In releasing their first action cam, Sony build on their strong background and their ability to innovate. Shortly after their new Action Cam was launched in Australia, I was able to secure a unit for reviewing on Bicycles Network Australia. As you read this review, you shouldn’t be surprised that GoPro are referred to frequently. They essentially created the market of relatively affordable cameras that are compact, simple to use and extremely durable – they’re the benchmark. With that in mind, let’s have a good look at this new contender.

The Sony Action Cam as a Bike Camera
BNA is a bike site, so we are looking at this camera specifically for cycling. To me, cycling means both on road and off-road, vibrations and bumps, camera mounted on the head, the forks, the stem and the handlebars – everywhere you are most likely to use and mount the camera. It comes with a durable waterproof case, so I was encouraged to get it wet as well. Slow moving footage and fluid video? No way! -  fast moving footage with bumps and shakes; I wanted to put the camera to the test.

The Action Cam Close Up
The Sony Action Cam, without the case, is light and compact. Unfortunately, the camera doesn’t stand up on its base; when it’s on your desk, it lies on its side. Since the lens can’t be rotated like a Contour camera, it means that the Sony camera is really only practical for filming while mounted or in the waterproof case.

Lying on its side, the base of the camera is accessible and has a door which conceals a USB port, microphone port, HDMI jack, an ‘expansion connector’ and a light to show charging. I only used the USB port which let me charge the camera and mount the camera onto my computer to transfer files, though there was no simultaneous charging and mounting.

The battery and memory card are accessed from the rear of the unit and are quite straight forward. Out of the box, the camera comes with two batteries, a 4GB SD Memory card, desktop charger and universal mount adapter. The camera I reviewed (the HDR-AS15K) had an microSD 8GB memory card which extended my recording time, at the highest resolution, from 30 minutes to just over 60 minutes.

Camera Navigation and Control
The Action Cam presents the budding film maker with three buttons: next and prev are on the side, situated close to an LED screen; and the record button is on the rear. The tactile feedback of the buttons and knowing that a button has been pressed is reassuring. The three buttons offer a slight edge in navigation over two button cameras, but still require a bit of learning to navigate into menus, change settings and navigate back. The LED on screen info was quite intuitive for the main settings and functions.

The manual for the camera comes as a large sheet of paper with a schematic diagram of the menu and function structure. Truth be told, it’s pretty scary. While you can still try to learn intuitively, to get the most out of the camera and all of its settings, it is worth reviewing.

Waterproof Case and Mounting
Sports action cameras owe a lot of their appeal to their durable waterproof cases. On a bike you can’t always guarantee dry weather, so waterproofing makes sense and further, it protects the camera from dust and knocks. The Sony waterproof case feels tough and durable. It has a rather clever latch for the front door (and lens cover) that opens and closes easily and provides a good seal. The front cover isn’t hinged, rather it’s connected to the main housing with a thin plastic strip which I found detached itself at times. It was a shock the first time it happened as I am particularly careful in protecting the lenses from scratches and dust. When the camera is inside the waterproof case, you are limited to only the record button to control the camera, so you have to remove it if you want to change settings ,or use a smart phone to connect wirelessly.

The waterproof case accommodates a screw in clip that can be clipped onto adhesive mounts. For biking, I completely avoid this type of mount and relied instead on the Sony handlebar mount which can be purchased separately. This mount comes with different sized rubber inserts to accommodate different handlebar diameters and screws tightly with an allen key. The camera can then be attached and screwed on with the integrated ‘screw wheel’ which is reliable and tight.

Once in place, the Sony handlebar mount can be tilted or, by loosening the screw wheel, the camera can be reversed and easily tightened by hand. The handlebar mount has the camera on top of the handlebars, which this is fine for commuting or road cycling, but on the mountain bike I like to keep the top of the handlebars free of any electronic equipment that can be damaged if I take a tumble. As such I mounted the handlebar mount (and therefore the camera) up-side-down, though the allen key screw is tougher to reach from underneath between the gear and brake cables. If there is a tumble, however, the camera is better protected, plus it’s ‘out of the way’ for normal riding.

It is worth noting that the Bike handlebar mount works exceptionally well, it is sturdy and doesn’t seem to suffer from flex and vibration that other brand mounts tend to exhibit. It would be possible to use this as a generic mount for any camera’s that have camera screw on the base, though worth testing to ensure it fastens securely.

An alternative mount is the head mount accessory which is purchased separately. For this mount the waterproof case is not used, which makes it a conveniently light camera, lighter than many other action cameras. It doesn’t, however, work with a normal bike helmet, so on the bike the head mount is only practical with a full face helmet or a skater type helmet.

Because the waterproof camera case accepts a camera screw for mounting, it opens up creative possibilities for DIY mounts and 3rd party mounts to get different angles. That said, the camera prefers to film upright as the lens can’t be rotated, although most video editing software can rotate the footage to compensate. While the shape of Sony Action Cam means that it mounts well with the handlebar and head mount, it isn’t well suited to a chest mount.

Wifi Connection
Connecting wirelessly to a camera via a smart phone is a must these days, and the Sony Action Cam can be used with Sony’s PlayMemories app, which is available for iPhone, iPad and Android. The setup, however, is difficult and after following the instructions that were provided to my by Sony, I headed online and with the help of Google found instructions that guided me through the Wifi setup.

The app is wonderful when it works. I set it up on my iPhone and after pairing my phone and the camera, and connecting to the wireless network of the Sony camera, I could see live video from the viewfinder. The interface allows you to switch between video and photo mode and record directly. Setting the shot via the smart phone is incredibly handy as is the ability to start and stop recording.

From within the app the field of vision can be changed between 120° and 170°, the resolution/frame rate changed, and steady shot video stabilisation toggled on or off. Because the smart phone interface is so much bigger it would be a real advantage to able to adjust all of the camera settings from the app. In using the app, however, I had frequent problems; often the camera wouldn’t appear or would drop out so I couldn’t connect. Even with my phone next to the camera there were frequent connection stability problems to the point of having a serious lag when pressing record; at times the camera never got the message.

When I asked Sony about this they informed me that the PlayMemories App has been updated and this has been resolved. By this time, however, I no longer had the camera to be able to test and confirm.

Sound, Camera and Action
Many of the camera tests comparing the Sony Action Cam with other brands, such as the GoPro Hero and Contour, compare stationary or slow, hand held footage. Cycling is tougher on the cameras; not only is there faster movement, there are also bumps and vibration that make it challenging for any camera to record clean footage. For testing, I was joined by John Hawkins to mountain bike on sandy and rocky Sydney trails. We choose a bright sunny day to test the Sony. Filming at 1920×1080 resolution, the quality of the footage was influenced by the amount of sudden movements, speed and detail of the surroundings. The higher the speed, the more bumps and movement, and the more detailed the surroundings, the less detailed the footage was. All action cameras in this market segment have the same limitations.

Watch the Sony Action Cam Cross Country MTB video in full resolution

The Sony Action Cam, with Sony’s “Steady Shot” technology, has noticeably improved stability, creating a much smoother video. In comparing this directly with the GoPro Hero2, the Sony footage also showed more detail. While both cameras operated well with sun and shadow contrasts, the Sony footage was noticeably paler in colour than the Hero2.

In the moving footage, the Sony was more detailed and had a higher contrast, while the freeze framed footage was softer and more attractive on the GoPro. The Sony didn’t deal with direct sunlight as well as the GoPro, being more susceptible to lens flare and less accurate light balance.

Watch the Sony Action Cam and GoPro Hero2 comparison in full resolution

The ability to change the field of vision to from 120° to 170° is nice and when mounted on the handlebars, I preferred the wider angle. The Sony footage has less fish eye lens distortion compared with the GoPro Hero2 (though the Hero3 probably reduces this).

During filming, the GoPro Hero2 camera heated up and the inside of the casing started to fog relatively quickly while the Sony resisted this, even though the Action Cam recorded for longer during our testing. The GoPro importer suggest that their recently released GoPro Hero3 (Silver) would provide a better comparison, however they were not available for testing.

The Sony was a little “louder” during our filming; though it fits snugly in the waterproof case, it seems seems to have some room to play, so some padding inside the case would probably eliminate movement and noise.

The handlebar mount from Sony was the best branded handlebar mount I have tested. It was constructed to be solid and stable and reduces micro-vibration that could cause rolling shutter. The chest mounted position for action cams is quite popular as it eliminates the vibration of the bike and movement of the head to provide relatively consistent footage. The shape of the Sony, however, rules out this option, but the camera screw mount makes it more easily adaptable.

Recording Modes and Runtime
Filming at the highest resolution (HQ 1920×1080 at 30fps) gave about 65 minutes recording time which filled the 8GB SD card and also coincided with the battery run time. For 1280×720 at 30fps (STD, standard resolution), I got 140 minutes recording time (6.8 GB) before the battery was empty. The Super Slow (SSLOW) mode records at 1280×720 with 120fps and recorded for about 43 minutes, which gives a playback time at 30fps of about 170 minutes of slow motion footage (albeit with no audio in slow recording modes).

The SLOW mode records at 1280×720 (60fps) and the VGA mode an old fashioned 640×480. This will obviously deliver a much longer runtime (pending battery charge) however, if recording time was an issue, it would be easier to use a second battery and a larger memory card. The battery recharges in about four hours.

It’s a Wrap
Practice makes perfect and it’s a matter of taking the time and testing to see which recording modes and settings work best for your purposes. As its first Action Cam, Sony has done its homework and holds its ground. You will be able to generate quality footage and, while the Sony is not miles ahead of the competition, it doesn’t lag behind.

The general operation of the Sony is good and, if the WiFi issues are resolved as reported in the latest PhotoMemories App update, it then really comes down to personal preference in choosing a sports action camera for biking. With the inbuilt WiFi, the Sony Action Cam beats the GoPro Hero2 on hands down price; the Hero2 requires the additional WifiBack pack (~ $99). On price and specifications the Sony Action Cam competes with the GoPro Hero 3 Silver Edition.

The Sony Action Cam is available in most electronics stores and retails for $369. Make sure you’re getting the HDR-AS15K version with WiFi, as there is also a version without WiFi (HDR-AS10) and version without the accessories (HDR-AS15). The Sony camera is being promoted with the Weekend Lives On (WLO) campaign which is a community website where you can upload your awesome footage and photos.

More details and specs for the Sony Action Cam.

The iDV MiniHD ticks all of the boxes on the “must have” feature list: waterproof casing, 1080p and 720p video capture, accepts up to 32GB flash cards, compact form factor, and competitive weight. The last two items are not weight-weenie nice-to-haves; having a camera on your helmet, for hours on end, on a long bike ride does add to the load on your neck. The smaller and lighter the unit can be, the better. The iDV MiniHD is comparable in weight to the GoPro Hero2, and is only slightly bigger.

In some areas the MiniHD surpasses both the GoPro and the Contour. The unit comes standard with a backlit LCD display screen that enables you to play back footage on the unit and view in real time what the camera is seeing as it shoots. There is also a wrist-mountable remote that can be used to start and stop the camera and take still pictures. I had no issues using this with full-finger mountain bike gloves. This playback and remote control functionality has just recently become available for the GoPro as an extra-cost option.

The iDV MiniHD’s menu system is simple and very easy to navigate on the colour screen, to the point where I really didn’t need to read the manual to be able to get around and understand what each function did. Battery life was good and it easily captured my 90+ minute morning commute-come-training ride at 1080p.

The water housing and camera body both have a standard tripod screw mount. There are ports for HDMI, USB, and an external microphone, although the unit needs to be outside the water housing to get access. A screw-in adaptor is compatible with the GoPro tongue-and-bolt mount fitting, although it is a very tight fit. This allows you to tilt the camera up and down to adjust for helmet angle. Matching this there is a bayonet clip removable base plate which looks like it should be compatible with GoPro stick-on base mounts. Unfortunately, the centre rib is a slightly different size, so disappointingly it doesn’t fit into GoPro base mounts.

The same issue occurs with the bayonet adapter and baseplate as with the GoPro, with a small amount of slop compromising video and sound quality. This should be resolvable exactly the same way, with the application of a layer or two of electricians tape to the base to pack out and damp the free play. I didn’t encounter this issue on test, since I used the Kali Amara helmet with the inbuilt camera mount, which is quite tight on the slide-on rail mount.

Mounting options are a bit limited. The unit comes with the bayonet clip removable baseplate, and two self-adhesive baseplate mounts. Handlebar and stick-on side helmet mounts are optional extras.

So what does the video footage look like? In poor light it marginally exceeded the capability of the GoPro and for normal adventure use the quality was more than adequate. The field of view at 150 degrees is narrower than the 170 degree wide GoPro Hero2 and Contour Roam, but not excessively so. The detail it captured however was not quite to the same standard, so if you are looking to use it as a safety or evidence camera to capture vehicle number plates, this is not the unit for you. Whether this was due to lens or processor I am unsure.

Other  compromises were:
• the use of the slightly more lossy MOV file format, which is unsupported by Windows Live Movie Maker
• the power switch is not accessible once you close the casing; it needs to be turned on prior to insertion and the casing clasp is not accessible once the unit is screwed onto the mount  (although that may not be a bad thing if you skydive).
• no audible beep to let you know whether pressing the remote or casing buttons has done anything.
• if the unit’s battery charge expires while you are filming, the currently open file is not closed properly and becomes corrupted.

Most of these “niggles” can be worked around with a little planning, however, and purchase of one of the excellent value low-cost video editing packages that are available will yield a better result, regardless of camera used.

If you just want something to capture the experience of weekend rides, ski trips, or surf sessions with mates, this is more than enough camera.

Likes:
Performance for the price is good – less than half the price of the nearest equivalent Contour and GoPro models.
Viewscreen and wrist remote come as part of the standard package
Easy to understand and use menu system
Local support

Dislikes:
Registration plate capture not so good
Power down file save process needs work
Some aspects of operation with water housing need more thought
Beep to indicate button activation non-existent or inaudible

The iDV MiniHD retails for $250 and at the time of publishing is on discount and selling for $199. iDV cameras are available from some sports outlets as well as directly from iDV: www.idv.net.au

BNA was invited to test Kali Protectives’ Amara helmet. The styling of the Amara (Sanskrit for “immortal”, which is reassuring) follows the trend set by Fox with their Flux helmet, and provides greater protection for the rear of the head by extending down lower than most cross-country and roadie helmets. The weight is at the higher end of the range, coming in at around 350 grams, about 10 grams lighter than my equivalent size Fox Flux.

The front visor is of a break-away design, but is actually not removable. The Amara uses mid-to-high end in-mould technology, where the foam is moulded into the polycarbonate shell so there is no air gap. Kali calls this their “Composite Fusion Technology” and has taken it a step further by using separate polycarbonate bridges and inserts at various points to improve strength. Pleasingly, the outer polycarbonate shell extends all the way to the bottom at the helmet’s rear, leaving no bare foam unsupported at the base of the skull (unlike like many others in the same price bracket).

This helmet is without doubt the most comfortable I’ve used. The previous benchmark was set by a $300+ European roadie helmet, which unfortunately was non-AS compliant and which I did not buy, but which opened my eyes to a comfort standard I have been unable to match until the arrival of the Amara. This high end helmet combined the usual Coolmax + foam cushion strips with an integrated bug net.

The Amara does the same, with the padding and bug net forming a one-piece construction that is easily removed for washing. This may possibly make the helmet a little warmer during the summer months, but an unseasonably warm July mid-20-degree ride last weekend showed that for most conditions these concerns are unlikely to be a problem. Seventeen large vents ensure excellent air flow. Another upside is that I no longer present at work with Darth Maul helmet hair until I can get to the showers.

With the use of adventure helmet cams strongly on the rise, Kali have moulded an integrated mounting rail along the crown of the helmet. Four separate types of mount adapter are included, which will provide coverage for LED torches, “bullet” style cameras, GoPro-compatible cameras, and some types of helmet light.

I tried the Kali Amara with both GoPro and Swann HD helmet cams and found it to offer a significant improvement over the normal strap-on type vented helmet mounts (where it is almost impossible to prevent camera shake and fire cracker-like rattling noise across rough ground). The helmet offers similar mount rigidity to stick-on adhesive mounts, with none of the hassle of trying to find sufficient surface area to ensure the bond is secure. The video results were markedly better than any of my previous attempts with helmet mounted cameras.

In the event of a collision with a tree branch, the adapter will pull free, preventing you from “coathanger-ing” yourself.

The rear adjustment mechanism is identical to the Fox Flux, and provides easy to use and secure adjustment. Coming from the exact same Asian factory, I suppose that is no surprise!

On my particular review helmet there were a couple of small rough spots in the finish, but nothing to detract from the Amara’s function or aesthetics; a casual observer would probably not notice them at all.

I have been looking for a replacement helmet for a while, and after trying on multiple models in 7 or 8 different brands, I was prepared to spend a significantly higher amount to get similar comfort levels to the expensive roadie helmet I liked. I found nothing suitable until the Amara. To get similar results for a spend of under a hundred dollars was outstanding.

Likes:
Comfort – exceptionally good
Integrated camera mount
Competitive weight
Extended head coverage at the rear
Voluminous venting
Outstanding value for money
Styling

Dislikes:
Some small finishing issues
Possibly warmer to wear on 40C+ days

You can find the Kali Amara helmets online at Velogear.com for $79.95.