Drift Ghost XLPro Action Camera - 4K UHD 30FPS Video 4.5 Hour Battery Or 1080P 30FPS For 7 Hours, 12MP Stills, Image Stabilisation, Waterproof, 300 Degree Rotating Lens

Ok, this will be my 3rd Drift headcam and I love them. I have 2 x Go Pro Blacks that I attatch to my Yamaha FZ1S for different recording positions when I travel around the UK, but I use my Drift headcam every day. My previous headcam is the Ghost 4k Pro, and I am only replacing it as the screen for some reason has stopped working. I can use the Drift app to still change settings but thought I would now use my 4K as a spare and treat myself again to a new headcam. Right then, my headcams have saved me twice with accidents and insurance claims. As soon as you notify your insurance company that you have video footage of your incident it is a whole new ball game for your claim. My last incident was on a roundbaout, driver jumped the junction, light spill but bike went down the road a bit. Called my insurance company, told them, they asked for witnesses, I said none, they said 'ahhh, it may prove difficult for blame if there are no witnesses' to which I replied 'oh, I have a full video if that helps?' Long story short, uploaded my video to their dropbox, 45 mins later I had a call to say the other side have accepted full liability, book my bike in for repair and no excess to pay. It catches cagers doing silly things, its worth the money to have the reassurance that you are recording everything. I always have my microphones set to the rear as it mufles my swearing a lot !!Never had any issue with the drift app, its not basic but its not over the top, You set your viewing angle you want to record via the app, I always have the lens NOT recording my speedo :-)Im used to changing and charging batteries every few days so with the longer life internal battery this will be a good thing. I dont record in 4k as the 1080P setting on Vivid is still very very good. If you have a 4k telly or laptop to view your footage then great, I dont so dont record in 4k for daily rides but will when I am touring.Well worth the money. Oh yes, to have the camera record all the time you need to put it into DVR mode, this will then overwrite your micro sd card so you dont need to keep formatting your card. Please purchase a micro SD card from Currys or Jessops and not from any auction sites, most are moody and fake, Currys and jessops are a few quid more but original and genuine cards. Get a head cam, use it every time you are riding, even if it is just to ride around the block, you press 1 button and thats it for instant record, long press to turn it off.

Bought to use on my cycle rides, to catch close passes and dangerous driving, as fed up being put at risk.Had a Garmin Virb (the long thin version) which had amazing picture and stabilisation and was very reliable. Only issue was it had about 2.5 hour record time, so I had to be picky when I had it running, also, it popped off on some rough road and went in the grass verge, never to be seen again.I bought this for the weather proofing, image stabilisation and more importantly, the record time.I wasn't expecting 7 hours, as was going to have the image stabilisation running and assumed that would draw a little extra power, never the less was expecting 5 hours.I charged the battery up, when the light it green (fully charged) I put it on the bike and go for a ride, when I first had it, it would last well, but now 9 times out of 10, it'll only record for a very short while. Sometimes it fails to turn on at all.The other main problems is; The Image stabilisation is appalling, nowhere near as good as my Garmin Virb, which was perfect and I bought that 8 years ago. It gets unusable for reading registration plates on roughish roads, especially on my more rigid Carbon road bike. So in this respect, pointless. Nevertheless when it was working fine, I have used it to great affect on my ally road bike and CX bike, which are a little more forgiving on rougher roads and Devon and Cornwall police have had numerous additions to their Operation Snap!I have also been unable to get their support to help me out, I send in a request for help and get the initial reply with a follow up asking for more information, I send the information and hear nothing for a few days, then I get a chasing email, so I reply again, then I get a ticket closed email. I have tried about 6 or 7 tickets now, including sending an email directly to the email address, to which I get a reply, but can no longer communicate further. Totally pathetic aftersales service.I have a £250 camera that sits on my desk not being used as it's not reliable.PS finally getting replies to my replies, while I was writing this.

The media could not be loaded. After having slated GoPro cameras and said in that review I would try out the Drift Ghost XL Pro, it only seemed fair to do so.Most cameras will survive a sunny day, but as you can see from the video, we had one wet day in the Alps, like this for several hours and the camera recorded all footage. I can confirm it is waterproof as advertised. It also survived and continued to record all day whilst we were riding around in 35c - 38c heat, day after day. The body of the camera was almost too hot to touch, but it didn't let me down.Battery life - not quite the 7 hours or whatever as advertised, but at 1080p 30fps (standard HD), I got five and a half hours before the charge ran out.Image stabilisation was good, as is the image quality.Sound - no problems with recording it, or the quality, though that is also down to how you mount the microphone.Durability - something not usually mentioned. Well, it knocks GoPro for six! Mounted on the rear frame using Ram mounts, it survived the 2500 mile journey on both a Blade and a Panigale 899 without a single problem, broken file (common) or any other issue. In other words, this is fairly vibration proof, which is essential, if you're not putting it on your helmet.Conclusion - a tough little camera fit for purpose for motorcycle footage. I cannot vouch for other features that are offered. Essentially, all I want is a camera which WILL record our action, and this one did, under all conditions. Well worth the £250.