Friday, July 24, 2015

Innovv C3 hits CityBike on issue of Aug, 2015

Innovv C3

http://citybike.com/index-2.html

Words: Max Klein
Photos: Surj Gish



Bay Area traffic is horrible. With all the texting, selfies, spilled coffee, and “Lanesharing?
NOT ON MY WATCH” idiocy that takes place, I wanted a reliable “evidence collection” camera for my commute rides. I have a handful of “action cameras” that would capture the carnage and prove my light was green, but I have to remember to charge them, bring them with me, and worry about battery life / memory card capacity every ride time I ride, otherwise the whole thing is pointless.
Oh, and I have to remember to hit the record button.

I wanted to ride without having to worry about charging batteries and changing memory cards. I wanted to turn the key on and go, as if I didn’t have to record my every move, just in case.

The Innovv C3 hits on all cylinders. The system consists of a bullet lens that plugs into a separate camera box (or DVR, if you prefer) via an HDMI cable. As with other cameras, there are multiple mounting options, ranging from helmet to handlebars. A simple switch on the side allowsyou to choose between single recording, continuous recording, or flashlight. No, “flashlight” is not some new ultra-HD compression tech! it’s just a single LED flashlight.

On the DVR, there are three buttons that allow you to change recording modes, start and stop recording, and turn the unit off. Also on the DVR is a multi-color LED that indicates what mode the C3 is in!red for 1080p / 30fps, green for 720p / 60fps, orange for 3 megapixel photos. All files are
recorded onto a microSD card, which you must supply.

Innovv sent us two lenses, one with a 90-degree field of view and another with wider 120-degree coverage. Standard kits (the ones you guys are gonna go buy after
reading this) include one or the other. Also in the box are data cables, power converters
and cables (for hardwiring, like my setup), and various mounting options for the lens, including helmet and tripod screw mounts!which are very versatile for permanent mounting.

The two recording methods are pretty much what they sound like. The single recording mode will fill the card up once and stop, while the continuous recording mode will “loop,” overwriting the earliest
files when the card runs out of space. Hello dashcam.

Both lenses are waterproof!perfect for optional external mic, but it plugs into the same port that I needed for power.

Speaking of plugging things in!the camera must have a lens attached to connect to a computer and adjust settings such as file size. That’s a significant problem if you want to permanently mouth the whole shebang, which was my plan. Fortunately, I had two lenses, and only mounted one.

Video capture has been completely reliable. I start the bike, the C3 starts recording. I end up with a folder full of smallish video files, which sounds like a mess, but actually turns out to be ok. Looking for specific footage? Easy, just look for the time stamps around the time your footage would have been captured. No more scrolling through a giant video file to find three seconds of footage.

Customer support is available through email, and while there is sometimes a little lost in translation, they’re responsive and I was able to get all of my questions answered.

Although it has some connectivity limitations, these shortcomings are easy to overlook, and the C3’s excellent video quality, two-piece form factor and hardwire capability make it a perfect commuter cam. I’ll be adding one to all of my bikes.
Learn more about Innovv’s cameras, and get your own C3, at innovv.com.