Bandit, a new action camera by TomTom is going to hit the market by the end of this month adding a competition to GoPro. TomTom is known for its GPS satellite navigational devices and is entering into Action Camera market with the release of Bandit. This action camera is going to make video editing swift and smooth, and you can share them with your friends easily. You can record almost everything with the device.
What are Action Cameras?
Actions Cameras are designed for actions and unlike traditional handheld cameras, action cameras can be placed anywhere, on a helmet, a bag, the head, cycle or motorbike. You can hold it in your hands too. Being action camera, they are tough enough and sustain even if you drop them, soak it in water or expose to extreme conditions. You can use them to record all sorts of actions like cycling, running, driving, diving. So basically a camera than can capture all your actions with its smart built-in sensors.
Bandit Design:
This action cam contains 2.7K (30 FPS) and 4K (15 FPS) capabilities along with GPS functionality. It weighs 192g. It comes in two versions, Base Pack, and Premium Pack. The camera is same in both of them. It is just that they have different accessories bundled together with each pack. The premium pack has some additional accessories.
Base Pack contains 2x surface mounts, the camera, and one GoPro adapter
Premium pack contains 2x surface mounts, the camera and a single GoPro adapter, one 360 degree pitch mount, waterproof cover for the lens, power cable, one handlebar mount, and remote control.
Usage:
There are two pieces of Bandit; one is the outer main shell and the batt-stick that is inside shell which contains the battery and the SD card. The batt-stick has a USB plug that you can plug into any USB port. So you can transfer videos directly from Bandit to your computer. You can charge this device with USB on your laptop. The batt-stick has LED lights that indicate battery charging status. The memory card can be inserted into the side of the stick. It supports up to 128GB cards. You can slide the batt-stick inside the shell and twist it to lock. There is small press button available to unlock it. There is small port available on the front side of the unit for charging, however you need to buy extra charging cable. There is a small red button to power on the camera. To control the camera you need to use the little toggle joystick on the front. You can choose modes like Photo, Video, Slow Motion, Time-Lapse, and Cinematic. You can enable setting for connecting Bluetooth as well as TomTom remote control. After mode selection, you need to select the right button to get to a screen, indicating how much video time is left in that mode. At the top, you will notice GPS, battery and Micro SD card status indicator icons. That is it, with these settings; you are ready to use your action cam. So start shooting with your smart action cam.
Mobile App:
Bandit is aimed at simplifying the video editing process. Thus speeds up the video creation process and sharing it with a friend. Editing videos is time-consuming and tedious task with plenty of video content. It often takes hours to complete the task. TomTom with its built-in sensors uses features like GPS, Accelerometer, Gyro, Altimeter, Heart Rate, etc. to speed up the process of video creation.
With the help of sensors, camera identifies specific moments e.g. the accelerometer detects moments such as passing someone. Altimeter detects a drop in altitude. Heart Rate sensor picks up Heart Rate spikes, and GPS is used to sense shifts in speed.
The App categorizes this data with different tags available within the App. In order to connect the camera with the app, you need to turn of WiFi on the device by pressing Up button in the sports mode. Once connected, you need to view live video feed from the camera. You have Full clips and highlights, which are automated and manually created. You can select clip or highlight and tap to copy it to your device. Creating a movie in this way is the longest process. TomTom has Shake option to make a movie. This option goes and finds interesting highlights over last five days, pulls them together and turns it into a movie. The process takes only seconds. However the problem is, it sometimes, picks up clips which are not relevant. You can add overlays or music from your phone to the Video. Once your video is ready, you can share it with your friends.
Final Verdict:
With all great features, this device is ready to be launched in the market soon. So great ready for your adventurous trips and record your adventures with new Bandit.