Gadget of the week: Capture some extreme holiday footage

Published on Tuesday 28 April 2009 17:47

If you've ever tried pulling out a digital camera or camcorder while surfing, snowboarding or mountain biking – you'll know that the laws of physics aren't working in your favour.

On a recent holiday in Chamonix, I attempted a makeshift solution – it involved gaffa tape, a digital camera and a snowboarding helmet. After a fall so hard that it felt like my collar bone had taken a direct strike by a ballistic missile, I realised the limitations of this arrangement. While my camera was discovered in a snowy knoll half way up the slope by a cackling German skier, the footage on it looked like it had been shot by a drunken seagull. There was a lot of nice blue ski and the odd blur of white, but not much else.

Not wanting to disappoint my waiting audience back at the chalet, I hired a JamCam POV.1 Video System for the day. This all-in-one kit includes a wearable head camera, a chunky digital video recorder with colour LCD and a wireless remote control. Footage is recorded onto a secure digital memory card, a 4GB card capturing 190 minutes of your antics at a resolution of 720 x 480 pixels.

Even though everything is waterproof, dustproof and shock resistant – I had my doubts that the JamCam would survive my spectacularly unpredictable snowboarding style. Survive it did, and with style. The small but effective wireless remote straps around your wrist allow recording to be stopped and started without removing the main recording unit from your pocket. The proof is ultimately in the pudding though, and this is where the JamCam really impressed. Instead of the shaky-shaky video I was expecting, I was left with some spectacularly smooth, well exposed footage that almost made me look like a snowboarding pro (if you fast forward the video – a lot).

The Jam Cam POV.1 Video System that I hired costs a rather hefty 549 to buy outright. However, you can get a rental unit delivered direct to your house prior to going on holiday, with a seven- day hire costing 150.

• For more details, visit www.jam-cam.tv