One that could come in handy is a wireless remote control that allows you to snap a 12-megapixel photo or start and stop recordings without fiddling with the camera, though it's pricey at $50. Furthermore, the prongs on the bottom of the Virb XE fit perfectly into GoPro's mounting buckles, allowing the Virb XE to use all of GoPro's options.īeyond mounts, Garmin offers only a modest selection of accessories - most of them spare parts. Garmin also sells the expected assortment of extra mounts, such as a surfboard/waveboard kit, wrist strap, head strap, chest harness and dog harness. I could easily mount the Virb XE on either the top or side of my bike helmet. The basic package includes flat- and curved-bottom adhesive mounts and arms that extend from them to hold the camera in a variety of positions. Garmin provides a respectable set of mounting options for the Virb XE. (Most action cameras accept up to 32 or 64GB.) That's enough for about 11 hours and 16 minutes of video at 1080p/60fps. The Virb XE accepts microSD cards up to a whopping 128GB. To extend shooting time, you can get a spare battery for $25. By comparison, at 1080p/60fps, the GoPro Hero4 Silver shoots for 80 minutes with its removable battery, and the Hero4 Session manages 1 hour, 45 minutes with its non-removable power pack.
The Virb XE's removable 980mAh Li-polymer battery is rated for 2 hours of 1080p/30fps video, and 1:40 for 1080p/60 fps. This all gives a very insightful look into this segment of my workout, and it would be even more valuable if I had included extra sensors to add data such as heart rate and breathing rate. The path in the upper-right shows the zigzagging required to make this climb. I ultimately climbed an additional 80 feet during this roughly 2-minute ride, on a grade as steep as 14 percent. I started the ascent at 6,739 feet above sea level, which explains why this Brooklynite was so out of breath. This clip of my bike ascent to the top of a mountain in Utah, may not look too exciting, given how slowly I’m moving, but the data shows what's really happening. Virb Edit allows you to choose from dozens of gauges and other indicators to customize the look of G-Metrix data on your video. Kodak's $200 Pixpro SP1, though not up to GoPro standards, still displays better image detail than the twice-as-expensive Virb XE does, though its color appears a bit too yellow – a common issue with the Pixpro SP1. The GoPro Hero4 Session, however, also doesn't require a case, and its audio sounds as good as the Garmin. The Virb XE has much better audio than the GoPro Silver, as the latter requires a waterproof case. Here's a clip from the new Hero4 Session (the Hero4 Silver clip looks equally good). For instance, a rock face I passed during a rafting trip flickered with blocky artifacts from overly aggressive MPEG video compression.īoth the GoPro Silver and Hero4 Session delivered far more nuanced video.
GARMIN VIRB EDIT OVERLAY GPS DATA 1080P
Shot at 1080p and 60 fps, the clips were unexpectedly muddy. Having become enamored of the Virb XE’s's design and features, I was heartbroken to see its lackluster video. The Virb XE can also be controlled from some of Garmin's other gadgets, such as its navigation devices and smart watches. (I tested the app on my iPhone 5.) It provides a live preview and big buttons to start a recording or snap a photo.
GARMIN VIRB EDIT OVERLAY GPS DATA WINDOWS
Garmin's smartphone app (for Android, iOS and Windows Phone) is one of the best out there, as extensive as (and rather similar to) GoPro's app. But adding a screen would have made the Virb XE larger, so the trade-off makes sense. Unlike the GoPro Hero4 Silver, the Virb XE doesn't have a color LCD touchscreen, the Silver's killer feature. This eliminates that uncertainty when you can't see the camera – say if it's on top of your bike helmet – and you wonder, "Did I hear the beep when I pressed Record?". The dial encircles a large shutter button that you can press any time to snap a still image - no need to change shooting modes from Video to Photo, as with some action cameras.
Instead of pressing a record button, you start videoing by flicking a dial forward. MORE: Action Cams Tested: What's the Best Outdoor Camera?įurther to the right is my favorite part: the control section for shooting. The top of the device features a 1-inch, 128 x 128 pixel monochrome LCD that displays a logically designed menu tree, navigable by two buttons to the right. The Virb XE boasts a better set of controls than most action cameras. (A replacement sells for $20.) Usability: Logical Layout So if you lose or forget the special USB cable, you're stuck. Instead, the Virb XE comes with a USB cable that has a special attachment that clips onto a grid of gold-plated contacts on the side of the camera. What you don’t find here is a micro USB port. Flipping a latch on the side opens a door on the front of the camera, exposing the lens, microSD card slot and removable battery.
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