Gadget lust: wearable video cameras

Given the price -- $200 or less -- I suspect these wearable video cameras will catch on. The New York Times reports:

Cameras worn on helmets or harnesses have been popular during the last decade for specialized uses like skydiving or auto racing. But a new generation of devices that cost around $200, some of them recording in high-definition, may move wearable cameras into the mainstream, offering a new dimension in first-person documentation.  

And they aren't just for fun.

Police officers and building inspectors, for example, may don wearable cameras to document their interactions and observations. Autobiographers may use them to capture all that they see as they wander about each day, and the absent-minded may find them helpful in recalling where they left the car keys. 

The Times highlights a few.

The GoPro HD Hero 960 ($179.99) records high-definition video at 1,280 x 960 pixels and 30 frames a second. This small cube of a camera — it’s less than two inches high — snaps into a waterproof case. Combined, the camera and case weigh less than six ounces. The lens can capture photos or video at an ultrawide, 170-degree angle, and the camera comes with a headband as well as plastic plates that can attach it to flat or curved surfaces.

The Looxcie ($199), a small wearable camcorder introduced recently, loops over the ear. The camera is built into a Bluetooth headset that streams digital images wirelessly to Android phones that use a free Looxcie app. From there, the clips can go directly to e-mail. Soon the company will offer apps that make the camera compatible with other smartphones. 

The Looxcie is not a high-definition camera. It records at a resolution of 480 x 320 pixels at 15 frames a second. But it has a special button that makes it ideal for taking video of unexpected moments. When the camera is running in continuous-capture mode, and the wearer suddenly sees a goal scored at a hockey game, for instance, a quick push of the button will tell the camera to automatically save a clip of the preceding 30 seconds. Then the footage of the puck sailing into the net can be preserved and automatically e-mailed to friends. The camera weighs about an ounce and stores up to five hours of video, he said.

Small video cameras played a role in the recent election, when things happened at political events and the facts were later disputed. These little cameras may well turn out to be like other technological developments: their users will find their uses.