Foream X1 Star Shadow is a wearable Internet camera launched by Foream, a domestic sports camera brand, after it acquired Drift Innovation, a European sports camera company. The machine is equipped with an 8 megapixel camera, supports 1080P video recording, and is plugged with 1160mAh batteries. It can shoot high-definition video for three hours continuously.
X1 is difficult to define in terms of category. Although it is also worn on the head, it is not a reality enhancement device like Google Glass; It is also not a traditional sports camera, "only" 87 degrees wide angle, without the "fish eye lens" of the sports camera with a large field of vision, and the picture is closer to the naked eye. In general, it is more like a liftlog daily life recording device.
parameter
176.4 * 174.8 * 27mm, weight 97g
Take up to 8 megapixel photos, 1080P@30FPS / 720P@30FPS videotape
Angle of view 87 degrees, clear range (depth of field) 0.8m to infinity
1160mAh battery, continuous shooting for 3 hours
Officially recommended Micro SD card of Class 6 or above, with maximum support of 32GB
IPX4 splash proof water
Using Wi Fi direct connection, you can get 10G cloud storage space by registering, and files will be automatically synchronized to the cloud when charging
appearance
In terms of accessories, in addition to the use guide and warranty card, it also includes a velvet bag for the head camera, a fixing strap and a data cable.
The machines are available in multiple colors, and the engineering machines we get here are Charm Red.
The fuselage line is matched with a matte surface, which makes it look good.
The workmanship and appearance design of the machine are very good. The detailed unpacking drawing can be stamped here 。
Wearing and comfort
To wear a sports camera on your head, you need to use a waterproof shell+bandage. However, X1, a "specially customized" device, is much easier and more comfortable to wear. Although the former can be fixed in a variety of places, such as the head and chest, bicycle, etc., it needs additional accessories to fix anywhere, and the fixing process is boring. After taking it on, all hairstyles and images will be destroyed...
The X1 with headband shape is much lighter and simpler. Although the color matching is very bright and conspicuous, the harmony and comfort of wearing it on the head can make the camera move every second.
The weight of the fuselage is evenly distributed at the front and rear. In the front are the circuit board and camera elements, and in the rear two mirror legs are two 1160mAh batteries. This battery capacity is very large in headwear devices and even sports cameras, but the self weight of 97g is not light.
Although the fuselage has several sizes to choose from, the built-in strap is tight (maybe the author's head is too big?), the anti slip pad on the inside is well made, and the friction force is unexpected. Even if the machine runs or shakes its head, the machine will not slide, so don't worry that it will fly out like Google Glass.
A whole circle of anti slip pads also spread the perception of the weight of the machine. When wearing them, you can not feel that the machine is 97g. The waterproof level of the machine body is IPX4 splash proof, and it is not afraid of sweating, but you can avoid things like taking a bath.
After the exercise, I will deeply understand why manufacturers use removable and washable straps: the position where the machine is worn completely coincides with the sweat wiping forehead strap. Once sweating, the straps will be responsible for "collecting" sweat. Although the skid resistance performance is not much different after being soaked by sweat, it is inevitable to wash later.
app
Its client is the most sophisticated wearable camera application at present. The UI follows the Android 5.0 specification. The transition animation is very exquisite, and the interaction and interface are quite cool. Even the use of the tutorial has been made into a video.
app The layout is very unified. The right column is the list of connected cameras, and the left column is the unified function entrance. The entrance of video recommendation, friend management, personal network space, and machine settings are all in it, which is convenient to use.
The video recommendation page is the video sharing uploaded by other users, with its own floating operation button. By default, videos can be viewed on the same screen when browsing other videos.
Direct Connect&Use
In terms of operation, there are not many operations that can be carried out on the machine body. The whole machine has only three buttons: power button, wifi switch and shutter. If you do not use your mobile phone to view the scene, pressing the shutter when you turn on is all the operations.
In terms of connection mode, the machine defaults to the wifi direct connection mode. After the Android phone connects to the wifi released from the machine, it can automatically access the camera by opening the app. This design is much more convenient than common sports cameras.
After connecting the camera, you can view the live view. What is rare is that there is finally a machine that can browse or download the files of the fuselage memory card in the direct connection mode. Downloading photos/videos to the mobile phone can be shared through the microblog of the circle of friends and other channels.
The real-time view of the engineering machine is 432 * 240 resolution by default. The picture is smooth, but there is a delay of about 1 second. The official announced that the resolution of the mass production machine will be improved to 800 * 480.
During actual use, The most commonly used shutter button may be designed on the mirror leg on the right side to reduce the jitter of keys, but it may be to prevent accidental touch. The handle of the button is still hard. After USB is connected to the computer, the machine can be directly recognized as a card reader to read and write the memory card, which can save the process of inserting and removing the card.
Advanced cloud service and PC free operation
The main reason why the sharing and management experience of camera equipment has always been poor is that they can not be used without mobile phones and computers, which is troublesome to use. In order to improve this experience, foream has added quite radical cloud services and PC free optimization in camera equipment. This optimization makes the machine a bit like an IP camera instead.
There is a rare function in the setting item. Enter the wifi password in the home or office, press and hold the wifi button, and the machine can directly access the network. It supports automatic uploading of photos and videos in the memory card when charging. These contents will be automatically stored in the attached 10G network disk.
If some local tyrant users have multiple devices, it is also convenient to manage wifi information in different devices, avoiding the wifi change problem caused by location switching.
In addition to the ability to view photos and videos in a personal online disk, the app also provides a simple editing function. The editing function now only has the function of simple cutting, adding music/cover/transition special effects.
But what is more interesting is that the processing object is the cloud video, and the processing process is also completed by the manufacturer's server, which does not occupy mobile resources. This is a relatively new and practical function for mobile devices with limited storage space, traffic and computing power.
As for the video platform sharing function after video processing, its cloud services provide a "proxy scheme". The cloud videos of personal online disks can also be uploaded offline to Youku from the official server, without taking up mobile traffic and cloud computing capabilities.
Together, these functions allow the machine to be used completely independent of the computer, and even allow the memory card to reside in the machine body. The export, editing, storage and sharing operations covering the entire video life cycle are all done by cloud services. Although the usual upload speed may be limited by the user's network speed, However, the overall use experience is significantly improved compared with existing products. The author still supports this "radical" cloud service.
In addition, because of the cloud service support, the machine also has a cloud live broadcast function similar to the intelligent IP camera. After the machine is connected to wifi, other users can preview the real-time image through the webpage or mobile app. This can be used for live sharing or even video calling, but the clarity and smoothness of the actual picture require high network speed.
Shooting operation and effect
The machine supports three working modes: photographing, video recording and time delay photographing. Under different modes, the machine will light up red/blue/yellow working indicators respectively. Since the machine is worn on the head, the indicator light cannot be seen in normal use, so the machine will have voice prompts when switching states. After adding voice, the learning cost of the machine is much lower, and you can basically know how to use it without using the manual.
30s delay photography mosaic, the size is compressed (placed at the window for shooting, so there is reflection)
Both photography and time delay photography are conducted in the form of photos, but the shooting interval of the latter can be adjusted between 0.5-60s. After the photos are spliced together, the cool sunset/sunlight time shift effect on the Internet will be achieved.
If you set the time delay for shooting, you can wear the machine on your head for a day, and then you will get a silhouette of the whole day's life. This is Narrative clip、 Autographer and other LifeLog life recording cameras are used (relevant equipment data can be stamped here ）。 The difference is that X1 is worn on the head, not clipped to the clothes, so there will be no problem of "carelessly putting it askew" or shaking too much, which will cause the picture to become a mess.
In terms of function adjustment, the manufacturer is still very "aggressive", basically a foolproof design. The contrast, sharpness and other image adjustment functions rarely used by ordinary people are basically replaced by automatic processing, and even the resolution is only 720P and 1080P.
In terms of effect, the machine supports up to 8 million pixels of photos, 87 degrees of wide-angle, and a 4:3 imaging ratio is rare, but the picture field of vision is close to that of mainstream mobile phone cameras. The biggest difference between its imaging and that of the mobile phone camera is that it has a high tolerance. Like its own HDR effect, the details of dark and light parts are kept in place.
The light measurement of the camera is very accurate, and the white balance is relatively stable. The resolution of the 8 megapixel CMOS is better than expected, and better than the 8 megapixel camera on Red Rice 2. Among the devices with the same pixel, it can rank above the middle level, but there is still a certain gap between it and Apple's eight megapixel sight camera.
Because the lens has a certain downward tilt, and the machine is worn on the head, more attention should be paid to the wearing angle than to the discrimination force, so as to avoid the problem of screen tilt or angle deviation.
Live video effect
In terms of video recording, after all, it is a special camera. The jelly effect of video recording is much lighter than that of mobile phone camera, and the image maintains the feature of high tolerance. Because the device is worn on the head, the picture jitter under normal movement is also quite slight, the stability of perspective conversion and the first person vision are really fresh. It can be used for operation demonstration or light sports, and the effect is much better than camera or mobile phone shooting.
Endurance&Heat&Others
In terms of wearing, although the bandage can adapt to different head circumference, the machine itself is made of integrated plastic material, and the telescopic ability of the mirror leg is limited, so the official provides three sizes of 46/48/50, which can be selected according to the size of the head circumference.
The machine itself can only recognize TF cards above class6, and the conventional class4 memory card cannot. In terms of endurance, because of the large battery capacity, the machine can continuously shoot 1080P video for 3 hours, which is a bit longer than the 2-hour endurance of the sports camera and the shooting time of the life recording camera.
Heat has always been a common problem of camera products, but it may be that the surface area is larger. The heat dissipation of X1 is much better than that of Xiaoyi camera, GoPro and other sports cameras, but it will warm your hands after a long time of video recording, and even make the machine feel comfortable warming your forehead through the bandage. However, when outdoors, the fuselage is heated, which may accelerate sweating.
summary
Although there is no specific product type definition officially, Foream X1 can basically be understood as an enhanced version of the LifeLog device for cloud services. Compared with similar products abroad that prefer time delay photography and can only be clipped on clothes, Foream X1 changes the wearing position to head wear and focuses on video recording.
In terms of experience, X1's experience is integrated with the features of sports cameras, IP cameras, life recording cameras and other devices. With the addition of cloud services, its experience can completely abuse life recording cameras and sports cameras. The main purpose of the machine is still life photography. Compared with current mobile phones, it has no advantage in discrimination. It mainly focuses on the first person perspective and instant capture.
At present, the pre-sale price of the machine in JD is 899 yuan, which has little advantage over the domestic sports camera, but compared with the current life recording camera, X1 can be rolled in all aspects from the picture to the use experience. Of course, there is no low-key appearance of similar equipment.
Excellent:
Good workmanship, relatively strong endurance
The headwear design is easy to use and comfortable to wear
It has its own cloud service, which can avoid PC operation
Missing:
For many users, this design is too bright and loud
The design of the headwear limits the use range of the machine
