Swann Freestyle 1080p HD Waterproof Sports Video Camera

• 5.0 megapixel still photos
• 1080p high-definition video at 30 fps
• 3x digital zoom
• 1.5" TFT LCD screen
• Waterproof

I received this camera as a gift over the holidays and was really excited to use it. When I first tested it, the video was shifty and paused a bit every few seconds. I fixed this issue by formatting the memory card using the camera as the instruction manual suggested. One problem I was not able to fix, however, was the audio problems. I had intended to use this camera as a dash camera for when I go for drives with other car enthusiasts on the weekends. Unfortunately, each test recording I made had this horrible high-pitched squeaking noise that is impossible to ignore. Notably, this noise was present in all the recordings I made while testing each camera setting.

I assumed that I may have a defective unit so I contacted Swann (who are based in Australia) via email. I sent them a carefully written email message that clearly describes the issue and further included a brief video clip that contained the background noise so they could hear the noise for themselves. Unfortunately, they never responded to my email message despite my having sent it multiple times to their customer service email address. I also attempted calling them, but the customer service line repeatedly led me to a dead end -no human being and no way to leave a message.

After this, I did a search online to see if I could find other people's videos that were captured with the Freestyle camera. I found one such video in which, like me, they had mounted the camera to the dash of a car. In that video you can hear the exact same noises that my unit captured. In view of this, it appears likely that the problem is not with my unit but with the design of Swann's camera/microphone. Perhaps this explains why Swann never responded to my emails and calls.

In view of the above, I think the Freestyle camera is poorly designed. In addition, I think Swann's customer service is poor. I have now ordered the Go Pro Hero 2 Motorsports edition camera and I hope that my experiences with this camera and Go Pro will be better.

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I really really like the camera and the interface a lot. Everything about it is great, except for one thing. When you run out of space on the memory card, if you are in the middle of filming, the file isn't closed so basically you lose everything you filmed. The GoPro will end the video and make is usable. If this camera did not have that one little flaw, I would be thrilled with it. I lost videos of my kids at disneyworld because I recorded too long so it just created a corrupt file. Not Cool.

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Point-of-view (POV) or hands-free action cameras are a new category of digital cameras. They combine the features of a camcorder with a surveillance camera. They are small, lightweight and equipped with a fixed focus wide angle lens. This unique category was pioneered by GoPro HD HERO2: Motorsports Edition (2011 Model) for photographing various sports from sky diving to surf boarding. The Swann Freestyle has several features which caused me to choose it over the GoPro but I will not do a side-by-side comparison. I have used my Swann for about 4 months and I will share with you some observations which may assist your choice. The video was taken with the Swann Freestyle attached the handlebars of a bicycle. The video was edited using CyberLink PowerDirector 10 Ultra.

Positives:

1. Tripod Screw Mount: The tripod screw allows for mounting on any conventional tripod. The camera is so small that I routinely attach it to and hold it with 4 inch table tripod.

2. Underwater Housing: An underwater housing is included. With the Go-Pro this is an extra. Also included are an assortment of mounting hardware and a nice pouch to hold the camera

3. Laser Pointer: This is an advantage when the viewing screen is removed you want to point the camera.

4. Remote Control: The remote control allows you to start and stop the camera from several feet away.

5. LCD Viewing Screen: The screen makes for better composition, particularly useful with the wide angle field of view. Also, the screen permits playback viewing. The screen can be removed which should theoretically should extend the recording duration.

6. 8meg Photos: The 8meg still photos give enough pixels to process and crop the images. The images are soft and require sharpening.

7. Camera Controls: There are two switches and two buttons on the top surface of the camera. One switch turns the camera on and off. The other switch turns on sound activated video (which I have not tried). The red button turns on and off the video recording. The neutral button takes still photos.

8. Durability: The camera is small and boxy but very durable. It fell off a 4 foot ledge while I was recording. The LCD display panel fell off but the camera continued to record.

Negatives:

1. Customer Service: I contacted customer service asking them whether the camera would take time-lapse photos while it was plugged in and charging, thereby extending the video duration beyond 2 hours. They finally replied after one month. The answer was no.

2. Changing Settings: Most settings for the camcorder and camera reverts to the default settings when the camera is turned off. Changing settings requires stepping thru several menus on the tiny LCD screen.

3. Spartan Manual: The 7 x 10cm manual is 39 pages of small print. The complexity of the camera requires several good instructional videos, an on-line manual or a CD.

4. Vignette: The wide angle images have distortion and darkening at the corners.

5. Low light conditions: The camera clearly works best in brightly lit scenes.

This is an inexpensive way to get into POV video. It is a lot of fun and you will find many ways to use it. Do not buy it if you need a lot of hand holding from customer service and give yourself plenty of time to learn how to use the camera.

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I needed a small, waterproof HD camera to make some kayak fishing videos. A friend of mine has one of these and his videos look great, so I figured I'd give it a shot. I was especially excited about the prospect of a remote.

Everything with this package works the way it should. Crisp and vivid 1080p video, several mounting options, and the aforementioned remote. It's easy to use, comes with an LCD screen AND a charger and has a great laser range finder option. Another positive is that there are lights all over it so you can tell if you're recording. The readout on the top of the camera come in handy as well so you can tell if it's running or recording or in still photo mode.

I'll list a few pros and cons and compare it to the Go Pro Hero:

Pros....

Shoots crisp, clear 1080p

Loaded with features (LCD screen, remote, laser, mounts, charger and carry pouch all things you need to pay extra for with a Go Pro)

Standard screw in mount on bottom of both camera and waterproof housing

Quite a bit easier to navigate the settings than with a Go Pro

Access to USB/charger/HDMI plug-ins on sides handy and easy

Battery lets a long time

Ease of use

Cons...

Waterproof housing seems a bit iffy and not as sound as a Go Pro, although I haven't had any problems

Only shoots video at 170 degree angle

Audio quality is hit and miss (I've had bot good and bad experiences with it so far) but very sensitive outside the waterproof housing. Not bad overall, but you can fix it if you edit with iMovie. I don't know what these other folks were talking about with the audio issues

Remote is awesome, but the range of it is only 6-8 feet, and even less if you have the camera in the housing

Only shoots at 30 fps would like the option of 30, 60 and 120 fps

If you want to see a video that I made with it

It's mounted to the front of my kayak, so all of those shots are with this camera.

Overall, I like this camera so much, I bought a second one. For the price, it's a great package!

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I already own a GoPro Hero and GoPro Hero2. Plus I've spent a small fortune in the GoPro addons, attachments etc. Then I saw this little Gem on one of those day sale websites. They had it for $139, that's about the same cost as the LCD bacpac + a spare battery for the GoPro. So I wanted to see what this camera could do.

Well out of the box, I was super impressed with what it came with. LCD Panel, remote control, multiple mounts, waterproof case etc.

Pros

* I really like that the camera and the camera case have a regular 1/4 inch tripod mount. This makes it so much easier to attach to standard mounts, like the UltraClamp.

* Like that it has two different buttons for starting video and taking a photo.

* Like the laser for lining shots up.

* Like the LCD panel being standard, although it turns out I don't use it much.

* Has a flat lens, so does not distort like the GoPro under water.

Cons

* The laser pointer is useless if you have it in the plastic case, it can't project out as the case blocks it.

* The audio isn't particularly great, but then it isn't with the GoPro either.

* The remote control doesn't have a very good range.

Video quality is very comparable to the GoPro, especially when using the 720px60 mode.

Conclusion

at the price I paid, these things are almost disposable, I was impressed enough that I bought another and a couple as gifts when they were on sale again.