Readers of Hunting the River King know I love action cameras. They are perfect for capturing footage on my many fishing trips, from wild rainbow trout in distant mountain streams to urban largemouth bass fishing a midst the concrete jungle. I recently received this brand-new camera to review, the IronX Action Camera by DXG. With a host of interesting features, I was intrigued and couldn't wait to take it out. How did it turn out? Read on!
(More after the jump!)
Features
IronX comes boxed nicely, with plenty of connectivity and charging cables, a few mounts, CDs for install, and even a video editing program through Arcsoft. Following are the stock specifications:
Full HD 1080p 30fps, 720p 60fps recording
170 def Wide Angle
Time Lapse, Burst, Self-Timer
5MP photos
WLAN 802.11b/g/n compatible
HDMI interface
2.4G RF Remote Control Wrist Strap
Water-Proof Case IPX8, 60meter
Swivel tip mount
3 Adhesive mounts
T-Tip Adapter
T-Tip Adapter
Right out of the box you get the snazzy remote control wrist strap. This RF waterproof strap allows you to take photos, record, and stop recording with just a tap of a button. Other accessories available through the IronX website include a chest mount, head strap mount, stable filming attachment, underwater lenses (wish this was included with the stock one), T-Tip adapter, plenty of bike mounts, sticker mounts, bar mounts and much, much more.
Design
When comparing IronX to other cameras on the market, in terms of design, its the little details that count. It's clear the developers have looked at ways to improve the action camera user experience with subtle tweaks and offerings, making for a solid product. One of these is the remote control wrist strap (more on this below), along with other parts.
Big points to IronX for including the protective lenses cap. I haven't seen this from other action cameras on the market. Having the cap makes me feel a lot better about the durability of this little camera, especially when I throw it in my fishing backpack a midst other gear. Just don't forget to take off the cap before recording!
The waterproof case is quite solid and didn't leak at all. It sports a similar locking mechanism to the latest GoPro case, along with two buttons, one for power/menu and the other for recording/selection. Quite easy to operate and to select various modes for video or footage.
IronX uses a "T-Mount" system for connections, proving remarkably sturdy on use. For those with GoPro parts, IronX also sells a T-Mount universal connector to work with GoPro parts (super awesome!) (link). The chest mount that goes with the IronX provides the perfect vantage point for anglers. There is also a headmount offered separately that should work nicely as well when reeling in a big catch.
Finally, unlike some other major action cameras on the market, IronX offers up to mobile apps for on Android and iOS right from launch. These allow you to remotely control the camera, along with a preview/live stream of the footage. You can also upload footage through your app to social media, Facebook, DropBox, etc.
PerformanceI took the IronX camera out on several fishing trips, both freshwater and saltwater, for bass or trout. I even took it snorkeling (best to have flat lense case for this). The camera performed quite well-I had aqequate battery life for on/off filming over several hours of fishing, nothing froze up on me (cough cough GoPro!), and the chest-mounted camera captured my fishing footage excellently. Having the lense cap around also gave me some more peace of mind when setting the camera down on rocks and other hard surfaces.
I'm trying not to overplay this, but the remote control wrist strap for the IronX is incredibly useful. This is a pretty rare feature to be included with the stock action camera (GoPro and Contour sure don't do this!). For anglers, it is very helpful to avoid having to fiddle with camera buttons when the bite happens. With other action cameras, I had to reach up to my head or on my chest mount for the recording button, not an easy task when a massive fish just hit my lure and I'm trying to play them in carefully! However, with IronX, I just had to tap my wrist button for the recording to start, then tap it again to finish. No worries, hassle-free recording. Also impressive was the one-tap button for photos. With GoPro, I had to take my camera off my head mount, tap the button to get to the menu option for photos, then tap again to take the shot, and then tap back through the menu to get back to video! This annoyance is erased with the IronX action camera, no more tapping through menus if you just need to snap a photo, thanks to the wrist strap. A one-time sync with the camera is required for this to work correctly, and is easily handled through the menu on the camera.
So, that all sounds great, but how is the picture quality? I tried the camera in both 1080 and in 720. The 1080p footage looked excellent. It's clear and picks up colors nicely. It's not quite as detailed as the GoPro3 footage, but the difference is fairly subtle. The 5MP photos turned out great, no complaints there. The wide angle of view (some love, some hate it, I love it for outdoors footage) captures everything you could want in your shot. Take a look at the footage I've posted and judge for yourself!
Note: There is a one video (underwater one) showing off the flat lenses (dive case) sold by DXY for the IronX. It's a nice way to catch underwater shots without the traditional 'blur' of the double bubble with other action cameras. You are restricted to 1080p, smaller field of vision with it, but the level of detail underwater is still impressive. Expect more underwater videos to be posted from this soon!
Trout Fishing in the Mountains
San Diego Light Rock Fishing
Newport Light Rock Fishing
Lake Perris Float Tube
Photos
Note: There is a one video (underwater one) showing off the flat lenses (dive case) sold by DXY for the IronX. It's a nice way to catch underwater shots without the traditional 'blur' of the double bubble with other action cameras. You are restricted to 1080p, smaller field of vision with it, but the level of detail underwater is still impressive. Expect more underwater videos to be posted from this soon!
Trout Fishing in the Mountains
San Diego Light Rock Fishing
Newport Light Rock Fishing
Underwater Clips
Photos
Summary
In short, the IronX action camera is an awesome choice for anglers. It shoots high quality HD wide-angle video, is supported by an array of excellent accessories, has great developer backing with both Android and iPhone apps, and doesn't break the bank. Photo quality is impressive and the action-camera view video, in 1080p or 720p, looks solid! The IronX compares very favorably with brands like GoPro and Contour in all aspects. Finally, the included remote control wrist strap is absolutely perfect for anglers and is definitely great to have on hand. There is a lot of different action cameras on the market today, some poor quality and others quite good-IronX is definitely one I would recommend. Check out IronX Action Camera today!
(Ironx Facebook, Twitter)
(Ironx Facebook, Twitter)
