ATC2K Waterproof Action Cam
by Oregon Scientific
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Our Price: $69.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $65.95 (click here) Category: Digital Camera See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of ATC2K Waterproof Action Cam
Customer Review: ATK2 Helmet Cam Review
Summary: 4 Stars
I was looking for something to mount on my handlebars since I do alot of on and off road biking where I live. I did not want to spend a lot of money yet..so I gave the ATK2 Cam a look. The main reason why I got this cam was the price. Its an absolute bargin at 92 US dollars. It arrived the next day neatly packaged. Once I got it out hooked the batteries and got a memory card..I was off and running. It does take a few minutes though to get used to the controls and how they are set up..but once you've mastered that..its is very simple and straight forward to use. 3 buttons of operation here..the middle button is the record/stop/select button. The button to the right is the enter button to confirm selections..and the bottom button is the menu button..to access certain features..which is neat.
Now onto playback and video quality. If you are looking for high resolution recording..this is not what you want. However, it does shoot video in VGA format..which is pretty good. It shakes over bumps and small indulations on the road..but its not terrible. With a 2GB memory card you get about 1hr of recording time..set the frame rate to 15 frames/sec and you get 30 more minutes of recording time. If you want to sacrafice a little more image quality then set it to QVGA..and you get almost 3 hours(3:30 @ 15Frames/sec). Now I have not had a chance to use the lowest quality setting yet(QQVGA)..but at the lowest frame rate you can get a whopping 12 hrs of recording time..which is really good. I recommend watching your videos on a compuer as the quality on a TV is'int that good. Battery life depends on the temprature and how much recording you do. Regular batteries will only net you, at the most, about 45 minutes @ 40 degrees. Upgrade to Lithium Ion batteries and you get 60 minutes. Slight improvment. I reccommend NI-MH rechargable batteries. I have not used them yet, but I have heard they can go for almost 2 hours between charges..and thats at 25 degrees. I would have to say about 3 hrs at normal temprature(60 degrees)..and 3 1/2 hrs at 80 degrees. To mount the cam it comes with a handlebar bracket which is fairly easy to mount. It also comes with a velcro strap to mount other places..but I have not had the need to use it yet. It also comes with a nylon band to mount it on your helmet. I have'nt used that yet..so I cant give any reviews on that at this time. What I can tell you is I would rather mount it on the handlebar since you can change modes or start and stop recordings without stopping someplace and removing your helmet.
As far as computer connectvity and memory goes..you just remove the cover and you have a USB connection inside along with a memory card slot. You also have a jack to plug into your tv if you feel the need. Memory is pretty good. A 2GB card will give you 12 hrs of recording time at the lowest resolution and at the lowest frame rate. At the highest resolution and at the highest frame rate you only get an hour of recording time. A 4GB card..from what I have been told will work but it will only give you the same results..but it will work..as long as its not an SDHC card..in that case the camera wont even turn itself on since it wont recgonize them. All in all I would give this camera 4.5 stars out of 5..since it has good recording resolution and ease of operation.
ATK2 Cam update 12-06-08. Cam still works good. I have noticed after extended use in cold tempratures(35 or lower) the camera will just shut off, even when fully charged batteries or new batteries are installed. This is because it just is not designed to work properly at freezing tempratures. Also if you plan to mount this unit on your helmet..good luck. The vibration when you mount it on the top portion of the helmet is so severe its litterally unusable. Works better on the handlebar. I will have another update when warmer weather returns.
Update 11-28....ATCK2 is still working fine. I am not using it on my bike trips anymore. Sound is not good and the image quality suffers..and the bike mounts keep breaking, and the helmet mounts are a bit to be desired..so I give up on this camera. I now have the Tachyon XC which does much better and has a much better picture and video resolution.
Customer Review: Lives Up To Expectations
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this over a year ago and I am just now getting around to this review. This camera has exceeded my expectations. First, you need to know the camera's limitations.
Sound is muted and weak.
Resolution is NOT high definition.
Controls are difficult to operate.
LCD control screen is tiny and difficult to read.
No screen for video review.
Poor performance in low light situations.
It only accepts 2 Gb SD cards.
So, how does it get 4 stars? Easy - - it does everything else exactly as advertised at a bargain price. It gives you the footage you would otherwise lose by not filming. It's an inexpensive camera. You are not afraid to mount it where it might end up damaged or ruined. As a result of that, you get footage from unique angles and situations where you would never consider mounting expensive video equipment. That's why you buy the camera! The camera performs as advertised. I was using it recently as a guncam in a marsh. I had the camera duct-taped to my shotgun barrel. Due to my inadequate mounting job, the camera fell off into the water. It stayed 2-feet underwater for 2 hours as I continued to hunt. After the hunt, I fished the camera out of the water and retrieved the footage. Camera was no worse for the experience! I still used it later that afternoon. Despite its SD card limitations, it records 1 hour of video at its highest resolution.
The footage you get must be reviewed on another device. A computer or something else that can read the SD card must be used. So, if you had the camera positioned incorrectly while shooting, all the footage will be useless. You will not know it until you review the footage. However, with a little practice, this is not a problem. That is operator error and not the fault of the camera. I do not find it difficult to position for shots.
If you can accept the well-known limitations listed above, you will love this camera. If not, move along and consider others.
Customer Review: Great little camera (ATC2000)
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this camera to use while paragliding. I haven't had the opportunity to use it that way yet, but have had time to fiddle with it and see what it can do.
It is very well designed. It's compact, rugged and very durable. As the other's have said the resolution isn't the highest, but it's not bad at all. I was amazed at how well it adjusts to different lighting conditions. I went from outdoors in bright sunlight to indoors under flourescent and it adjusted perfectly without my missing anything.
The camera mounts are great. The strap works wonderfully to mount it to a helmet, it is plenty big. I read in another review that they felt it was too small. Also in that same review they said the camera had a horrible wobble. Well, it was because they didn't cinch the camera strap down tight enough.
You absolutely must buy an SD card for it otherwise you'll be extremely limited in the time you can film. It only comes with 32 megs onboard which translates to next to no time at all in high resolution. A 2 gig SD card gets you just over an hour of footage at the highest resolution.
Someone in another review mentioned that the SD card can pop out. Either they fixed it in this version, or they weren't inserting the card correctly because just like any SD card slot you push it in until it clicks and then you must push it in again to release it so no problem with the card coming out.
The only down side to this camera I can see at all is the sound. It might as well not have any at all. Unless you scream into it you can't even here yourself. It doens't matter to me because while flying I'd only get wind noise any way, but if you want sound this is not the camera for you.
All in all it's a great camera for the price and there is nothing else out there like it.
Customer Review: Fun, Inexpensive POV Camcorder! Recommended!
Summary: 4 Stars
The ATC2K Action Cam is a fairly inexpensive (a relative term, I know) and handy waterproof POV (Point of View) camcorder. For the price, this camcorder is a great value and performed better than I expected.
The picture quality is OK for a camera with 640x480 resolution at 30 frames per second and there are a lot of video samples to be seen on YouTube (just search on ATC2K). Some of the videos are very creative with the camera being attached to model boats, rockets, and airplanes. There are also a lot of POV shots on motorcycles, helmets, spearguns, etc.
The camera comes with straps (rubber and Velcro) and mounting plates to assure secure attachment to a wide assortment of objects. These work well, but you will want to check occasionally to be sure it hasn't worked loose.
The body is a little larger than I expected but it is very rugged and is indeed waterproof. The SD card slot, AV connector, and battery compartment (2 x AA) are reached by removing the well sealed cap on the end of the unit. The rugged build does make activating the menu buttons a little hard until you get the hang of it.
There are a few issues with this model that should be pointed out:
* No on camera preview - this puts guess work into aiming, but most POV cameras don't have a built in monitor
* Narrow Field of Vision - this makes the picture feel a little claustrophobic at times
* Limited SD Size Support - Only up to 2gb SD cards are supported allowing about 1hr recording at the highest resolution. Note - no card was provided with mine.
Over all I am very pleased with the quality and versatility of this camcorder, especially at the reasonable price this is selling for these days. Recommended!
Customer Review: Kewl little cam - rugged and reliable
Summary: 4 Stars
The video quality is good for a VGA resolution camera. Like others, I removed the pad from the mic compartment to improve audio quality (not planning on using it underwater). Overall build quality is good, and it feels solid.
The time remaining display is easy to read with large characters, and the start/stop button works reliably. Setting options is a little awkward, and the icons on the LCD display are really tiny, but most are set once and forget types of adjustments.
I have used it both mounted to my helmet and on my mountain bike handlebars. Some have complained about the mount being easy to break. The mount itself is solid, but the possibility of failure exists when attaching/detaching. It comes with a small cup of silicone grease to make the o-rings on the back cover waterproof - I put a tiny amount of the silicone on the inside of the mounting rails and it makes sliding it on and off smooth and easy.
I bought a couple of extra 2g cards (1 hour recording time each) which gets me through a busy day. I use rechargeable AA's and they generally last a couple of hours of recording time. When you plug it into your USB, it shows up as a removable drive and you can drag and drop the created .avi video files to your PC.
I'm looking forward to using it on the slopes and camping this winter, so, based on some others' feedback, and cautions about cold weather operation in the instructions, I purchased the custom thermal jacket from the Oregon Scientific web site. They also have additional mounting kits there.
I have used it a lot for climbing and biking and, so far, it has proven to be a rugged and reliable cam that performs as promised. A good value for the $50 price.