Oregon Scientific ATC5K helmet camera

The Oregon Scientific ATC 5K is a rugged camera designed to accompany you on your next adventure (as long as it doesn’t involve going further than 10 feet underwater). With everything build into one solid unit that can be attached to your helmet, handlebars or kayak deck, this sporty camera can positioned to capture a unique angle of you doing something downright crazy. It might even fare better than you in the event of a crash.

With rubber sealings and shock absorbers placed around the minimal buttons and built in LCD screen, this camera can take a knock or two. The rubber guards extend a good distance beyond the screen and front lens to help absorb the impact of whatever you might hit and protect from scratching. Built into this unique camera is a CMOS sensor that captures standard VGA video to an SD card.

StandoutFeatures

• Rugged build
• VGA video
• 1.5” LCD screen

Features

The Oregon Scientific ATC5K doesn’t come with outstanding specs compared to other VGA cameras, but there really is no comparison its durability and price. It was built for a very unique set of circumstances and caters to the crowd that might want video of their adventures without the much higher price tag of higher quality point of view cameras. Included with the camera are attachments to mount the camera to just about anything. There is a clamp for attachment to a bar as well as a rubber strap and velcro strap for helmet mounting. You can also use the ATC5K as a web cam on those boring days. Also included in the box is a remote control with start/stop recording buttons. Don’t try to take the remote with you into the water though, as it is only splash resistant.

The camera has a minimal amount of built in memory that won’t record much as the ATC5K records uncompressed AVI files. Pop in a 4GB card and you can record about 2 hours of video, more than enough for your next mountain bike ride. With a 53 degree field of view, the camera should offer a decent perspective.

Summary of Reviews from Across the Internet

Experts have admired the ATC5K for its rugged build and ability to survive some pretty mean abuse. For the money, this camera delivers an acceptable level of video quality. Though it can be jumpy when attached to a fast moving object, such as a mountain bike, it is better than no video at all. While the video can be shaky at times, the audio is downright awful. When the camera starts moving with whatever it is attached to, the audio deteriorates into an annoying mess.

Summary

Given its faults, it is satisfactory for the money. A higher quality alternative will cost significantly more, or you could try your luck with another camera and hope you don’t crash. Customers were happy to see slight improvements in the video quality. While the remote control is a nice added feature, it is infrared instead of radio, so it needs a good line of sight. The incorporation of the LCD screen helps with lining up your shots so you can make sure you have it where you want it without guessing.