Gopro / Drift beater Xdreme 1080p full HD action camera review part 1

Whilst looking for an action cam and having decided on a Drift HD over the GoPro Hero I was inspired by a review of this, the Xdreme HD and ordered one.
This is my unboxing and part one review of the camera with some in car footage, part 2 will cover the operation and features and hopefully more footage.

Part 2 of the review available here:

Part 3 update in use here

All onboard footage shot at 720p 60FPS.
Camera was ordered from
Delivery was prompt, fully trackable and service was very good.

[spidiq]

You're welcome, I'm sure you'll be delighted with it, I've had mine a good while and it continues to perform well and the battery holds power well unlike my camcorder which depletes over time unused.

[spidiq]

The clip is very durable and sturdy, If I use it wired with the mic and the door open i use an elastic band around the camera to hold the clip which stops it rattling on the camera body.

[spidiq]

Had a look at the poseidon, (still available at chinavasion), yes, i'd say it's the same manufacturer. If you're looking for an upgrade then I can recomend this so far.
Only thing the poseidon has this doesn't is the remote, which would be handy and the RF remote on the Drift nearly swung the choice for me, but the cost difference decided this one.

[spidiq]

Yep, £105 with shipping plus export duties, expect to pay this and factor it in.
The external mic was very impressive I thought, just a bit of crackle with the window open so with a scrap of foam glued to it should be as good as any you'll get.
Just working on the best method for helmet mounting, (my current bike helmet is a kind of fighter pilot style and it makes mounting any camera awkward), then I want to try getting some on bike footage and look at mounting options on bike with my RAM mount

[spidiq]

I chose the faster option for shipping and didn't incur any import charges. To be fair, i've never incurred import duties on anything other than stuff bought from the US.
The standard airmail is apparently pretty fast and much cheaper, i'm just impatient and wanted mine much more quickly, :)

[spidiq]

Right, interesting to know, As you know I shoot in 720 for action use anyway but certainly useful, thanks.
Let me know when you get some cycling videos uploaded, would love to see some parts of Greece again, some years since I was last there, :)

[spidiq]

Good stuff, you got lucky on the import duties then. Pretty quick shipping too!
Look forward to some uploads, are you planning any underwater stuff?

[spidiq]

Simply because, if a UK retailer like Argos sold it it would be twice the price, (at least) and people would say, well I might as well buy a Drift or GoPro etc.
Personally I believe it is a bargain, it's a stunning camera and now functions as my general daily carry round cam as well as it's action cam duties, i know it can take a bit more bashing than my camcorder and the odd splash of water or rain won't hurt either.

[chunkyfecalbreakfast]

Thanks for the comment on my vid, that is the poseidon after windows movie maker has compressed it to a size I could cope with waiting to upload. Sound is awful on internal mic and mounting to handlebars isnt a great idea. I've seen a few people mount to the forks which gives a great perspective but I don't know how long the camera would last there, you'll have to experiment to see if the image stabilisation can handle it, I know it wouldnt have on the poseidon from my handlebar experiment.

[AntonisK]

the camera is shooting 1440x1080 with 1.33x1 pixel ratio and just upscaling to 1920 as many do with the 5mp sensor.
in areas that have little detail you ll see in fullhd constant move every half second, trying to compress
in 1440 you dont see this.
this was obvious even in techmoan videos back then :)

[BashMonkeyRC]

I checked the memory card, made sure that there weren't write protection protocols set and made sure that the lock button wasnt set. What's even more strange, whenever we remove the memory card then turn it on, the whole camera locks up saying no memory card found. Basically, it only works at all when the card is in, and when it is in it only writes to internal memory. It just randomly started doing this after she went through to preview some pictures

[spidiq]

Certainly for us guys, overland snail mail thats fairly quick. Anything hard mounted to the machine will be prone to a lot of vibration, I had this on my early forays into onboard stuff using a JVC MiniDV corder and RAM mount, (Check my Virago onboard videos and Virago review), head mounted is the way to go plus you get the riders POV as well.
So how much difference quality wise have you found between the full HD and 1080p?
I've thought about trying mine in the local pool but privacy laws, blah.

[AntonisK]

I received the camera. by simple airmail. Paid 21/9. sent 24/9. arrived today 11/10. paid total 108.42euro with shipping. Was marked as gift (sports camera) although they said that the couldnt do that, at cost 39.65$. no extra taxes, customs etc. now charging. charger is eu plug so no adaptor needed. so far so good :)

[spidiq]

If it's not working what have you got to lose by taking it apart to see if you can fix it, otherwise it's only good for the bin or sold as spares for a few pounds if you're lucky.

[BashMonkeyRC]

I didnt know about the mechanism inside. Given this knowledge, I wouldnt doubt it if she tried to put it in wrong and bent the mechanism.. Though i doubt she'll want to hear her favorite camera may be broken

[BBCBRRR]

I got my drifthd 1080p for $118 with free shipping from B and H camera in New York, New York. Normally $199. Its on sale for another week I think.

[BashMonkeyRC]

weird, thats the exact same problem that wrong with my mom's panasonic lumix. It wont recognize any memory card we put in it (its about 3 or 4 years old now)

[AntonisK]

Shipping is ok i guess not that quick.
underwater i could take it to the pool i go but maybe i ll get kicked out
about sea hm not that hot anymore.
and i am not 100% sure of its waterproofness :)
today did bicycle videos, best resolution is 1080p and NOT fullhd as it has codec issues if you pixel peep on a static frame
720p is ok smooth 60fps but blurry and of course much wider angle
Used the bicycle mount but is shaky, i am afraid that i ll have to mount on head as body stabalises video

[spidiq]

I'm looking for somewhere I can just upload RAW sample files and provide a link, have looked at dropbox and don't want an online HDD / storage i have to sign up for and log into, just a sharing portal will do fine, even if only temporary so if you know of anything that fits the bill I have a selection of 30 sec clips I can put up.
That price is superb, you should grab one while they're cheap.

[spidiq]

See that greay bar at the bottom of your screen with the red dot and red line to the left, that's a slider, you can click on that and drag it along, just sayin, ;)
It is a review, which means more than just saying, heres a camera.