ODRVM WiFi Action Camera
Inexpensive action cameras like the ODRVM WiFi action camera are a great way to capture family fun, extreme sports, hiking or biking and feed your creative film maker cravings. Let’s take a look.
The ODRVM branded action camera is one of many on the market right now. It has the same form factor as most of them which matches the much more expensive GoPro within a millimeter or so. That means that in most cases, third party accessory kits that include chest mounts, suction cup mounts, multiple adhesive mounting plates, pillars and rotators will also work with this little camera.
What’s in the box
Out of the box the camera includes the camera, two batteries, waterproof exterior case, instructions, mounting straps, and a couple of mounting plates and a nice case to store them in. We’ll take a look at all those in a moment.
Settings
The camera records at full HD often seen as 720P or 1080P. These numbers refer to the number of horizontal lines in the image so 1080P has more resolution than 720P although they are both considered HD.
The camera has a number of settings you can change depending on the environment. In normal outdoor use on a sunny day, the automatic settings will be just fine. However, on cloudy days or when hiking or biking in the woods you’ll want to adjust the settings to increase the camera’s light sensitivity and white balance. These settings include white balance, exposure and ISO The fact that you can adjust these settings is a testament to the power packed into these little inexpensive devices.
The ODVRM WiFi action camera has a 12 mega pixel sensor. You can select from 5, 8, 10 and 12 megapixel resolution for photos and 1080p and 720p at either 30 or 60 fps for video. Besides the typical camera settings, you can also make choices regarding time lapse photography, capture interval (such as take a photo every 3 seconds), loop recording, motin detection and video rotation for when the camera will be held upside down.
To get smooth video the camera needs a sensitive sensor and a powerful image processor. It also needs a fast SD card to accept the images. You’ll need at least a class 10 SD card or one labeled UHS I or UHS II to make sure there isn’t a data traffic jam on the electronic highway to your memory card. Slowdowns here cause video drop outs in you video file as the camera doesn’t have the capacity to buffer data backlogs. So get a good SD card.
With the right settings and good lighting, the ODVRM Action Camera does a good job capturing video. If you take the couple of seconds it takes to assess your surroundings and change settings for lower or higher light conditions and white balance you’ll end up with great video. It’s a good practice to reset the camera to the auto settings when you’re done so you don’t end up shooting a really bright day with ‘shade’ settings and increased exposure compensation in the camera and blowing out the images.
For a more detailed explanation of the impact of these various settings, consider getting my book, the Action Camera Handbook available on Amazon.com. Written specifically for these little inexpensive cameras, the book will explain what the settings mean and what they do. The specific titles in the menu system might be slightly different, but the explanations still apply regardless of brand.
Accessories
The accessories that accompany the ODRVM WiFi action camera are pretty impressive for such an inexpensive camera kit. All are the standard GoPro-style mounting tools you’re probably used to seeing. You get a bike mount, a couple of mounting plates, a J-hook, pillar, rotatator, snap-in mount, the waterproof mount and an alternate rear door. If you look closely, the alternate door has holes to allow sound better access to the camera’s microphone. This obviously won’t be used for underwater work but will allow you to more safely use the camera in muddy or ‘splashy’ settings where the case won’t get submerged.
Rounding out the set are some hook and loop bands, adhesive mounting pads, a wire tether and a USB cord. All in all, it’s a very nice set.
ODRVM WiFi Action Camera Mounting Options
There are an almost unlimited number of ways to mount your action camera. You’ll be able to do a lot of them with the accessories that come with the camera. There are, however, several inexpensive accessory kits on Amazon that will add a number of additional mounting options to your film making choices.
ODRVM mounted to outside of vehicle with a suction mount.
ODRVM Wifi action camera mounted to windshield.
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ODRVM WiFi Actin Camera bicycle mount.
ODRVM WiFi action camera helmet mount.
ODRVM WiFi actin camera on a selfie stick.
Photos
Here are a couple of still shots taken with the ODVRM Action Cam. The camera has a 12 mega pixel sensor. I had the camera set to 8 mega pixels for these shots. Base your setting choice on how you plan to use the resulting image. Think large megapixels for large prints. Also, note the curves on straight lines near the edges. That’s the fisheye effect all small action cams have.
ODRVM WiFi action camera photo. Note curves near the edges.
ODRVM WiFi action camera photo. Note curves near the edges.
Rating
As you can see, the quality of this little camera is pretty nice. With third party accessory kits with things like suction mounts, selfie sticks, chest and dog mounts, you’re only limited by your own creativity on the views and perspectives you can achieve.
With the low price of these cameras, you’ll be tempted to get a couple of them to record multiple perspectives of the same action and blend them together in your favorite video editing software.
Kids can have hours of fun and aspiring film directors can do some really impressive work with a couple of these along with their smartphone’s video recording capability. And I didn’t even mention extreme sports. The options are nearly endless.
Video
