Digital 8 Camcorders Digital8Camcorders.com is your one-stop source for information about digital 8 camcorders.

1. 

   William O. Crabbe
   April 22nd, 2010 - 23:41

   Oregon Scientific ATC 5K Waterproof Action Cam Flash Memory Video Recorder with 1.5-Inch Color LCD Screen, Still Image and Web Cam Capabilities (Blue)

   I am really pleased with this video camera. I am a pilot so I placed the camera on the the wing strut and it took some spectacular footage. It is easy to use, with many cool features. If you are an outdoors person looking for a good video camera at a fair price this is the one.
   Rating: 5 / 5
2. 

   KGB
   April 23rd, 2010 - 00:09

   I received this as a gift and, after a few uses, I will be returning it. Lets see, where to start? The negative reviews above are correct in pointing out mounting problems, but it depends on how you use it. I wanted to use this cam to make videos of me riding my bike – both on the trail and ripping through the streets where I live. Because of the design – a relatively heavy camera sitting atop a pretty small mount results in a lot of bouncing and shaking. Watching the video made me more nauseous than watching the Blair Witch Project. There are a lot of mounting options, but none seem to fix this problem.

   Further, image quality is lousy for the money spent on this camera. There are a lot of pixilated black spots that appear where bright spots are filmed – such as the sky or snow.

   When I plug the camera into the computer to save my videos, there is no sound.

   Lastly, when I plugged the camera into the television to watch my ride to the library, the RCA jack broke off and fell inside the camera. Here is another way to put it: by plugging the cord in (like a headphone jack), I pushed the internal part into the camera.

   I had a lot of great expectations when I received this as a gift, but after a few uses, I am not happy with this product and I expect a full refund from Oregon Scientific.
   Rating: 2 / 5
3. 

   Thomas A. Harris
   April 23rd, 2010 - 01:30

   A very nice concept for making special videos. However, just what I should have expected from China, the land of the “JUNKS”! There is a reason for that name… There is a critical plastic part, the MOUNT LOCK AND TRIPOD MOUNT. It interfaces between the bottom of the camera and all of the mounting devices or a camera tripod, pretty much as the name indicates. It broke on the first effort to gently attach a suction mount – camera-tripod type screw attachment base to it. Extremely fragile – very poor design.

   I called Oregon Scientific. NO SUPPORT OFFERED. They suggested ordering a new mounting kit, $9.95 + $12.00 shipping ($21.95) to get a small plastic part. They would not replace it or sell me a new part. The inherent design is outrageous and weak. They expect their camera base attachment to hold up when mounted on the hood of a car or front of a motorcycle? NO WAY!!! Bye-Bye camera……..

   CAMERA: reasonably usefull video for VGA (WHICH IS POOR BY ITS VERY NATURE)
   
   CONTROLS: extremely difficult to depress (need to use a tool or probe)
   
   DISPLAY: poor out in daylight, typical of small LCDs, OK for aiming though
   
   BATTERY AND CHIP CHANGING: annoyingingly difficult.

   If I hadn’t already thrown away the packaging, I would return it. Will sell for half price.
   Rating: 1 / 5
4. 

   S. Zier
   April 23rd, 2010 - 04:24

   Received this camera as a gift. Idea was to mount it to my ski helmet and be able to easily shoot video while skiing, without removing my gloves. What a failure. Several reasons:

   1. The mounting accessories are flimsy and not very well thought through. You’d expect a helmet camera would be able to mount on a *round* surface (which helmet isn’t round?). This thing is impossible to mount so that it points into roughly the right direction.
   
   2. The buttons for video and still images are too close to each other. Once again, since you don’t actually see the camera while you use it (remember, it’s mounted to your helmet), it’s easy to get the wrong button. There’s no clear audible indication which one of the buttons you pressed.
   
   3. There is no way to turn off the display while the camera is on stand by (i.e. ready to take video). As a consequence, it runs through the two AA batteries in less than half an hour — without ever shooting any video. This is even worse because it’s close to impossible to use the on/off button, even with gloves off. It’s tiny, and needs to be pressed very hard (ideally, with a pen, etc).

   Overall, I wish I hadn’t gotten this. I feel bad my brother spent this much money on such a piece of useless technology.
   Rating: 1 / 5

Leave a comment