The idea of video eyeglasses and sunglasses always sounds great at first – forget strapping a boxy camera to your head and get footage straight from your glasses. What's not so great is the limited selection and acquired taste nature of the options currently available. Not everyone is into the "Red Bull-chuggin' extreme" styling of the Pivotheads or the "forgot my sunglasses so bought these at the pharmacy" look of Eyez glasses. The tiny Geco Mark II action cam solves the problem by letting you build your own using the glasses of your choice.
Measuring 2.4 x 0.5 x 1.2 in (60 x 12 x 30 mm) and weighing in at 20 grams, the Geco Mark II is among the smallest HD action cams on the market. It's designed to strap to the temple of virtually any eyeglasses or sunglasses, filming the world from eye level through a 100-degree lens. It uses a simple set of elastic straps and integrated mounting clips to offer quick, versatile mounting.
Geco calls the Mark II the world's first glasses-mounted action cam and believes it will be useful for everyday life and professional purposes, things you'd never dream of wearing a head-mounted GoPro around to film. Of course, it'll also work for all those action sports that wearable cameras remain indelibly linked to.
The Mark II's diminutive package necessitates a lack of some of the features of other modern action cams, but it should make recording HD footage simple. An on/off/record button provides quick control, and the camera records .mov files in 1080p/30fps and 720p/60 or 30fps. Its 300 mAh lithium-polymer battery offers enough charge for an hour of 720p filming or 45 minutes of 1080p filming. The camera includes a microphone for audio recording, status LED light, microSD slot and microUSB port.
The basic hardware and limited filming times won't be endearing to many action cam users, but the Mark II should appeal to those looking for a simple cam without the larger size and more complicated mounting hardware of competitors. While it's made specifically for glasses, it's not hard to imagine how such a small, light camera could be useful for mounting with other equipment.
Geco held a 2013 Indiegogo campaign that appears to have never gotten off the ground, but it's continued working on the project and is on the cusp of launching the Mark II. The company was showing the cam at CES earlier this month and told us that it will launch for US$199.99, which will include the camera, several sizes of elastic straps, a waterproof case, an 8GB microSD card and charging hardware. Interested parties can can drop their information on the website sign-up to be put on the preorder list.
Product page: Geco