A few links first.
DC Rainmaker's in-depth overview
Background:
Having used a couple of decent Chinese ebay cameras, as discussed in older threads, and moving on to a separate camera/recorder combo which then went faulty twice (the second was a replacement camera bought at a discount from the supplier, rather than a repair), I was fed up of the cheaper end of the market even though I still think it a good option overall. I still have my 808 #16 (I think) and my Veho copy and will probably start using the 808 as a headcam or reverse cam if I buy the likes of a Mobius.
VIRB Elite.
I bought the Elite for the convenience of having all the GPS info in-camera, rather than having to integrate it from my Edge 800 in the VIRB Edit software. The downside is it's a white casing which will hardly stay like that for long! Annoyingly, there seems to be a dark case option for the Elite available now if you look hard enough!
Initial impressions.
Chunkier than any other camera I've used, but a much better form factor (more or less bulletcam) compared to the GoPros which are far from aerodynamic or low-key. Even if someone gave me a GoPro, it would never be seen on my helmet! The VIRB wouldn't be so dorky. Each to their own though.
The menu system is fairly easy if you take your time getting to know it, but typically for Garmin, the manual (stored in the device itself - no CD) gives little away about all the options you have for tweaking the operation. It's try and see till it works the way you like best. A bit like a Chinese camera but with better English!
Near-instant record.
Sliding the large switch forward from the off position begins a quick-start and begins recording within a few short seconds. Reversing this saves the recording and switches off the camera. Quicker than using the power button and leaving the camera in standby till you want to record, and saves battery.
Mounts.
Could do with a cycle mount as standard. It comes with neither a handlebar nor vented helmet mount. Buy them separately. There is however, a GoPro adapter, so you can use existing GoPro-compatible mounts. I have a cheap K-Edge copy mount coming from China for the road bike and will keep the Garmin handlebar mount for the mountain bikes. The bar mount isn't as bulky as it looks and if the camera mount is angled right back it does actually make the camera pretty low profile.
Phone App.
Simple, but effective, allowing you to start/stop recording, take a photo, or change camera settings remotely. For Android and iOS.
Edge control.
Again, the ability to start/stop and take photos using your Edge GPS (510/800/810/1000). You can also have the camera start and stop recording based on when the Edge detects motion. Saves batteries at traffic lights/cafe stops at the expense of capturing road rage thugs in the traffic queue!
Screen.
Option to show either the video feed as you record, or a 'dashboard' displaying some of the camera's GPS info
such as speed, gradient, heading, or info from separate cadence, heart rate, power or temperature sensors. The screen is on all the time though (as long as the camera is powered on), but Garmin claim this has negligible effect on battery life.
Positives.
The VIRB Edit software is easy enough to use, though it sometimes fails on playback during editing (Easily sorted by going back a page and than forward again). I like the ability to change the gauges on show, and you'll see from my videos on the forum I do play around with them. The software is a fluid thing and Garmin do update it. One frustration (allegedly down to Garmin refusing to pay for a licence) is that while you can play your videos in the software with a running map alongside, you can't save the video with that map side-by-side with the video. You only have the option of the 'track', which is just a line with no map underneath it. So you can see your progress on the track, but with no context as to where in the world it is!
Image stabilisation works well. It uses a zoomed mode to accomplish this, but that dramatically reduces the barrel distortion so is well worthwhile.
Image quality is very good, number plates on vehicles easy to read. Still to test in the dark, but not expecting much better than a cheap camera - it's always a weak point.
It can take a 64GB card, which is just as well as that will hold around 7 hours at 1080p resolution. A new GoPro may record in 4K but assume file sizes soar.
Removable battery. A must for me. I have a spare and will eventually get at least one more. I have a standalone charger on order, but crazily you have to buy it with a camera wall charger and USB cable, despite both of those coming with the camera. Both a waste of materials and my money!
Uses a standard USB-mini USB cable, unlike my new Toshiba ext HDD which has some weird double micro USB plug!
Negatives so far.
If you have the camera's Wi-Fi on (to communicate with other Garmin units or phone app, you can't change settings on the camera itself. You need to switch off the Wi-Fi first.
Deleting images isn't totally a obvious operation. In Playback mode, you press the OK button to see the delete option, as well as 2x & 4x playback speed.
Cycling through recordings only works in one direction and there is no thumbnail page. That is, you can for example scroll through recordings 1 to 28, but you don't then continue to 1. You need to scroll all the way back down again, 27, 26... And small though the screen is, it would be handy to see maybe 4 or 6 thumbnails of recordings on the screen at a time to make selection quicker.
I had the camera freeze on it first outdoor use! Holding in the power button for a few seconds forced a closedown to allow a restart. Nothing I'm unfamiliar with regarding headcams, but annoying with an expensive model. I think I've had two such incidents since from nearly daily use.
The lens is quite bulbous so it picks up rain drops too easily. Hi-def images spoiled by blur from a drop of water.
Battery life is realistically only about 2 hours or a little more, but at least it is changeable, and you can also charge on the go with your choice of external battery.
Costs:
Camera £269.99
Battery £25.99
Bar mount £21.90
Anti-glare screen protectors £6.99 for 3
External battery charger £20.99
Extra cradle mount £12.99
All Garmin items, all from Amazon. The accessories you will find cheaper if you shop around. The camera price was the best I found 3 weeks ago from a known retailer in the UK. It's a lot of money, so it better last!
There's probably much more I could add. Questions and comments welcome.
. At this point I was having to ride in that broken tarmac 'ditch' to avoid being hit, so you can imagine it was a rough ride (road bike, 90-100psi). (As always, Right-click, 'View Image' to see full picture).
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