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Drift HD 1080p Action-Cam: Awesome? Check. Reliable? Not So Much

Man, and the Drift HD was so close to being a super-stealthy altrernative to my GoPro. If only it would just stay on.

Also see: Contour+ And GoPro Action Cameras Compared In The Australian Snow

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The video quality is top-notch with a 170-degree field of vision. Its rubberised exterior survived being dropped (repeatedly). The Drift HD is 25 per cent smaller than its predecessor at 4 inches, the HD 170 and weighs just 120g — saving you the typical neck strain of supporting a helmet-mounted camera all day. Its torpedo shape — as opposed to the GoPro’s camera shape — makes it less obtrusive when you’ve got it strapped to your noggin or handlebars. It also supports HDMI and USB output, as well as up to a 32GB microSD card — plenty of space for a few full HD videos. The built-in LCD is handy too for quick reviews of what I’d just shot.

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This review should have included a POV video of me zip-lining 500m of Sierra Foothill through the treetops. Unfortunately the Drift HD decided to stop recording three seconds in with nary a warning beep (so instead, you get a 17-second clip of me dicking around with it in the car.) It did work pretty reliably throughout testing, but had a weird tendency to stop on its own accord. That’s not necessarily a dealbreaker but damn, disappointing.

Drift HD 1080p
Dimensions: 104.14mm x 50mm x 33mm
Weight: 120g
Video Res: 1080p (30fps), 720p (60fps), WVGA
Video Format: 16:9
Camera Res: 9MP
Price: $US370

Last Word

It’s a great little action cam with a penchant for screwing my directorial vision. It’ll retail for $US370 when it’s released on August 31.

The Drift HD with it’s larger version, the Drift HD 170 Stealth.

The Drift HD’s 4-Button Control. It can also be operated via a wrist-worn remote control (not pictured).

The Drift HD’s rotating optic allows you to switch from landscape to portrait (or vise versa) without having to rotate the entire body of the camera.

The battery bay (with the butt-plate removed). The Drift HD is capable of USB, HDMI and microSD output.

The rear of the Drift HD with the butt-plate on. The circular and square tabs can be pulled out for easier access to the USB and HDMI slots.

The Drift HD 1080p

Discuss

(4 Comments)
  • [–]

    RX

    Thursday, August 25, 2011 at 4:34 PM

    I’ve got the Drift HD 170 Stealth and never had a problem. For everything but underwater its better than the GoPro!

    Reply
  • [–]

    Rob

    Monday, October 24, 2011 at 3:30 PM

    I did some testing of the Drift HD over the weekend. If being used for a motorcycle the external microphone is a MUST, and I’d suggest the battery pack too. The video quality, however, I haven’t cracked yet. I have some more existing to do before I’d trust it with anything “important”, but so far – I’m not too impressed. I’ve seen HD170 video which is FAR better quality. Did I leave a lens cap on? ;-)

    Reply
    • [–]

      Paul

      Sunday, October 30, 2011 at 5:05 PM

      agreed with the mic, but getting your hands on one im finding hard, do you know where i could get one?

      Reply
  • [–]

    Rob

    Monday, October 24, 2011 at 3:31 PM

    Ooops – here’s the YouTube link in case anyone missed it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1ig5_ATLBc

    Reply

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