I don’t generally do product reviews or plugs but I am always on the look out for great tools to make a family vacation easier. So when the people at eMotionCam contacted me about their helmet cameras, I thought it was worth a try. Every time I ski, I see parents struggling to record their kids skiing down the mountain. I don’t ski well enough to keep up with my kids, much less while trying to balance a camera so why not a helmet camera to memorialize the ski day? Bottom line is that it was fantastic. Crystal clear high definition footage with no hassle of a hand held camera! It was a great way to capture the day.
The camera is incredibly easy to use. It comes with a strap to attach to a helmet but I opted to attach it to my goggle strap. Simply press the on button and slide the switch to record. The record button is large enough to work with ski gloves on, which is important because the battery only lasts for about 3 hours of record time. When not recording, the camera powers itself off after 10 minutes so it must be turned back on. To confess, I didn’t know that it powered down so my first day with the camera was a total bust! You can test that it is on by pushing the power button and looking for a red beam coming from the top of the camera. I was worried about the weight of the camera on my goggle strap, but at a mere 4.3 ounces, it was barely noticeable.
You can rent the cameras at ski shops in California, Colorado, New Hampshire, and Wyoming (see the complete list here.) I picked up mine at Lone Star Sports in Breckenridge. It costs $34.95 plus an additional $4.95 for a loss/damage waiver. I highly recommend springing for the waiver – just in case you take a tumble on the camera! Your credit card is charged a $300 deposit fee that is refunded when you return the camera. When you return the camera, it takes about 20 minutes to download the footage to either a DVD or USB stick. The DVD is included at no charge. You can purchase a USB stick at the kiosk or bring your own. The rental fees are mush less than most cameras and you don’t have the risk of breakage (if you follow my advice and purchase the waiver) – plus it’s on your helmet so you can capture all the action with the slide of a button. I was also surprised by the clarity – it was much sharper than my hand held.
Overall I had a great experience with the camera and highly recommend trying one out. Given the overall cost of a ski vacation, this is an inexpensive way to bring home memories from the slopes. The hands free operation makes it easy to use when teaching little ones to ski – a difficult thing to capture with a traditional camera. Older kids would love to record each other doing tricks in the terrain park!
Some tips on use:
- Don’t waste time recording while you are waiting in the lift line and riding the lift.
- Make sure the camera is on each time you start recording.
- Let everyone take a turn – the different perspectives are very interesting.
- Have someone check the camera angle periodically. No one wants 2 hours of skis or sky because the camera was at the wrong angle.
- Look up the mountain so you can have footage of where you’ve been.
- Ski ahead of the family, stop, and turn around to capture the rest of the family coming down the hill together.
- Be prepared for lots of comments – all the young boarders and skiers asked me questions about the camera all day long. Nice to be cool on the mountain for a change!
Many thanks to eMotionCams for allowing me to use a camera free of charge for a day. I plan on renting one for our next family ski day later in the season! You can find all the details about rentals here.
Happy Travels!
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