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
$134.99 + $5 Standard OR $12 One-Day OR $9 Two-Day Shipping
Condition: New

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

How do these compare to a GoPro?

Here it was in September

Plenty of comparisons to go pro over there.

Got one of these a few months back and I love it. For the money you really can't go wrong. I use it for paintball and other activities I might not want to use a more expensive camera for.

Here's a video taken with it as a helmet cam paintballing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me-ZcOk7I2w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg5uPyn_gRM&feature=related

Comparison of Swann, GoPro and GoPro2 cameras. Still Photos and Videos from each camera are shown.

mm20 wrote:How do these compare to a GoPro?

I bought one first time around, and have compared my vids with many friends' GoPro vids (Hero 1 & 2) Not sure how they compare to the newest GoPro Hero 3 but they compare very favorably with the Hero 2. And for what you get for the price there is really no comparison.

CooperDude wrote:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg5uPyn_gRM&feature=related

Comparison of Swann, GoPro and GoPro2 cameras. Still Photos and Videos from each camera are shown.

720p60 is probably the best mode to make comparisons because it's not as intensive for the camera when doing fast motion and most cameras won't do full 60fps at 1080. From the looks of the video the Swann looks like it recorded at 720i60 instead of 720p60, the Hero looks like it did 720p30, and the Hero2 was the closest to doing full 720p60 with the frames looking remarkably sharp and small rocks and details being discernible even during fast motion, but that's all speculation based on my eyesight (which is pretty good) but without the raw footage is hard to be conclusive.

For about $65 cheaper than the Hero2 it's a pretty good deal, since the video is still pretty good but I'll probably stick to my home-made cell phone mount for my bike because it's 720p60 mode is still better and can definitely capture license plates of reckless drivers which I worry this won't be able to do.

Does anyone know if this will attach to the night vision bracket on an ACH?

Bought one of these last sale for use with my motorcycle. I have been very pleased with the quality and value. Very sturdy - I had a Ram mount system in place I had used for a vidcamera and the Swann worked great with the mounting system. Very little vibration, very good video and photo quality. The remote sets it apart and works great. Recommended.

Swann SWVID-SPORTL Freestyle 1080p HD Waterproof Wearable Sports Video Camera

Woot Today = $134.99 + $5 shipping**Best price found today

*Last time on Woot priced at, $139.99 + $5

Amazon = $166.01 = ships free
http://www.amazon.com/Swann-Freestyle-Waterproof-Sports-Camera/dp/B005EROCLC

ebay = $149.99 + ships free
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Swann-SWVID-SPORTL-Freestyle-1080p-HD-Waterproof-Wearable-Sports-Video-Camera-/121026275944?_trksid=p2047675.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222002%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D13534%26meid%3D3753207947892459644%26pid%3D100011%26prg%3D1080%26rk%3D2%26sd%3D350624110957%26

Adorama = $198.99 + ships free
http://www.adorama.com/SWNVIDSPORTL.html?utm_term=Other&utm_medium=Shopping%20Site&utm_campaign=Other&utm_source=pgrabl

Woot beats closest comparison dealer (ebay by $10

**NOTE**
Information and prices posted here are from a Google search I made in good faith only for "average comparison' purposes one may find on the web. Your own search may find different and/or lower prices.

I got this camera 2 weeks ago from amazon for $126 but at this price it's not really that much more, AWESOME camera, I mounted it to a baseball cap to record flying RC planes and helis and the quality and field of view is superb. To get all the features included with the camera (LCD bacpac, remote) in a gopro you are talking well over $300. Well worth the money.

"Laser Power: 1MW"

LOL. 1,000,000W What is the laser for anyway?

Does this camera have stereo microphones or just mono (single)?

@danwat1234

You know they meant 1mw don't you? (Milli vs. mega)

danwat1234 wrote:"Laser Power: 1MW"

LOL. 1,000,000W What is the laser for anyway?

Does this camera have stereo microphones or just mono (single)?

Theres is a mono speaker on the LCD screen included with the kit.

I bought this cam a few months back. I would suggest you compare the product to others before purchasing this. I wish I would have

Zippy The Pinhead wrote:@danwat1234

You know they meant 1mw don't you? (Milli vs. mega)

1mW yeah. The laser must be for the remote.

Has this style camera become the new Roomba and Dyson for Woot?

danwat1234 wrote:1mW yeah. The laser must be for the remote.

Nah. It works pretty good - it's on the camera so you can see where it is aimed.

Got one from woot last time, and I really like it. Dissapointments:
.. Battery life is nowhere near a GoPro - will not make it thru a whole ball game (3 hours) even w/o LCD back

.. Uses uSD cards (priceier/smaller than SD cards).

Other than that, great camera.

Sweet! The package contents show 2 cameras. One in the waterproof casing and one by itself among the accessories. 2-fer Twosday.

theres no 1080p 60fps so it sucks. its horrible indoors or low lighting too.

but its meant for outdoor type stuff which its good for, except you should set it as 720p 60fps


honestly, id save and get gp3

Stick to GoPro.... A few bucks saved now ain't worth it this time....

Would like to get for my grandchildren, they only have iPad and iMovie. Can the video's be imported directly into the iPad? Thanks for your help.

Stumpy91 wrote:Sweet! The package contents show 2 cameras. One in the waterproof casing and one by itself among the accessories. 2-fer Twosday.

I see the camera in the waterproof case and the detachable LCD display among the accessories.

I bought this before, but I resold it. Its a very competent camera at 1080 not so much at 720. Also, at dim lighting it just crumbles. If it had been a few months ago I would have said to get this over the GoPro, but now that the GoPro2 is at 200$, its a much better buy even if a bit more expensive.

I'd also suggest the new Sony Action cam to be an equally good buy as GoPro at 200$ since it has a external mic input, which none of the others do.

If you're looking for an action camera but don't like the mounting options of the Swann or GoPro, the Contour family might fit the bill. The ContourROAM is now on sale (ContourROAM2 is now out) at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Contour-1600-ContourROAM-Hands-free-Camcorder/dp/B005GLFSYQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1354024102&sr=8-2&keywords=contour+roam I prefer something I can mount to the side of my motorcycle helmet rather than sticking up on top like something that Dr. Seuss would put in one of his stories.

As for the need for the camera... We rode through the Dolores River Canyon in Colorado this summer and around every turn there was an "Oh - Wow!" view. But the pullouts were paved with ball bearing like gravel and I was very reluctant to pull a fully loaded touring motorcycle off to take pictures. I needed a helmet cam to capture that!

Perfect. I was looking to mount this on my motorcycle. Thanks for the post.

mikesth wrote:Bought one of these last sale for use with my motorcycle. I have been very pleased with the quality and value. Very sturdy - I had a Ram mount system in place I had used for a vidcamera and the Swann worked great with the mounting system. Very little vibration, very good video and photo quality. The remote sets it apart and works great. Recommended.

It's a nice camera, the only downside that I saw was that it does not do very well in low light, other than that it's been great for video's. We used a couple of them on some near space balloon launches.

I had a Contour and I liked it, but now my son has it and I need another.

The Swan has a viewing screen which the Contour did not.

The laser must be for aiming... like the Contour had. Necessary for the Contour because of the lack of screen.

The Contour has a rotating lens so that you can level the view if you can't level the body of the camera.

Owning a GoPro Hero and Hero2 and three of these, I have to say the quality of the video for the Swann fits somewhere between the Hero and Hero2. It's better than the original Hero but not quite as good as the Hero2. It does suffer in low light and the Hero2 is better, but not substantially. When the light levels drop these cameras struggle (the exception being the new GoPro which looks to do much better).

If you're looking for a decent action cam, that comes with a whole slew of accessories (that you'd pay extra for with the GoPro), this is not a bad choice.

There are some downsides - the biggest being you have to setup and turn the camera on BEFORE you put it in the case (you can setup and turn the GoPros on/off while they're in their cases) which can be a pain when you want to conserve battery or change shooting modes. When SCUBA diving the ability to change settings while underwater makes the GoPros more versatile.

I use them as secondary/tertiary footage shooters and the GoPros as primary for doing the 'movie making' thing and wanting to get alternate views in one 'take'/sequence (think multiple camera stuck to a car).

Ed3rd wrote:I see the camera in the waterproof case and the detachable LCD display among the accessories.

Ahh. You are right. I just didn't understand the detachable LCD screen feature. Do you need to detach the LCD screen to put the camera in the waterproof case? The detachable part seems pretty big.

Stumpy91 wrote:Ahh. You are right. I just didn't understand the detachable LCD screen feature. Do you need to detach the LCD screen to put the camera in the waterproof case? The detachable part seems pretty big.

Yes. The back door isn't big enough to house the camera with the LCD attached.

GoPros have a 'special' door that's deeper to accommodate their LCD (or extended battery) back that they include with those accessories.

mm20 wrote:How do these compare to a GoPro?

Cheaper. Truth be told I have not seen any noticeable difference qualitywise. Audio can be suspect in certain situations. For 139 its good buy. Is it a great buy? no but when compared to 249-299 its a good buy

I agree, I bought the one previous back and the 3M stick did not stick - this camera does not float.

So the 3m knocked it off my board and gone.

Neither WOOT, nor SWANN would refund or issue a new camera.

Quality was good though.

CowboyDann wrote:Here it was in September

Plenty of comparisons to go pro over there.

Oh, I missed this. Thank you. I've been considering getting something like this.

CooperDude wrote:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg5uPyn_gRM&feature=related

Comparison of Swann, GoPro and GoPro2 cameras. Still Photos and Videos from each camera are shown.

You can't completely trust Youtube for video comparison. Videos on Youtube are compressed from the original. However you can trust that the actual video will be better than what you see on Youtube.

If you see small differences between different video cameras on Youtube, the differences might not be real.

You need to download the actual raw files from the camera to completely trust video comparison.

I once saw a nice comparison where five cameras were mounted on a board and they all shot the exact same walkabout video sequence. I'd like to see more of that.

I bought this one previously.
I'm not disappointed for the price.

I've used it in the pool to capture swim lessons w/o issue.

Some notes....
-The mic is marginal outside of the case and if in the case, fairly useless as one would expect.
-Use it in good light.
-You do need to turn on the camera and config it before putting it in the case as someone else said, but you can start and stop the video and capture stills while in the case.
-The remote is NOT waterproof although it may appear to be so.
-You need to take off the LCD screen before putting it in the case, so while underwater, you need to more or less guess at what you're aiming at and capturing. With some practice, its not too hard. Swann said they are working on a revised case the last time I spoke with them which will accommodate the LCD screen, but that probably will significantly reduce battery life. No ETA was provided for the revised case.

Would I buy again? Yes.

Hope this info. helps.

mbasilepa wrote:Yes. The back door isn't big enough to house the camera with the LCD attached.

GoPros have a 'special' door that's deeper to accommodate their LCD (or extended battery) back that they include with those accessories.

The battery life will not be enough for some of our bike rides, could we just take a spare battery to use when it starts to run low or would that erase everything that has been recorded to that point? The record space is a lot larger than the battery strength.

The media should be stored on the card regardless of power.

Swapping batteries should not lose anything.

If you call Swann (in CA) they can provide you with a quote for a spare battery (I don't believe you can just buy spare components from their website).

Tex_Estores wrote:The battery life will not be enough for some of our bike rides, could we just take a spare battery to use when it starts to run low or would that erase everything that has been recorded to that point? The record space is a lot larger than the battery strength.

mikesth wrote:Bought one of these last sale for use with my motorcycle. I have been very pleased with the quality and value. Very sturdy - I had a Ram mount system in place I had used for a vidcamera and the Swann worked great with the mounting system. Very little vibration, very good video and photo quality. The remote sets it apart and works great. Recommended.

Plus the mounts for the Go Pro work with this camera. I love mine for the price.