More and more people are visiting racing tracks these days to experience the high speed and top of the range cars that can only be done on a real race track. But no extreme motoring experience would be complete without a DVD to demonstrate your Lewis Hamilton-like skills to family and friends. Read on to find out about the best on board cameras and the different mounting options available.

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Thanks to the guys over at Piste Magazine who liked the X170 so much that they didn’t only want to write an article on it but also thought it would be an excellent gift for one of their lucky readers. Congratulations to Guy Monk who was announced as the winner of the X170 Action Camera.

X170 Action Camera in The Piste Magazine

With just about every kind of technology going HD crazy, it was just a matter of time until helmet cameras followed suit. VholdR was the first to reach the HD finish line by announcing its new ContourHD which was coined the world’s first HD helmet camera. More recently we’ve had word from GoPro that in October it is launching its GoPro HD Helmet Hero, which it calls the first true HD helmet camera! This HD expression is really quite confusing which leads us to ask the questions; what exactly is HD and do I really need it?

Since the early days of helmet cameras when we were plugging CCTV cameras into recorders and gaffer-taping them to our helmets, we’ve seen the launch of many new generations of helmet cams.
Naturally, each new version has some exciting feature or benefit which tops its predecessors and competitors and quite naturally, this particular feature is heavily promoted to persuade buyers that this is now the ‘must have’ helmet cam. That is, of course, until the next helmet cam hits the market. Surely having HD quality is just the next inevitable step.

What we have appreciated is that the various helmet camera brands such as GoPro, Oregon Scientific, VholdR, Drift Innovation and VIO have started to address our main focus; what do you as extreme sport enthusiasts really want in your action camera? New features such a colour screens, wireless remote controls, wide angle lenses and innovative mounts are being focused on and in our view point, these features are as important, if not more important, as the video quality that the camera delivers. After all if you can’t use your helmet cam easily, quickly and hands-free in the toughest of sports situations then it’s not fit for purpose.

So, back to the point; what is HD? High definition recording is the quality captured by the recorder in terms of the video’s resolution. The answer to whether you really need a HD helmet cam can be answered by asking yourself another question: what am I going to use my helmet cam’s footage for? If you have a HD enabled TV then go for it! If you are going to upload your footage to the net or watch it on a normal TV, then having a HD helmet camera is more of a nicety then a necessity.

The advice from Action Cameras is to look at the all round package that you are considering, think about what sports you are going to be using it for and what mounts you are going to be using too. From there, decide which camera would be best for what you are going to be using it for and then get filming!

Up till now the GoPro Hero Camera has had a memory capacity of only 2Gb. By downloading this firmware upgrade onto your camera you can now expand it up to 16Gb of memory. With a 16Gb card you will now be able to record nearly 8hrs of footage with the same camera. Not bad! What’s better is that this upgrade is available for FREE from Action Cameras!

Read below for instructions on how to add this to your camera.

Firmware Upgrade Instructions

PLEASE READ THROUGH ALL INSTRUCTIONS FIRST. This upgrade will not work with older 3MP GoPro HERO cameras.

STEP 1: Download/Copy Firmware Upgrade to SD Card

1. Download the appropriate file for your particular model HERO camera (Note: you do not need to open this file):
* Download Firmware — 5 megapixel HERO Wide lens cameras
* Download Firmware — 5 megapixel HERO Standard lens cameras (available 15-Nov-2009)
2. After downloading the firmware (Main.zip), ensure that the file has been unzipped, leaving you with a file named “Main.elf”
3. Put a blank SD card in your camera
4. Connect your camera to your computer using the USB cable
5. Drag the file onto the top (root) level of the SD card (this will be the first window when you open the card)
6. Once the file is copied onto the card, you can disconnect the camera as you would normally

Note: if you have a card reader, you can alternatively use it to copy the file onto the SD card instead of following the above steps

STEP 2: Load Firmware Upgrade into Camera

Before beginning this step, ensure that your camera is powered off. Also ensure that it is loaded with new or fully charged batteries (Lithium or NiMH recommended)

7. If it isn’t already in the camera, insert the SD card with the firmware upgrade loaded on it
8. Press the power button and release
9. Then quickly press the power button again while simultaneously pressing the shutter button. DO NOT RELEASE THE BUTTONS
10. Continue holding both the power and shutter button until the red light begins to flash quickly
11. Once the red light begins to flash quickly, you can release both buttons. The camera’s red light will continue to flash, which indicates that the firmware is loading into the camera’s memory (this will take 5-10 seconds)
12. Once the camera has finished loading the new firmware, it will turn itself off

The camera will now be using the new firmware version, which will have the following benefits:

* improved auto exposure processing to help in extreme bright lighting conditions (like snow covered slopes),
* and you can now record up to 4GB in one file

Firmware Tips

For best performance, please use only high write speed SDHC cards

Using slower write speed cards will cause the following:

* longer camera power up time
* longer file saving time after recording is stopped
* longer file deletion times
* delay in switching modes from auto photo to delete all files

The camera will automatically stop a single video recording at 4GB (1 hr 52 min). If using a card over 4GB, you can, however, initiate further recording to fill up the card.

In auto photo mode, the camera will not stop recording when 4GB is reached. If using a larger card, the camera will keep shooting photos until the batteries are depleted.

Firmware Troubleshooting

I can’t open the firmware file
* you do NOT need to open the firmware file, but simply transfer it to the top level of the SD card

The firmware update will not start (red LED does not start blinking)
* is the firmware file in the top level of the SD card? If the firmware file is not in this level, the firmware will not be able to upload

I lost power during the upload, and can no longer power on the camera
* if the firmware upload was interrupted, the camera will not have a complete firmware and will no longer be able to power on. If this has happened, you will need to contact GoPro Support for further assistance.

We like to think of ourselves as a great team of guys who are specialists on helmet cameras and reasonably good at business. Our perception may change soon as our company has been short-listed for three separate categories within the North and West London Business Awards 2009.

In 2008, Action Cameras Ltd was recognised as a finalist for Growth Business, now we’re back in the running to win the category as well as Business of the Year! We’re proud to announce that our third category is a personal recognition of one of our team members; Warrick Kernes has been short-listed within the Outstanding Young Person of the Year category!


We’re hoping to bring you some good news after the awards ceremony at the end of the month! Holding thumbs!

GoPro, the world’s leading manufacturer of wearable digital cameras for sports, launches its new HD Helmet HERO camera at the 2009 Outdoor Retailer Summer Market. GoPro’s HD Helmet HERO camera marks the industry’s first true high-definition 1080p wearable camera for sports.

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Action Cameras has found this incredibly in-depth review on YouTube explaining every detail on the Muvi Micro Camcorder plus showing you what’s in the box. He’s also put in some point-of-view footage in the video to give you an all around feeling of what you’re going to get both in the box and in the footage quality. Enjoy.