TomTom Bandit Action Camera Review

Everyone will agree that travels and adventures are what make life exciting. Often, we want to relive these moments, but our memories of what we have experienced are not enough. Most times, we want to capture our actions through photographs and videos so we can view the emotions showing on our faces.

Luckily for us, technology has made it possible to do so as there are action cameras out on the market. One of these is the TomTom Bandit 4k Action Video Camera, considered a game-changer in the competitive world of action cameras.

TomTom Bandit Action Camera Review
TomTom Bandit Action Camera Review

TomTom Bandit Action Camera 4k White Features

TomTom is a firm renowned for its GPS navigation system. As it entered the action camera market, the company came up with the TomTom Bandit 4k Action Video Camera to make the lives of the users much easier.

Tomtom Bandit Accessories Pack
Tomtom Bandit Accessories Pack

This action camera stands out from the rest because of its built-in media server allowing on-the-spot editing unlike similar products on the market that require users to download the footage before the editing can start. With the TomTom Bandit product, one can do the editing hassle-free using the accompanying app for smartphones, thus only requiring a couple of minutes to both create and share the videos complete with music and added overlays such as speed.

The TomTom Bandit 4k Action Video Camera comes with in-camera motion as well as GPS sensors for its ‘Create a Story’ feature allowing users to quickly and automatically explore and tag videos based on altitude, G-Force, heart-rate, and acceleration. Plus, one can tag manually using either the remote control or the tagging button.

Tomtom Bandit Accessories
Tomtom Bandit Accessories

One only needs to connect the mobile app—the TomTom Bandit app—to the camera by switching on the Wi-Fi. This is easy to use as one just needs to shake the mobile device and choose the highlighted videos, and the App will then edit the videos. The whole process takes only a few seconds.

As for taking photos, both the frame rate and video resolution of the camera are quite impressive at 720p at 60/120 Frames Per Second or fps, 1080p at 60/30 fps, 1080p at 60/30 fps 2.7k at 30fps, and 4k at 15 fps. Plus, this action camera can capture images up to 16 megapixels as well as time-lapse shoot sequences.

The Bandit comes with an LCD that is easy to read. It, however, does not have a live view screen and users can only see the menu settings, selected modes, and options. The unit is also Wi-Fi ready given that users must have the accompanying app for quick editing options.

Bike Helmet Camera
Bike Helmet Camera

The battery can be found at the rear part of the camera and can run up to three hours if recording straight at 1080p at 30fps. The TomTom Bandit also has a MicroSD card slot and USB connector, eliminating the need for a card reader or additional cables.

The live action camera comes in two packs: the bases and the premium. The base pack has the camera, GoPro adapter, and adhesive mounts. On the other hand, the premium one has the camera, 360 pitch mount, remote, waterproof lens cover, and the GoPro adapter.

The camera unit is splash-proof due to its lens cover thus making it durable despite exposure to raindrops as well as snow. Attaching and removing the camera to amount is quickly done by pressing the tabs. Plus, its clip system allows the camera to move left and right easily. The mounting plate, however, does not lock the camera securely.

Pros

  • The built-in media sensors together with the TomTom Bandit app make editing and sharing of videos easy as the user only needs to shake the smartphone to start the editing process.
  • Attaching and removing the camera to the mount is easy because of its clip system, which also allows the unit to rotate easily in either direction.
  • No need for cables to transfer images or charge the unit

Cons

  • The mounting plate fails to lock the unit securely.
  • No live view option for the LCD
  • The GPS along with other sensors can only be used for tagging.
  • Lacks digital stabilization for images

Summary

The TomTom Bandit Action Camera is a cut above the rest because of its built-in sensor and the TomTom Bandit app that makes editing easy. One only needs to shake the mobile device to edit the highlights from the camera. Additionally, the entire editing process only takes a few seconds.

Take note, however, that the built-in GPS and other sensors are only used for tagging images. The camera’s clip system makes mounting and removing the unit easy. However, it fails to attach the camera to the mount securely.

The camera is at par with many other live-action cameras on the market with the frame rate and video resolution at 720p at 60/120 fps, 1080p at 60/30 fps, 1080p at 60/30 fps 2.7k at 30fps, and 4k at 15 fps. However, the camera could still be improved as products of the same price range like the Sony’s Action Cam X1000V and GoPro’s Hero4 Silver have far impressive performance.

Verdict

Live action cameras have become popular as everyone likes capturing precious moments, particularly the exciting ones so we can relive these experiences. These memories are not only for ourselves but are also meant to be shared with many others.

Thus, if you are one of those who want to share the action immediately, then the TomTom Bandit 4k Action Video Camera is the live-action camera to buy. It makes editing much easier compared to other live-action cameras where images have to be either downloaded or transferred and edited. However, other cameras of the same price range can take more impressive shots.

If the ease of editing and sharing is more important than getting better images, then one should go for the TomTom Bandit. But if having better quality stills is essential, then one can purchase other products for almost the same price.

Leave a Reply