New POV camera: Replay XD1080

Robert Turchick · July 2nd, 2011, 09:11 AM

Got the cameras in and upon first inspection, these are extremely well made pieces. The mounts (pro mounts as the standards were out of stock) are all aluminum. The only bummer is there is no lens cap. The controls are a little confusing (until you read the instructions! Ha ha! which happen to be on the card that is supplied with the camera.) and the mic input button is super tiny. I hooked one up to my Samsung 55" LED TV and the hdmi out works perfectly. The room was a bit dark and tungsten lit so the picture was grainy and way out of color balance. This wasn't a surprise as the design is for outdoors.
There is virtually no lens distortion and absolutely no vignetting.
Can't wait to get these outside to see what they can really do. Gut says they are going to be very similar to the image from Gopro and contour just in a different form factor. They are smaller than the contour and the mounts are easier to deal with.
More as I dig into them in the next few days!

Ronald Jackson · July 2nd, 2011, 01:27 PM

Robert,

Is it waterproof?

Ron

Robert Turchick · July 2nd, 2011, 01:52 PM

Specs say water resistant. I won't be submerging mine!

Paul Cronin · July 4th, 2011, 07:03 AM

Thanks Robert look forward to your first test run.

Simon Wood · July 4th, 2011, 07:32 AM

Wow. I was looking at the gopro, but this might be a better option (if I can record straight to my nanoflash for car exteriors and the like).

Has anyone had a chance to test the hdmi output with an external recorder?

Is it possible to change the battery in the field (or are you stuck with one sealed battery)?

Simon Wood · July 4th, 2011, 08:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Radek Volf

It's nice camera but can I expect PAL 25p for EU countries? Maybe synchronisation for 3D work would be great.

Under advanced settings it looks like you can select the following frame rates:

25 / 50
30 / 60

Replay XD1080 Advanced Settings

Robert Turchick · July 5th, 2011, 04:43 PM

Did a little test today with mixed results...

Mounted using the 1/4-20 standard mount to utilize my heavy duty clamp mount on the trailer hitch of my minivan. Did exactly what I expected...virtually no shake and very stable image. The 110deg field of view is nice without any distortion. Color is good.

Now the not so good...with a disclaimer!
The camera defaults to a low-res mode that simply stopped my heart upon first glance at the footage. Grainy and mushy details. Plus the auto exposure was pumping very badly.
QT details said the video was a 7.5 mb/s which is extremely low.
Then the ligtbulb went on and I remembered you can adjust a bunch of settings. Unfortunately it's not in the manual and I had to contact Replay to get the instructions. Turns out it's super easy...
In the top folder on the card there's a text file. Open it, change the numbers and save!
Once that was done the bitrate almost doubled to 14.2 mb/s and I also changed to average rather than center for the auto exposure.

YAY!!! Now the footage looks great! (well...as good as a POV cam usually can look)
Why they ship the camera with less than the best quality settings is a mystery to me. Seems they would want these things to rock right out of the box.
And they really should emphasize that there are quite a few settings that can be tweaked.
More testing this week and who knows, maybe I'll have to get an external recorder. The picture from the HDMI to my Ikan 7" monitor was spectacular! They need to make a back end screw cap that locks the hdmi in place and seals it from the elements. Then there's a useable solution for external recorders!
Might be something to this little camera!

Prech Marton · July 5th, 2011, 10:58 PM

"Now the footage looks great! "

Thanks! Now we like to see some short, native footage :-)

Radek Volf · July 6th, 2011, 12:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simon Wood

Under advanced settings it looks like you can select the following frame rates:

25 / 50
30 / 60

Replay XD1080 Advanced Settings

Great! ;-) Thanks for url.

Robert Turchick · July 7th, 2011, 05:50 PM

more playing around today...

pointed the camera out the window of my studio and hooked it to my Sony 32" LED TV. even though it's a bright sunny day, still got a fairly noisy image...color and exposure were very good though. Then hooked it into my Matrox MX02 to record a bit of Pro Res 422 into FCP. Same overall impression. Significantly better image than off the card though! Not worth posting any vid as it was a static shot out the window. Once my mounts get here (UPS says tonight) the real fun begins!

Radek Volf · July 8th, 2011, 05:54 AM

Can you upload any kind of native files from this camera to the internet (rapidshare etc.)? I would like to analyze this files...

Prech Marton · July 19th, 2011, 07:21 AM

me too! thank you

Duane Steiner · July 19th, 2011, 09:34 AM

Here are a few on YouTube with it.
‪ReplayXD - Touge battle on Mulholland HWY Aprilia RSV4 APRC vs Nissan GTR PART II‬&rlm; - YouTube
‪ReplayXD - Touge battle on Mulholland HWY Aprilia RSV4 APRC(On-board Cam) vs Nissan GTR‬&rlm; - YouTube
‪ReplayXD - Touge battle on Mulholland HWY Aprilia RSV4 APRC vs Nissan GTR‬&rlm; - YouTube

July 2nd, 2011, 09:11 AM	#16
Robert Turchick Trustee Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Mesa, AZ Posts: 1,389	Re: New POV camera: Replay XD1080 Got the cameras in and upon first inspection, these are extremely well made pieces. The mounts (pro mounts as the standards were out of stock) are all aluminum. The only bummer is there is no lens cap. The controls are a little confusing (until you read the instructions! Ha ha! which happen to be on the card that is supplied with the camera.) and the mic input button is super tiny. I hooked one up to my Samsung 55" LED TV and the hdmi out works perfectly. The room was a bit dark and tungsten lit so the picture was grainy and way out of color balance. This wasn't a surprise as the design is for outdoors. There is virtually no lens distortion and absolutely no vignetting. Can't wait to get these outside to see what they can really do. Gut says they are going to be very similar to the image from Gopro and contour just in a different form factor. They are smaller than the contour and the mounts are easier to deal with. More as I dig into them in the next few days! __________________ The older I get, the better I was!

July 2nd, 2011, 01:27 PM	#17
Ronald Jackson Major Player Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Southport, United Kingdom Posts: 723	Re: New POV camera: Replay XD1080 Robert, Is it waterproof? Ron

July 2nd, 2011, 01:52 PM	#18
Robert Turchick Trustee Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Mesa, AZ Posts: 1,389	Re: New POV camera: Replay XD1080 Specs say water resistant. I won't be submerging mine! __________________ The older I get, the better I was!

July 4th, 2011, 07:03 AM	#19
Paul Cronin Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 4,048	Re: New POV camera: Replay XD1080 Thanks Robert look forward to your first test run. __________________ Paul Cronin www.paulcroninstudios.com

July 4th, 2011, 07:32 AM	#20
Simon Wood Major Player Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Entebbe Uganda Posts: 768	Re: New POV camera: Replay XD1080 Wow. I was looking at the gopro, but this might be a better option (if I can record straight to my nanoflash for car exteriors and the like). Has anyone had a chance to test the hdmi output with an external recorder? Is it possible to change the battery in the field (or are you stuck with one sealed battery)? __________________ http://vimeo.com/channels/guerrillafilms

July 5th, 2011, 04:43 PM	#22
Robert Turchick Trustee Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Mesa, AZ Posts: 1,389	Re: New POV camera: Replay XD1080 Did a little test today with mixed results... Mounted using the 1/4-20 standard mount to utilize my heavy duty clamp mount on the trailer hitch of my minivan. Did exactly what I expected...virtually no shake and very stable image. The 110deg field of view is nice without any distortion. Color is good. Now the not so good...with a disclaimer! The camera defaults to a low-res mode that simply stopped my heart upon first glance at the footage. Grainy and mushy details. Plus the auto exposure was pumping very badly. QT details said the video was a 7.5 mb/s which is extremely low. Then the ligtbulb went on and I remembered you can adjust a bunch of settings. Unfortunately it's not in the manual and I had to contact Replay to get the instructions. Turns out it's super easy... In the top folder on the card there's a text file. Open it, change the numbers and save! Once that was done the bitrate almost doubled to 14.2 mb/s and I also changed to average rather than center for the auto exposure. YAY!!! Now the footage looks great! (well...as good as a POV cam usually can look) Why they ship the camera with less than the best quality settings is a mystery to me. Seems they would want these things to rock right out of the box. And they really should emphasize that there are quite a few settings that can be tweaked. More testing this week and who knows, maybe I'll have to get an external recorder. The picture from the HDMI to my Ikan 7" monitor was spectacular! They need to make a back end screw cap that locks the hdmi in place and seals it from the elements. Then there's a useable solution for external recorders! Might be something to this little camera! __________________ The older I get, the better I was!

July 5th, 2011, 10:58 PM	#23
Prech Marton Major Player Join Date: May 2004 Location: hungary Posts: 462	Re: New POV camera: Replay XD1080 "Now the footage looks great! " Thanks! Now we like to see some short, native footage :-) __________________ Relaxing clips with waterfalls and music, 3D photos, 3D videos: www.3d-video.hu

July 7th, 2011, 05:50 PM	#25
Robert Turchick Trustee Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Mesa, AZ Posts: 1,389	Re: New POV camera: Replay XD1080 more playing around today... pointed the camera out the window of my studio and hooked it to my Sony 32" LED TV. even though it's a bright sunny day, still got a fairly noisy image...color and exposure were very good though. Then hooked it into my Matrox MX02 to record a bit of Pro Res 422 into FCP. Same overall impression. Significantly better image than off the card though! Not worth posting any vid as it was a static shot out the window. Once my mounts get here (UPS says tonight) the real fun begins! __________________ The older I get, the better I was!

July 8th, 2011, 05:54 AM	#26
Radek Volf New Boot Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Prague, Czech Republic Posts: 10	Re: New POV camera: Replay XD1080 Can you upload any kind of native files from this camera to the internet (rapidshare etc.)? I would like to analyze this files...

July 19th, 2011, 07:21 AM	#27
Prech Marton Major Player Join Date: May 2004 Location: hungary Posts: 462	Re: New POV camera: Replay XD1080 me too! thank you __________________ Relaxing clips with waterfalls and music, 3D photos, 3D videos: www.3d-video.hu

July 19th, 2011, 09:34 AM	#28
Duane Steiner Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: CA Posts: 195	Re: New POV camera: Replay XD1080 Here are a few on YouTube with it. ‪ReplayXD - Touge battle on Mulholland HWY Aprilia RSV4 APRC vs Nissan GTR PART II‬&rlm; - YouTube ‪ReplayXD - Touge battle on Mulholland HWY Aprilia RSV4 APRC(On-board Cam) vs Nissan GTR‬&rlm; - YouTube ‪ReplayXD - Touge battle on Mulholland HWY Aprilia RSV4 APRC vs Nissan GTR‬&rlm; - YouTube __________________ www.speedandmotion.com