INTRODUCTION

   Even less than a decade ago action cameras were pretty much nonexistent so people actually had to mount normal handheld camcorders onto their bodies (helmets, hands, waist) and vehicles something which was neither very easy nor convenient due to size, weight and of course durability issues/limitations (especially for use with Xtreme sports). With the introduction of action cameras a few years back this changed and so now people can actually record up to FullHD content via very small and extremely durable camcorders which are also quite affordable (always compared to their full sized cousins). GoPro and Contour are without doubt the first two names that immediately come to mind when talking about action cameras but they are far from the only manufacturers around and so naturally with the obvious increase of sales in that segment of the market several manufacturers have joined as well. One of them is Oregon Scientific and today we will be testing their ATC9K FullHD 1080p Water Proof Action Camera.

   Oregon Scientific is a global brand and creator of electronic products for today’s lifestyles. Its innovative products are the combination of cutting-edge US technology and stylish European design that build a bridge between people and technology, helping them understand their environment and enhance their daily lives. Established in the US in 1989, Oregon Scientific is both the inventor and market leader for Smart Clocks and Home Weather Stations. These two principal areas of expertise remain at the center of Oregon Scientific’s core competencies. Besides the award-winning Time and Weather collection, Oregon Scientific has successfully developed four other lifestyle enhancing product collections : Sports and Fitness, Telecommunications, Digital Media and Electronic Learning collections.

   Much like most action cameras the ATC9K comes with a wide range of capabilities and so aside the ability to capture video in FullHD 1080p@30 fps or 720p@60fps you can also use it to take very good still pictures with its 5 mega-pixel sensor (3M/5M mode). Other features of the ATC9K are the very decent wide field of view (FOV) set at 130 degrees which is almost the ideal angle (around 145 degrees is the ideal angle for me) since objects in the picture are neither too large nor too small, 20m water proof rugged housing for Xtreme sports use, 1.5" color LCD screen, G-Sensor used to measure acceleration (quite useful for fast moving use) and a laser pointer which allows you to make sure you're actually aiming the camera in the right direction without checking the rear screen. That's not the end however and so Oregon Scientific also offers a separately sold GPS sensor which fits inside the housing and can be used to measure both distance and speed with the help of Google Maps. How do all of the above work out in the end, well let’s find out.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The ATC9K is packed inside a medium sized cardboard box with a small clear plastic section at the front that allows you to take a peek at its top.

Some of the features are showcased on the left side.

At the rear we see the features list printed in 8 languages alongside with the contents of the bundle.

The bundle is extremely rich (even more than the GoPro HERO2 i used a while back) and includes the ATC9K action camera, lithium polymer battery, HDMI to mini-HDMI cable, carrying pouch, USB cable, warranty paper, front/rear plastic covers, handlebar/helmet mounts, remote control, 4 rubber pads, software CD and the user’s manual.

THE ATC9K

Although the ATC9K features a nice looking water proof housing it's quite small and measures 104mm in length, 62mm in height and 49mm in width with a weight of 139g.

Perhaps the most important feature of the ATC9K is its 1080p video recording resolution along with its 5 mega-pixel sensor.

As already mentioned the auto-focus lens have a wide FOV of 130 degrees (right above we see the laser pointer, record/charge LED and the IR sensor).

The company logo is placed right above the 3 LEDs and right behind it we see the video and photo buttons.

The ATC9K is one of the very few action cameras available in the market that come ready with a rear LCD screen paired with navigation buttons which allow you to adjust its settings wherever you are.

A safety clip is placed over the 1.5" LCD and is used to keep the battery/micro SD card/GPS/HDMI/mini USB compartment water proof.

The 1050mAh lithium polymer battery gives the ATC9K roughly 100 minutes of life and can be charged either while in the ATC9K or via the separately sold wall charger.

Mounting the GPS receiver (unfortunately we didn't receive one for testing), the lithium polymer battery and the micro SD card is very easy as you can see from the above picture.

One other thing that i like about the ATC9K is that it also comes ready with an remote control which you can use to playback content from the ATC9K to your screen (via HDMI) or to start/stop video recording and also take pictures.

The remote is also waterproof since there's also a rubber ring under the battery cover.

Inside the bundle you will also find two hard plastic covers, one for the lens and one for the rear 1.5" LCD.

Oregon Scientific also sells a suction mount for the ATC9K which we used in our tests.

For good or bad the mount is rather long but we had no problem configuring it to meet our needs.

SETTINGS - SOFTWARE

The rear 1.5" LCD is certainly a very convenient feature of the ATC9K mainly because you can adjust all the possible settings without having to be near to a computer (not so much to see your recordings, too small for my taste). The cross on the screen helps you level the camera even without the use of the laser pointer.

There are many settings one can adjust via the screen but unfortunately although these are more than you will find in most action cameras the ATC9K also lacks one thing and that's recording in low-light situations. There's a night mode available for when taking pictures but that's just about it.

The bundled software requires an offline account before you can use it and allows you to watch everything you have recorded and also check the distance covered, achieved speeds and acceleration.

AUDIO/VIDEO/PICTURE QUALITY

   For this test we used the extra suction mount on the right side of a bike and between the seats of my car to record in both full light and low light situations. Unfortunately the suction mount is not very stable so the day take was not what it could be. Still since all of you reading these pages are certainly interested in the A/V and picture quality of the ATC9K we did not use any programs to stabilize the image and also we didn't upload the clips to YouTube in order to keep their original quality (we did make a mistake and had to flip the night video). However in order to keep the clips small (in the end each clip was several GBs in size) we used only a few minutes of recording for each. To download the clips directly from our server just click on the above images (right click and save target as - day clip is around 71MB while the night clip is around 34MB).

   To test the picture quality of the 5 mega-pixel sensor used in the ATC9K i went to a statue a few blocks away from my place (since i doubt that will ever change I’ll be using it for all future action cam picture quality tests) and fortunately since the fountain was very clean i thought it would be nice to take a few shots beneath the water (the end result is quite good). Again just like the video clips we kept the images intact so click on the above thumbnails to see them.

CONCLUSION

   To date i may not have reviewed any action cameras but I’ve used a few 2011/2012 models by GoPro and Contour which although very good in quality (the Contour was made out of metal alloy so it looked better too) lacked several features the ATC9K has. For example the ATC9K has a narrower field of view which means that objects are larger and i don't know about others but i like that more than covering a wider area (personal preference). True i would like a slightly larger FOV (145 tops) but even 130 degrees is very good. Also both the GoPro and the Contour models also lacked a rear LCD screen so you couldn't check your recordings nor could you adjust their settings wherever you were unless of course you carried a laptop with you (even if you did the ATC9K way is easier and faster). GoPro did offer an extra LCD backpack back then for the HERO2 but it cost quite a bit and well it just wasn't the same. Then we have the G-Sensor which may not really come in handy for people such as i since i am not into Xtreme sports but for people who are this is a must feature. Finally when it comes to the Video/Audio and Picture quality of the ATC9K things are very good but far from great since i have to admit that the GoPro HERO2 had better, more vibrant colors while the Contour HD 1080p model had crisper image but that's not something one can't fix by playing around with the settings (the result may not be identical but it comes really close). My sole problem with the ATC9K is the same as with every action camera out there and that's the poor low-light video recordings and in an era where night vision has been around for decades (even my old SONY DVD camcorder had it) i just can't figure out the why we see less and less green screens.

   Normally FullHD 1080p action cameras don't come cheap especially when we are talking about rugged water-proof models like the ATC9K so i was expecting a price tag set on par with the cost of GoPro and Contour models. Luckily enough for consumers Oregon Scientific follows a rather aggressive price policy and so currently the ATC9K is for sale inside the USA for a price of USD137 (Purchase Directly from Amazon.com). Inside the EU things are not as great but still the asking price of 220Euros (Purchase Directly from Amazon.co.uk) is not bad at all, not when the ATC9K packs so many features that others don't have. Certainly if your only goal is getting the best action camera in terms of Video/Audio and Picture quality there should be a few better options out there since the ATC9K has been around for over 2 years already, however if you want a complete package sold at a very attractive price tag (especially in the USA) then the ATC9K is the right one for you and that's why it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality (Solid Rugged Housing)
- Design (Scuba Gear Like)
- 1080p@30Fps/ 720p@60fps
- 3/5 Mega-Pixel Stills
- Water Proof Up To 20M
- 1.5" LCD
- Ease Of Use
- G-Sensor
- Remote Control
- GPS Capability (Sold Extra)
- HDMI Output
- Bundled Mounts
- Price (Especially In The EU) 

PROS

- 2+ Years in the Market Already