Before current technology allowed them to be available to the public, wearable POV (point-of-view) video cameras were known within the television industry as "bullet cameras," because of their shape. Nowadays, they come in all shapes, sizes and price ranges, and are generally called actioncams or helmetcams. Hearkening back to the days of yore, however, is Rollei's recently-released Bullet HD. With its aluminum body and rounded nose, it does indeed look like a big bullet ... or perhaps a small Thermos flask.
Using a 170-degree wide-angle lens to capture the action, the Bullet HD records 720p video at 30 fps, via a 12 megapixel CMOS sensor. Up to two hours of footage can be stored on an onboard Micro-SD memory card, if the user swaps in a 32GB card for the supplied 4GB model. That footage can be transferred to a Mac or PC, via a USB cable. The included rechargeable lithium-ion battery is said to last up to two hours per charge.
The camera's body is dust-proof, impact-resistant, and "waterproof" to 10 meters (33 feet) - this actually means that it's splashproof. A variety of mounting accessories are available, allowing it to be rigged onto things such as helmets, ski goggles, handlebars and windshields. A single button turns the camera on and off, starts and stops recording, and switches between video and photo modes. Unfortunately, however, there is no LCD screen or any form of viewfinder.
The Rollei Bullet HD should be available late this month, at a price of EUR 249.95 (about US$350). A list of distributors can be found on the company website.
Footage shot with the camera can be seen below. Although the video is silent, sound recording is briefly mentioned on the website - we're currently waiting to hear back from the company, as to whether or not the camera actually has a microphone.
