2010WGI AC5X action
camera with 8 count IR illumination Review
Over the years we have had several of these cameras and some were big
and heavy and some were small and light. All suffered
from the same problems and that was that most users
wanted to capture moments early morning and at dusk when
the prime time for hunting was happening. This is the
time where the available light is weak and all
previously cameras lacked the ability to see under those
conditions. Early this year I was discussing the new
2010 lineup with the WGI people and I heard about this
camera coming out so we managed to get one. The fact
that it had the IR array on the front to add light for
those darker conditions was the reason we wanted to test
this cam.
Just like all the rest of this year WGI cameras tested the box had most
of the data and the booklet has no specifications.
Starting off with a full battery and card this device
weighs about 4 oz.. It is about three and a half inches
long and a inch and a half wide. The height is about two
and a quarter inches. From behind you see the access
door for battery slot and micro SD card slot plus the
USB port. This access door is a little tricky to open
and the hinge side is at the bottom of the camera once
you slide it down and swing it out. There is a very
small indicator next to the door that is used while
charging the battery by hooking it up to a USB cable. It
changes to green once the battery is fully topped off.
There is a small unmarked port also in the area of the
indicator that is under a rubber plug but I have yet to
know its purpose unless it is maybe a microphone port or
possibly a external battery hookup. The documentation
has this port hidden someplace but I could not find it.
Up along the side is the LCD and the three control
switches one of which is the on/off/ program enter
button. The other two are the plus minus to scroll
through the options. The front of the camera is a inch
and a quarter glass lens covet and the array with the
camera lens centered in the middle. With the IR array
this camera could be hooked to the Uway ExtendIR if you
needed to reach on out further at night.
The resolution rating is 5 MP jpeg and 848X480 MOV or 720i HD video with
selectable sound. It has 64 MB of on board memory and
will take up to a 32 GB micro SD card. There is a
lithium cell on the main board to maintain programming
during battery changes. Power is supplied by a
rechargeable (included) and its duty cycle is rated at
four weeks.
The programming is easy for someone familiar with different cameras but
is a little tricky so keep the instructions near during
this process. Once you get the hang of it it moves
through the functions easy.
The
weight and fit and feel should be a big plus for anyone
needing to buy one of these. I dont think I would
purposely take it out in a rain storm to see what
happens. From the way the rubber door fits I would think
it would be rain resistant but no where near water
proof. If I were to use this in the field and had to set
in the stand for extended periods of time when there is
a possibility of a shower I would carry a small zip lock
bag to slip over it to aid in keeping the moisture off
it if the rain started. I tested the trigger time and
early morning when my arthritis was keeping my index
finger rather stiff it was very slow but seemed to work
better in the afternoon once things got loosened up.
09-03-2010 Update: One thing I need to say is
I suggested to use a bag during damp weather. This
device comes with a
water proof clear
enclosure for under water use. This could be also used
during a storm. We are set up and have done some video
work and things look very good. The first stage was all
day video and we will do evening dark/low light tests
this evening. Having played with several of these action
cameras I will say that all seemed to do well during the
day for ATV trips and day hunting or ski footage. They
fall apart as soon as the light gets a little dim. First
was a series of tests and zoom examples along with
audio. This is a sophisticated little camera that has a
barrel full of options and we are trying to show just
what you could expect not only with good sunlight but we
will progress on into the evening with examples of how
well things look under those conditions also. The
extreme sharpness is very hard to get even though these
are rated in the HD category but we feel that it has
closed a gap that all the other action cameras has not
been able to and that is on into the darkness. This
being such a small device has certainly taxed our
ability to present a logical review sequence of those
features. This probably represents about five times more
effort than a standard scouting camera because of all
tests being non standard and for us having to adapt our
present system to try to match those capabilities. In my
book, I am quite pleased with the results so far and we
are just getting started. Please view the samples
closely to see if this camera has a place in the stand
with you this fall. Much more samples to come, because I
think we will probably have this with one of us this
season plus more tests this evening.
09-06-2010 update:
A battery of night shots in all the different zoom
levels pretty well covers the capability of this camera.
The zoom may be of value to some but for our use the
straight use without zoom seems to do the best for us.
We can always zoom later after the pictures are loaded
to our computer. This little camera has now shown us
that it can very well illuminate out past 40 feet and
that is close to many a bow hunters range also. There is
a whole bunch of things that could be done like night
fishing using the hat mount and those who do that
predator calling thing, it could also find some favor in
that area also. The potential is very much up to the
user and just how to adapt this camera to each
adventure. I will say that these good people have opened
the door so wide that the competition will have a couple
years of catching up to do just to begin to match the
capabilities of having the night capture capabilities of
such a camera.
01-23-2011 update:
Hunting season is now over here in Georgia and we did
not get a chance to use this little camera in a hunting
situation. From our experience in using this type
of technology, we pointed out that the main issue (from
a hunting standpoint) was a difficulty in low light
situations when you are most likely to see target
animals. WGI has solved this issue by providing an
array of LEDs to illuminate the target area. This
camera has one upped the competition. We are now
closing this review.
Photo
Samples
note: click thumbnails to download the
originals
(Zoom = None)

(Zoom = 2X)

(Zoom = 3X)

(Zoom = 4X)
 |
Zoom=None

Zoom=2x

Zoom=3x

Zoom=4x

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Audio Test
Click here to listen to
the audio test
In this test
I start at 3 feet and work my way to 50 feet.
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Video
Samples
Note: The video samples
are much too large in their native codec for
downloading. I recompressed them in HD
720p using Windows Media codecs and they are
somewhat smaller in size and easier to download
but the video and sound quality is the same. |
(HD
[1280x720] Zoom = None)

(HD
[1280x720] Zoom = 2x)

(HD
[1280x720] Zoom = 3x)

(HD
[1280x720] Zoom = 4x)

(WVGA
[848x480] Zoom = None)

(WVGA
[848x480] Zoom = 2x)

(WVGA
[848x480] Zoom = 3x)

(WVGA
[848x480] Zoom = 4x)

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