TOMTOM HAVE PLENTY of experience in electronics with their sat-navs and GPS units, so we had high hopes for their first action camera.At 92mm long, the Bandit is bigger than a GoPro (the benchmark action cam) and at 191g it’s heavier too. But with 11 video modes, including 1,080p Full HD at 60 frames per second and 4K at 15fps, up to three hours’ battery life, wi-fi connectivity and GPS, it certainly impresses on paper.
Image quality is top-notch even in low light, and the camera deals with transitions from light to dark well.Once paired with TomTom’s app for iOS and Android phones, editing and even live-viewing your footage is a doddle.The slide-out USB‘Batt-Stick’ lets you connect it to your computer or TV too.
The integrated ‘scissor’ mounting system is unique to TomTom.A faulty mechanism caused wobble on our first (press) sample, but switching to the production version fixed this. The flat mount supplied in our ‘base pack’ didn’t allow angle adjustments (up, down, left or right) but the camera body and lens can be rotated through 180 degrees to level out the horizon. Production models should come with a GoPro mount adapter too (though the Bandit can’t be used with a chest harness because of its shape). Mounted on an open-face helmet, the camera’s weight caused the lid to rock backwards and forwards.We had no such problems when we tried it with a full-face.
A good entry into the camera market, but its weight and mounting issues prevent it taking GoPro’s crown
Price 405$ (base pack)
