No, we’re not changing to become a tech review or gadget site but since this camera is built for action sports, it seems appropriate to do a review for other bikers.

I have used the Go Pro Hero 2 in the past and only decided to change because the memory card in the Go Pro shit the bed on a Sturgis ride last year. Maybe I should’ve picked up a new card (and maybe I will) but there were three major issues with the Go Pro that made it difficult to use.

1. I never knew which shooting mode I was in
2. I didn’t know if I was recording or not
3. There was no view finder so I may have been recording the road or my own leg (that happened many times).

The JVC Adixxion offered a few features that I really liked and though the Go Pro 3 offers some of them, I decided to try something different.

The Pros of the JVC are the following:

1. 1080P HD recording (the Go Pro has this now)
2. A view finder (this costs extra for the Go Pro)
3. Link with your iPhone (I think this is likely available with the Go Pro now)
4. A very easy way to tell if you are recording or not

Cons:

1. Setting up iPhone connectivity required downloading the newest firmware from JVC. IT DOES NOT WORK OUT OF THE BOX. Luckily I saw this on a forum and after just a few hours of being pissed beyond belief, I got it to work
2. The mounting hardware for a bike sucks. It has something to attach it to goggles but this fails with sun glasses and an open face helmet
3. Handlebar mounts cost extra and I’m waiting on this piece from Amazon – more to come when that comes in.

The video quality is pretty good and the image stabilizer is also great (here is a video of the first Ride: Ride Video: http://bit.ly/YBokUR) . Switching from video to photo isn’t so easy – you really have to be stopped to do this safely. Separately it does have a time lapse setting that takes a picture every 1 or five seconds and strings the photos together without need for extra software. Cool feature but I haven’t experimented much with it yet.

I’ve heard the battery only lasts an hour or two with consistent recording – again, I haven’t tested this limit yet but it’s early in the season.

Construction:

It feels pretty solid and is encased in rubber making me comfortable should I happen to bang it around on the road. This is bound to happen sooner rather than later.

Cost:

I found it at Best Buy marked down to $250 from $300 but after searching Amazon was able to find it for $180. Best Buy matched my price. This is less than the $399 price point for the Go Pro Hero 3 and less than the other competitor called the Contour+ 2 (http://store.contour.com/ae/us/cameras/contour+-2/invt/1700) that also goes for $399.

Based on reading about the Contour+ 2 it seems to have two advantages including a helmet clip and simple slider to indicate “recording on” or “recording off”. It seems under engineered which is a good thing and also very portable but I wasn’t up for springing $400 on a camera that will be obsolete by the time Sturgis 2013 rolls around.