VIO POV 1.5

Love the rugged unit. Very easy to use. Love the loop mode so I don't have to record all day, just tag the good stuff.

The wireless remote is the only detractor. You have to have it close to the unit so if you have the main unit in your backpack you have to get your wrist close to it in order to tag a loop.

Very long battery life with rechargeable batteries. I would also recommend the extra mounting kit as it has many more mounts that will give you more flexibility.

I purchased this camera at Amazon and have used it for six months now. I have also used other helmet-mounted video cameras. This camera has a couple features that no other camera system under $500 has, so if you need those features you have to get this camera. However, many of the details about using this camera have been absolutely maddening and I've cursed VIO aloud many times. Here's a summary of pros & cons (as compared to other sub-$500 cameras):

PROS:

* Nice LCD monitor to check what you just filmed.

* Uses AA batteries rather than rechargeable, so you can bring extra batteries and use it all weekend without needing 110V and time to recharge.

* "Loop" function to retroactively record what you just did. Great in theory (and the main reason I bought this camera), but in practice it is maddening (see below).

* Some interesting accessories, such as transparent dust cover for lense (for off-road filming)

CONS:

* Mounting systems SUCK! I bought the $70 mounting kit, and virtually every mount has a serious design flaw, is unecessarily complex and time-consuming to use, and is not reliable. None of the mounts designed to be attached with glue pads have broad flat surfaces to which a glue pad can actually adhere. SO guess what -they fall off! Every mount had some flaw that made it unreliable. For examples: The Wire Guide mounts don't actually grip the wire firmly, so at any speeds above 30mph the wind pulls out the wire on three different helmets -useless. The "Star Mount" for helmets is flimsy, ridiculously large, and has no good surfaces to which its glue pad can adhere (BOTH my Star Mounts fell off the helmets just sitting on a shelf, even BEFORE the first use!). Finally, all the mounts require the use of tiny screws that must be firmly tightened or else they'll fall out, yet they are of poor quality and strip VERY easily. And at least three slightly different size tiny screws are used, and no extras are provided. Just stupid compared to other cameras' clever mounting systems for helmets. {I offer no comments on the mounts other than for helmets -the other mounts actually appear more useful with caveat about the tiny screws still applying)

* Even the $30 fabric pouch for attaching the heavy CPU unit to your vest, etc. has a design flaw. It appears to be a very beefy design overall, EXCEPT the two final straps that actually hold the CPU unit in place are thin fabric with very small velcro patches -they'll tear off and unit will fall out if you are doing anything very bouncy, so you must use zip ties. If these two straps were simply wider and used bigger velcro patch it would be an AWESOME pouch. But as it stands it stinks.

* Heavier & more complicated than other camera systems

* Remote is not very water-resistant (mine failed during first use on a jet ski), nor is main unit (which requires $100 accessory to be water-resistent).

* "Loop" function is maddening. When you push the button to retroactively record the last "3 minutes" of video, you have no idea of knowing what it will actually record. What is actually recorded will range from past 1 minute to past 4 minutes PLUS will ALSO record going forward another 1-4 minutes (which sort of defeats the purpose of retroactively recording it seems to me). I suppose if you are a professional film editor who plans on spending 6 hours reviewing the day's footage this is okay, but for an amateur looking to watch cool videos from his day's ride it forces you to record & watch 2-4x longer video than you really want, and you never know if you actually captured what you want to capture. It would be much nicer to push the "record the past 3 minutes" button and have the camera actually just record the last 3 minutes. (I realize that this description may sound inscrutible if you are not familiar with the Loop function, so I apologize).

Buy VIO POV 1.5 Now

This camera is superior than others in having the lcd screen and small profile camera head, but don't be fooled into purchasing anything from V.I.O. or it may cost you.

Price: costs a LOT more than the competitors

Accessories: you will need them and WOW will you have to pay top dollar to get them. $90 just for a mounting kit.

Repairs: They don't do them. Something breaks, buy a new one.

Firmware updates: You have to BUY them too!

Professionalism: Ended up getting the wrong extension cord from their website because it was incorrectly labeled as compatible for my camera. Also took almost a week to get my email to customer service answered.

Design flaws: POV1.0 Camera head opened under normal use. Head can be easily unscrewed when removing the a/v cable because it is not fixed closed. (it is threaded to open for no apparent reason and attached to where the a/v cable attaches. If camera head twists open, the fixed wiring will pull away from components and render the camera head useless. ($200 replacement part). No warning in the instruction manual and they do not repair or have refurbished parts. Customer service first said the product was used improperly. When I disputed this and it was clear that it opened while used as directed, the supervisor intervened and stated that the user tampered with the product and voided the warranty. This design flaw was fixed for the POV1.5 when they created the tethered head, but they claim this change was done to "make the camera easier to use" not because of a design flaw.

Design Flaw #2: Camera will not stay secure in the mount on its own. I had to add tape around the body of the camera to secure it tighter in the mount so that it would stay fixed upright. Camera head would not stay upright on my helmet and video would be ruined because camera was shooting at a crooked angle.

There are plenty of helmet cameras out on the market for half the price. For the price of VIO cameras, there should be much better customer service. This is not the case.

Read Best Reviews of VIO POV 1.5 Here

This is a great camera system. Rugged, very good quality video. Good battery life. Lots of mounting options. I wash there was a recording indicator on the remote.

Want VIO POV 1.5 Discount?

Easy to use. I now own two of these so I can mount one on my helmet and the other one on my snowmobile.