Summary The new Drift HD170 offers very good quality 1080p HD video and a rugged
form factor designed for outdoor use.
It is definitely the easiest to use helmet video
camera we've tried and the live view comes in very handy.
Background
Soon after the
Drift X170 video camera review was published on
webBikeWorld, Drift released the HD version we had been
wishing for.
Fortunately, very little has changed in the
excellent Drift software and hardware, which makes the task of writing this
review of the HD 170 version a lot easier!
Just about everything that was written about the
X170 is valid for the HD 170, including all of the comments about form and
function, so please refer to that review and the included videos for comparison
with the HD 170.
There are really only two major differences between
the X170 and the HD 170: The HD version uses a 3.7 Volt lithium-ion battery (4 x
21 x 13 mm) with a claimed 1,110 mAh instead of the two AA batteries in the
X170.
And the HD 170 takes video in 1080p, 720p or
standard definition (WVGA) formats, while the X170 video is a wide format only
at 720x480 pixels.
Both cameras use the same soft-touch,
semi-ruggedized body, which measures 133 mm long by 50 mm thick by 33 mm wide
and weighs 172 grams with the battery, a 4GB SD card and half of the helmet
mount adapter attached to the bottom.
Otherwise, everything in the HD version appears to
be identical to the original X170, although we no longer have the X170 here for
direct comparison.
Oh -- and there is one other difference: the
price. The Drift X170 is still for sale at a current list price of
$199.99, while the list price of the Drift HD 170 is $329.99, so it's basically
a $130.00 premium for the HD quality of the HD 170 over the X170.
While this price may seem a bit high compared to the
average run-of-the-mill digicam, it's the same as the
VholdR Contour HD
video camera we reviewed. Also, the Drift HD 170 form factor is specifically
designed for outdoor use; i.e., motorcycles, snowmobiles, skiing, etc.
It
can certainly take more abuse than non-ruggedized digicams, which basically put
their tail between its legs and go whimpering home at the first sign of water or
vibration...although I'm not sure how it compares to the
Panasonic TS-2, for example, a waterproof, dustproof, shockproof HD digital
camera with optical image stabilization.
The Panasonic has a form factor more like the GoPro
HD than the long and narrow Drift HD 170, and the Drift is nicely suited for
mounting on top of a helmet, while the Panasonic is not.
Ease of Use
One of the best features of the Drift video cameras (including the X170 and the
HD 170) is their ease of use. The menu system is very intuitive; one quick
push on the rubberized membrane button turns the camera on and another push
starts the video recording. It really couldn't be simpler.
This is a huge difference from the cumbersome and
unintuitive menu system on the GoPro HD camera. The Drift HD 170, like the
X170, comes with a simple fold-out sheet with the instructions in 6 languages.
But again, the camera is so easy to use that the instruction sheet isn't really
necessary once you've browsed through it.
The Drift HD 170 also features the live view in a
small color LCD screen on the side of the camera. The current GoPro does
not have a live view, and this is a big difference -- and a definite plus for
the Drift HD 170.
I discovered a bit of a trick in setting up the
Drift HD 170 on the helmet or bike. Make sure the camera is correctly
oriented by looking at the LCD screen before starting the video recording.
Look at the camera from the side when it is oriented with the "DRIFT" and
"HD170" printed logos towards the top as you're looking at the camera.
Rotate the lens to align the scene so it is in landscape mode with the top of
the scene towards the print and the bottom towards the bottom of the camera.
This may sound logical, but it sometimes isn't; I
found myself recording upside-down more than once after rotating the camera and
thinking I had the lens correctly oriented. This is where the live view
really helps, because after you think you have the camera aligned correctly, get
on the bike and take a quick 3-4 second video, then pull the camera out of the
mount and play back the video on the live view screen to make sure it is
oriented the way it should be in the LCD.
When the camera is held with the LCD in landscape
mode (lens pointing to the right when you're looking at the screen) and the
Drift logo print at the top and you play back the video and it is correctly
oriented, then your planned setup should be fine.
By the way, the Drift HD 170 package also includes
the super-handy remote control found in the X170. This is a basic on/off
switch for the camera and all you have to do is wrap the remote control around
your wrist with the included hook-and-loop fabric belt and you're all set.
Very easy and very handy when riding a motorcycle.
Mounting the Drift HD 170
The HD 170 includes the same selection of mounting accessories that are included
the X170. Mounting is the weak point for all of the motorcycle helmet
video cameras we've tried; we just haven't found the "perfect" helmet mounting
system yet.
The camera mounted fine on an HJC AC-12 Carbon, but
not on the Nolan N90 or Icon Variant (reviews in process). There simply is
no universal helmet mount that will work on all types of helmets, one of the
problems with video cameras.
The HD 170 is much easier to mount on top of a
helmet than the GoPro HD, due to the streamlined shape of the Drift.
However, the GoPro is easier to mount on the rider's chest with their accessory
harness. Each format has different issues for mounting, so until we get a
high-quality HD video camera in a thimble-sided case, those differences will
remain.
The Drift HD 170 has a wide-angle lens (170 degrees
in 720p and 127 degrees in 1080p) that rotates through 300 degrees, enough to
align the lens at any angle in which the camera body is mounted. The wide
angle takes in so much of the landscape that it can be difficult to determine
the correct mounting position for the camera -- chances are, you'll mount it too
far forward and pointing too far down.
The basic helmet mount that comes with the camera
consists of a male and female clip; one goes on the helmet while the other
attaches to the 1/4-20 standard mount threaded hole in the bottom of the camera.
I found that the best way to determine the prime mounting location was by
trial-and-error using duct tape (better yet would be gaffer's tape). You
will need a Phillip's head screwdriver to loosen and tighten the mount to the
camera -- don't try to turn it when it gets tight, or you may strip the plastic
teeth that provide the friction to hold the camera to the mount.
The HD 170 had to be mounted much farther back and
pointing much higher on top of the helmet than I originally thought, due to the
wide angle lens. But here's where the live view comes to the rescue again
-- temporarily mount the camera, get in position on the bike and put on the
helmet and take a few second video, then look at the live view to make sure it's
correct.
Once you've found the right position, either use
more tape to secure the bottom part of the mount to the helmet, or use the
hook-and-loop sticky pads that come with the kit. Nobody I know of wants
an ugly patch of semi-permanent hook-and-loop on their helmet though...but duct
tape isn't much better. This is why we can't say there's a good mounting
system for any video camera yet -- at least that we know of.
I also used a suction cup mount with a 1/4-20 screw
to mount the Drift HD 170 on the side of the bike. It works well due to
the light weight and streamlined shape of the Drift camera. The video
below is in a few parts; the first part was taken with the camera on the helmet,
while the second part has the camera mounted on the side of the bike.
Video Quality
The 1080p video from the Drift HD 170 is probably the best quality we've seen in
any of the motorcycle video cameras we've tried. It's better than the
video from the basic video cameras like the Flip HD or Kodak and possibly the
equal of the small digital cameras that incorporate HD video. It's
certainly not as good as the Canon HV20 or Panasonic HDC-TM700, but for what it
is, it's fine.
The video seems nicely saturated and crisp, with
none of the "rolling shutter" effect so apparent in previous motorcycle video
cameras we have reviewed, which is a very nice surprise.
The only issue that the Drift HD 170 takes a
(relatively) long time to adjust the exposure when going from deep shadows to
bright light and back again. In the "neutral" exposure setting, it seems
to over expose the video by about 2 stops. You can see in the video below
that when I ride from the shadows into the bright sunlight, just about every
light-colored highlight gets blown out for a couple of seconds until the camera
adjusts. This is especially apparent near the beginning of the video, when
going from the shady road to the red barn that is featured in all of our video
samples.
The Drift HD 170 camera has a ± 1
to 2 stop manual exposure adjustment in the menu system, but playing with the
settings seemed to result in videos that were either too dark or too light, so
the neutral setting of 0 exposure compensation seemed best for the local
terrain. If you were taking video in snow or twilight, the exposure
compensation settings might come in handy.
But for video with a fairly
neutral exposure background, like the trees, roads, fields and hills around
here, it's fine, but as soon as it hits really bright light or really dark
shadows, it takes a few seconds to compensate. Other than the exposure,
the camera has no manual adjustments or overrides for shutter speed,
frame rate or white balance.
Video File Format and Editing
The videos are saved in .mov format, so Windows users may need to download a
free copy of the DivX Player
to view the videos on your PC. The files can be easily moved from the SD
card by pulling the SD card out of the camera and plugging it into a reader or
by attaching a USB cable to the camera. The camera does not come with an
SD card but it will accept SD cards up to 32GB.
The .mov files seem very large; for example, one of
our 10 minute videos is 874MB, so figure on roughly a gigabyte every 12 minutes
or so. Buy the largest and fastest SD card you can find. The 4GB
card I used became filled during one ride as I took a dozen videos or so; it
will hold about an hour of video tops.
We were able to import the .mov files into Adobe
Premiere Elements 8.0.1 without problem to edit the video and splice together
the 3+ minute selection below. However, Premiere Elements only saves H.264
1080 video in interlaced mode, so the .mov progressive files are now 1080i, then
uploaded to YouTube, where they are compressed. The actual 1080p video is
pretty good -- crisp, clear, sharp, albeit with the exposure issues mentioned
above and, surprisingly, the post-processed video looks better than the original
raw video when played in the DivX Player.
We left the sound exactly as recorded; there is wind
noise with the camera mounted on top of the helmet due to the air coming over
the helmet, but the sound recorded with the camera mounted via the suction cup
is better. The microphone is covered on the camera and it even has a
covered speaker, again a bonus feature compared to the GoPro.
I also recorded the video on some of the same roads
used in previous webBikeWorld reviews of motorcycle video cameras so you can
compare the differences. See the previous review of the
Drift X170, with comments comparing
that camera to the GoPro HD Video Camera Review
to learn more about the details and to watch a video of the GoPro HD on the same
roads. Also please read our
review of the VholdR
Contour HD video camera for a comparison.
wBW Video: Drift HD 170 Video Camera
Sample Video
Miscellaneous
The Drift HD 170 is claimed water resistant to 1 m, probably enough for any
motorcycle rain storms encountered. The large fisheye-type lens is
unprotected, so be careful and try not to touch it or scrape it against
anything. Too bad they didn't include a soft carrying case for the
camera...
Buy a high-quality microfiber cloth to clean the
lens -- you'll have to clean it often, so take care and don't use a shirt or
T-shirt or paper towel!
The li-ion battery seems to have a very short life;
it was half gone after taking about 40 minutes of video. By the way, the
HD 170 also takes still shots but it's really a video camera only with a still photo capability only if no other camera
is available and you really want a still photo. Here's a
sample photo of the
Ducati engine, taken from only about 18" away so you can see the field of view.
The photo has been resized to 625 pixels but is otherwise unretouched.
Conclusion
At this point in time, I'd have to say the Drift HD 170 is the best motorcycle
video camera we've tried (although we certainly haven't tried them all).
It's so simple and easy to use -- and that makes a big difference when you're
main focus is riding the motorcycle.
The video quality, while not broadcast quality by
any means, is very good to excellent, and we noticed none of the "rolling
shutter" effect. The live view, hidden microphone and speaker and the
remote control are a real bonus.
The Drift HD 170 will be released in August, so
hurry up and get your name on the waiting list!
Please
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From "C.B." (7/10): "Nice review. Is it possible to
power the Drift HD 170 via USB cable during use instead of relying on just
batteries?"
Response From Drift: "The short answer is
yes. The long answer is...... The customer can use a 12V USB adapter, if
there is a 12V socket on the bike.
If this is socket is not present they can hard-wire a mini USB cable to the the
battery. They would need to know what they are doing for this option!"
