Camsports Coach

I am used to taking video from the saddle of my bike either holding the camera in one hand or using a handlebar mount. This product was an intriguing alternative. I have had helmet-mounted cameras long ago which came close to achieving the point of view of the sunglasses, but could not match the unique view of a center mounted camera in the middle of your forehead. Also, this set up is unobtrusive and easy to use.

The unit does a great job of capturing the video and sound. Although the glasses look bulky they did not feel heavy. The interchangeable lens are good quality and are fairly easy and quick to switch out. The dark lens work well enough to make these glasses darn good shades in their own right. The frame of the glasses fit very close to the face and wrap around to the side. They do not block your peripheral view at all. Memory space is provided with a mini=SD card. I purchased a 32 Gig mini SD card to maximize storage, but the glasses come with a 4 gig in the box. An hour of vid will use 2 Gigs of space.

The cons are rather minor: a slight 'fish eye' effect for objects at close range, and the blinking LED light, which indicates you are recording, is a bit too far back on the frame and not in your peripheral vision. Unless you pull them slightly away from your face you won't know for sure if you are recording. In my testing, the unit never failed to turn on or off. Also, for biking, the on/off switch would be better located on the left of the frame, or the clutch hand, for obvious reasons. Lastly, the unit has to be charged in a USB port. An "Ipod" like adapter would be very handy also. I read that this was an accessory but could not find it on the website. Unit is assembled and sold from France. But, ah yes, "made in China".

All in all a great product. I had a lot of fun testing these in the office, videoing unsuspecting co-workers. Reactions to learning they were being filmed were priceless.Only time will tell how the glasses will hold up to steady use and I have high hopes. I am leaving on a week-long bike trip and am anxious to see how these babies do.

Oh and I forgot one more con: I am the type of person who frequenty has trouble keeping up with my glasses. I may tether these babies to my person. (Posted on 5/16/12)