Our Gift Pick: A Wearable Camera
This is so cool. Keep your hands free and just keep on shooting …Would we wear one? Depends on where we might be (checking out Soho fashion statements, cruising along the Nile, casually recording ours kids, capturing that ski run), but seems like everyone would want to …
T’was first noted in this November New York Times article: “When a Camcorder Becomes a Life Partner,” by Anne Eisenberg. Here are two choices:
The GoPro HD Hero 960 ($179.99) records high-definition video at 1,280 x 960 pixels and 30 frames a second. The lens can capture photos or video at a 170-degree angle, and the camera comes with a headband as well as plastic plates that can attach it to flat or curved surfaces. Less than two inches high, it snaps into a waterproof case and the camera and case together weigh less than six ounces, according to Nicholas Woodman, GoPro’s founder and chief executive headquartered in Half Moon Bay, Calif.
“There’s also The Looxcie ($199), a small wearable camcorder introduced recently, loops over the ear. The camera is built into a Bluetooth headset that streams digital images wirelessly to Android phones that use a free Looxcie app. From there, the clips can go directly to e-mail, said Romulus Pereira, chief executive of Looxcie, which is based in Sunnyvale, Calif. Soon the company will offer apps that make the camera compatible with other smartphones, he said.
The Looxcie is not a high-definition camera. It records at a resolution of 480 x 320 pixels at 15 frames a second. But it has a special button that makes it ideal for taking video of unexpected moments, Mr. Pereira said. When the camera is running in continuous-capture mode, and the wearer suddenly sees a goal scored at a hockey game, for instance, a quick push of the button will tell the camera to automatically save a clip of the preceding 30 seconds. Then the footage of the puck sailing into the net can be preserved and automatically e-mailed to friends. The camera weighs about an ounce and stores up to five hours of video, he said.”
Buy them both through Amazon:
Click here for the Looxcie
Click here for the GoPro
