The Drift Innovation X170 cam is a recent addition to the world of portable cameras for action sports. I found this camera to be flexible, easy to use, and a really fun way capture my moments on the mountain bike trail.
For starters I really appreciated the mounting options included with the camera: a small velcro strap mount, a handlebar mount, a multi-purpose elastic band mount, and two or three adhesive patch mounts. Between all the options, I was able to mount the camera about a hundred different ways, in any way I wanted on my bike or on my person. See the humongous display of included attachments below.
The X170 succeeds not only in the numerous mounting options, but in overall simplicity. It takes normal AA batteries, a standard SD card (up to 16GB), and features the usual mini USB connector to retrieve all your pics and videos. You can even playback straight to a TV with the composite video output. This is one of those pieces of electronics that you dont need to read the manual – just pick it up and start recording. Its that awesome. Most of the features on this camera are available in competing products but the X170 stands out in two distinct ways.
The first is the 1.5 color LCD preview screen which is surprisingly useful when youre shooting on the go. Having the preview did a lot to help fine tune the angle and position when I was mounting the camera so I could get the shot I wanted, and it was also useful for immediately reviewing a clip after a run down a trail. This could be an especially useful feature for downhillers and freeriders who might like to session a run until it looks perfect. The LCD screen can also be turned off to preserve battery life.
The second cool feature is the wireless RF control button. I didnt get too creative using this feature myself but I imagine people could make it useful in various ways. Basically the little remote can be attached anywhere on your person or bike, and it serves as an alternate record/stop button for the camera as long as the camera is within 5m of the remote. If youre bombing down a trail and suddenly realize that you want to be recording, having to stop and fiddle with your device would be a nuisance – so having a handlebar mounted record button at your fingertips is convenient. Since the controller uses radio frequencies to activate the camera, it doesnt need line of sight, like your TV remote control would. Here I’ve turned the RF control button into a watch.
Physical attributes and attachment options aside, the camera’s video recording quality is quite acceptable for the size and price. The automatic white balance seemed to work quickly though not instantaneously; it was fast enough to adjust for dramatic changes in light when going from tree cover to the bright sun. Still, the camera thrived in medium light conditions, especially where conditions were maintained consistently. But like any video camera, if the light was too dark the video got grainy and when the light was too bright (or aimed at the sun) the video got washed out. As long as you’re mindful of your shot, this should not be a problem.
Here’s a test video with the X170 mounted on my handlebars. It should be noted that the raw .avi video taken straight from the camera was of slightly higher quality than the compressed video you see here.
What you may notice is that the camera lens is adjusted sideways, and I have rotated the video to be tallscreen rather than the native widescreen. I did that on purpose. The lens itself rotates so that you can mount the camera in any position on the bike and still have the video oriented properly. There is a little notch on the top of the lens that tells you which side is up, but you can also use the LCD preview to see that too. I like the tallscreen format because it shows more of the trail and really gives you an impression of how tight some of the singletrack can be. Also, it exaggerates the lenss fisheye effect.
Heres another video with the camera mounted on my helmet. This clip also features raw footage with no post-production adjustments other than the rotation of the video.
Altogether, the X170 met my expectations for technical performance given the price and far surpassed them in terms of convenient simplicity and the surprising amount of options that were built in. The issues I had with the camera were with the white balance in varied terrain and the internal mic sensitivity but both of these were fixable with some trial and error by finagling with the settings menu.
You dont have to be a digital film guru to get video of your mountain biking adventures and you dont have to take out a second mortgage to finance it either. The X170 cam is a simple and affordable way to get into filming your epic XC rides, your insane FR stunts, or your death defying DH runs. If youre shopping in the sub-$200 price range, this cam should be at the top of your short list.
Read more about the X170 at Drift Innovation.
Raw camera specs
- Video resolution: 720 x 480 pixels (this is normal standard definition 3:2 widescreen format, but you can also choose 16:9 widescreen or 4:3 non-widescreen)
- Lens angle: 170 (huge and awesome)
- Built-in microphone & speaker
- Video format: MP4 or MJPEG AVI (user selectable)
- Frames per second: 30 fps
- Batteries: 2x 1.5V AA batteries (Lithium recommended)
- Built-in memory: 32 MB
- SD memory capacity: Supports memory cards up to 16 GB
- Photo resolution: 5 Megapixel
- LCD screen: 1.5 colour TFT
- Lens focal range: 0.5m to infinity
- Dimensions: Camera – 133 (L) x 50 (D) x 33 (W) mm / Remote Control 52 (L) x 40 (W) x 13 (D) mm
- Power: Camera – DC 3V, 2x AA batteries (included) / Remote control: DC 3C, 1x CR2032 battery (included)
- RF: Receiver (Camera): 433.92MHz ISM band / Transmitter (Remote): 433.92MHz ISM band
- Weight: Camera – 128g / Remote control – 19g
- Built in mic and speaker
- Waterproof to 0.5m
- Cost: ~$180.00
