Polaroid XS100 action camera review

Solid camera at a low price

Our rating

2.5

145.99
109.99

Published: March 17, 2014 at 10:00 am

Our review
A good budget camera capable of crisp footage in decent light, but the clunky mounts aren’t the best

Measuring 100mm long and 40mm high, the XS100 is waterproof to 10m, has a 170-degree wide-angle lens and films in 720 pixels at 30 or 60 frames per second, 960p at 30fps and 1,080p at 30fps. It also shoots stills at 16MP.

A glove-friendly sliding switch starts it recording – vibrating to let you know it’s on – and a separate button snaps stills. Both bar and helmet mounts are included. The latter has an adjustable ball and socket joint that stands the camera 40mm off your helmet, making it prone to snagging on branches.

On the rear of the camera is a lockable cover that conceals Mini USB and HDMI ports, a MicroSD card slot and recording mode switch. Once you’ve set up the camera using the supplied software, you can select the 720p, 960p or 1,080p setting.

Considering its low price, the XS100 does an admirable job. The Full HD setting is very clear in good light, and it takes crisp stills. It also automatically corrects the image orientation if you mount it sideways or upside down, avoiding the need to rotate the video afterwards.

It does suffer from image noise in the typical low light of most woodland though, and is prone to wind noise.

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