Wootalyzer's Pricing Post! - The price of today's woot item is saved here for future reference
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Swann FreeStyle 1080p Action Cam
$139.99 + $5 Shipping
Condition: New

*DISCLAIMER* Wootalyzer! is in no way affiliated with Woot!, and this post may not always be here!

I didn't even know they made GoPro knockoffs!

Comparison with the GoPro Hero...

$198.99 at amazon

GoPro or this?

I don't do enough action to need an action cam...a still cam is usually good enough for me.

Okay, so can it use go-pro housings??? And ho does it stack up against a Hero 1 or 2. Seems kind of.. cheap..

$198.99 on Amazon

Not a bad price!

Video Review and a C|net review.

rom wrote:GoPro or this?

Gopro all the way

YouTube Video from Swann that shows the camera being used in a variety of action settings.

Does anyone know how effective the underwater casing is?

gjpjmp wrote:Okay, so can it use go-pro housings??? And ho does it stack up against a Hero 1 or 2. Seems kind of.. cheap..

Different housing... this has the lens in the center... GoPro Hero 1 & 2 is off to the side.

"Record up to 10 hours continuous footage to microSD card up to 32GB

Video Resolution:
1080p (1920 X 1080)
720p (1280 X 720)
WVGA (848 x 480)
QVGA (320 x 240)"

Or 600 minutes/27 at 1080p ????

600*(320*240)/(1920*1080) ????

Cheapest I could find these was $198 on amazon. At $139 it's worth the risk over a GoPro. That's $160 cheaper and it comes with an LCD attachment (GoPro's version will cost you $89 addition) and a remote (GoPro's remote isn't even available yet and has been delayed release at least 4 times).

I say at $144 take the leap and try this out. only bad thing is the company is based out of Australia so customer service may be iffy.

Well this thing looks largely familiar with something I've seen before..

Here's a comparison video of GoPro and Swann



(Skip to 00:48 for videos)

Kind of tempting since it has a screen (GoPro doesn't, standardly) but I still would do more research on the video quality.

Swann usually makes high end security cameras though, so they're pretty good optically (I assume).

Been doing the GoPro daily give away for a year now without any luck by the way.

EDIT: @ gjpjmp : Holy crap, your signature tripped me out.

todaresq wrote:Comparison with the GoPro Hero...

There is no comparison in that comparison link. Unless you call both of them in one picture as being a worthy comparison.

Anyway heres a link with some actual review information from that site. Little more helpful than just a pic:

http://maiamedia.co.uk/2012/04/action-camera-review-swann-freestyle-hd/

What's the best action camera to buy? For filming while riding a bike, driving, hiking etc.

This looks like it would definitely hold up in a zombie apocalypse...

Is it compatible with a Mac?

I used one of these aboard my kayak going down the creek and the video was EPIC! 6 miles and 4 hours later video was still going strong I even flipped the kayak and the video stayed on and looked really cool

Randonium8 wrote:What's the best action camera to buy? For filming while riding a bike, driving, hiking etc.

I have a Hero HD2 (the most current version) and I love it. That being said, the Contour brand is actually a little ahead of the curve on Action cams. Their cam is cylindrical and a little more low profile. They also have a version that does live streaming while Hero is keep delaying their Wifi backpack which will stream live video. The contour is much more expensive though. The contour was around first, but Hero has went balls to the wall with marketing and their name is just out there and in everyone face so much that they are doing much better sales wise, also a lower price point.

Video comparison with the GoPro Hero, Hero 2

http://bit.ly/JqJHV9

MESSAGE DELETED because I didn't know what the hell I was talking about...

This guy would be much cooler if he had a
Swann FreeStyle 1080p Action Cam

THIS ONE'S BETTER

Will it work for dirt bike riding?

sdc100 wrote:From the Description:


Why do you need a laser to know "exactly what the camera is looking at" since it has an LCD screen??? Does the LCD screen show EXACTLY what is being recorded? A laser is a small spot and hardly tells you what will appear in the full frame. Furthermore, cameras now recognize many faces in a given scene and adjust exposure for each face. What then is the laser pointing to? Why not just use crosshairs in the LCD screen like normal cameras?

The laser pointer seems like a waste of electricity and an invitation to disaster. That's because it can hit the eye of a subject can cause temporary or permanent blindness. Furthermore, it can hit glass and inadvertently reflect to a bystander's eye.

Furthermore, doesn't having a laser flashing on your subject make the video look weird? If I;m recording an event, I wouldn't want a laser dot moving in the scene.

Also questionable is the tiny 1.5" LCD screen in such a large camera. Most screens are 2.5"-3.5".

Wouldn't you think it possible that someone may want to line up a shot when they don't have the LCD screen connected? Also, you wouldn't have any lasers in your scene because you'd use it line up your shot before you press record.

sdc100 wrote:From the Description:


Why do you need a laser to know "exactly what the camera is looking at" since it has an LCD screen??? Does the LCD screen show EXACTLY what is being recorded? A laser is a small spot and hardly tells you what will appear in the full frame. Furthermore, cameras now recognize many faces in a given scene and adjust exposure for each face. What then is the laser pointing to? Why not just use crosshairs in the LCD screen like normal cameras?

The laser pointer seems like a waste of electricity and an invitation to disaster. That's because it can hit the eye of a subject can cause temporary or permanent blindness. Furthermore, it can hit glass and inadvertently reflect to a bystander's eye.

Furthermore, doesn't having a laser flashing on your subject make the video look weird? If I;m recording an event, I wouldn't want a laser dot moving in the scene.

Also questionable is the tiny 1.5" LCD screen in such a large camera. Most screens are 2.5"-3.5".

If it's mounted to a helmet you can't see the screen but you can see the dot.

sdc100 wrote:

Why do you need a laser to know "exactly what the camera is looking at" since it has an LCD screen???

These "action cameras" are often mounted to your body or helmet, where you won't be able to see the LCD. The laser would be something you'd use while adjusting the mount to get it pointing where you want.

I have a few GoPros and the biggest difference is that the Go's are wide angle lens's and the Swann is not. However, for someone who doesnt feel like dropping $300 for a new HD Hero 2, and just wants something to play around with for cheaper, this is just great.

Also the video quality and build is much worse on the Swann, but good enough for a casual user

sdc100 wrote:
The laser pointer seems like a waste of electricity and an invitation to disaster.

Also questionable is the tiny 1.5" LCD screen in such a large camera. Most screens are 2.5"-3.5".

I dunno.. I played with a screen-less GoPro 2 a few months back and I've missed like over half the time when I take stills of myself. At least with the laser you'd know where it's pointed at.

For the screen, I guess its better than paying extra for a screen or sacrificing the extra battery space.

I'm not hating on the GoPro, I really want one.. but I have to accept that I could only have one or the other. Plus it's more expensive. And the GoPro brand (the marketing has sunk into me) sounds more desirable to have, in my honest opinion.

I read the manual just now. The laser doesn't work when it's in the waterproof mount.

http://www.swann.com/webfiles/download/1635freestyle_hd_sports_v1.0.pdf

There's also a part where it talks about the laser (page 21) but I'm too lazy to figure out what they're trying to tell me there cause it really looks like gibberish to me.

I have been looking at a GoPro Hero 2 for my motorcycle adventures and now wonder if this would suit my needs.

It might be fun to mount one of these on your dashboard and let it run continuously (like a lot of police cars do). I'd love to have the video of the once or twice a week I swerve to miss a deer. Or, this morning on my way to teach I came to a complete stop to let a groundhog cross the road. How about video proof of the tadpole who cut you off and then nearly crashed into two other cars on the highway? That would be very cool

DaveInSoCal wrote:If it's mounted to a helmet you can't see the screen but you can see the dot.

I stand corrected. I also didn't know how small it was. The 1.5" screen now makes perfect sense. It looks like an SLR in the photo!

ThunderThighs wrote:I would also think you would conserve the battery by not using the LCD and thus have more recording time.

Also yes :-)

erick99 wrote:It might be fun to mount one of these on your dashboard and let it run continuously (like a lot of police cars do). I'd love to have the video of the once or twice a week I swerve to miss a deer. Or, this morning on my way to teach I came to a complete stop to let a groundhog cross the road. How about video proof of the tadpole who cut you off and then nearly crashed into two other cars on the highway? That would be very cool

Yeah, I kind of noticed that people with dashboard cam tends to get into more trouble than people who doesn't have dashboard cams.

Proof: http://www.twisternederland.com/ (might want to scroll down a bit)

For the first time since joining in Jan of 2005 I didn't buy anything from a woot-off. I'll try to make up for it next time. Damn. No woot boxes for which to look forward. Life can be hard.

whoa. i like the included accessories. GoPro sold in December was almost same price minus bonus lcd and remote control