The Crocolis HD Extreme Cam - Longest review ever.
Sunday, September 18, 2011 at 10:04AM 
This is very likely going to be the only video review I'll make for a £100+ Action Camera and that's because when you get a camera that does pretty-much everything you want, then there is no need to go looking for another. The alternatives from GoPro, Contour and Drift cost considerably more and don't offer me anything extra that I need. I was really just looking for excellent quality 1080p 30fps and smooth 720p 60fps video with a nice sharp fish-eye lens in a waterproof case and an LCD screen - and that's exactly what I got.
The only significant issue with this camera is the sound quality. Normally this wouldn't be a concern because virtually all Action Cam footage gets overdubbed in post production anyway. But the problem with this camera is that the quality of it's video is so good that I am tempted to carry it around with me like a normal camcorder - unfortunately the wasp-in-a-tin-can sound quality means that it's not really a suitable as a camcorder substitute.
I think this might be the best (and longest) video review I've done so far. It's took a lot of time and effort and I think I've managed to cover everything that I wanted to. The only bits of info that may have got lost in the mix somewhere are the video formats - it's AVC .MOV - which imports into iMovie extremely quickly. One hour of video at 720p 60fps used up 3.63 GB of storage, the bitrates are CBR rather than VBR, the battery lasts about 2.5 hours and you can of course charge and record at the same time (very useful for time-lapse photography).
I'll just try and pre-empt some of the more predictable (but silly) questions before they get asked.
Does it work as a Webcam or have motion/sound activation? - No. Why? - Because it's not a Spy Cam it's an Action Cam. It's the same reason why your washing machine doesn't make toast.
If anyone desperately wants to see some original .mov footage from the camera then I'd appreciate it if you could suggest a reliable & free online place where I can post them. One that doesn't delete files automatically after a while. I would upload some 1080p and 720p60 clips, because youtube doesn't do justice to the brilliant video quality - the youtube clips look considerably softer and less vibrant than the originals. I didn't put the review on youtube in 1080p because you need a powerful computer to play 1080p flash video smoothly. *** Update - Clips added, see below***
I have to thank the 'extreme' skateboarding lads in Manchester - I'd imagine that they were more than a little bit concerned about the creepy middle-aged bloke asking if he could film them. Hopefully their Tony Hawks-esque videographer remembered my youtube channel name - please leave a message chaps if you do see this.
I'll be having a bit of a break for a few weeks before any more updates - but I can confidently say that the next video, whatever it is, will be a lot shorter and simpler than this epic.
This camera can be purchased from the nice people at Chinavasion - Here is the link
*UPDATE* SAMPLE RAW VIDEO CLIPS
If you wanted to download some (unedited) sample clips to see the original quality of the video (before youtube has mangled it) you are in luck. Below are five clips, two are in 1080p30 and three are in 720p60. These are not the best framed/shot clips - but they are short enough to share.
If you are playing back these clips, you should download them first (right click) and then play them on your computer in Full Screen mode. I know that on my Macbook if I show the 720p60 stuff in a window then it only displays it at 720p30.
UPDATE 26 September - Important extra info about sound quality.
I've discovered that the mic hole on the front bottom of the camera seems to do nothing at all. However opening the rear LCD screen door does effect things immensely. With the door shut tight, only the loudest sound gets through to the mic (like shouting into a pillow), however with the door open, sound gets recorded at an acceptable volume. It's still rather hissy and metallic sounding, but a infinitely preferable to the water-in-the-ears type sound you get with the door closed. To record sound the door doesn't need to be wide open - just left slightly ajar.
As a further experiment I also removed the dummy screw in the base of the camera but this had absolutely no positive effect on the muffled door-closed sound .
On the subject of sound I bought a small microphone with a 3.5mm plug and found out that the socket on the camera is actually 2.5mm (apologies for the factual error in the video). Luckily I have a 2.5mm to 3.5mm adaptor and have tested out the microphone and noticed no obvious difference between the hidden internal mic and my new mic. So some good news and some bad news - the sound is better than I thought, but seemingly cannot be improved upon (I suspect a low bitrate sound encoder). The sound test in the video when I'm talking into the camera is still an accurate demonstration as the door was open throughout. I may do a follow up video when my second test mic turns up in the post.
Further Update 26 October
I've been informed (see the comments) that the Sound from an external mic is actually OK, it just needs to be seperated out from the sound from the internal mic which also gets recorded at the same time, messing it up. I haven't tried this out.
Also that mystery screw in the base is a kind of heatsink (in screw form) - so leave it screwed in.
Reader Comments (99)
this is a good file uploading share site
http://www.file-upload.net/
@Matt Thanks, I'll have a look at it.
Vimeo's free account allows for 1x HD upload per week: http://vimeo.com/join
@Julieanne Thanks, I think I've got an old Vimeo login somewhere.
@techmoan: I would say "titlt", pan is for panorama isn't it? :)
@techmoan: sorry, I wanted to say "tilt"...
when you compare the properties of the different files, why the current size is still 1280x720pixels ???
@Carlito. I took screen grabs off my MacBook whilst the videos were playing. QuickTime was scaling them to match my current screen resolution of 1280x720. I think tilt is right...it just sounds like there should be a better word.
Great review, but can you tell me , can you control the recording by the car power lead as you can other models..i.e plug into 12v - starts recording, remove 12v - stop recording? cheers
@Darren. There are no auto start/stop functions on this action camera.
Thanks for making such a great review! I can't wait for the straight from camera samples, especially 1080p/30fps and 720p/60fps. Amazing camera for the price!
Yep, panning is done horizontally and tilting refers to the vertical motion. The term "vertical panning" also seems to be accepted...
Great review, although I would have liked to see it mounted on a bike and tested. I would have also liked some night footage out on the roads.Any chance you could do that for me?
Can that screw in the handle bar mount be removed and a shorter one used? So the camera sits lower on the mount.
Graeme
@ Graeme I'm guessing that you are one of the chaps from the BNA forum (I saw your links coming in). Unfortunately there will be no on-bike test as I don't ride a bike - I leave that one to you. The night footage will be poor - it really favours a nice bright day - it doesn't seem to get grainy - just dark.
On a more positive note - I have quickly made a quick video showing the handlebar mount just for you.... here http://youtu.be/ZUbKsHlmby8
"Sorry, this product is not available to buy any more. Please browse Chinavasion for alternatives."
Already discontinued? :(
I think i must have been lucky , i ordered mine last night...did i get the last one maybe??? ooops!!!
Excellent review. The time lapse function looks like a lot of fun. Does anyone know a good windows program to assemble such photo's?
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/1080p-sports-waterproof-digital-video-camera-w-4x-digital-zoom-av-out-hdmi-sd-1-5-lcd-72861 ?
i need this extreme cam for surfing shootage!!!!can you try a waterproof test?????????
found this...certainly waterproof
http://vimeo.com/29285015
You can publish HUGE video files at http://www.archive.org/create/ I've uploaded some 3,7GB files directly from my GoPro Hero HD, works fine.
I bloody love your reviews - you should be on telly. Seriously mate. Brilliant.
Question: I'm really attracted by the time-lapse feature which is something I do in my day job. Can you power the camera with the power supply that comes with it, or is it only for charging the battery?
This would be a bonus as I could do with something that would run for a few days at a time and I don't expect the battery to last very long doing timelapse. Any hel pwould be greatly appreciated.
Keep up the good work.
@AlloaVJ - Thanks a lot . I suppose I'm already on the telly - as long as your TV can stream Youtube ;-).
The supplied adaptor is just a 5v USB charger - this or any other USB charger will power the camera (and charge the battery at the same time). You can therefore power the camera as long as you need for timelapse photography.
On battery power I got about 2.5hrs out of it when I shot my timelapse clips.
I have no sound in the camera, even with the external microphone, can you tell me whether this is a setting or is there something defective, the camera via the internet ordered from Chinavasion, is new and came out of the box
Just read your review, you may need to update the audio part again.
Audio is 384Kbps stereo AAC in 48KHz, that is NOT low bitrate.
This is my experience:
You need to split the stereo track to mono and salvage the left(ext. mic. input) channel to ONLY get the external microphone recording. Else the internal(which still records) will overshadow the added quality of other external microphones when you play back the file. I did the same mistake myself at first thinking this was the noisiest crap I have ever heard. How ell it can get with a pro mic is still unclear, got other stuff on my hands so it gets postponed all the time.
Your 1080p youtube performance comment is also... odd. An OSX problem? My 2006 computer(running win) got no problem.
The Deep Blue is an archaic chess computer. I wouldn't be surprised if it couldn't play back those videos. Most computer's you could go out and by today would probably match it's effective performance in chess with new software algorithms for x64. And totally obliterate it in media/graphics.
Thanks for your explanation, the problem is in the USB cable, so I have a new cable, it is now 100%
I love your reviews, but do you also know there a new type of this camera !?
I found it here; http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/extreme-cam/article?mid=5522&prev=5545&next=5482
(scroll a bit down)The blue one, i think its much nicer, but i can not find anything about it.
On the housing is the txt "CAMSHOT", but never to find this type !?
Do you know this type ?
I believe you said that the red light while charging never goes off. Actually it does go off but it takes hours and hours to fully charge the camera. When the camera is charged the red light switches to blue.
The handle bar mount is extremely low quality though, it may seem rigid and it certainly is but the threads are horrible. I work at the funfair at a roller-coaster and I was able to mount the camera onto the gondola to film the riders. This required a tight fit and the part that screws attaches to your handle bar had a tight fit. however the camera had to be secure so it didn't twist during the ride or shake loose because of vibrations. Had to screw the camera really tight and I easily ruined the thread on the bottom to which the little "plug" goes on which you attach camera.
I used some glue on the threads and let it dry to form a bit of a barrier so the nut would fit better but that didn't do the trick long enough. I had to resort to hot-glue the "plug" in place in the mount.
The image quality is quite brilliant, it does cope fairly well with the vibrations that occur during the ride. The gondola however is so wide that even the 173° 720p mode doesn't fully film everybody in the gondola.
Fantastic review, I loved the detail and coverage you gave it. I know need to buy one unfortunately.
and yes, "been caught stealing" is the Jane's Addiction song very close to what you filmed in that shop
Hello,
Nice reviews! I tend to disagree with the sound quality using an external mic, but that's another story :)
I have a question: Did you figure out what SIZE setting means and how it affects the video quality? I couldn't see the difference between 5m(default) and 16m when playing a fullhd video...
I'm sorry if it is a silly question but I have an excuse: I'm a complete ignorant when it comes to video editing/analyzing/whatever :).
Nevermind, I guess it refers to pictures resolution, not to movies :D.
@Maxlaam. Sorry to hear about the clamp..I never tried it out myself.
I tried charging mine again. I charged it for 6 hours and the light never went out...so I gave up in the end. It must be faulty.
@Patrick. I knew it was Been Caught Stealing, it's the only Janes Addiction song I've ever heard of...but I was trying to sound nonchalant. So far, you're the only person who knew what I was taking about, so thanks for the comment.
@Allium. Thanks for the info about the audio...When I get the chance, i'll try it again.
I also thought that it was faulty but I had enough pacience to see if the blue light ever comes up. First I charged it for 6 hours => no blue light. I left it over night and I can't tell when exactly did the charging complete, but in the morning the led was blue.
Now, did anyone of you experienced weird behaviour like you start the camera and there's no start sound and, if you record something, you also have no sound? You have to shut it down and start it again in order to hear the sound again...
@GEW - Thanks for the link. The Blue camera looks like an interesting variation. I won't be looking for one (one action camera is enough for me). If you do find one, please let me know where you got it and if the sound is better.
Hi there. Thanks for the review! I'm interested in mounting this on a road bike, and using the time lapse setting. If you set the screen to turn off quickly, and had the time lapse set to take a photograph every, say, 30 seconds, any idea what sort of battery life one could eek out of it?
Hah; oops... *eke out of it.
@docjaq. About 2.5hrs max.
I like to thank you for what you are doing. You are the best by far.
Does this camera drops frames like the other avi cameras you had review?
@Action camera freak. No dropped frames at all (in my tests).
As someone who does use cameras like this for "extreme" things, this camera interests me greatly.
Seeing the bitrate section made me wonder - how about something along a similar line: "Rolling shutter test".
If you are not familiar with rolling shutter artifacts, an excellent guide can be found here: http://www.dvxuser.com/jason/CMOS-CCD/
May I suggest something like a washing machine on spin cycle with the camera pointed at a metronome? Basically any way of having predictable, reproducible, varying movement filmed on a vibrating platform.
This is important in cameras like this as many handle it very differently. Higher framerates seem to help but the old ATC-2K I had was like watching the action through jelly, even @30FPS. Low quality circuitry / firmware in this regard will drastically impact performance especially at higher resolutions (Longer time between first line and last line shuttering) so this characteristic is very important when considering budget models over the likes of the gopro or contour.
Many thanks for the test!
I'd be curious to hear how you like it compared to the Gopro 2 or other POV cams.
Hello,
Do you know if I would be able to stream HDMI with the Crocolis?
Thanks
Robin
PS : Great Review!!
Hi,
Can anyone tell-me if the camera have image stabilizer and how good it is??
best regards, and by the way, GREAT REVIEW
Yes you can stream to HDMI
Great review, may I know what is the maximum recording time/size per video clip?
This review was so very helpful and much appreciated ! Thank you!
Hello,
I've just reveived mine... 26.15€ tax to pay more :o :o :o
Thanks for the info.
Can it take a still while doing video ?
Can it be set to record remotely ?
Regards,
- Ian
hi! awesome review. I very quickly bought one. One thing I've discovered - sorry if you mentioned it and I missed it - but in full HD mode at 1920x1080 it's 30fps, but if you switch to 1080P you can shoot 25fps (PAL) but the resolution drops to 1440x1080. Pity! otherwise it's still a very cool camera.