Elmo Suv-Cam

Elmo SUV-Cam

View to a thrill

LOOKING FOR AN EASY WAY TO RECORD your favorite backroad rides or trackday exploits? Are you tired of trying to find a place to mount that behemoth video camera on your bike? Do you want to try radical new angles, just like the television feed from Nicky Hayden’s MotoGP racer? Elmo, a Japanese company best known for its security cameras, has a solution.

Elmo’s SUV-Cam has two main components: a compact recording unit and a “lipstick” camera. The former is roughly the size of an iPod (3.5 x 2.2 x 0.9 inches) and fits easily inside a jacket pocket or attaches to a belt using a provided clip.

The latter is even smaller-just 0.8 inches in diameter and 3.3 inches in length. The cord connecting the two is available in either 31.5or 59.0-inch lengths. Although the recorder isn’t waterproof, the Oringed lens is. So using the unit in foul weather isn’t an issue as long as the recorder is tucked away in a dry location.

Data is digitally stored on an SD card (not included) of up to 2 gigabytes. At the highest available resolution of 704 x 480 pixels, using the highest-quality setting and recording the maximum 25 frames per second, more than an hour of video can be stored prior to downloading it to a computer via the USB port and supplied cabling.

Once capture settings are selected in the easy-to-navigate browser, recording is two clicks away. Four buttons-power/hold, menu, enter and record-provide all the necessary controls, ensuring even complete electronics neophytes can easily learn to use the SUV-Cam. Audio is recorded via a built-in microphone on the recorder body; an optional external unit can be added for high er-quality sound. The bright 2.2-inch LCD is large enough to allow easy video previewing.

We found the system offers an excellent combination of video quality and size for use with motorcycles. The camera lens mounts easily almost

anywhere on a motorcycle using heavyduty hook-and-loop tape, which also acts as a vibration damper. One lesson we learned the hard way: Make sure that the lens’ focal point is properly adjusted prior to recording. Because the unit automatically adjusts for aperture setting, even on very dark days, light levels were always acceptable. A rechargeable lithiumion battery provides good between-charge capacity.

Our only complaint is that the stan-

dard MPEG4 compressed files aren’t easily converted to the Macintosh version of Final Cut Pro, our preferred editing software. An Internet search uncovered the necessary converters. Otherwise, we had no problems viewing or editing videos on Microsoft Windowsbased PCs. In our experience, the Elmo SUVCam is the easiest-to-use, most compact and highest-quality point-of-view video-capturing system on the market. We were so impressed with its diminutive size, simple user interface, large storage capacity and excellent on-board video quality that we purchased our loaner unit. That’s saying something. □

DETAILS Wilco Imaging, Inc. 7960 Silverton Ave. #204 San Diego, CA 92126 858/689-2443 www.wilcoimaging.com Price. ..$1160 A So small, so Ught that it fits almost anywhere A Even a caveman could operate it A AC adapter, earphones, AV cable and instructions included `,~owns v Not immediately compatible with Mac Final Cut Pro v Codec audio download required v Must verify manual focus for best results