Cheap Track Day Camera Excellence: Veho VCC-003 Review

Update: To see the lastest crop of track day action cameras, click here.

Recording your track riding is not only a great way to show your friends what you get up to (and where all your money is going), but it is also a great way to view your own riding from an outside perspective and see where you might be able to improve, and it is for this reason that a lot of people opt for a track day camera to do just that. However, not everyone has large amounts of money to spend on an action camera solution. Enter the Veho VCC-003 Muvi micro camcorder.

It’s a cheap track day camera setup that offers video and build quality in spades, at a price point that you would be hard pressed to beat. Before we look into the good and bad and why this mini action camera has been such a massive success, here’s a brief overview of the features you can expect from one of the best track day camera solutions on the market.

See Prices for the Veho VCC-003 Muvi Micro Camcorder

Features

• Dimensions: 55mm high x 20mm wide x 20mm deep
• Includes 2GB Micro SD card (SDHC 8GB Card recommended)
• 3 hours continuous operation (rechargeable battery)
• VOX – Noise activated start and stop
• 2MP 640×480 recording resolution
• 72 Degree Wide Angle field of view
• Webcam software included

So that’s what the VCC-003 brings to the table, but let’s look at what this track day camera really offers as part of its package.

The Good

Video Quality – Given its price, dimensions and lens size, the video quality this track day camera produces is astonishing. Nuff said!

Cheap as Chips – At the time of writing, this cheap action camera can be had for less than £40. I can tell you, you will struggle to find a fully fledged video camera packing as many features as the Veho VCC-003 for less than that. When you consider what you get for your money, the value is unquestionable.

VOX setting – By flicking the VOX switch on, this enables the noise activated recording mode. This is most useful when the camera reaches its 30 minute max recording time; provided there’s some ambient noise, the next recording session will kick straight in without any input from the user.

Light and very, very small – Being on the rather small side – i.e. tiny – it is very easy to carry and store. It is also very unobtrusive when placed on the bike and barely gets noticed. Being small it is naturally light, so if you strap it to your helmet you can be certain you won’t know it’s there.

Simple to use – With just a power switch, VOX switch and a single record and stop button, it is incredibly easy to operate. When the time comes you want to transfer your files to your PC, simply connect it up via USB and your PC picks it up as an external drive, then it’s a simple case of dragging and dropping the files to any location on your PC, all the while the USB connection is charging the camera ready for its next use.

Robust and sturdy design – The Veho VCC-003 is very well made (main construction is metal), feeling very solid and strong. This is particularly good for a track day camera as it will often be moved around a fair amount, and it feels as if it would stand up to a little abuse.

Very good battery life – You can expect about 3 hours recording time from this cheap track day camera. Enough to satisfy your recording needs on a full day’s track riding.

The Bad

Possible jerky recordings on supplied card – The smoothness of the videos can be compromised somewhat when recording onto the supplied standard 2GB SD card. It is recommended that you opt for a good SDHC card (8GB Max) which will give you silky smooth videos.

30 minute recording segments – As hinted above, the Veho micro camera records in 30 minute segments. This isn’t a massive problem for track days with 20 minute sessions, but if you need to record more than 30 minutes of video for whatever reason you will probably have to have the VOX mode turned on so the next 30 minute segment kicks straight in without the need for any button pressing.

No Weather Proofing – As standard the Veho VCC-003 will not stand up to rain, and although there is a separate waterproof case you can buy, this negates the use of the mounts that can be found in the extreme sports pack.

Wind noise kills sound – Unfortunately, showing this action camera any wind over 20-25mph will render the microphone almost useless to any other sounds, such as the lovely scream of your motorcycle’s engine. To protect the sound quality, the camera needs to be mounted behind your bike’s screen or at least out of direct contact with the winds created by travelling at high speeds. This leads nicely onto the next point.

Hard to find a good fixing point behind screen – Without the Extreme Sports Pack, it is quite difficult to find a good mounting point behind the screen. The sports pack is a pretty decent investment and makes it easier and more convenient to mount in a variety of different places.

Real Life Tests

I personally own a Veho VCC-003 Muvi micro camcorder and have used it for a full track day season. As an idea on what to expect, here’s some footage from a track day from earlier in the year.

Verdict

I’ve used my Veho Muvi mini camcorder for a full track day season, recording many track day sessions in all kinds of conditions, and I have to say I couldn’t be happier with my purchase. I often think to myself maybe I should invest in a better camera – especially having seen what some of the HD video cameras like the GoPro HD, Contour HD and Drift HD can produce – but I always come to the same conclusion; how could I spend £150-£300 on a new action camera when my little Veho Muvi performs almost as well as I could ever need.

If you want to do more than upload your videos to YouTube and show your mates – maybe try and cut together a funky movie – then I would suggest going for something that produces higher quality HD videos, if not, then I can’t really see a worthy alternative for a cheap track day camera.

With its tiny dimensions, robust build, ease of use and superb video quality (for its size), it’s hard to justify spending double, or even triple the cost of the VCC-003 for another standard definition video camera that will only produce marginally better results. I wouldn’t go as far to say it is the best track day camera out there, but if you can swallow it’s few short comings and the fact you may have to spend a little more for the extreme sports pack and a decent memory card, it does come damn close.

See Prices for the Veho VCC-003 Muvi Micro Camcorder