At this point, the action-camera market is quite crowded. So what do you do if you want to get noticed? Well, other than coming in at a really low price, you go after user pain points. Perhaps the biggest one for most people is how to quickly edit and share what you’ve shot with your social media audience.
TomTom, the company best known for its GPS navigation systems, came up with a solution in the Bandit, a camera that can handle both capturing your adventures and editing the best moments together into a movie you can share straight from a phone or tablet.
Priced at $400 for the camera, two adhesive mounts and an adapter to use the Bandit's quick-release mount with GoPro accessories, it's definitely an investment. A Premium bundle includes: a wrist remote control, handle bar mount, a dive lens cover good down to just over 160 feet, a 360-degree tilt mount and a power cable for $500. The dive lens alone is $40.
The Bandit is splash-proof with the included lens cover, though, so a little rain or snow shouldn't hurt it. It feels like it can take a beating, which is good because there is no housing option for more protection. There are plenty of other accessories including several mounts that take advantage of the camera's quick-release clip.
If you’re looking for cool features, check out the Batt-Stick. With a twist of the back of the camera you pull out the battery and the microSD slot. This is the Batt-Stick and at the front is a standard USB 3.0 connector, so to charge up the battery you don't need a cable, you just plug it into any standard USB port. The same goes for transferring photos and videos to a computer and since it's USB 3.0, transfers are fast. And since the battery isn't built in, you can just swap in for another Batt-Stick ($60) to keep recording when you run low on power.
The small monochrome display on top is just for changing settings. That means there's no way to preview what you're shooting without turning on the camera's Wi-Fi and using the Bandit's app for iOS or Android to use a mobile device as a viewfinder. The app can also be used to change settings and as a remote control.
Video can be captured at resolutions up to 4K. Unfortunately, the 4K is at only 15 frames per second. It does have a 2.7K at 30fps option, though, in addition to 1080p at 60fps and 30fps along with 720p at 120fps and 60fps. It'll do 4K time-lapse movies, and slow motion at 1080p and 720P, too.
The point here is that if you're after the best quality final product from the Bandit, you'll still need to transfer your clips to a computer and edit them yourself. The advantage for this camera is the quick lo-res edits for fast online sharing and playback on mobile devices, and it's a real winner there.
The TomTom Bandit is an good alternative to a GoPro and others in the category thanks to its quick mobile editing, versatile mounting system, removable battery and its numerous shooting options. The video quality is very good, too, but if that is your main concern, the GoPro Hero4 Silver and Sony Action Cam X1000V are better alternatives at a comparable price.
TomTom, the company best known for its GPS navigation systems, came up with a solution in the Bandit, a camera that can handle both capturing your adventures and editing the best moments together into a movie you can share straight from a phone or tablet.
Priced at $400 for the camera, two adhesive mounts and an adapter to use the Bandit's quick-release mount with GoPro accessories, it's definitely an investment. A Premium bundle includes: a wrist remote control, handle bar mount, a dive lens cover good down to just over 160 feet, a 360-degree tilt mount and a power cable for $500. The dive lens alone is $40.
The Bandit is splash-proof with the included lens cover, though, so a little rain or snow shouldn't hurt it. It feels like it can take a beating, which is good because there is no housing option for more protection. There are plenty of other accessories including several mounts that take advantage of the camera's quick-release clip.
If you’re looking for cool features, check out the Batt-Stick. With a twist of the back of the camera you pull out the battery and the microSD slot. This is the Batt-Stick and at the front is a standard USB 3.0 connector, so to charge up the battery you don't need a cable, you just plug it into any standard USB port. The same goes for transferring photos and videos to a computer and since it's USB 3.0, transfers are fast. And since the battery isn't built in, you can just swap in for another Batt-Stick ($60) to keep recording when you run low on power.
The small monochrome display on top is just for changing settings. That means there's no way to preview what you're shooting without turning on the camera's Wi-Fi and using the Bandit's app for iOS or Android to use a mobile device as a viewfinder. The app can also be used to change settings and as a remote control.
Video can be captured at resolutions up to 4K. Unfortunately, the 4K is at only 15 frames per second. It does have a 2.7K at 30fps option, though, in addition to 1080p at 60fps and 30fps along with 720p at 120fps and 60fps. It'll do 4K time-lapse movies, and slow motion at 1080p and 720P, too.
The point here is that if you're after the best quality final product from the Bandit, you'll still need to transfer your clips to a computer and edit them yourself. The advantage for this camera is the quick lo-res edits for fast online sharing and playback on mobile devices, and it's a real winner there.
The TomTom Bandit is an good alternative to a GoPro and others in the category thanks to its quick mobile editing, versatile mounting system, removable battery and its numerous shooting options. The video quality is very good, too, but if that is your main concern, the GoPro Hero4 Silver and Sony Action Cam X1000V are better alternatives at a comparable price.
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