New 1080p HD Video Cam with LCD Viewer by Swann

Nov 23, 2011
by Karl Burkat  
Swann Releases Swann Freestyle HD™ - 1080p High Definition Wearable Video Camera with LCD Viewer

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Santa Fe Springs, Calif. – Swann, a global leader in security monitoring solutions, proudly debuts its first high definition wearable video camera with a detachable LCD viewer: Swann Freestyle HD. Whether capturing 1080p video with up to 3x digital zoom or snapping JPEG images with its 8MP camera, Swann Freestyle HD lets you capture stunning hands-free video and share it with the world.

Housed in a sturdy case that is waterproof up to 65’, Swann Freestyle HD can be worn on the body or mounted to bikes, cars, helmets, skateboards and more via a range of included interchangeable mounts and brackets. In addition, the Swann Freestyle HD can be used as a standard point & shoot camera, featuring both single shot and rapid fire picture taking. Video is shot in stunning professional-grade 1080p HD (1920 x 1080 pixels), boasting 30 fps, 3x digital zoom and stereo audio. Swann has also included a wireless remote control that lets users operate the camera while it’s mounted and out of arms reach.

Real-time viewing is made possible by the detachable 1.5” LCD screen, so you immediately see if you’ve captured the shot. Swann Freestyle HD also allows you to watch your footage afterwards on an HDTV via an HDMI cable or you can transfer your recording to the computer via a MicroSD card or the included USB cable for editing or sharing on social media networks. The Lithium-ion battery is also rechargeable via USB, giving users up to 2.5 hours of recording time per charge.

“The immense popularity of action sports and online video sharing helped make our earlier model, the Swann SportsCam™, a huge success, but now we’ve taken our customer’s feedback and greatly improved upon that design,” remarked Guy Pithie, Swann VP of Sales. “Swann Freestyle HD boasts an impressive feature set, including a LCD viewing screen, full 1080p recording and a dual function camera and video recorder. These features paired with the rugged dependability our customers have come to expect from Swann products make the Swann Freestyle HD what we believe to be one of the best sports action video cameras on the market.”

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Accessories Included
• Freestyle HD Wearable Video Camera
• LCD Screen
• Waterproof Case
• Remote Control
• Carry Pouch
• Helmet Mounting Bracket
• Universal L Shaped Mounting Bracket
• Universal Low Profile Mounting Bracket
• Connector Tray Bracket Accessory
• 2 Flat Adhesive Mounting Pad
• Curved Adhesive Mounting Pad
• AV Out Cable
• USB Cable
• Power Adapter
• Instructions Manual & CD





Swann’s Freestyle HD has a MSRP of $279.99
More at Swann.com

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Author Info:
karl-burkat avatar

Member since Jan 1, 2000
600 articles

114 Comments
  • 244 1
 gopro had shots of hot girls surfing... you guys gotta step it up
  • 11 1
 Hahaha, love the LCD on it.
  • 24 1
 when your #1, everyone whats to be like you. Gopro girls FTW
  • 9 2
 "Keep it civil! Be constructive and on topic." Bill Cosbey.

"When is someone going to take a gopro and a gopro girl and see how far it goes?" Ron Jeremy
  • 3 1
 I dont think this will even come close to what go pro is, as a name, but I do wish my go pro had the continuos photo mode as opposed to taking a photo every 2 seconds
  • 7 1
 Idk if they just didnt shoot on a sunny day or what it is, but the whole thing looks gloomy and a little foggy for HD as compared to the go pro thats ridiculously clear
  • 6 32
flag Oscarmonk (Nov 24, 2011 at 0:07) (Below Threshold)
 its just a gopro sorry but it just is
  • 3 2
 Are you sure??
  • 5 2
 It's not as good as a GoPro, the definition and clarity of the shots isn't there, doesn't look like they've done a great job with frame rate, pretty similar to the Muvi HD with all the stuff it comes with and the quality of the shots... It's pretty good yeh... But for the price, I'm sorry but I'd expect something more...
  • 2 0
 In terms of the quality of the footage I agree that the Go Pro is better. However, there's been several problems with the Go Pro range which has put people off. I have the Hero HD1 and it's great- but the other day it spacked out and killed my SD card. The LCD back pack system had had loads of probs as well- just look on the forums to see 100s of people saying their Go Pro LCD screen has died within days of getting it. I've got an LCD screen coming for Crimbo and i'm a bit concerned about using it because problems are that common. This Swann one could be even worse in terms of gremlins I don't know- but there's more than pure quality of footage to consider.
  • 10 9
 Why do companies waste time and money creating a product like this? The GoPro Hero is clearly better in so many aspects and cheaper than this camera. Have they not looked at their competitors at all? Its only worth putting something on the market if you know that is better than its rivals, which this clearly isnt. Only an idiot would choose this camera over a GoPro.
  • 3 2
 Im not so sure bro, The viewfinder and remote are a huge advancement. My last day of riding I shot everything in portrait because I was a dumass and didnt know how the lens was set up. For me this camera is a real option.
  • 5 0
 This camera has one thing that the Go-Pro doesn't.
The guy in their promo vid, has a sweet ass moustache tup
  • 4 0
 damn. almost thought they were going to take go pro out. NOPE!
  • 3 0
 the thing is you can buy a waterproof LCD backpack and go pro HD hero for less than one of these cameras..
  • 2 0
 Go-pro's are certainly not going anywhere, there quality is unstoppable.
  • 8 0
 what the shit is this? A TOASTER WITH A LENS?
  • 3 0
 I'll just keep my gopro until it breaks.. so its going to be awhile
  • 1 0
 the remote control is the only thing i wish gopro's had, but no doubt there will be one released which is water proof and doesnt even need to have anything attached the the gopro its self... just a thing with some buttons and some wizardry.
  • 1 0
 if your going to show potential sports, please don't include photos from the early 90's instead of decent photos (windsurfing photos) and speeding up footage for the mtb section? no impressed generally.
  • 1 0
 They now have to "remote control" on the go-pro. Check it out. and btw, when you are competing against such a strong product, PLEASE make a good promo video! Seriously this looks like shit!
  • 38 1
 whoever comes out with 60fps in 1080p mode first is the winner in my book.
  • 6 23
flag deadlymailman (Nov 23, 2011 at 22:35) (Below Threshold)
 The gopro already does im pretty sure.
  • 4 0
 no gopro has 720p in 60 fps
  • 13 0
 i think go pro should first refine its 1080 to perfection. the picture is really grainy colour wise wen u use the 1080 setting. thats why i just set it to 720 at 60 fps and ta da. decent footage
  • 4 1
 Its because 1080p @ 30fps isnt really that good. 720 FTW
  • 3 18
flag Andy-M (Nov 24, 2011 at 1:28) (Below Threshold)
 I think the new gopro2 does 120fps in 1080
  • 4 0
 Correction: WVGA(standard definition) @ 120/60fps, 720p @ 30/60fps, 1080p @ 30fps..oh and 960p
  • 3 13
flag mattbeer (Nov 24, 2011 at 6:39) (Below Threshold)
 The Go Pro Hero 2 has 120fps in 720p!!
  • 1 3
 no need to hate, just got my facts wrong
  • 1 7
flag videorc (Nov 24, 2011 at 16:20) (Below Threshold)
 with the new gopro i'm sure by 120fps in 1080p it means 'fields per second', not 'frames per second'... Smile
  • 1 0
 go pro only shoots 35mm at 24.95 frames with sync sound and then you must get it telecined where you can then put it in to hd format if you so choose. DUH...... FUCKIN PINKBIKE!
  • 18 2
 Lets take a look...
Gopro2....
Wideangle lens...
1080p30fps
960p48fps
720p60fps
WVGA120fps
10 photos per second bursts in 11mp
More choice of framerate with gopro=better action films
Also no fisheye? And they think they can get into the action sports market? lolnope
But, the remote is a plus, as is Lcd but you can get that for gopro anyhoo
  • 2 0
 GoPro has a remote bacpac coming out in the winter
  • 2 0
 Yeah you can get a LCD back pack for the Go Pro but check out the 1000s of people on forums saying they've had problems with it. Many seem to have died within a few uses. When it comes to the remote backpack that would be super handy and it also sends a wireless video stream to a smart device so you can watch what you're recording on your iPhone! The stats stack up in the Go Pro's favour but it's not all numbers. Reliability is also key. After all, 84.2% of stats are made up anyway!!
  • 2 0
 Dude , 3 comments about hate for the lcd backpac... Mine is running sweet and ive had it for a while but if it dies i sure know who im asking for advice when complaining to GoPro ! what are the problems people have had ?
  • 2 0
 Get your fact's straight Mr Gavlaa! it actually 79.2% of stat's that are falsified.
  • 1 0
 @gavlaa: the contour GPS and the model above it have bluetooth connectivity so you can use your iphone as a view finder and watch your footage on it
  • 15 1
 Introducing the camera GoPro released two years ago...
  • 9 0
 i don't think the quality is as good and gopro has an lcd screen anyway.
  • 2 0
 The lcd screen on the gopro comes as an extra...and costs extra.
  • 1 0
 ... and had been giving hundreds of people a headache when they die unexpectedly
  • 1 0
 Unfortunately, I'm one of those sods who's BacPak packed up after 3 shoot's, it seems to be active but fails to show anything, and Yes! I have re-installed the firmware and all my settings are correct, I'v sent it back to the States now awaiting a replacement.
  • 1 0
 I sold my bacpac cause I didn't manage to make it work :/
  • 8 3
 The MIGHT have a superior product to go pro.... Maybe... But the marketing is nowhere near as good. The GoPro display at my shop ALWAYS grabs customer's attention. Marketing is key.
  • 2 0
 Agreed, Sick product, I like how you can turn it on and off with the little remote. However Gopro is insane marketing wise, go anywhere with bikes and i bet you'll find a gopro kicking around or at least some gopro mounts. They anialated the world of portable bommb proof cameras. oh and conours aight
  • 5 0
 looks alright, i guess time will tell how they fair against the gopro and the contour, it'd be a pretty hard market to be the new kid on the block in i reckon
  • 4 0
 the gopros image quality is lightyears better, no contest with any other headcam on the market
  • 1 2
 contours bro. they easily give GoPro a run for their money on quality. just watch: since the release of the hero2, countour will come out with a new cam in 6 months or a year that will top it.
  • 3 0
 @DJ-in-BJ From my expeirience and what I have saw on the internet and in movies, gopro Hero2 stomps the contour on every single front. Have you seen art of flight?? ahwmygahd the GoPro2 KILLED it in that movie
  • 3 0
 Like most people here, I'm not even interested until it can produce at LEAST 720p@60fs.

It's aimed at action sports yet offers no framerate increase even at lower resolutions and only suckers record 1080p. No dice sorry guys.
  • 2 0
 Seems to fall quite short of the mark compared to Gopro, lovely rolling shutter and choppy playback. That promo video was terrible as well. Must say though its cool that they include all those accessories and the continues photo mode is a sweet feature. hinthint maybe fix that with a software update gopro?

Gopro 720p 60fps is the king of pov.
  • 1 0
 Contour has 720 at 60 fps too dude....
  • 2 0
 But the gopro has a better shape. Chesty mount ftw.
  • 2 0
 This camera is originally made by Chinese manufacturer AEE. www.aee3.com/en/pro.asp
It is sold in Europe under the brand of ActionPro www.actionpro.de/index_e.html (they did not even change the model name Smile
In Russia in is sold under the brand of BlackEye www.actioncams.com.ua/blackeyextr
Now it appears in America under the brand of Swann? Everybody claims it is their own invention! Stop it!!!
This camera looks good on pictures and the description makes feel happy as well: tripod mount in both: case and camera itself, menu in fine, laser pointer in convenient. I like that the lens is in the center. Remote is handy too.
But the picture quality! Is a complete sh*t!
Nothing beats GoPro! Especially Hero2!
  • 1 0
 Yep, this thing is junk. We get spam emails from the chinese factory that makes these all the time. Anyone can slap a logo on a camera like this and sell it as their own. While it might have the right look and sound OK on paper, I have tested enough of these types of products (including other models out of this factory) to know that it is complete junk. Come one Pinkbike, how did this slip through the cracks as a real product release? This is like putting up a Huffy press release on the site.
  • 3 0
 Swann -Made in cali at 4.20. Doesnt the new gopro have 60 fps mode? 30 fps not soo good for high speed or dh. gopro is cheaper, better marketing and 100 times more features.
  • 2 0
 i think the LCD screen is pointless. Im not a contour fanboy as i dont actually own any cameras. But i think they have the right idea. Why do you need all the buttons and screens on a POV camera?! The lcd screen is just another thing that will drain the battery quicker. All POV camera needs to do is be as simple as possible. Hence i think contour have the winning formula there. 1 slider that has 2 positions. Off and record, none of this faff with trying to see if its recording or not.
  • 1 0
 too right. love my countour!
  • 1 0
 This camera will most likely just flop. Far to similar to the GoPro, nothing innovative about it. They are just behind to being with and at a price that doesn't reflect the lower standards this camera seems to be capable of. The single thing that this camera seems to be able to do better is a longer recording time. Curious to begin with as to why a security company would even bother trying to compete in the POV extreme sport cameras market to begin with.
  • 1 0
 This is a cheap china product. They just buy the same camera like "action pro" does (www.actionpro.de). It all comes from a chinese factory, which just copies GoPro (only the design) and everybody can order this camera and put his logo on it.

There are only 2 real action cam companies: GoPro and Contour.
And I am pretty sure, that in future Contour will overcome GoPro. Contour has the better product quality and puts more efforts into R&D at the moment. Also they look way better - GoPro has no Design at all - it is a good camera but looks like sh..
  • 1 0
 Wow, love all the gopro fan boys hating on this thing. I've had a go pro HD since they were released, preordered mine months ahead of time and had one before most people even knew they existed. Let me tell you, this camera is far from perfect, it was just the first to arrive on the scene and with good marketing skills, dominated sales. It still has some serious short comings like bulky size, poor low light performance, hard to use interface, etc. If you guys weren't all 12 year old fan boys you would realize that competition like this is necessary and forces gopro to step up their game and improve their product.

The ideal POV/Action cam just isn't there yet. When they make a smaller mountable bullet cam that you can truly stick on the side of your helmet and is dead simple to aim, giving a true sense of vision, with HD quality, I'll bite. The Gopro is decent, but lets face it, you are still left sticking a block that sticks out way over your helmet or out to the side that gives a really weird perspective, as if you were 12 feet tall. You have to feel around and push a crappy button blindly, hoping the thing actually turned on, or you have to take your helmet off before each run. And hope to god you didn't wack any branches and have aimed it properly, or else your entire vid could be of the ground rushing by or the sky.
  • 1 1
 Is it me or does the video from this Swann Freestyle HD seem jerky? I have the GoPro HD and am very impressed with it. It doesn't create a jerky picture like this. Also, if I was investing in a new camera to take to market, I would go down the route Contour have gone... the shape is much more streamlined and suited better to extreme sports as it is more aerodynamic. It also fits onto helmets and other places better than my GoPro.
  • 1 0
 Not just you, I thought the frame rate looked really bad. Not sure if it's due to uploading to youtube or not but if that's how it comes off the camera it ain't great.
  • 1 0
 I like that it has a LCD screen and remote, cuz the gopro without a LCD screen sucks to angle, cuz otherwise I have to carry my lap top to angle it. But the Gopro is cheaper. Id like ot see this cam tested and reviewed.
  • 3 0
 it will take quite the ad campaign to best gopro.. we'll see!!
  • 1 0
 the vid on youtube for the hero 2 has 3.5 million views!
  • 1 2
 well if anyone of you knew anything at all you would know that this is a better deal than a go pro. i just bought a HD HERO2, cost me $300 plus tax for just the camera with no accessories. this camera comes with an lcd and a remote where go pro will cost you 79 for an lcd and have yet to release a remote though it is expected in febuary 2012. once thing i notice is go pro is waterproof more than twice the depth of this camera as for quality i can not say i have not used this camera, poor quality may be just the website cause i uploaded a video and it doesn't look half as good as it did on my computer
  • 2 0
 think if they choosed a go pro to film their cameras they would have ad more positive comments Big Grin
  • 1 0
 N0 720p @ 60fps means no slow-mo.
Isnt this marketed as sports camera?
If you wana compete, atleast try to make it in the level of the top brands.
  • 1 0
 For sure, especially as they are pricing it inline with gopro etc
  • 2 0
 where is the fish eye, terrible idea having a camera with that narrow a field !
  • 1 0
 Yup, doesn't look wide enough at all...
  • 1 0
 not impressed... Only thing that might be a cool feature is the remote... Besides that, I ain't changing the trusty old Hero..
  • 2 0
 so gopro copy? i think yes
  • 2 0
 EWWWW! nice try but both gopro and contour are going to be hard to beat.
  • 2 0
 short downhill video -> Morzine - le pleney ! Yeah !
  • 1 0
 Yeah, but they've sped that bit up like 2 times. Look at the jump at the end, it doesn't look natural at all. I'll stick to my GoPro for sure.
  • 1 0
 i rly don't care about that stuff anyway, i just love that trail....
  • 1 0
 You're right, the Pleney is pretty darn fun to ride...
  • 2 0
 it will be hard to sell a older outclassed product for more money
  • 1 0
 The LCD is the best thing ever, but with the new go pro out (and shooting at 120 fps) don't think this would be top choice!!
  • 1 0
 If it's anything like the global leading CCTV systems they produce it will be cheap and nasty.
  • 2 0
 like to see the lcd screen on the back and the remote!
  • 3 1
 It looks a lot like a GoPro, and very similar mounts, law suit anyone?
  • 2 0
 Not Impressed, GoPro HD HERO2 tops all.
  • 1 0
 At least they're trying i guess. It would be sweet to see more major players in this market to drive development.
  • 4 2
 Nothing beats Go Pro
  • 2 1
 was the biking bit on pleney in morzine?
  • 1 0
 Yeah mate, that's part of the pleney.
  • 1 0
 more cameras in market more extras for us Smile
  • 1 0
 ????does amyone know the fps abilities of this camera????
  • 1 0
 gopro's edits are so much more planned and edited
  • 1 0
 Gopro and Contour are enough i think
  • 1 0
 shutter speeds not as fast as a gopro's. no one can beat GoPro. gopro ftw
  • 1 0
 Should just get a gopro.......
  • 1 0
 hahaha looks like Keith Lemon at 42 seconds
  • 2 0
 Thats exactly what I was thinking.
  • 1 0
 there is no competition to go pro..
  • 1 0
 it's all about optics!!! Lot at the lens....!!!
  • 2 0
 Made in China.
  • 2 0
 knock off go pro
  • 1 0
 big old nasty bit sold seperatley.
  • 1 0
 Totally Go Pro ripp off and not even a good one.
  • 1 0
 did i just miss it or did they not list the viewing angle.
  • 1 0
 this is SHIT
  • 1 0
 not fluid...
  • 1 0
 P.O.C camera..
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