With around 1 in 12 men suffering from color blindness, it’s a really common problem—but it’s incredibly difficult to understand what it must be like to suffer from. Fortunately, Etre now has a simulator which lets you see the world through the eyes of the color blind. More »
The action camera known as the HD Ghost is one that Drift innovation delivers as their premiere top-of-the-line on-the-go media collector for the next mobile-friendly generation. With it, you’re going to be able to collect 1080p HD Video, 11 megapixel photos, and up to a massive 120fps video (in VGA mode). The basics for a top-tier action camera are all here – now it’s all about making sure we’ve got the connections we need to compete with the the other big guns in the industry.
Here with this hardcore amalgamation of metal, soft-touch plastic, and real-deal Gorilla Glass protection, you’ve got a camera that’s ready to be tossed around. Of course you’re going to want to treat this several hundred dollars worth of electronics with the care that such a price describes, but you should take rest in the fact that this device was indeed built to take a hit or two. The Drift HD Ghost is water proof to 3m (9.84ft) right out of the box, too – mind that correction in the hands-on video here:
The Drift HD Ghost works with what Drift notes is an “Enhanced 7 Element Lens Design”. In this case they note that with seven separate unique elements right up front, you’ll be able to capture high clarity video with “stunning” color no matter where you’re filming. You’ll be able to judge that for yourself in the set of images and video we’ve got below, should you care to take a look. This unit’s lens works at 170 degrees (or just 130 degrees at 60fps) and is fully rotate-friendly – and it’s so tightly connected you’ll never turn when you don’t want to!
In addition to being able to capture audio right from the built-in microphone on the device, you’ve also got a 3.5mm microphone connector coming out the back. This port is accessible with one of several in-box backs you can attach to the device, each of them with their own unique purpose. The back we’ve got on the device here also allows you to connect directly to your computer through the device’s mini-USB port. Under the back you’ve also got a mini-HDMI port (Type c) so you can play videos and videos you’ve captured straight through an HDTV!
Inside the box you’ve also got a goggle mount, curved and flat surface mounts, a universal camera clip, and a velcro strap. The battery you get with this camera is 1700mAh strong and has lasted us over a week at a time with regular use – it’s almost magical. And if you need more time away from civilization, Drift sells individual batteries you can swap in and out. Also in the box is a miniUSB cable, 3.5mm microphone extension cable, accessory travel case, and a simple guide (if you happen to need it).
This device uses its own unique user interface and software as you’ll see plainly in the hands-on video above. It also connects easily with your iPhone right out of the box using wifi. All you’ll need to do is click in to the settings on the camera, turn on wifi, and connect to the camera as you would on your iPhone to any other wifi network – the HD Ghost is the projector of said wifi signal rather than the receiver. Control works then through your iPhone with the free Drift App straight from the iTunes app store – it’s just called “Drift App”.
This device also connects to an included two-way remote that works with a couple of buttons that make operating extremely simple. Turn it on, connect, and you’ll have only to press record from there. This “Drift Active Status Two-Way Remote” allows you to capture media from up to 30 feet (10 meters) away wirelessly in each of the device’s main capture modes: Video, Photo, Timelapse, and Photoburst.
In short – the software is surprisingly simple to use given the four-button control you’ll be using on the camera itself. Connecting remotely is even simpler than the basic on-device experience, too – anyone can do it. This control panel interface also works in 15 languages so the whole universe can have a try.
This device is able to capture 11 megapixel photos, but more than likely you’ll be working mainly with video capture at 1080p at 30fps. Our first example of video is captured from a shopping cart exiting a department store in the evening on an otherwise snow-covered clear day. Note that this capture was done with the straight out-of-box camera experience, no attachments or audio enhancements made – standard mic, that is.
The camera has thus far proven itself to be a generally generous video capturer, though not one we’d use outside of hardcore situations that require such protection for the unit itself. In other words, if we’re heading to a birthday party and where a gift opening needs to be filmed, it makes a bit more sense to simply use a smartphone. If we’re jumping off a cliff with a parachute, it’s time for the Drift HD Ghost. Below you’ll see a collection of photos captured with the device as well. Note that the wide-view angle is one of the stronger points of excellence on this device.
The Drift HD Ghost is a strong device in its ability to attach to a variety of equipment and capture video and photos on-the-fly. It’s extremely easy to use, and outputs media that you’ll be more than pleased you captured. Drift Innovation is the sort of company you know will continue to support this device, also, into the future – so official accessories and replacement parts will be available to you for some time to come – they’re already several cameras deep!
Right this minute you’ll be able to pick up the Drift HD Ghost action camera for around $399.99 brand new. Again, it’s the highest-end solution offered by Drift and it’s a real contender in this space!
Have a peek at the Looxcie HD Explore as well as the ContourROAM reviews we’ve done in the past to see what else is available out there for you, and note that GoPro Hero series is also available to you as one of the high-end solutions in this space. Mobile connections are hot, hardcore action is a must, and right this minute the Drift HD Ghost is one of the top pacesetters for this type of device, without a doubt!
Drift HD Ghost Review: 1080p hardcore camera action is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
I was invited to the new Leica store in SoHo to check out some of their latest gear this week. I knew about their compact offerings, the X2 and D-Lux 6, so I knew what I was getting myself into. But there was one product that called out to me, something completely unique among all current digital cameras. The M Monochrom—a camera that shoots only black and white. More »
Given the ubiquity of the camera phone and their ever increasing quality, there are people who are perfectly content having their mobile device also serve as their only camera. I, for one, would likely experience something akin to severe withdrawal if I had to give up my dSLR and shoot exclusively with my cellphone. More »
Give infinite monkeys infinite typewriters and over an infinite timeline, they’ll come up with Hamlet. You know the thought experiment. But apply the same concept to brute forcing every possible photograph, pixel by pixel, and the idea becomes just slightly less ludicrous. Non-ludicrous enough that artist Jeffrey Thompson is actually giving it a try, though on a (relatively) smaller scale. More »
GoPro all but owns the extreme action camera market, but as simple as its compact hardware is to use, you still need to find a way to safely mount it to your ride or helmet. And that’s where the creators of the Video Head, a helmet with a built-in camera, think they have a better approach. More »
If you hang with a tech-minded crew, a high-end DSLR with a giant telephoto lens is definitely an object of lust and envy you’re going to want to show off. And when Canon handed out those telephoto lens thermoses at the Olympics a few years ago, of course photographers and gadget aficionados went nuts over them. But enough is enough. More »
We’ve done long exposures. And many of you have blown things up with fireworks. For this week’s Shooting Challenge, we’re combining the ideas in a technique that looks hard but anyone can pull off. More »
This week The Guardian is tipping the world from one of their anonymous sources that Nokia may well be bringing their full-on Nokia 808 PureView 41 megapixel sensor to a set of standard smartphones in 2013. This tip comes from “sources close to the Finnish handset maker” and is indeed appearing to us to be just about as incredible as it may seem to you. What we’ll likely see instead is a continuation of the Nokia Lumia 920′s high-powered camera technology rather than the beast that is the lens configuration on the 808 – let’s have a chat about why.
The Nokia 808 PureView is a smartphone that’s meant to be used primarily as a camera. It’s got a massive lens configuration on its back that Nokia never intended to compete with the thin and light frames of the high-end smartphones we’re seeing throughout the industry today. Instead it was (and is) meant to show the world that Nokia can, indeed, deliver this camera power in a real market-ready handset.
What we’ve got with the Nokia Lumia 920 is a device that takes on the same “feel” for the brand that Nokia is pushing with “PureView”, this time in a more realistic package for the mass market. This device is not the thinnest smartphone in the world – not by a long shot – but it’s certainly ready to compete against the average top-tier smartphone in its overall package delivery. Nokia is banking on the idea that the camera brand PureView technology will push the rest of their handsets into the limelight.
SIDE NOTE: There’s also the possibility here that the Nokia EOS Windows Phone spoken about recently could be connected to a real-deal high-powered PureView sensor. Think about it!
With the tip you’re seeing here about the 41-megapixel sensor coming to the standard handset, it’s much more likely that a game of “telephone” is going on. That means that the original message was likely something more like “Nokia will bring on more high-powered PureView smartphones in 2013″, translated several times to come out to “Nokia PureView smartphones (started with the 808) will come to market in 2013.” The realistic way of looking at this situation is as follows:
Nokia will continue to push forth with PureView brand camera technology in the handsets they deliver that, first and foremost, deliver an overall solid experience in and of themselves. Another possibility is that Nokia is evolving as quickly as HTC and will deliver something wild like multiple layers of lenses sandwiched together to create a camera that, in the end, works with enough sensors that they’d have otherwise created a 41-megapixel photo.
Perhaps four layers of 10 megapixel sensors to create one beast of a photo? We shall see!
Nokia tipped to bring 41 megapixel sensor to standard smartphones (again) is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
This week the folks at HTC have created a rather interesting “Brief History of Photography” timeline in which they tease a “new sound and camera experience” for 2013 – but isn’t that what they did last year? Have a peek back at the original announcement of HTC ImageSense and the HTC One X to see how both photography and superior sound quality (with Beats Audio) were pushed at Mobile World Congress 2012. Fast-forward to 2013 and we’ve got HTC once again claiming to bring on both next-level sound and photography. It seemed pretty great back then, will it seem great again here one year later?
Of course that’s only one way of looking at the situation. Another would be to see that HTC’s smartphone sales didn’t exactly do as planned with the most recent quarterly earnings report showing sales down by a significant margin. HTC has even gone so far as to mention inexpensive smartphones for 2013 across markets such as China for a main strategy throughout the immediate future.
So what would HTC need to bring to the market to push their new line of high-end smartphones lead by the device known (at the moment) as the HTC M7? They’d need to deliver a rebranding of camera and sound technology as we know it. As Apple used the term “Retina” to let the world know they’d be going above and beyond the market’s then-current “best” in display resolution, so too must HTC re-brand excellence in their cameras and speakers.
The tip we heard this week about Ultrapixel cameras in smartphones from HTC may not be that far off from the truth. The tip was that HTC would bring a set of three camera sensors effectively stacked one on top of the other to create photography that has multiple sets of data for each pixel. The result would be photos more sharp and color-correct than any we’ve seen on a smartphone or tablet before.
And what about the speaker situation? It may just be that HTC has amped up their friendliness with the Beats brand or that they’ve done away with them altogether. The final result will be louder speakers, forward-facing speakers, or more “futuristic” sound delivery through wireless technology. The final result in the HTC One series over the past year was the Beats logo sitting on the back of each handset and not one whole heck of a lot more, when it came down to real-world use.
Now we wait (until the February 19th big event) to see if HTC can make another wild impact on the industry like they claim they’ve done in the camera history lineup they’ve posted today. Have a peek at the set in the gallery below and let us know how many of these devices you’ve owned or found yourself lusting over as they were released over the past several years.
HTC’s “new sound and camera experience” may be deja-vu is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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