BlurFix HD Budget Action Camera Review

[Update: 7/4/2013: I've been using this camera off and on since the review and it finally died on me. Couldn't get it to boot up or reset. I've noticed a lot of different companies carrying this camera, from Polaroid to Vivitar and several others. Prices range from $40 to $100. Great set of accessories, some decent underwater footage, but poor battery life and reliability make this not the best choice for action cameras].
-----

Are you looking for an alternative to GoPro, Contour, Sony, and other incredibly expensive action cameras? The BlurFix HD camera may be one such option. Selling for only $149 and coming with a load of accessories, BlurFix is definitely opening new territory in the budget action camera market. I’ve just finished taking my BlurFix on a load of fishing trips, putting its waterproof housing to good use in a variety of situations and I have a full review of this little camera. Sit back, check out the BlurFix fishing video footage, and read on!
(Videos and review after the jump)

Wild Trout Fishing with BlurFix

Features
So why the name BlurFix? Many other cameras use a very wide-angle lenses that results in some blurring around the outside periphery of the video. The BlurFix HD features a fixed-focus, wide-angle lenses, but with a smaller field of view and none of the “fish-eye” and blurring that occurs with larger angles of view. Here’s the rundown on the stats of this budget sports camera:

LCD Display: 2" Touch Panel

Image Sensor: 1.3MP CMOS

Internal Memory: 128Mb SDRAM

External Memory: Supports up to a 32 Gb MicroSD Card

Still Image Resolution: 5MP(2592x1944)

                                       3MP(2048x1536)

                                       1.3MP(1280x960)

Image File Format: JPEG

Video Resolution: 720P(1280x720)Pixels @ 23-31fps

                               VGA(640x480)Pixels @ 49-63fps

Video Fil Format: AVI

PC Interface: MiniUSB 2.0

Battery: Lithium 300mAh
Battery Life: > 1 Hour
Dimensions: 66*43*27mm

Aperture: F/3.1 f=9.3mm

Focus: Fixed: wide-angle lens

Weight 46g (w/o batteries)
Digital/Optical Zoom : No
Aperture: F/3.1 f=9.3mm
White Balance: Auto
EV Compensation: Auto
Sensitivity: Auto
OSD Language: English
Supported O/S: Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Windows 7

You’ll notice the video quality is up to 720p. That’s a minimum for YouTube to tag your videos as “HD.” While it’s not the 1080p shot by higher-end action cameras, 720p is plenty quality to catch the action on most fishing trips from what I’ve found. The BlurFix camera has a built-in lithium battery, rechargeable through an included car adapter or USB 2.0 port. Of special note is the 2.0’’ touch screen on the back of the camera. There’s no viewfinder, as the screen acts as such and also allows you to review your footage while out on the water. This is a really neat feature, definitely an advantage over more expensive action cameras that require a separate unit for such “in the field” reviewing.  After all, who wants to wait until they get home to see what their video looks like?

The camera size is also pretty impressive. It’s incredibly tiny, easily fitting in the palm of my hand. 

Underwater Lure Shots with BlurFix

Design
The BlurFix camera comes packaged with an impressive array of attachments to better capture action in different environments. These include a waterproof case, suction-cup mount, protective shield, handlebar/pole grip, helmet mount and strap. There’s also a USB charging cable and a helpful car charging cable. All the attachments and accessories worked great for me. The helmet clip is designed for use with bikers in mind; however, I was able to easily use the clip on a couple of straps as a chest mount for fishing. Furthermore, the handlebar attachment easily attaches to poles and I mounted it on a PVC pipe for better underwater shots. The suction cup mount is perfectly designed for use in vehicles on the dashboard, allowing for a very stable platform for footage from the driver’s perspective. Finally, the underwater camera housing is excellent! I can’t rave enough about this casing-it’s perfectly watertight, yet still allows for incredibly easy shooting under the surface of a lake, stream, or river. It’s very similar to the GoPro casing and is quite durable. There’s two buttons on the top of the case, one to power on/off and one for recording, allowing for easy shooting when a fish was on (not too many buttons to fiddle around with). I was incredibly impressed with the quality of the underwater shots I got with the BlurFix HD camera, allowing me to record my fishing trips from a totally different perspective.  It’s also nice that BlurFix includes all these attachments with the main product, not forcing you to purchase other accessory kits to get the full experience.  Also, the actual packaging of the BlurFix camera is pretty solid as well-looks like it would be right at home next to other action cameras at electronic stores!

Lake Skinner Bass Fishing with BlurFix Camera

Performance
The BlurFix really shines at capturing underwater shots. I used mine in a variety of situations and really enjoyed how the water footage turned out the best. It’s certainly not GoPro-level of quality, but it’s being sold at well less than ½ price of that brand’s camera so it’s rather hard to compare the two. Make no mistakes about it, this is a budget action camera and you won’t see the 1080p images found from more expensive cameras. The dynamic range of colors does appear to be somewhat limited, making it at times difficult to work in very bright or low-light conditions. Once inside the underwater camera housing, audio is nonexistent (as expected), but when used on its own, the quality is alright. There is a very low background “whirring” but it’s not immediately noticeable. On the flipside, the camera housing doesn’t appear to negatively affect the image quality, from what I could tell. It’s also really easy to shoot with the BlurFix camera. The button locations on the top of the camera housing allowed me to quickly turn on the camera and start shooting video, even with a fish hooked up. I really like how simple the BlurFix is to operate!

Puddingstone Lake BlurFix Camera

Summary
Action cameras, from Sony to Contour and more are the hottest tech toys of this holiday season. However, HD action cameras aimed at the more price-conscious audience are considerably more limited in selection. The BlurFix HD camera is one of the few sport cameras on the market today. While it has a few shortfalls in terms of overall image crispness and dynamic range of colors, the BlurFix HD is still a very solid option for a cheap action camera. Its $149 price is incredibly more affordable than most other sport cameras, although still fairly high for what it offers. Definitely consider the BlurFix HDif you are on a tight budget and looking for an affordable action camera with an array of housing. Hopefully, we’ll see even more budget action cameras in the near future, allowing more people to get in on recording their favorite outdoor activities, from skateboarding to surfing, and, of course, fishing. 

 Silverwood Rainbow Trout with BlurFix Camera

Bottom line:
If you don’t want to spend $300+ on an action camera, aren’t looking for GoPro 1080p quality footage, but still want a solid sports camera with underwater housing and plenty of other accessories, than the BlurFix may be just right for you.

 Fall Trout Fishing with BlurFix Camera