Veho Muvi Micro DV camcorder

Smaller than a box of matches but offering good quality video and even half-decent sound, the Veho Muvi is a great option for point-of-view (POV) riding vids and keeping track of SMIDSY drivers on your commute. The mounting options could be better, and unlike some other, bigger cameras it isn't waterproof, but if it's all about size for you then this is about as small as it gets.

First things first. At 54x25x20mm and 39g, the Muvi is genuinely tiny, so small that you have to be vigilant to not lose the thing. It feels sturdy though, with a metal body and good quality switchgear. It records on to a supplied 2Gb Micro-SD card which gives enough room for a couple of hours of footage in AVI format. Frame size is a decent enough 640x480 pixels and frame rate is 25-30fps, depending on the card, according to Veho. However, ours records at 20fps onto the supplied card and we had to get a replacement card as the first one was too slow even for that, losing sync with picture and sound. 20fps is fine for most applications but if you're looking to shoot fast action you might need to budget for a faster card.

The camera comes supplied with a charger but mostly we've charged it up via USB, the battery has a very good life so if you charge it up before you go out you should be able to shoot periodically through the day with no problems. Obviously the camera is easy to hold by hand and a strap is supplied, there's also a clip mount in the box. For an extra twenty notes you can have the extreme pack which gives you a number of different mounting options including an arm strap and a helmet/bar mount, but to be honest we had most joy just strapping the clip mount onto stuff with insulating tape or cable ties. The camera is so tiny that it tends to stay put.

If you want absolute security then there's a pro handlebar mount available too, for £29.99. The extreme pack also contains a silicone weatherproof skin, but since there's holes for the lens and switches it's pretty pointless really - it might make the Muvi a bit more crash-resistant I guess. If it's weatherproofing you want there's a £39.99 enclosure that'll render the Muvi waterproof to 10m, perfect if you mix your cycling with a bit of diving...

The lens itself is barely a millimetre wide but manages to capture a very decent level of detail, and the auto exposure is pretty good too. In terms of picture quality it's about the same as a decent camera phone, it's not dissimilar the the video my Samsung Omnia takes, and that purports to be able to take 5MP stills. The lens is a bit wider than some which gives a better field of view for POV shots, and also means you're more likely to hit your subject - all mini cameras are a bit hit and miss in this regard. The camera records sound too: if you're riding along then the wind is all you hear but on static shots it actually makes a decent fist of it, much better than some other POV cameras I've tried. This POV vid of the Genesis Day One will give you an idea of the image quality.

The Muvi has another trick up its sleeve too. As well as the on/off switch there's a 'vox' switch on the opposite side. Turn the camera on and set it to vox mode and it becomes sound activated, so you can set it up as a security camera to find out who's taking your chocolate biscuits from the communal fridge at work. It might have other less nefarious uses too; most of the ones I thought of involve spying although you could use it as a more long-term shed/garage security camera assuming you can supply it with power. You'll need to rig up a security light too, as the Muvi struggles a bit in low light with its tiny lens; that's true of all the POV cameras I've tried though.

Verdict

All things considered the Muvi is a good option if you're looking for a fun, easy to use POV camera to take riding. The sound is good enough to record the odd piece to camera too. Unless you're prepared to splash (sorry) out for the waterproof casing it's not an all-weather option though.