We choose our top 3 action cameras for off-roading
In this day and age of smart phones, instant messaging and instant gratification, it only stands to reason that when it comes to our off-roading escapades, we enjoy chronicling our experiences and sharing them with the world (or at least our friends and family). With technology making advances by leaps and bounds in the camera and HD video world, there are plenty of brands and models of HD action cameras to choose from these days. But, which ones are worth the money, and which ones work the best?
We have taken quite a large list and have narrowed it down to our favorite top 3 HD action cameras, and below we tell you a little about each of them, and why they are our favorites.
The name Go Pro has almost become the "go to" name for any HD action camera - sort of like Kleenex is to the tissue industry. I guess that's what happens when you corner the market early with a great product, and then continue to produce even better products on a regular basis. If you are like me, you may have the earliest model of Go Pro still kicking around in your gearbag, accompanied by each newer model in various stages of cleanliness.
One of the reasons we voted the Go Pro Hero 3+ Silver as number one on our list is simply because we have so many Go Pro style mounts on our machines and helmets already, and the aftermarket is full of various goodies for the Go Pro. It's so nice to be able to use what we already have with our newer models without having to re-invest in new mounting hardware. The Go Pro is also a very easy camera to operate, and the newer Hero 3+ has an even easier dashboard to toggle through and understand.
The Go Pro Hero 3+ comes in several editions - Silver, Black and White. While the White Edition is the least expensive of the three models, we felt that it didn't have quite the features we were looking for, such as the 10 megapixel photo quality and 10 fps burst shooting speed for stills. The Black Edition costs a bit more, and has some really cool additional features such as Superview and Auto Low Light mode, but in reality, we don't use those features enough to justify the extra cost.
So, the Silver Edition is perfect for us - it's the middle of the price point, without the fish-eye distortion of earlier models. It features a slim design and supports up to 64GB of memory, has a much better picture and a longer battery life than the previous Hero 2.
MSRP - $299.00
FEATURES
Now that we have had quite a bit of experience under our belts with the Garmin VIRB Elite, it easily made #2 on our list. Packed with features that we will most likely never use on a regular basis (such as GPS, Wi Fi, ANT+ and external sensors), a big plus for VIRB was its full color crhoma display and the fact that it easily attaches to any Go Pro mounting hardware you may already have.
The picture quality and sound on the Garmin is fantastic (we prefer to use wide-angle) in any lighting condition, and it is very easy to operate and move through the menus, even with gloves on. It's got a long battery life, and has withstood plenty of abuse through mud, vibration, dust and rain.
The VIRB is capable of taking up to 16 megapixel photos, and has the abillity to do this in a photo burst or via time lapse photography. The VIRB also comes with its own free editing sofware, making editing your own home movies an easy and fun process.
There are a ton of features available on the Garmin VIRB, which you can read about HERE. For the most part, however, we just like to point and shoot and enjoy the great video quality the VIRB provides.
MSRP $399.99
FEATURES
We chose the iON Air Pro Wi Fi Lite as our third choice, but being number three on our list is certainly not a bad thing - this is a tough, high quality camera that offers an excellent picture and sound quality at a great price.
The iON is also packed with features such as WIFI PODZ which allows for real-time uploading on social media platforms, it is capable of 3-hours of battery life, takes 5-megapixel stills and there is no raincoat required for it to be waterproof up to 30 feet. The iON Air Pro is easy to operate with one button for start, stop and record and will withstand harsh environments, including the dirt, dust and roost that we have put it through. It's small, compact size makes it easy to mount in just about any position to get the best shot possible.
This camera is commonly seen in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series race vehicles and is used by Lucas Oil Studios to obtain in-car footage during the races for the broadcasts.
While it isn't compatiable with Go Pro mounts, there are plenty of mounting options and hardware available from iON to mount this small, compact and robust little camera just about anywhere you want.
MSRP $199.99
FEATURES
We have taken quite a large list and have narrowed it down to our favorite top 3 HD action cameras, and below we tell you a little about each of them, and why they are our favorites.
1. #1 - Go Pro HERO 3+ Silver Edition
The name Go Pro has almost become the "go to" name for any HD action camera - sort of like Kleenex is to the tissue industry. I guess that's what happens when you corner the market early with a great product, and then continue to produce even better products on a regular basis. If you are like me, you may have the earliest model of Go Pro still kicking around in your gearbag, accompanied by each newer model in various stages of cleanliness.
One of the reasons we voted the Go Pro Hero 3+ Silver as number one on our list is simply because we have so many Go Pro style mounts on our machines and helmets already, and the aftermarket is full of various goodies for the Go Pro. It's so nice to be able to use what we already have with our newer models without having to re-invest in new mounting hardware. The Go Pro is also a very easy camera to operate, and the newer Hero 3+ has an even easier dashboard to toggle through and understand.
The Go Pro Hero 3+ comes in several editions - Silver, Black and White. While the White Edition is the least expensive of the three models, we felt that it didn't have quite the features we were looking for, such as the 10 megapixel photo quality and 10 fps burst shooting speed for stills. The Black Edition costs a bit more, and has some really cool additional features such as Superview and Auto Low Light mode, but in reality, we don't use those features enough to justify the extra cost.
So, the Silver Edition is perfect for us - it's the middle of the price point, without the fish-eye distortion of earlier models. It features a slim design and supports up to 64GB of memory, has a much better picture and a longer battery life than the previous Hero 2.
MSRP - $299.00
FEATURES
2. #2 - Garmin VIRB Elite w/ GPS
Now that we have had quite a bit of experience under our belts with the Garmin VIRB Elite, it easily made #2 on our list. Packed with features that we will most likely never use on a regular basis (such as GPS, Wi Fi, ANT+ and external sensors), a big plus for VIRB was its full color crhoma display and the fact that it easily attaches to any Go Pro mounting hardware you may already have.
The picture quality and sound on the Garmin is fantastic (we prefer to use wide-angle) in any lighting condition, and it is very easy to operate and move through the menus, even with gloves on. It's got a long battery life, and has withstood plenty of abuse through mud, vibration, dust and rain.
The VIRB is capable of taking up to 16 megapixel photos, and has the abillity to do this in a photo burst or via time lapse photography. The VIRB also comes with its own free editing sofware, making editing your own home movies an easy and fun process.
There are a ton of features available on the Garmin VIRB, which you can read about HERE. For the most part, however, we just like to point and shoot and enjoy the great video quality the VIRB provides.
MSRP $399.99
FEATURES
3. #3 - iON Air Pro Wi Fi Lite
We chose the iON Air Pro Wi Fi Lite as our third choice, but being number three on our list is certainly not a bad thing - this is a tough, high quality camera that offers an excellent picture and sound quality at a great price.
The iON is also packed with features such as WIFI PODZ which allows for real-time uploading on social media platforms, it is capable of 3-hours of battery life, takes 5-megapixel stills and there is no raincoat required for it to be waterproof up to 30 feet. The iON Air Pro is easy to operate with one button for start, stop and record and will withstand harsh environments, including the dirt, dust and roost that we have put it through. It's small, compact size makes it easy to mount in just about any position to get the best shot possible.
This camera is commonly seen in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series race vehicles and is used by Lucas Oil Studios to obtain in-car footage during the races for the broadcasts.
While it isn't compatiable with Go Pro mounts, there are plenty of mounting options and hardware available from iON to mount this small, compact and robust little camera just about anywhere you want.
MSRP $199.99
FEATURES
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