Aim Cam Pro 2 Recording Glasses

AimCam glasses are a great way to capture the shooter’s perspective of many situations. The latest Pro 2 version updates to the tougher camera with a Gorilla Glass lens and greater video quality from a Sony 1080P CMOS sensor. Full HD video running at 30 fps gives the best image quality. If you want slow-motion, the 720 setting records at 60 fps for superior high-speed action capture. WIFI connectivity live streams to the AimCam APP on IOS or Android mobiles and tablets, which is mandatory when initially setting up the camera.

Get connected

Live streaming and connection to my iPhone was good, which is a critical factor! It’s also helpful for coaching, but you must consider that the picture will not be quite as to how the eye sees it, depending on camera position and perspective. There was an expected split-second delay between the two devices, which is common, but video can be controlled from the phone or with two push buttons on the left arm of the glasses.

There are two tiny recessed LEDs to indicate power on (red), recording (red flashing) and WIFI (blue). These can be seen in your left eye’s peripheral vision, and is not distracting, but you must really look toward your upper left corner. The internal battery charges from any USB port and lasts between 1.5 to 2 hours if connected to your PC and enables downloading footage recorded.

Framed

Setup is either left or right handed with the miniature camera unit sliding along the glasses’ frame at eyebrow level, with a compound spring ball joint enabling exact positioning vertically and in rotation to align with your specific sightline for the image you want. Seeing the shotgun’s rib is nice, but it does need the camera very close to your eye. Depending on how low your head is to the comb, the physical space to organise the elements may be pushed to the limit. I dip my head quite low, with my sightline across the bridge of my nose as my head turns. I like large glasses, so some users may feel a little confined with the available space through these relatively shallow lenses.

Alternatively, set the camera over the left eye (for a right eye shooter) to enjoy the video with less interference, yet a little less exact sight line placement. For more dynamic shooting disciplines, such as airsoft, tactical rimfire or PSG with more fire and movement, do be aware that the camera will generally point and see slightly to your left when your eyes are parallel looking forwards. Real shooting is not unrealistic, with linear forward perspectives on both movement and gun sights! Aluminium arms holding the camera have small teeth to grip and lock it down, this new design allows for a greater range of movement. The clamshell carry case protects this careful setup from any accidentally forced movement, as well as storing all the other accessories, including a tiny Torx key to tighten the double ball joint.

Tough test

I used the AimCam when shooting clays, as I thought it was the hardest job to tackle in terms of alignment, visual needs and was pleased to see footage of clays being tracked if not always capturing them breaking. Changing over to 720P would have improved this but it’s amazing to watch yourself shoot, seeing the speed of movement in the gun that you never appreciated before.

Black or camo frames are supplied with 3 pairs of high impact interchangeable Z87+/ EN166F 2mm thick clear, yellow and black lenses for lighting conditions. They are 100% UV resistant in rapidly changing conditions. The quicker response and anti-bloom functions of the camera should compensate more quickly for the background illumination. Imagine shooting a rabbit clay against the dark earth before the second of a pair is a high crosser traversing a bright blue sky, which is when you appreciate the faster response automatically controlling brightness of the recorded image.

Bouncing rabbits

A rabbit bouncing high is a definite challenge, you start to realise your eyes are so good with response speed you never realised was so quick. The overall size of the frame has been reduced and as has the nose bridge, allowing for a better FOV when aiming. Simply put; the closer the camera is to your exact line of sight, the more it invades your precious FOV. When set up for a view down the rib, you are likely to realise there are ‘dead spots’ in your FOV when you first see and track targets before you even mount the gun! That’s why I preferred to keep the unit high on the frame and more forward.

The lens’ FOV is broad without any fish eye effect and a few hours of playing around with the setup gives you a great compromise to see and choose personal preferences. Having a friend to view real time on your WIFI device is great and you can quickly download complete videos to the phone.

This kit includes a cable for the backup battery giving around 5-hours run time. A 32GB class 10 SanDisk micro SD card stores up to 320 minutes of footage automatically divided into 10-minute segments. Sound recording is pretty good and captures backgrounds well, but the voice of the actual wearer loud. Starting and stopping the video or taking still photos is merely a short button press away.

Good and bad

Weight is unnoticeable at about 80-grams, the downside is the bulky arms force conventional ear defenders away from your head, so affecting full hearing protection. Depth of field is deep, showing from about 25 cm to infinity in focus, with enough definition to see small objects like mini clays high in flight if they are sufficiently contrasting with their background. Although described as HD, you don’t get a video output that will benefit from modern screens! Mounted centrally, looking forwards, the AimCam glasses are fantastic for instructional videos and procedures where seeing what is being done real time and from a central perspective pays dividends!