Digital Camera

Midland offers a wide variety of action cameras, geared towards the outdoors aficionado. In the past, I have reviewed their excellent XTC 300 and am thrilled to try out their new XTC 450 Action Camera.  Features The Midland XTC 450 offers a considerable upgrade from the XTC 300, now offering 1080p recording at 16:9 aspect ratio with a rotatable, 7 element lenses. Sadly, the viewing angle is limited at 1080p (30fps) to 105 degrees. At 720p (60fps), it jumps up to 142 degrees. A 1700mAH battery, with life up to 4 hours (very reliable for me during testing) will keep users recording at length during trips. Focal length 5 inch to infinity and MP4 video at H.264 compression round out the specs on this action camera. Settings are adjustable via the back panel (video quality, WiFi, etc) or through the smartphone app, Action Connect. (More after the jump) The XTC is a decidedly different design of action camera, more similar to the Contour line than the GoPro models, thanks to the oblong...

I love action cameras, especially affordable ones. While GoPro often comes to mind when action cameras are discussed, there is actually a huge number of options available for anglers on the market today. One of the most exciting and affordable action cameras today is the SJ4000. It has been extremely well-received online, with multiple reviewers praising it . So, it's only fitting I feature this intriguing GoPro-alternative in our continuing review series on affordable action cameras.  (Read on after the jump!) First Impressions: After unboxing the SJ4000, you'll notice a nice, rubberized grip surface. It comes in a variety of colors; but the black version (shown above) seems to be the most common. Camera is light but doesn't feel cheap. Buttons are fairly simple, a good thing for easy recording, with a power/menu button on the front, record on top, and up/down/wifi selector on the side. Camera boots up quickly, with a nice SJ4000 splash screen, and audible on/off sounds...

Took a little hike to the East Fork of the San Gabriel River. Fortunately, the water was flowing well, despite the recent drought. Unfortunately, the trash and destruction wrought by weekend crowds and careless gold prospectors still peppered the shoreline. I also could not find any trout, no wonder given the poor state of the stream. Did manage to land a tiny (or large for his usual size?) Arroyo Chub while fishing for trout. He was safely released, as seen in the following video of the trip. Tight lines!