Oregon Scientific have been pioneers in the helmet camera industry, they brought helmet cams within a price range that opened up a whole new market. Although the video quality has never been the main focus, they do bring reasonable video quality to you for a very reasonable price. Lets take a look at what kind of value for money the ATC3K offers in this review.
The Good:
The ATC3K is a small and robustly designed action camera. As a self contained unit it needs to hold the SD card, batteries, lens, and everything else safely inside the camera body; it does this very well and has been designed to be able to take a solid knock or two without you having to worry about damaging the camera. It is dustproof, shock resistant and waterproof which definitely gives you confidence in the ruggedness of this little helmet cam.
As mentioned, it is fully waterproof and will go own to 3meters. Not only does this make it ideal for all watersports but it also opens you up to the possibility of using it in the pool, in the sea or even on the beach without having to think twice about damaging it. Just be sure to tighten the back-cap so that no water can sneak in.
A definite benefit that can't go without a mention is the fact that the ATC3K can retails at under R2,500. If you search hard enough we're sure you'll be able to find other cameras at this price of even cheaper but this is the only one at this price which has proven itself time and time again to be solid, good value and, of course, has a 12 month warranty. This is a fantastic option for people looking to buy their first helmet cam without having to spend too much or for someone looking to get a bunch of cameras to use for various points of views.
The ATC3K comes with a range of mounting options in the box for mounting the camera to handlebars, helmets, and other surfaces. It also has a standard camera thread (AKA 8mm thread or Quarter inch thread) for attaching the camera to other mounts which use this thread such as suction mounts, rollbar mounts, and the like.
Oregon has done well to have released the only helmet camera which doubles up as a webcam. It comes with the connections needed as well as a small webcam stand for convenience. The Not So Good:
Filming in high definition is becoming the norm but it also have its price. While the ATC3K does compete price wise, the standard def video which it shoots in 640 x 480 is only going to be good enough for watching back on your computer but won't look great on your TV screen.
The Action Cameras Bottom Line:
With all things considered, it is certain that
price is an extremely important factor which plays a huge roll in
peoples decisions of which one to buy. It is safe to say that at this
price, all that you get from the ATC3K package does add up to really good value for money.
