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| Resolution | 4K UHD (3840 × 2160) 30 FPS, 1080p 120 FPS | Full-HD (1920×1080) 1080p 30 FPS | Full-HD (1920×1080) 1080p 30 FPS | Full-HD (1920×1080) 1080p 30 FPS |
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| Processor | Sony IMX117 12MP 1/2.3†| CMOS OV4689 4MP | CMOS OV4689 4MP | CMOS OV4689 4MP |
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| Microphone | Front microphone (noise reducing) & External Microphone Capability | Front microphone (noise reducing) & External Microphone Capability | Front microphone (noise reducing) & External Microphone Capability | Front microphone (noise reducing) & External Microphone Capability |
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| Battery Life | 7.5 Hours at 1080P 30fps & 4.5 hours at 4K | 9 hours at 1080P | 9 hours at 1080P | 5 Hours at 1080P |
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| Waterproof Rating | IPX7 Waterproof (up to 1 metre) | IPX7 Waterproof (up to 1 metre) | IPX7 Waterproof (up to 1 metre) | Water-resistant, 40m waterproof housing available |
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| Compatible with Bluetooth remote control | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | No |
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| Image Stabilisation | ✓ | No | No | No |
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| DVR Dash cam mode | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
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| Video Tagging | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
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Because of my brother who is a professional gamer streaming on the multiple platforms, I’ve had my fair share of experiences with action cameras because his team also shoots the vlogs and streams live while outside as well.
My bottom line is that GoPro probably is still the best option for the overall performance.
But these alternatives are not too bad for its price in my opinion.
For that, I would say the cost performance is quite great for this particular one in terms of overall quality including performance vs price.
My brother’s editor said that the battery life isn’t that long as they shoot everything at 4K (so basically last about 4 hours at that), but that’s clearly stated.
The display quality is quite clear and good according to him and I checked the several videos that were uploaded that were shot via this one, and I can confirm that 🙂
Btw, they actually took this to the beach vlog shooting during this summer, and this one has lasted all those crazy actions and definitely waterproof lol
As it is offered around $200 (during prime day early access) at the time of this review, I would say this one is a great cost performing action camera !
Ordered the XL by mistake and needed stabilization so ordered the pro. This has decent stabilization not great but good enough, it’s not a go-pro but it’s a great little camera for what I use it for. The camera is well built I use it on my eBike and it works well. Best stable video is 1080 25fps.
The software is great to setup the modes you want doing it on the camera is a Pain. The design of the software is not great but gets the job done just remember to turn off cellular data for the drift life app or the phone in general or it won’t work. I think it’s trying to check for software updates at the same time as talking to the camera and it gets confused.
Overall I like it, a lot better than the XL which was pretty useless for using on a bike.
I’ve only used this once so far. The battery easily lasted for my 2 hour + ride. Picture quality looks good, Still getting used to how it works, the dash cam mode doesn’t work as I had hoped, as it seems that it won’t work without external power. I will record the next ride as a “normal” video, but this will mean that I will have to edit the video for clips I want to keep.
This is a very good camera and the picture quality is excellent. Not as cumbersome as a go pro and looks good on the side of my helmet.
My primary use of this action camera so far has been in water. The image quality is excellent; the videos I have taken are all in focus. Even under water the image quality is not compromised. The camera itself is very well made and is ergonomic, so can be held in the palm of your hand comfortably for a long time.
It is easy to establish which mode you have the camera in through the display changing colour e.g. picture, video, but I did find it difficult to quickly change mode as it isn’t the most straightforward. The buttons on the camera however are very large meaning that the camera could even be used with gloves.
I am impressed by the battery life too. Overall a good action camera; maybe a bit pricey but the quality of the image and the camera itself is impressive.
Battery lasts only 1 hr on 4k. Camera very hard to set up with the app(needs 64gb and fast sd card fixed this issue.Do not use 32gb sd card).Freezes a lot when viewing through the app.You have to download it,then it is ok.You get what you pay for.Image stabilization at 1080P 120FPS is soso.Manual is lousy and pretty basic.Purchased over the gopro cameras for its aerodynamic ,compact design for my motorcycle helmet,cheaper price.If I wasn’t on a budget I would save up and get the Gopro Hero 10.
Facile d’utilisation et bonne qualit vido.
Peux cependant mieux faire en qualit audio
I use this on my bike to capture all the idiot drivers, works great, much better the cyliq, I had a cyliq 12 the battery died, can’t replace, best the company could do was 20% off, it was out of 1 year warranty, so I looked for a replacement, this was cheaper and had great reviews, motorcycle riders use it!
Most cameras will survive a sunny day, but as you can see from the video, we had one wet day in the Alps, like this for several hours and the camera recorded all footage. I can confirm it is waterproof as advertised. It also survived and continued to record all day whilst we were riding around in 35c – 38c heat, day after day. The body of the camera was almost too hot to touch, but it didn’t let me down.
Battery life – not quite the 7 hours or whatever as advertised, but at 1080p 30fps (standard HD), I got five and a half hours before the charge ran out.
Image stabilisation was good, as is the image quality.
Sound – no problems with recording it, or the quality, though that is also down to how you mount the microphone.
Durability – something not usually mentioned. Well, it knocks GoPro for six! Mounted on the rear frame using Ram mounts, it survived the 2500 mile journey on both a Blade and a Panigale 899 without a single problem, broken file (common) or any other issue. In other words, this is fairly vibration proof, which is essential, if you’re not putting it on your helmet.
Conclusion – a tough little camera fit for purpose for motorcycle footage. I cannot vouch for other features that are offered. Essentially, all I want is a camera which WILL record our action, and this one did, under all conditions. Well worth the 250.
Where I teach we have had other action cameras for some years now. They fulfill the job of allowing students to make creative media products and they allow the recording of events. They are much used and loved. This came along as a sample from the Vine scheme and it’s been put through its paces this summer. Unlike many action cameras it’s not square and blocky. While that design obviously has its attractions this camera looks like a real camera. At least it does to me, but then I’m older. But it’s also easier to hold, and at that point almost a pity there’s no viewfinder (Yes I know there’s add-ons and you could knock something up!) because it would make a very compact, high quality video camera; but that’s not fair because that’s not what it’s designed for.
This is an action camera and is made to be attached, probably, to something that is involved in the action. Ours has seen action attached to teenagers skateboarding, cycling, iceskating. In all these it was fastened to a helmet. It’s also been attached to motorcycles to record runs.
It has 2K (1080p) and 4K recording. On appropriate rquipment the difference in the detail is noticable, although mainly on more static shots. On sequences with a lot of motion, motion blur and the fact that at 4K you are limited to 30FPS reduces the effect. Despite this, if you have access to the equipment, 4K looks better on a bigger screen – especially a projector. If you are shooting at 2K you have access to much higher frame rates 60+ which you can slow down to highligh action without introducing judder.
Image stabilisation works well, although I tend to switch it off as it can destroys fine detail – something they all do – especially apprent at 4K.
Battery life is good, although we didn’t leave it for too long. It’s not worth the camera dying mid shot – especially on a long take, so it was kept topped up with external battery packs.
On the whole in our situation it worked pretty well at a reduced price compared to the brand leader. Recommened. Hope this helps.
Camera takes some getting used to. It seems to take a bit to sync with phone. But after a bit it would stay linked. Trying to set cam peramiters from camera is daunting. Definitely set camera up through phone. Overall really happy with it.
Now for my 2 cents on performance. Personally the camera works great for ME! I ride cruiser style motorcycles. My rides are very casual and the stabilization is great for me. The 4k quality is excellent in proper lit conditions. The weight of the camera isn’t heavy at all resting on my Daytona style helmet. It’s secure and doesn’t wobble. Ease of use is best through the app. I never had settings reset on me. I verify the settings before I ride and then I’m off.
I ride with a 2 camera setup. A handlebar mounted GoPro and I use this Ghost XL for my helmet to capture a second feed when I turn my head. For $250 it’s a great buy. I have $250 expectations. I didn’t expect the best camera on the market for $250. However, I do think it’s worth more than what I paid. For $250 you can buy two, get a usb charger and charge one while recording on the other.
I’ve had a GoPro for years and this is a great alternative, the camera is robust and simple to use, once you get a decent sized memory card in, it takes some amazing footage! I have used this for some amateur cycling and very impressed with the results, the image is clear, sound is clear. Easy enough to get onto the computer via usb.
The camera mounting is very different, the orientation is more limited with the length way camera lense, it mounts pretty simple and is very similar to GoPro mounts as the standard but I find it will have to be on a helmet or bars, no chest mount without a few angles to push the body far enough away from my body. It’s a fantastic camera by Drift. Over the moon with it.
I’ve never used a GoPro so I can’t compare this directly, but after a few off-road cycling trips I’ve been quite impressed with the quality of this camera. The quality of the footage is excellent, especially at 4K, though to be honest I think the 1080p resolution @60FPS works better for fast moving footage. I’m not sure of the exact field of view but it looks perfect in the footage, not too wide and not too narrow.
The feature I enjoy most is the video tagging, which allows you to lock in your last five minutes at the touch of a button so it doesn’t get recorded over before you get home. It’s ideal for unexpected hairy sections you find while downhill biking, so you don’t have to search through hours of recording later.
My one slight issue is that the connection with the app could be made more secure. I have no problem getting a strong and lasting connection to my iPad but my Pixel 4a seems to drop out every so often. I get that a smaller company might not have the bandwidth to exhaustively test their products with every device for stability issues, but I think it’s important to try if they want to become a bigger player.
All in all I’m very pleased. This is a great little camera, and I think the price is right.
Drift Ghost XL Pro – 4K Action Camera, Image Stabilization, Waterproof, Rotatable Lens, Dashcam Mode, Livestreaming, Clone Mode, 7hr Battery Life at 1080P & 4.5hr Battery Life at 4K
I have a bunch of different action cameras and video recorder type gadgets and I like this ghost xl pro a lot. That’s mainly for the first person view. I imagine if you’re a motorcycle guy this will go great on the side of your helmet. I’m not –so I used an old welding helmet strap and used the included quick disconnects to attach it to the old welding helmet strap headgear gadget thing. So I can have it on the side of my head. works pretty well. Videos are really good. I don’t think the 4k gives you the image stabilization I think that’s only the 1080 maybe the 2.7 k. It’s a nice little camera battery life is great. Stabilization is good. And it uses a USB-C port, So it’s up to date. Also it’s waterproof which is outstanding for outdoor stuff You don’t need a special case for it. You can transfer file via Wi-Fi but it’s laboriously slow so probably wouldn’t hurt to have a good card reader. The video I made here is with the camera attached to my welding strap on my head in 4k, it’s not a great video but it’s video.
It’s a nice camera. Recommended.
Good and compact action camera.
Decent battery life with quality images.
A bit fiddly to set up but overall works well.
A wee bit expensive.
This drift camera is pretty good. The size is great, fits my hand nicely. It took me a while to get used to it, as I haven’t used one of these in a while, but the resolution was good, and the battery life was excellent. I found that using lower resolution made the battery last longer anyway. It charges pretty fast, and I’ve also had some good still shots. It’s a bit of a workhorse, and has done everything I wanted it too, though I’ve not taken it out on the water yet! But for the money, it’s a good, no frills action camera.
;: The performance and footage quality continually left me feeling “this is an alright product,” but never more.
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As far as action cameras go, the Drift Ghost XL Pro doesn’t seem to stand out in its saturated market. Many of its features were taken about 80% of the way towards excellency, and you’re left with a product that does well all-around but doesn’t excel. For instance:
The app is the only way to have a viewfinder and preview footage. The issue is that the app’s developed just enough to be functional but is devoid of quality-of-life improvements. That’s to say, it’s not fun to use.
The image/video quality is nice with adequate lighting, and the footage is crisp and non-aliased. However, the low-light performance is underwhelming.
The microphone is also just-decent and doesn’t have any notable wind rejection. If audio is necessary, you will need to use a lavalier.
One area I’ll admit that Drift nailed here is with battery life, which is understandable given the lack of viewfinder and the size of the camera. When choosing cameras, this is a dealbreaker for many people, so I’ll give Drift props for excelling here.
Drift’s targeting the more affordable side of the action camera market, so in a way, it’s understandable that many standard features are either pared down or missing. They’ve essentially trimmed all the fat around good footage quality and left you with solid core functionality without much fluff. If that’s all you need, this is the camera for you.
FAST FACTS:
PROS: Great video, smooth stabilization (see related con), small, well made, good battery life.
CONS: Stabilization is digital and only available in 1080p, menu a bit clunky to navigate.
DETAILED REVIEW:
Drift Ghost’s XL Pro Action Camera is very nicely made from rubberized plastics, with a thick lens cover, and large membrane buttons on top. The camera feels dense, robust, and rugged. Even the door that covers the memory card / port slot is solid. The Drift feels more than up to taking some abuse.
The camera is very small and lightweight. It fits easily into the palm of my hand, can be tossed into a small bag or coat pocket, and is discreet. I used the camera handheld but there is a tripod mount on the camera for mounting it to a variety of harnesses, tripods, etc.
Charging the camera was quick and easy via USB-C. Getting it set-up and ready to go was also fairly easy once I figured out how to navigate the pages long menu. It takes a little getting used to which button does what, but you get the hang of it. The three large buttons on the top are the only controls and they respond quickly.
Besides those buttons you can also download the companion app and control the camera that way. The app worked well on my iPhone 12 running iOS 15 and I was able to get it installed, pair the camera, and use the app in about 10 minutes. The app is a bit clunky but it allows you to live view and remote operate the camera, as well as download videos and photos directly to your phone for immediate sharing.
I used the camera at a theme park while riding various rides, and at a park while riding a scooter. The camera took video that was sharp, detailed, had vibrant but accurate color, and nice contrast. The tonality was good and detail was retained in the shadows as well as in the highlights. The len’s wide angle of view is great for capturing action that happens close to the camera, but you can make the view narrower. The 12MP still photos were quite impressive and I was more than happy with quality. The camera performed best in bright light, but was also capable until light levels dropped a lot.
The stabilizer is digital and works only when shooting at 1080p or lower. Without the stabilizer you will want to have a stabilized mount for the camera as the footage will be very shaky without. The digital stabilizer works well and improved the footage a lot.
Sound quality was a bit of a mixed bag. Wind noise was kept well muffled, but so were voices unless the camera was fairly close to the subject.
The camera is quick to turn on and starts recording almost immediately after you press the button. I didn’t have to wait on the camera at all.
The camera’s battery lasted me a full day of shooting about a dozen short videos with a handful of photos and still indicated about 80% battery remaining.
All in all… a great action cam.
The camera arrived safely, and it comes nicely packed along with a good selection of accessories inside a well-illustrated retail box that’s nice enough for a gift.
The overall manufacturing quality of the camera is very high; it feels well-made and quite durable (there are screws everywhere), it uses good quality materials throughout, the hinge on the door feels strong, the door itself has a good quality weatherproof seal round it, and the buttons have positive click when pressed. There is no area of this camera where I feel the quality falls short, it’s top notch throughout!
The quality of the recordings is excellent, and you can tell it’s a premium camera. The videos are sharp, highly detailed, colourful and the auto focus stays on point. My only comparison I have is my older hero 5 and of course, this Ghost XL Pro is much better in every way. At maximum quality it uses about 450MB per minute and the camera can take up to a 256gb Micro SD card.
The screen built into the camera is tiny but very informative and it gives you all the necessary information you need like the mode it’s in, recording time, space available, and the battery life. When it’s recording the screen backlight and status LED on the top change from green to red, both of which can be turned off. Pretty much all of the camera settings and features can be changed directly on the camera without using the app.
The app is nicely designed, easy to use and you connect to your camera by joining its Wi-Fi network. You can change between all the different shooting modes, view the camera live, change every feature and setting, update its firmware, and view your previous recordings which you can then download to your phone. Unfortunately, the app fails to work properly if I start a recording, lock my phone (S22 Ultra) and then unlock it again; it just bugs out and refuses to connect back with the camera until I manually stop the recording. If I don’t lock my phone, I have no issues but this is no good when your recording for long durations, hopefully this will get fixed in the future!
One of the features I love is the ability to turn it into a dash cam. You can set it up so it turns on and begins recording when you start your vehicle and if you’re using it on a motorcycle then the included waterproof power cable will allow you to keep the camera plugged when the weather is bad. The duration of recording can be set, and you can have it loop the recordings when the card is full.
The camera is charged using its Type-C port and you can also plug it into your computer to download your files. It’s a very slow process to download your files whether you use Wi-Fi or a cable, with a cable the best download speed I can achieve is approx. 25 MB/s no matter what Micro SD card I use.
Even though the battery can’t be swapped out the battery life is very impressive, and it should give you more than enough recording time for whatever activity you’re doing. At 4KUHD it should give around 4 hours of recording time from a full charge and up to 7 hours at 1080p.
I love that you can rotate the lens to get the correct field of view no matter which orientation you mount the camera. A couple of fixed camera mounts are included in the kit, but you can purchase a variety of additional mounts to cover a multitude of different activities including a suction cup mount, helmet mount, a shoulder mount, etc. The camera can also be fixed to anything that has a standard size tripod-type mounting screw.
I’ve uploaded a quick videolapse of the sky just to give you an idea on the quality of this camera, I slightly cropped the sides, but it’s taken in 4K, and it came out looking fantastic. I can’t wait to take it on holiday and get some wonderful sunset timelapses!
Overall, I have so much to say about this camera and it ticks all the right boxes for me other than the slight issue with the app. This could easily compare to other more expensive brands and Drift Innovation have done an excellent job of making a feature packed action camera that represents very good value for money for what you are getting. It’s a product I’m MORE than happy to recommend and I feel it’s easily worth the full five stars, seriously consider this brand before buying your next action camera!
I like the design and easy use for this camera. The video is absolutely beautiful. The image stabilization is a great feature and the Dashcam mode is awesome.
The build quality is amazing. Unless it’s directly dropped on the front or back glass, I suspect this camera is almost drop-proof, and certainly highly resistant. The screw attachment is the same as most camera mounts which is convenient, so it can be attached to many different camera holders and tripods.
I think the only possible drawback is that the battery is not changeable but does provide plenty of power for over 4 hours of 4K video capture before it needs recharging.
*** Helpful? I rely on customer reviews for all my online purchases, so I hope so! ***
Action cameras have come a long way, and that’s certainly the case with this Drift Ghost XLPro Action Camera, offered for review under the Amazon Vine programme which gives fabulous 4K quality, image stabilisation and extreme battery life. Most action cameras seems to stop at HD quality and come in a matchbox shape and size — this isn’t one of them, having a lovely ergo dynamic lozenge shape that fits snugly in the hand for freeform camera work. It measures approximately 9cm x 4.5cm x 3.5cm and has the universal ” threaded ‘hot shoe’ fixing found on the base of most cameras and is supplied with one mount which clips into one of two bases — one flat, one slightly curved – that simply stick where placed thanks to 3M adhesive. You’ll need to get different mounts to attach to a push bike or motorbike; or to a bike helmet which are available separately under the Drift Innovation brand. That was an initial disappointment. However, the camera will attach happily to the end of a selfie stick, a tripod or a dash cam ‘rubber sucker’ type mount via the ” threaded ‘hot shoe’, showing other potential purposes — as a high quality dash cam, as a security camera, or any static purpose such as filming an event from a fixed position, such as a race in tandem with other cameras or for a video blogger.
Whatever angle you want this camera is capable of swivelling through 360 for exact positioning fore or aft. My prime purpose is to record off road bike rides, and to capture inappropriate close passes when on road – and having tried that with lesser cameras you soon run out of memory or battery life. Memory is dependant upon how large a memory card you insert, it takes microSD cards up to 256GB, but this camera’s USP is running up to 4 hours in 4K, or 7 hours in HD mode — absolutely fantastic for a full day out thanks to a 3000mAh battery. It’s also capable of taking 12MP stills, recording time lapse which is superb for security, or live streaming an event direct to social media, with wi-fi and Bluetooth connection both possible. It’s got a looping feature too, meaning it doesn’t just stop but replaces the oldest recordings, making it perfect as a dash cam.
The interface is fairly similar to a popular leading brand, with a small window at the rear of the camera displaying relevant details. In 4k mode it works at 30 frames per second, whereas in HD it can go to 120 frames per second, albeit with reduced battery life — with my eyes I struggle to make out much practical difference. The camera is waterproof to the high IPX7 standard – can be submerged fully in water for up to 30 minutes at a depth of one metre, making it suitable for divers. This is great if you are caught out in unexpected torrential rain on a bike, it won’t damage the camera, showing the rugged, deliberately over-engineered construction.
I love bumping down unmade roads on a gravel bike, and with image stabilisation on it smoothes out the bumps apparent with lesser cameras which can be headache inducing watching back. It also smoothes out sudden moves when in hand held mode too, which for any budding creative Orson Wells’ is a real boon — you get professional quality, stabilised images all day. A large booklet explaining the features is included, in several languages as customary, with the first 25 pages covering English. The camera is however pretty intuitive for the typical male who tries operating things without even glancing at the instructions. Sound quality is good too via an inbuilt microphone, all adding to the experience, although external microphones can be connected, in particular an OEM model which can be positioned inside a helmet to significantly reduce wind sheer. When it comes time to transfer to your PC for editing the interface worked almost immediately via a supplied USB to USB-c cable, with the PC recognising the camera with no issues. This really is a lovely piece of kit, with 4K quality a real boon. At 249.99 it’s not cheap, but it is all the money. I like the ergonomic shape; I love the quality, and the run time and flexibility the icing on the cake. This is Rolls-Royce standard and a pleasure to have.
Not the most intuitive to use, a bit fiddly and takes time to get used to, but is fun to use.
I’ve been semi-looking for a camera for outdoor activities, since it’s a hobby and I want to capture those moments, but due to limited travel in the last two years, nothing was really done about it. I’ve not tried this extensively in all situations, such as height, water, etc, but I have gone out walking with it, just general activity, and it’s been quite nice to use. I do want to use this for activities like skydiving, snorkelling, etc and see how well it does as well as get some footage for a nice memory.
I read that the previous model of this suffered from lack of image stabilisation. This doesn’t seem to have such a big issue. Is it perfect? No, but is it good and reliable? Yes, it is.
4K, 30 FPS seems like a good feature, and it is for those who want it, but for me, I’m sticking with 1080p, 60 FPS (or more). I don’t really need 4K footage and 1080p drains a lot less power, lasting practically twice as long, so that’s something to keep in mind.
There’s no memory card included, unfortunately, so I do recommend getting a large capacity memory card (or multiple if you’re out a long time before you get to back up the footage.)
I think a better battery for longer duration would be even better, since this is barely a day out’s worth if you don’t have a power bank with you.
Overall, this is a very good camera unit and I do think it’s suitable for outdoor activities in general. 249.99 isn’t cheap, but then other reliable brands like GoPro are even more expensive, so this is pretty good in value I’d say.
I’m totally new to these cameras.
The quick start guide is next to useless. I wanted to switch between the various modes to try it out and it tells you what is available, and how to pick the menus, but not how to drill down to change any actual settings. The first setting I wanted to change was microphone sensitivity and I had to resort to YouTube to find out how to do it. The unofficial tutorials on there aren’t that good, either.
There’s massive / bewildering range of facilities and the picture options range from bog standard (actually very very very good) video at a lower bit rate and lower FPS, right up to astonishing 4K video. Both will have an effect on battery life. The better your picture, the more battery power it eats up. You can attach a power block via a cable, though if you’re on a motorbike, this may feel awkward and get in the way. At a medium setting, the battery life is supposed to be quite generous. I would recommend getting a power block to keep with this for charging on the go, just in case.
It takes a good basic still image and can be mounted via a clip and sticker system to a curved or flat surface. I am going to experiment with a tripod at some point, but I think this will mainly be used as a dash cam.
The lens rotates so you can mount the camera conveniently and with the small arrow pointing upward at the top, your image will be aligned properly.
If the menus are a bit baffling to you, you can just switch it on, press the front button again and it sets video going until you stop it again.
I may look at getting the app that goes with the unit onto my phone. That may make using the setting a hell of a lot easier.
A small circular disc is provided to open the charging screw hole to insert a cable. The cable looks like it is an audio jack, but it isn’t. A microphone cable is provided, in case you want to use an external microphone.
It doesn’t appear to work at all without a micro SD card in it, and I had to spend 20 to get one.
I can’t comment on value for money as the item didn’t show a price on Amazon at the time I did this review. The reviewers on YouTube are gushing about it and it certainly seems to be a hit with them.
The form factor is significantly different than the boxy go pro. Size wise, I’d say they’re both pretty tiny.
I have picatinny mounts all over the place. On my helmet, on my bike and on my truck. I used an separate adapter to mount the camera over the different locations. I had no problems moving it from spot to spot. It held tight regardless.
Button wise, I’d say that the layout was easier to use than my go pro hero black. The built in interface is not that much better. But then again, it’s not that important nowadays with apps.
One thing I always had a problem was with my go pro auto shutting off because of sitting in the sun. No issues with this camera auto shutting off mounted in the same spot. Battery life is much better in the ghost. I’d have to switch out batteries to get a trail ride out of my go pro.
The image stabilization also works much better that the hero black. The image quality is outstanding. You can really see the difference recording in HD.
It’s also great no having to keep in a protective case to keep it safe like the go pro.
Action cameras have come a long way since I got my first one. I should have upgraded sooner instead of putting up with short comings of my last one. This camera is light years ahead in feature and performance and less than half of what I paid for the go pro.
This is one of the best action cameras out there; it is durable, sturdy, heavy, waterproof, and has an outstanding battery life. While you’re on the go, it is important to know that your only documenting camera will be there with you every step of the way. It is easy to stabilize on any normal tripod and easy to bring along with no extra tools and a simple twist on. Because this is made of such high quality material, it is reliably waterproof; water never gets in the cracks no matter how long it is submerged. I have brought this on boats as well as in pools and have had no issues ever since, it works like the day I got it.
I have dropped this, scratched it, put things on it, and the lens and the hardware is completely fine. There are downsides to having a bit bulkier camera because it makes portability a bit tougher, but if you are dedicated to having an adventure-proof camera then this one is worth it.
The picture quality is also incredible. It is clear, bright, and doesn’t easily get overexposed because of the advanced settings that are easily adjustable. It is easy to load pictures and videos onto a computer with a simple USB C. Overall, the battery life is reason enough to buy this camera, but the durability and picture quality are additional pluses. This is the most reliable companion and I can’t wait to see what else it is capable of!
This action camera is amazing!! I’m so impressed with its battery life for when I’m out and about and how lightweight and portable it. I feel it’s superb quality, it’s strong and sturdy and most definitely durable. It’s easy to use and set up and I like how I’ve been able to capture our adventures in the woods with it and some activities from our Easter holidays at the beach. I’m he cameras picture quality is excellent, it’s very clear and I like how good the image stabilisation is. I really like how many awesome features it has and that it has the accompanying app. The app has been easy to use, easy to navigate and I’ve not had any problems with it at all. The tech side of this camera is brilliant, I’ve also had no issues in this area and I like that it’s compatible with go pro mounts. I think the value for money is excellent and I highly recommend it. It gets a huge thumbs up from me!
Drift Ghost XL Pro – 4K Action Camera is easy to set up and use. The images are crystal clear with great color resolution. It would have been nice if the camera included a micro memory card. I had to rob one from my cell phone to test the camera. It works well and, all in all, the Drift Ghost XL Pro – 4K Action Camera represents a good value at almost half the price of a better known brand.
This Ghose Drift XL PRO can shoot in 4K, and offers IPX7 waterproofing for all your recording adventures. Offers acceptable image stabilization, good resolution, and good battery life. Also has dashcam mode to recording on the fly driving sessions, etc. Offers standard mounting options, easy to use ruggedized buttons, and nice resolution display (although very small). Compact and sleek design, will go everywhere you go and get the shots you need. Great for car enthusiast and content creators. A very worthy alternative to a Go Pro for half the cost.
Amazing video quality for the size thanks to the Sony sensor which is usually in higher end cameras. Has impressive stabilisation and is waterproof so ok for when it’s raining if your using it on your bike. Has great battery life and it’s built very rugged. I inserted a 128GB memory card and had no problems. The drift app is a must as it’s must easier to set the settings and view videos is easy enough. Would definitely recommend.
I race small sailboats and when I’m out on the water all day I can’t be stopping to change batteries – even if had a way to carry them with me. The battery life on this camera will enable me to record several races over many hours. With other cameras I would have to pick and choose which races I filmed and when the camera died, that’s all I got for the day. This was the only 4k camera that I found on the market that would last multiple hours without having to plug it in to bulky extra batteries.
Great for bike rides and when you want to capture those adventurous moments after having used it for around a month I have listed the positives and negatives of this camera.
PROS:
Big buttons easy to use with gloves
Well made and compact design
Plenty of accessories and adjusted to get the right position
The tagging mode is great records continuously but only save the clips when you press the trigger button
Can connect an external microphone and can adjust the sensitivity for the inbuilt microphone
Brilliant image quality
Waterproof even with an external mic attached
Easy to set up and use with the Drift app
Great battery life
CONS:
Stabilisation is not great and greatly reduces the field of view becomes way too narrow less than 90 degrees
The standard field of view is also disappointing at 140 degrees
Had a few reliability issues at the start
Mic plug is still on the bottom so can easily get damaged by your shoulders
The image is not as crisp as the latest GoPro’s
I have found the picture quality to be impressive and the colours accurate, though at the 4K setting the frame rate is 30FPS and thus a little jittery. Recording at 2.7K still provides excellent picture quality but with the bonus of an ideal frame rate of 60FPS which produces a much smoother video. 1080P is still high definition and at 120FPS it is great for slow mo videos.
Battery charging is via the latest USB-C method and the XL Pro can also be charged in a car which has a USB port. This action cam also has a traditional 3.5mm Mic Jack to plug in a microphone for audio recording purposes. Both audio and video are recorded onto an SD card (not supplied).
The camera ships with flat and curved mounts and the curved mount is ideal for attaching the camera to a helmet. The XL Pro is waterproof and thus perfect for use on rainy days, it also features a 300 degree rotating lens which should be plenty of rotation to help keep your image level no matter which way the camera is mounted.
The lens has a field of view of 140 degrees which is a little narrower than some but still plenty wide enough for my needs. You can also take still photos up to 12 MP quality and use the camera as a car dash dam. All in all i have found the Ghost XL Pro to be a very good action camera for the price.
This is the newer upgrade model of the old previous model which features 4k recording. It only does 30 FPS at 4K so if you want to have a smoother frame rate of 60+ FPS (at 2.7k) then you need to drop the resolution down to 1080p which is full HD. To be honest I can’t tell the difference and prefer the lower res and higher frame rate especially when shooting action shots on the go. The lower resolution also prolongs the battery time. Managed to use it all day long. It has a wide angled lens and the footage is very impressive. There are also firmware updates available to iron out any issues with stability and bugs. I did not find any and it was very reliable. There is a lead included so you attach external microphones (TRS) if you need. It is weather proof and robust and rugged. It has USB-C for charging and transfering files and holds up to a 256gb card.
The camera is very easy to use, they are large and can be pressed with gloves. There is a display on the back for easy set up. The drift app is a bit flakey and kept crashing but worked on my other phone. It is easier to use the app to change the settings. The image stabilation is fine as well and is good as any other action camera I have used. If you use 1080p then the stablisation works are more FPS ranges.
I like the idea of the dash cam feature which means when it fill up the memory card it will just over write it again. There are mounts out there to buy to attach the camera to different things like helmets etc.
The FOV isn’t as good as a go pro hero though and the smoothness isn’t as polished so bare that in mind but its half the price so you need to weigh up the pros and cons. If you are on a strict budget then this is the next best thing to a Go Pro Hero.