Oregon Scientific ATC-1000 DV Cam

We described Samsung’s SC-X105L Sports Cam as being “perfect for capturing your best Jackass moments” when we reviewed it in January 2006. Oregon Scientific’s ATC-1000 could be that little camera’s even littler brother.

Sure, this DV cam maxes out at 640x480 resolution, it delivers a glacially slow capture rate of just 15 frames per second, and it’s outfitted with a miniscule 32MB of flash memory (upgradeable to a full gigabyte by way of its hidden SD memory card slot), but do you really need anything more to capture stupid human tricks?

The barrel-shaped device runs on four AAA batteries and is about the size of a rifle scope. You can fasten it to damn near anything—handlebars, pith helmet, model rocket—using the provided nylon strap and shock-absorbing rubber mount. The videos and still images we captured in our tests using the CMOS image sensor and fixed-focus lens were pretty grainy, but the camera proved to be quite capable of taking a beating without falling apart.

You download images and video from the camera using a mini USB 1.1 port, which draws power from the host PC while it’s connected—a convenient battery-saving feature, since the camera doesn’t come with a separate power supply.

OK, so the ATC-1000 doesn’t have nearly as many features as the Samsung, and its image quality leaves much to be desired. But with a $120 price tag, it’s so cheap that you probably won’t mind if it’s damaged while capturing a gnarly misadventure on your snowboard or dirt bike; that is, if you and the camera’s memory survive the escapade sufficiently intact to watch it later.

Month Reviewed: April 2006

Verdict: 7

URL: www.oregonscientific.com

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