zoomed to get rid of it in 1080p mode. Having said that, most of the time you don't notice it. When you will is using them to take photos. Just remember to zoom in a bit when you set it up. Mount the camera on your helmet centering on your line of sight and it's easy to take pics on the move. I mount mine on the hinge part of my visor.

I did mention the new Drift HD earlier. It's about 1 inch shorter than the other models but width and depth are the same. Does exactly what the HD170 and Stealth do with the added bonus of a 9mp camera instead of 5mp. As I said, the downside is it can't take the long life batteries and uses the standard battery common to the other models. It also takes a Micro SD Card which in my big mitts is a bit fiddly.

On the subject of SD/micro SD Cards I've found that Class 6 or higher is better. I use Class 10 SDHC and Class 6 micro SD. Never had a problem with Cards going tits up.

The HD170 and Stealth have a hinged door for access to battery, Card, power leads etc. If you want to use an external microphone you need the silicon boot that covers the back with the door open. While it does a good job of keeping the dust out I wouldn't use it in the wet.

The New Drift HD has a screw on type cover and comes with a second one to replace it if connecting said microphone. Again, I wouldn't trust it in very wet weather. It also has a replaceable lens.

The built in Mics on all models are prone to picking up a lot of wind noise.