It is not often that I keep an eye out for the postman, however when the SunnyCam video glasses were expected I was camped out on the doorstep in anticipation. The excitement was thanks to a piece of gadgetry that puts a 3MP 30 frames per second video camera into a pair of sunglasses! Perfect if you have James Bond fantasies, but much more fun if you want to record madcap adventure sports videos!
Many good products fail on their looks – not something SunnyCam was going to let happen. Even from the Apple-like quality packaging, they’d clearly put the effort in, and yes I’m keeping the box!
The glasses look good, and although not the coolest sunglasses you have ever seen, the fact that they discretely contain the video camera, battery, 4GB internal memory, space for a microSD card, a USB slot, and controls all in a pair of glasses is pure genius. Most of the clever stuff is in the arms of the specs, with a 3-hour battery on one side, and the memory and controls on the other. It makes them a little bulky, but considering what they contain I feel they have done a great job.
Proving further that SunnyCam have thought long and hard about the product, the glasses come with interchangeable lenses for different conditions – they also provide a quality case, lens wipes, and an 8GB micro SD. Rather than the typical 4 or 5 different cables that will end up in a draw unused, there is just one USB cable that handles everything. It doubles up as a mains or 12v car charger by connecting with provided adapters – extra touches that turn a good product into a great one.
The instructions are brief and easy to follow, meaning you can start playing with your new toy straight away. So, at the first opportunity I jumped on my bike to try them on some single track cross-country mountain biking. Check the results below.
The quality of the video far surpassed my expectations. I feel it captured fast-moving sections very well, and challenging changeable light conditions without loss in quality. I did find that in low light they struggled slightly, but I was riding late in the evening in thick woods and at times I could barely see the trail – they don’t claim to be night vision goggles.
With the camera lens positioned in the frame between your eyes, you automatically capture exactly what you see, creating great videos that you will want to show off. A highly recommended product that delivers quality, not novelty. Now let’s try the SunnyCam glasses on other adventures!
