Drift Innovation will have a new Ghost-S action video camera available November 26 that is loaded with some enticing new features and incorporates much-needed boosts to its video quality and optical clarity.
Upgraded guts
First and foremost on the list of highlights is upgraded video quality – an area where the previous model fell noticeably short. The Ghost-S gets a more complex 7-element aspherical lens that both captures more light than before and renders it more accurately on to its new 12MP Sony CMOS sensor. All of that information is then filtered through a new processor that Drift claims is twice as fast as on the old camera for what we hope to be video footage (up to 1080p/60fps) that can finally stand toe-to-toe with the best of GoPro and others.
In addition to improving the fundamentals, the Ghost-S also packs in an impressive feature set, such as a 3.5-hour claimed battery life (45 minutes more than the latest GoPro Hero3+), an adjustable field of view (from 90-160°), a 300-degree rotatable lens, and a larger 2" touchscreen LCD built with the same ultra-durable Corning Gorilla Glass material as on Apple iPhones.
Other features include live video streaming over WiFi, adjustable white balance, multiple scene modes, a 10x digital zoom, new iPhone and Android apps for remote operation of up to five cameras, a customizable photo burst mode for action stills, adjustable bit rate, HDMI and external microphone ports, and new mounts.
Whereas the previous Drift HD was merely "water resistant," the Ghost-S is supposedly now truly waterproof down to a 3m, too.
Tag, you're it
All of this sounds good on paper so far but what's really caught our attention is the new so-called 'video tagging' mode. In this setting, the camera is continuously on and recording video but constantly overwrites the captured information on a continuous loop. Hit the 'tag' button, however, and the Ghost-S will lock the next 1, 2, or 5 minutes into memory – and then revert back to the overwriting mode so that you're primed and ready for the next big moment.
Claimed weight for the bare Drift Innovation Ghost-S is 171g and retail price is $399/£329.