ATCK Waterproof Action Camera

I am a police officer and I use this camera when interviewing people. I was initially disappointed with the sound quality, but found the video and capacity with the 2gig card excellent. The problem with the sound is the waterproofing. If you are not going to be using it in water or wet environments all you have to do is remove the mic cover and there is a black square rubber cover over the mic. It is 1mm or thicker and causes the sound distortion and lack of range. Remove it an re-install the cover and you get as good a sound as any other video camera. This camera is well made and a good value at the price. If it had an external mic jack it would rate five stars.

A simple video to show camera and accessories next to bicycle.

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I bought this after being involved in an auto accident and suffering an insurance rate increase because I couldn't prove what happened. Less than three months later I was hit by another driver who ran a red light. She and her passenger claimed she had a green light. I had this mounted on the dashboard and recording as I was hit and was able to prove she was lying. Without it I would have been blamed for the accident. It paid for itself already.

The camera provides reasonable quality video but very poor audio. It does not operate well in low light conditions (say 30 minutes after sunset). It's very easy to use and has the ability to change resolution, frame rate, date and time, and also to delete files using the built in display and buttons. At 640x480 30fps a 2Gb card (4Gb not supported) can hold about one hour of video. At 15fps it can record about 90 minutes. It only records videos up to 45 minutes, then seamlessly starts another file. It eats batteries so I bought two NiMh rechargables from Radio Shack and recharge them every other day. You probably don't want to use regular alkali batteries with this camera.

The construction is good with waterproof buttons and a waterproof end cap covering the USB and video ports, battery compartment and memory card slot. It has a good selection of mounts including a handlebar mount, helmet mount, and a big rubber strap that will attach it to just about anything. I used stick-back velcro to attach it to my truck's dashboard and it's steady over smooth roads, jerky over the rough stuff.

Recording is as easy as turning it on (press and hold the left button for two seconds) and hitting the record (middle) button. Stop recording by pressing the middle button again and turn it off by pressing and holding the left button. The right button is used to cycle through modes.

Downloading video files to your computer is done with the USB (about 45 minutes to download 2Gb) or by putting the memory card directly into the front of the computer which is much faster if you have that option.

As I mentioned, the only issue is the extremely poor audio capture. If you're most interested in video then this is an excellent choice for you.

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I've owned two of these cameras for about 6 months now and I've noticed some serious problems...

1. Mounting clip snapped on one camera. It still mounts but when the other clip breaks the camera will be unmountable.

2. Slow response to button presses. For some reason it now takes 10-20 seconds between hitting the button to stop recording and actually stopping. Didn't do this when I first bought it.

3. Corrupts the memory card. Deleting files does not always release the memory so you eventually run out. I find I have to reformat the memory card every few days to recover the lost memory. The camera cannot do this so you need a computer with a memory card slot. If you don't have such a computer you are screwed.

I was thinking of upgrading to Oregon Scientific's newest model but decided not to given the quality problems I'm having with this one.

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Oregon Scientific ATC2K used on Rt 122 Barre, MA.

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I've had the ATC-2K for a while now and I have to say it's exactly what I thought it would be. It's for extreme sports, is compact, no wires and all in one. The video quality is pretty good but can't be compared to my $500+ Sony camcorders. Obviously the camcorder will have much better quality but I'm not going to strap one to my head or bike, especially as it would be an expensive piece of equipment to smash if I wiped out!

To be honest, for the price, it's well worth buying. I mount it to wherever and then press record, after that I haven't got to worry about it. With the other helmet cams I've tried, the wires sometimes get tangled and I constantly have the thought of my camcorder, in my backpack getting smashed up, at the back of my head.

I was a little confused about whether the ATC-2K was waterproof or water resistant as some websites have different descriptions. I called Oregon Scientific and they said when the camera first came out they had not yet received the waterproof certificate so they had to advertise as water resistant. Upon receiving their waterproof certificate for the ATC-2K they changed the classification of the camera from water resistant to waterproof. They even put it on their website!

Oregon Scientific say they can confirm it is waterproof up to 3 meters. It makes a change from those cameras on the market pretending they're waterproof where you have to use a plastic case to make it water proof. Those things are so much hassle! It is kind of like putting the camera in a zip-loc bag!

The battery time (2 x AA alkaline) is around one and a half hours to two hours flat out. That's an ideal time considering I use a 2GB SD card and film on the highest quality. The max. recording time at 640 x 480 and 30FPS is 1hr and 1 min. If the batteries die I just change them with spares I bring with me.

I'm thinking of using it when I go snowboarding, the manual says to change to Lithium batteries, specifically Energizer E2. I think this is because the operating temperature for alkaline batteries is higher than that of a Lithium battery. If you tried to use alkalines in cold temperatures it would probably only last a few minutes! I also saw that there's a Cold Weather Pouch available. I'm hoping to buy one online, this is great, finally a company who think of multiple use scenarios!

I've made quite a few videos with the ATC-2K now and have to say that although there is a mic. It's not that sensitive. I asked Oregon Scientific, when I called them about the waterproof feature, and they said it was purposely designed this way as it's for extreme sports and underwater use. Thinking about it, who's going to be giving commentary hurtling down a hill at 40mph?!

Anyway, it's fine for my purposes, I'm usually traveling at high speeds when filming and wouldn't want to hear wind on my playbacks! I guess it would be more interesting to just add my own music or commentary to my ATC-2K clips. I've searched Youtube and so on and have found lots of people are using their ATC-2K's to post clips, there's a cool one of the ATC-2K strapped to a rocket! There's also a U.K. gadget show, 5 gadget show I think, where the host throws it out of his 1st/2nd floor window into a shallow pool below! Neat! Someone brought it back up to them and the footage was cool!

The Bottom Line is: For recording my kid's birthday party or my grandma singing, I'll use my camcorder, for my sports I'll use my ATC-2K! Worth the investment and does exactly what it says on the box!