Drift Ghost HD Action Camera - Black

Product Information

Regarding the build, the Ghost XL Pro is roughly the same size as the Insta360 ONE RS and GoPro, and when it comes to building quality, it comfortably sits alongside them as a premium action camera option. Alongside that feature, there’s also the ability to shoot at 4K@30fps, 2.7K@60fps, and 1080p@120fps. While the Ghost XL Pro offers plenty of mounting options, it doesn’t offer quite so many advanced features. There is a screen, although it’s a mono LCD rather than a full-blown colour touch screen. Mounts are always an important factor with any action camera, and here the Drift utilises its style of clip mount. While this isn’t the GoPro three-prong style universally used by many manufacturers in practical use, it offers a far more rigid connection with anything it’s mounted to. In the past, before decent EIS, this mount proved itself for its robust build and reduction in vibration when compared with the GoPro equivalent. Keeping with the waterproof features, a waterproof adapter enables you to connect to accessories such as a mic or external power source. This I like as it means that you can mount and essentially not have to worry about the power going to the camera or record a voice-over through the action if required, perfect if you’re thinking about a bit of rally driving!

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To enable Car DVR Mode, navigate to the Ghost-S video settings menu and select 'Auto' or 'M' (manual) car DVR mode. Auto mode is designed for use while connected to a USB power supply - The camera will turn on and begin recording automatically when it detects power, and will turn off when power stops. Manual mode requires the user to power the camera on, and start recording manually. The Ghost-S takes quite good pictures, and you can shoot in time-lapse mode at 0.5-, 1-, 2-, 3-, 5-, and 10-second intervals. You can also shoot in burst mode in five or 10 shots per second. The HD Ghost can also be used for burst-shooting 5-, 8-, or 11-megapixel photos at up to 10fps as well as time-lapse photos, snapping off shots at 0.5-, 1-, 2-, 3-, 5-, 10-, 30-, or 60-second intervals. When it comes to using the Drift Ghost, XL Pro is one of the easiest action cameras to use. It’s been designed to be as simple as possible, even when using gloves or underwater. The large button closest to the lens starts and stops recording with the light changing to indicate that the recording has started; another press to finish. Built-in Wi-Fi allows you to connect a smartphone or tablet to the HD Ghost using the free iOS or Android app. From there you can use your device as a viewfinder, trigger recording, or upload shots to the Web. Battery life was better than the GoPro with Wi-Fi enabled, but couldn't match the Action Cam's longevity.Like the Contour Roam2, the Drift HD Ghost looks fantastic. The camera has a tough exterior and is waterproof to 3m down out of the box, without requiring a separate housing. When it comes to using the Drift Ghost XL is one of my favourite cameras. It’s easy to understand and operate, and most importantly, the quality of the video matches the quality of use. The Ghost-S lets you record 1080p video at25, 30, 50, and up to 60fps withfields of view ranging from 90, 127, and 160 degrees. Setting the camera to 960p adds the option to record at 48fps, and if you want to shoot footage that you can slow down in editing, you'll have to step down to 720p, which the Ghost-S records at the same fps as 1080p, but with additional 100 and 120fps options. For both 960p and 720p settings, you're limited to the 160-degree angleof view. In the box, you'll find the camera itself, a remote, the battery, a non-waterproof connector hatch that gives easy access to the mini USB and mic out ports, a universal clip, two mount clips, a wrist strap, a mini USB cable, a microphone extension cable, and a goggle mount. The Ghost-S's best and most differentiating feature is Drift's signature lens, which swivels up to 300 degrees by simply twisting the lens itself by hand. With the up-facing arrow to indicate the lens's upright orientation, and as long the camera is pointing in the direction you want to record, it lets you mount the camera at almost any angle while keeping a perfect orientation. By comparison, action cameras without the swiveling lens must be mounted in their upright position if you want to shoot properly oriented footage.

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Video quality is improved from the Drift HD Ghost, especially when it comes to detail. Everything looks more crisp, and I saw fewer artifacts when using the camera's high-bit-rate setting. Using that setting will eat into the battery life and the files use up more storage, but it's worth using if you plan to view the video at large sizes. Simple and solid essentially sums up this action camera. The sleek design makes it a perfect option for side mounting on a helmet, and with a huge array of mounts available, attaching it to almost anything isn’t difficult. The battery is integral, but at 3000mAH, it’s considerably larger than most other action cameras and, with the right setting, will last up to 7 hours, which is impressive. You also have the advantage over all other action cameras: it doesn’t have to be level, either the right way up or upside down; you twist the lens to get the horizon correct.

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Audio quality is fine, but for action videos you're probably going to want to turn the mic off anyway, or you'll be capturing a lot of wind noise. For still subjects, the built-in mic did a decent job, and it offers three levels of sensitivity adjustment. And you can always directly plug in a better external mic, which you can't do with many other cameras. Out on trial, and the mounting options are well beyond the GoPro or, for that matter, any other action camera; want to put it on your bike forks? Not a problem; attach and rotate the lens. One of the most impressive features is the internal battery that can provide up to 7 hours of battery life when recording at 1080p or 4.5 hours at 4K. To put this into context, that’s over double that of the standard GoPro battery.