Drift Innovation HD170 1080p Action Camera

The world's first full HD action camera with playback screen, remote control and zoom

Product

Drift Innovation HD170 1080p Action Camera

Promise

In addition to all its features, it’s the easiest camera on the market to use and set up.

Performance

Waking up to a fresh smothering of snow in my local valley and no mountains to speak of, it seemed fitting to take the drift out for a rambler's dream. With the sun rising through the snow dusted trees I strapped the Drift HD170 around my head and set off for a stroll to see how it performed (you can see the video results here).

The first notable edge the Drift has against its competitors is a fully rotatable lens. The 170º wide angle field of view (in 720p or 127º in 1080p) can be twisted 300º to level out your horizon line in relation to your mount angle - essentially giving you more mount options and less fiddling than other models.

As well as HD video capture you get the now almost standard 5 megapixel stills with continuous shooting mode - all viewable for playback on the 1.5" LCD screen which is essential to ensure you are capturing the frames you hoped for while out in the field.

The Drift looks the part for a good dunking, but is only water-resistant to 0.5m. It seems a shame that the efforts on rubber seals and buttons weren't developed that little bit further for a fully waterproof model like some of its competitors. It does, however boast 4x digital zoom, but that's only available in 720p video capture and stills. The 'almost' list coupled with the lack of 60fps capture is why the Drift came up short on 5 stars but its sleek design is something its opposition doesn't always win on, making the Drift more head mount-friendly than others.

Verdict

With a wrist-mountable remote control and all the accessories you need to get recording your sport of choice, the Drift HD170 is up there with the usual family of HD action cameras. The rotatable lens is a bonus that almost makes up for the lack of 60fps capability. If this camera could deliver slow motion video and was seriously waterproof it would have it all.