Travel Zoom Cameras

The original Drift HD was not by any means a perfect product. It was quite pricey and the video quality wasn’t very consistent. What made the Drift HD famous though was its compact size and ease of use. But Drift’s new flagship model called the Drift HD Ghost hopes to fix these shortcomings while adding a little bit of bulk to the design.

The Drift HD Ghost not only comes with a larger 2-inch LCD display but the screen has a layer of Gorilla Glass making the display virtually impossible to scratch. The screen also has good viewing angles. As for the overall build quality, the Drift HD Ghost is comfortable to hold with its rubberized coating. This makes the Drift HD Ghost fully waterproof up to 9 feet. The only downside is that a separate waterproof casing isn’t included if you want to go deeper. Fortunately, Drift has plans to release one in the future and it promises up to 180 feet of waterproof protection.

Drift made the right move to improve the lens design so the overall video quality is better. The 7 element lens design allows you to capture quality HD visuals with vibrant colors and high clarity. The overall video quality isn’t game-changing but it is right up there with the competition.

What the Drift HD Ghost is really superior in is its functionality. The lens can rotate 300 degrees enabling more mounting possibilities. There are also a number of shooting modes including the usual Video and Photo modes along with Timelapse and Photoburst. It is also possible to take still photos while recording video. The Drift Flashback Video Tag/Loop is another cool mode that continuously records 5-minute loops in case you suddenly capture something good. This video will only be saved if you “tag” it. The Drift Active Status two-way remote makes it easy to change modes or control the recording status. It works up to 30 feet away and it has multicolored LED lights so you know what recording mode the camera is set to. With built-in Wi-Fi and a separate app iOS (Android coming soon), it is also possible to use iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad devices to wirelessly control the Drift HD Ghost.

$400 is a huge price to pay for a mounted camera that is quite bulky and doesn’t include a waterproof case. But what you get from the Drift HD is decent video quality with a great variety of shooting modes and a fantastic 3-hour battery life.

Check out the full Drift HD Ghost specs here or at HurtleGear.com.au.

It is easy to check out what products Drift Innovation has to offer because there are only three of them and they are all featured on the company’s home page. Click on a product you are interested with and you will instantly see what features the product has to offer. You can even purchase a product directly from the site after you finally decided which product is best for you. There are hardly any risks because even the cheapest model comes with the essential accessories in mounting the camera to common areas such as your goggles. But those that need even more flexibility should check out the Drift camera accessory range here as these accessories expand the possibilities you can achieve with any of the Drift cameras.

Mounts

All Drift cameras are pretty small in size so you might come up with some creative ways to mount the camera using the available accessories. But Drift manufactures special mounts for certain uses so people can really record their action-packed activities without worry. One example of a special mount is the FCS surfing and flat surfing mounts. These mounts don’t have adhesives and are specifically designed to be mounted on surfboards so waves can properly be captured. Adhesive mount kits serve a different purpose and are best for flat surfaces.

Cases

Cases add significant protection to Drift cameras. Waterproof cases are the must-have cases for people into water sports. The newly launched Drift HD Ghost may already be waterproof but a waterproof case is still necessary if you plan to take the Drift camera deeper than 10 meters. Other cases for Drift HD cameras are being sold as well including protective carrying cases and silicone skins.

Cables

Cables are necessary in transferring data from the camera or adding a new feature. One of the newer cables released by Drift Innovation is the Drift HD Ghost HDMI cable which takes advantage of the HDMI Type C connector. Connect the other end of the Drift HD Ghost HDMI cable to a TV and you can instantly preview videos and images there.

Power Accessories

A couple of hours of battery life may not enough for certain occasions so it is necessary to carry some extra power accessories just in case. This category includes charging cradles, spare batteries and car chargers.

In addition to these common accessories, Drift also makes some unique ones like the TimeLapse accessory which is a special mount for time lapses. This accessory rotates 360-degrees so the camera can capture every part of the action. Check their website to discover other nice accessories for Drift Innovation products.

Successfully mounting a digital camera to your helmet puts you a step closer to being able to record awesome first-person videos that you can share with friends. But doing this with an ordinary camera is close to impossible and you will still find difficulty in starting and stopping the video recording. This is why there are companies like Drift Innovation that make mountable cameras for people that enjoy recording sports and other activities from their points of view.

Drift Innovation specifically focuses on this niche because the compact digital camera and camcorder market is so crowded with big names. Of course, Drift Innovation faces some direct competition from a couple of established companies too but Drift believes that they have the product portfolio that covers the vital price points.

Currently, Drift Innovation offers three mountable cameras with the Drift HD720 being the budget model and the Drift HD being the popular one for enthusiasts. Those that want the premium offering can get Drift’s newly launched Drift HD Ghost. What is nice about this lineup is that the Drift HD720 manages to fit in with Drift Innovation’s mission to provide unique features to their cameras such an integrated screen and make it extremely easy to capture, edit and share videos.

The Drift HD Ghost is also proof that Drift Innovation is really driving to raise the bar in mountable camera technologies. One of the groundbreaking features of the Drift HD Ghost is its ability to connect to an iPhone that has the Drift App installed. Like any company that is determined to succeed, Drift Innovation has different teams that take care of different things such as the software, design of the product and technologies that will be implemented. The team also collaborates with world class athletes in order to make the best products that the world will accept.

Rugged design was emphasized so their products have higher value but that can lead to sacrifices in flexibility. Drift Innovation’s approach to flexibility is to make various accessories for their products so people can mount their cameras however they like.

Since Drift Innovation most recently introduced their flagship product, it is expected for the company to refresh the aging Drift HD and Drift HD720 models. In addition to their online store, Drift Innovation features a blog where you can keep track of the latest company news and possibly progress on upcoming products.

You can also find out more from the official Drift Twitter channel at Twitter.com/DriftInnovation, or their YouTube Channel.