Interbike 2012: Budget video cameras from Looxcie and Liquid Image

This article originally appeared on BikeRadar.

The miniscule Looxcie 2 certainly takes a different approach to many video cameras, concentrating on what people tend to do with footage instead of absolute image quality. Maximum resolution is a modest 480p but Looxcie has made it remarkably simple to share your view of the world – instantly.

When paired via Bluetooth to an internet-enabled mobile device running the company's LooxcieLive app, the Looxcie 2 will stream its content in real-time or post clips almost instantly to your Facebook and Twitter accounts. Viewers can even send messages to the person shooting the video while the content is streaming ("Hey, take a right turn!").

In addition, a continuous looping function automatically records the past one to 10 hours of footage, depending on the model and settings.

The camera is ultralight – at just 22g (0.78oz) – and incredibly tiny. The rechargeable battery will record up to four straight hours of video (provided you have a sufficiently capacious MicroSD card installed) and the unit even acts as a Bluetooth audio headset with the supplied earloops.

Best of all, though, is the reasonable price: just US$150-180 for five to 10 hours of maximum video capacity.

The Looxcie 2's earloop mounting option

Liquid Image crosses over from surf to bike

Californian company Liquid Image showed off its latest Ego camera at the Interbike OutDoor Demo, with an impressive feature set packed into the miniature package.

The lens captures a 136-degree field of view in 720-1080p, there's built-in Wi-Fi for real-time streaming to smartphones and other compatible devices, and an on-board LCD control screen despite the puny form factor.

Maximum capacity for the MicroSD memory card is a whopping 32GB and the Ego will also shoot 12MP still images.

The Liquid Image Ego lens captures a 136-degree field of view

Available mounts include the usual helmet and handlebar options plus a suction cup variant, a stick-on mount (intended for surfboards but probably useful for other applications) and a clamp-on mount for nominally round tubes.

Suggested retail price is US$149.

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