Action Cams

I want to take an "action cam" with me to Costa Rica to document the trip, which I will then share with you here, but there are a few very good ones to choose from it seems. My criteria are, long battery life, HD, "low key" and $300 or less.

I have narrowed it down to the GoPro Hero 3+ "Black", which exceeds my budget by $100, not very low key and seems to be scarcely available anyways, so that one is out.

Sweet, but off the list....

Next choice is the Sony HDR-AS30V, priced right at $298.00:

A definite maybe.....

I've been a Sony fanboy for years, but I'm not sure about the mounting options available for this camera. I will either have to duct-tape the unit to myself, or walk around holding this in my hand to film, and that doesn't seem very "low key" and unnoticeable to me. The must-have remote is extra, at $148.00, so there goes my budget, right out the window. Plus it looks like I have to keep the waterproof housing on it to mount it, so video quality may suffer. Also, it appears to pair well with smartphones, so my circa 2008 LG Lotus flip phone isn't gonna' cut it.

Last on the list and probably my first choice for my trip is the Drift Innovation HD Ghost at $299.00:

Gosh Darnit! I like it!

Streamlined, small and low key, this looks like just the ticket to document my first trip to a unknown country.

Features:

• Full HD 1080p video capture
• MicroSD memory capacity up to 32GB
• 60 fps video in 720p resolution and 120 fps video in WVGA resolution
• 11-megapixel still image capture with Photoburst mode
• Built-in noise reducing microphone, integrated speaker and 3.5mm mono plug input
• Remote control w/LED indicator
• LCD Screen
• Rugged and waterproof up to 3 meters
• Includes mounts for use practically anywhere
• 170-degree fully rotatable wide-angle lens
• Night mode
• 2.5 Hours Runtime

In addition to this I will be bringing my Canon G15 compact camera, deciding to leave my larger and heavier Pentax K-01 and lenses sitting at home this trip.