A baby's first step, an child snarfing milk through the nose, or a home run by a cub-league slugger. What do these things have in common? They are all regretted missed moments by camcorder-wielding home moviemakers.
But these priceless moments no longer have to be missed. A company called Deja View has introduced a tiny $400 wearable video camera called the Camwear 100 that clips to the bill of a baseball cap or the side of a pair of eyeglasses and captures everything in its line of sight.
The camera is about the size of a pair of dice with a cord coming out its back that attaches to a paperback-book-size base unit that clips to a belt. The system records constantly, but caches only about 30 seconds worth of video and audio. Deja View designed the Camwear 100 to act as a kind of replay device that lets you capture the previous 30 seconds of what the camera records.
When you witness something of interest, simply wait 30 seconds and press the Record button on the base unit. The camera stores a short video onto a removable Secure Digital media card. (The Camwear ships with a 64MB SD card, which is good for about sixteen 30-second clips, but it can be upgraded to support a 512MB SD card.)
Video files can then be transferred using an SD card reader (sold separately) or by attaching the base unit to your PC using the supplied USB cord. The unit can also link directly to a TV set for playback--sans PC.
Video quality is acceptable when you record in a well-lit environment. The Camwear captures video at 30 frames per second at the highest resolution of 320 by 240. The unit has a rechargeable lithium ion battery that lasts 4 hours between charges. Sound quality is a shortcoming--it's about as good as that from a portable radio.
Deja Test Drive
I've been testing a shipping Camwear 100 unit and think it's a genuinely unique product that is more than just the novelty I thought it would be.
On the downside I found the thick cord that loops down from my hat to the base unit a bit unwieldy. The base unit is also too big for my liking.
Despite those quibbles, it has been fun over the past week capturing just the best moments when playing with my one-year-old daughter. The unit might be most suitable for use around the house or at a sporting event. When I wore the Camwear 100 walking around Boston or on the train to work, people seemed baffled and disturbed by the camera hanging from my hat.
Its footage is also different from that shot with my camcorder. Even at 30 frames a second and with a 60-degree field of view, the clips still feel a bit like you're watching a video made with a hidden camera. The main difference is that Deja View is able to create a much better quality image, with no fish-eye effect.
Connect With Your Inner Geraldo
An unexpected thing happened to me with the Camwear 100 in public. Instead of trying to capture just endearing moments, my inner Geraldo Rivera came out. I started secretly hoping for UFOs to appear or for Sasquatch to run by. Worse, I started feeling guilty about wishing for an unfortunate happenstance, such as a car accident or a crime, where, with Tivo-like efficiency--I imagined--I would be able to offer the authorities an exact account of events.
And I actually did get lucky (if you want to call it that). While wearing the camera on my way home from work, I witnessed a teenager breaking into a parked Boston public bus and emerging red-handed with a handful of stolen goods.
I fumbled with the camera and hit Record. What was available for playback was disappointing and illustrated the limitations of the tiny camera. Because it was a poorly lit street, the video of the crime came out too dark with nothing distinguishable for playback. If the lighting isn't ideal you may run into similar problems.
Sound can also be temperamental. The microphone--embedded in the camera--picks up everything you say clearly. But if there is a lot of background noise or if the people you are recording are talking softly, sometimes they can't be heard on playback.
In the end I never captured Sasquatch with the Camwear 100, and the only footage I'll keep is that of my daughter at her cutest moments. Nevertheless, I liked the product and had a great time with it.
Pricey, but fun, wearable video camera captures moments other cameras would miss.
List: $400
Current prices (if available)
