POV.HD Advanced Point-of-View 1080pHD Recorder (Black)

this is the action cam that you need for fishing,

I got this recorder because it was the only POV recorder that lets me see exactly what I'm recording as I'm recording it. Moreover, users have reported significant reliability and firmware problems with products by ContourHD.My device came with firmware version 1.17c, which was the latest available on the website at the time.The included 4GB class 4 card works fine for recording video at both 1080p 30fps and 720p 60fps. It obviously is too small. I briefly tested this device with my Lexar 128GB SDXC card, and it worked. I first formatted the card using the device. I then recorded video. I was able to play back the video using both the card and my computer. I haven't filled this new card much yet, but over time I will.VIO Customer Care stated that SDXC cards are not supported because they were observed to not work 100% reliably with the device. They said that you might be able to record with such cards, but you might get invalid clips from time to time, and the write speed may be off. Personally I could find no problem at all with it, recording at 1080p 30fps.I am currently using Sanyo Eneloop XX NiMH batteries, along with a Maha charger. As of the date of this review, when it comes to AA batteries, you simply can't do better than this. I however have yet to make the device use one full battery cycle.I did once get an error stating that card size or speed was unacceptable, but changing the batteries fixed it. I will see if this happens again.You can get a 12v power adapter by VIO from the helmetcameracentral website if you search for "PWR-VIO-POVCAR". I've yet to get it. Per VIO Customer Care, it'll work with this device.It is just not optimal to record video wearing this on the left or right side of your head. If you do this, part of your head will be recorded due to the wide-angle nature of the lens. I prefer wearing it on top of my head, affixed to a black cap using two black 8" cable ties. At first my head felt a bit heavy with it on top, but I soon got used to it.When driving at night on a dark road, even with exposure set to its max possible value of +3, the video recording quality is very poor with the video being too dark. I don't know how this compares with other camcorders, however.I wish the the device was smaller. When I compare it with my compact Sony Cybershot DSC-TX100V camera which records 1080p at 60fps, I can see no reason why this device has to be so bulky.Be aware that some states have eavesdropping and similar laws against recording video and/or audio. For example, in my horrible state of Illinois, if I record _audio_ of a police officer, I can get a felony and 15 years. If I record the audio of another person without their consent, I can still get a felony and many years. As retarded as these laws are and as corrupt as their lawmakers are, we have to be aware of them. Google is your best friend. Search for eavesdropping and/or wiretapping laws for your state, and for "War on Cameras".I will update this review if I have something to add.

I bought this camera in August of 2011 and I have never been happy with its performance. VIO claims it delivers "broadcast" quality video, and it absolutely does not, not even close. The video quality is not even as good as several other helmet camera systems 1/3rd its price. If that was not bad enough, the system has been extremely unreliable, especially in colder weather. I have no idea if its the camera itself or the batteries, but the camera will turn on and seem to function, start recording, then shut itself off 2-5 minutes later after its in my backpack and it can not be verified its working. I have tried all types of batteries, regular, lithium, none made any difference. I have set the unit in the "key lock" mode so I am confident it is not from accidentally hitting a button causing it to turn off. VIO said it "might" be firmware, but I have the latest firmware, basically VIO has been no help at all can have no explanation of why the unit turns itself off. I have lost more videos than I care to remember and at this point I am not willing to risk losing any more.After trying for over a year to make this system work, my recommendation if you are thinking about buying this, go buy a $30-$50 hand held camcorder, duct tape that to your head and flush the $550 extra the POV HD cost down the drain. You will end up with more video footage than I did for 1/10th the price. I would have rated this a zero starts, but Amazon makes you give at least one.

Considering the price back when I bought two of them a year and a half ago, this camera was pretty disappointing. I use them for recording bicycle rides.The good:Best low light performance of any wearable camera on the market at the time. Still not as good as I'd like but I haven't found a better one yet. Beats GoPro, ReplayXD and Contour.The AA's allow me a lot of battery life with 2950 NiMH batteries and I can replace them on long rides if they run out.The bad:The recording unit is actually pretty large. I hadn't anticipated that. It's kind of a pain to deal with the cord and the large heavy recording unit on a bicycle. It's awkward. I think this is my last corded unit ever. It's a nuisance.The cord is fragile. One of mine stopped functioning. The cord cannot be fixed without sending the camera head/cord assembly back to the manufacturer. The cord should have plugged into the camera head just as it does the recording unit. That way the cord could simply be replaced by the user.The recording unit is not all that well made. The little ring on the card door screw fell off of one of my units. The battery door hinge slides out on the other.The card door also hides the USB and the external microphone jack. If you want to use an external microphone, you can't have the door on, which is probably not safe in the rain. They should have a door which allows a sealed microphone connection (like ReplayXD).I really would like to have a way to hook the unit to a USB and modify settings from a computer. Working with the little menus is tedious. I also can't get a perfect setting of time of day, which I presumably could do with an external program hooked to an NTP controlled time source. That would allow me to synchronize my cameras. I can only get so close by hand.The unit supports a maximum of 32GB SD cards. I'd like to go bigger for long (100 mile+) rides.The only external power option available is designed for 12v car lighter plugs. I could probably rig something up but it's a pain.For their next generation, I'd like to see a self contained unit with lithium power, preferably replaceable, with better low light performance, allowing me to get car license plates while riding on the road at night, and nice options for external power and microphones and of course, support the biggest memory cards available. Also, need some good mounting options for bicycles including handlebar mount, seat post mount (normal and aero-posts), brake post mounts and maybe even a bike rack mount. Maybe a lens hood to help with glare and water from the road.Other nice features would be built-in GPS recording position, direction and speed and wireless access via bluetooth connection to phones or tablets (at least Android and iPhone) for settings and video playback. Metadata for GPS could be embedded in the video stream and pulled out by apps.

This camera is really kind of a pain in the #%?&! The really non flexible cord that attaches to the camera is very unforgiving. Buy a camcorder and save time, money & sanity.

This thing is built extremely tough. The memory card is easy to access. It already comes with alot of the accessories unlike Go Pro and other action cameras.