Specifications
Liquid Image Impact Series $250.00
Ease of Operation:
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Video Quality:
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Audio Quality:
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Mounting Options:
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Features:
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Accessories:
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Value:
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Comment: Maximum convenience, but significant limitations
Sensor Size: 5 MP Resolution: 720p Frame Rate: 30fps Focal Range: 1.2m to infinity Aperture: f/3.2 Field of View: 135°
Battery Charge Life: 2 hours (claimed) Card Type: Micro SD/SDHC (32GB maximum) Record Time: 9 hrs. on 32GB card (claimed)
Computer Compatibility
:
Windows XP, Vista, 7, Mac OS X 10.4 and higher Warranty
:
90 days
Included with camera: Nose guard, extra goggle lens, 7 tear-offs for goggle lens, microfiber carrying pouch, USB & digital A/V
cables, Li-Ion battery, 4GB MicroSD card
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28
DECEMBER 2011
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MOTORCYCLE CONSUMER NEWS
ABS plastic with a rubbery coating and appear sturdy. That said,
their LCD screens add significant vulnerability to impact.
Features include adjustable mic sensitivity and exposure com-
p
ensation (+/- 2 steps), with a special “night mode” for low-light
conditions and still-images can be taken singly or in “time-lapse”
f
ashion at user-defined intervals every 2-30 seconds. Frame-rates
include Euro-spec speeds, and a standard 1/4" threaded hole allows
m
ounting on tripods and accessory brackets. The Drift cams are
the only ones here that offer (digital) zoom capability, allowing you
to narrow their wide fields of view, but at some cost to image
quality. The HD has a Micro-HDMI jack for optimizing direct
playback on an HDTV.
Like the V.I.O., both Drifts allow use of an external micro-
phone. This is of critical importance if you want to add commen-
tary to your recording along the way, since wind noise severely
compromises the ability of on-camera mics to clearly capture voice
input in most situations. Because the Stealth’s mic jack is a unique
shape, it requires Drift’s proprietary accessory mic, although an
adapter is available to allow generic connections. The HD has a
standard 2.5mm mic input jack. Using an external mic on the
Stealth requires leaving its hinged rear hatch open, although some
limited measure of weatherproofing is restored by slipping a
clumsy silicone boot (sold separately) over the rear end of the
cam. The HD comes with an alternative rear hatch for external
mic use; it’s very tidy and more water-resistant—far superior to the
Stealth’s afterthought solution.
The Stealth’s on-cam mic does an okay job. Wind noise is tol-
erable, and it’s (barely) possible to make out what the rider shouts
at speed, but low-frequency sound isn’t as good as with the Hero,
Impact or POV.HD. Using the proprietary (non-condenser) mic
with the Stealth yields better voice recording and more realistic
engine sounds, but it isn’t as clean as using a condenser mic with
the HD. Video quality is on par with the GoPro’s, with more vivid
color and better metering (even without adjustment), but slightly
less detail in bright zones.
Drift Innovation c/o MyPOV360 (U.S. distributor)—P.O. Box
284; Boyne City, MI 49712; 704-966-9768;
www.driftinnovation.com or www.mypov360.com
The Drift plugs into a variety of provided base-plate arrangements.
Total Score: 49
Liquid Image Impression:
The Liquid Image offers more convenience than any other cam
here, with no mounting necessary and very simple operation via
two large buttons on the right edge of the goggle frame. These but-
tons are easy to find and use with gloves on, but we wish they
were located on the left side, where they’d be much more easily
operated by our non-throttle hand.
Said buttons reside on a hinged “wing” that holds the strap end
and swings outboard of the goggle frame to accommodate differ-
ent size/shape helmet eye-ports. The rear of the wing opens to
accept the MicroSD card and MicroUSB jack. (The left wing holds
the battery.) Compared to premium non-cam-equipped goggles,
these are quite bulky and clumsy. But they avoid the even more
awkward setup of a camera mounted on the outside of a helmet,
not to mention the latter’s far greater vulnerability to impact.
For use in very dusty or muddy conditions, the Liquid Image
comes with seven “tear offs” that can be affixed to posts on the
goggle lens and then pulled off when they load up with vision-
obscuring filth. This is a nice feature on any off-road goggle, but
there’s no provision for keeping the camera lens clean. So, if
you’re recording, you’ll have to stop and tend to the camera, any-
way, and could just wipe off the goggle lens at the same time.
Because there aren’t a host of user-selectable settings, the tiny
LCD screen located above the bridge of the nose inside the gog-
gle frame is adequate for what little information it has to convey
(battery life, video/still-image mode, number of files saved). And,
because the cam is essentially “inside” the helmet space, its sig-
nal beep is audible in most situations. You simply turn the cam on,
select video or still-frame mode, and then press the rec/stop but
-
ton when you’re ready to shoot.
Although Liquid Image expects to release a full 1080p version
of the Impact this fall, the current unit only records in 720p at
30fps. Given that its design is for off-road use, we’d really have pre-
ferred recording at 60fps, like we could with the other HD cams in
720p mode. Scenery rushing past is often much closer to the cam
-
era during off-road riding, and the relatively choppy motion of the
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