Tachyon Micro SD sports camera

After using two Tachyon 2010 XC sports cameras to make loads of films that i won in 2009 i have for the last 4 months been using a Go Pro HD camera...


Although quite expensive at £375 including a chest mount (we call it the sports bra) and some extra mounts the cameras HD (high definition) quality footage is amazing to watch on a full screen and it captures light here on the coast well,

However, quality costs, in money and time, and the Go Pro camera takes a lot longer to upload, then edit and publish a HD film on a 4G windows vista PC and uploading time to youtube for a 10 minute film can take 3-4 hours sometimes,

The Tachyon 2010 XC cameras SD (standard definition) takes a 1/4 of the time to get online, and the standard of film quality is not too bad, compared to the Go pro fish eye 180 degree lens, the SD Tachyon cameras use a 90 degree lens, which does not let as much light in but you capture the view in the distance better,
Also in 3 years fiming the Tachyon cameras have never let me down, they have never lost the files from crashes or knocks, one fell off my motorbike at 70+ mph and it still works perfectly!, there bombproof, and very underestimated and underated here in the UK, i think there great value.

Back in June on the summer hols roadtrip i took a Tachyon 2010 XC (SD) helmet mounted camera and filmed at Faraid Head in the far NW coast of Scotland as a back up in case the Go Pro had a problem, i never did anything with the film then remembered about it last week so edited a wee film of that amazing evening riding the wind swept dunes, the SD card was a class 4 instead of a 6 or higher so quality was not quite as good as it should have been,
Song is theme from Lonely Planet...



Watching this film i really like the soft tint to the light, esp that halo glow around the sun when looking directly into it, also far away views of mountains are better than the Go Pro,
So i was thinking of starting to use a Tachyon camera again for small blog films like a wee film of a trail or an explore around an old ruin etc, as it is so quick to upload the files, then edit and publish and upload,
As with the Go Pro camera, the Tachyon XC camera weight can be felt while mounted to the side of a helmet, a view i think which is better than the top which is a bit too remote,

Then i remembered that Tachyon did a Micro XC SD camera, which is smaller and lighter than the 2010 Xc cams,
It has the same internals, and 90 degree lens, but without the small LED screen, and it takes 2 smaller AAA lithium batteries and a micro SD card,
A quick google and Amazon had 8 left at £79 each, they have been superseaded by the Micro XC HD camera which is around £169,
So i grabbed the chance to get a Micro SD camera and it arrived on Saturday...


In the kit is a mount which can fit a goggle strap or tri pod, and the usual cables for uploading pics, connecting to TV etc, the camera is small and light...


Also included are 2 lens covers for Paintball, this camera lends itself well to activities like paintball, scuba diving, watersports etc...


An 8G card gives 2 hours filming, Tachyons can take up to 32G cards (8 hours filming)
a lot more than most cameras, card and batteries fit in the back...


The switch on the right is a Dive Pressure switch to prevent water pressure switching off filming on the outside switch, the camera can go down to 100ft, a lot more than most other makes and does not require a waterproof cover being a sealed unit,
The switch on the left switches filming function to timelapse pics every 2 seconds,
below right switch locks the battery holder...


As with the larger Tachyon cameras i have used i have not used the mount but applied 3M snap velcro (£10 per metre on ebay) to the helmet and camera sides. it takes 24 hours for the adhesive to set but is very strong...






With 2 lenghts (without backing removed) wrapped around hooked on the camera is not going anywhere...


I bought this so i can have a camera mounted often as long as i want which is light enough to not notice its weight or need a counter balance...




The Micro XC camera compared to the 2010 XC camera...


The paintball lens cover is ideal for keeping the lens clean or damaged when it is in the bikes frame bag or a back pack etc....
With the same filming quality as its bigger XC version it will be ideal for a bit film that is quick to edit to get posted on the blog,

Ideal for some filming while riding, rather than going riding to film...