Venom POV Camera: Parts Check

Feb 10, 2010 at 10:56

On board riding cameras are all the rage these days, and for good reason, nothing is neater than seeing some POV footage of a gnarly ride you just did! While there are a number of options to choose from, the Venom Snake Eye Micro DV camera is among the smallest. Inside you'll find more info on the miniature Venom.

Read on...

Smaller than most!

Venom makes no bones about the Snake Eye not being HD as this camera's real advantage is its stature, or rather the lack of it. Standing just 2.2" tall, just over half an inch wide, and only 0.8" deep, the Venom earns its name as a micro camera. Its size is small enough that a user could mount it in places that a larger HD quality camera may not fit. Scrolling through Venom's website shows the camera mounted to all sorts of neat places, including the end of a ski pole and even to a dog's head! Keep in mind that most dogs I know would love to chew on the Venom if it was mounted on their dome...

The complete package

Venom Snake Eye Micro DV Camera Details

• Length: 0.8 in
• Width: 0.6 in
• Height: 2.2 in
• Weight: 1.4 oz.
• High Speed Recording & Quick Light Response
• 25 Frames Per Second for 640x480 Video Output
• 2GB Micro SD Memory Card – Can use up to 8GB
• 80min Record Time w/ 2GB Card, up to 320min w/ 8GB Card
• AVI Video Format
• Sound Activated Recording
• Built-In Rechargeable 260 mah LiPO Battery with 2 Hour Battery Life
• USB Recharging from Computer
• Easy Operation
• 3 Professional Sport Mounts Included
• 72 degree View Angle
• 2hrs of Usage
• $129.99 USD msrp

Sound activation controls and Micro SD card slot

While this is not a test piece by any means, I did strap the Venom to my helmet during a recent ride. Watch the video below to see the result.

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Bar, helmet, and nearly everywhere else mount!

The Venom features 25 frames per second for 640x480 video output combined with a self adjusting quick light response. The user can toggle between two different recording activations, sound activated and button activated. View angle is a concentrated 72 degrees.

Magnetic mount on the left, clip mount on the right

Extras Include:

• Micro Sport Cam
• 2 GB Micro SD Card
• Silicone Case with Safety Strap
• Tilting Helmet/Handle Bar Mount
• Tilting Magnetized Mount
• Snap-on Clip for Belts, Pockets, Purses, etc.
• Velcro Arm Band
• Elastic Head Band
• 3 Mini Velcro Straps
• Carrying Pouch
• USB Cable

Venom's use of a Micro SD card and LiPO battery are two reasons why the camera can be so small. The battery life should be long enough for multiple shuttle runs with its 2 hour life. Charging is done through the supplied USB adapter that plugs into your computer, as it's uploading the day's riding footage. Four different mounts are included that will let you fix the Venom to nearly any conceivable place. A Velcro armband, a tilting handlebar or helmet mount, and even a tilting magnetized perch. The smallest mount is a clip that attaches to a belt, pocket, or purse.

Venom Snake Eye camera in its protective silicone sleeve

Is the small size a worthwhile trade off for not taking HD quality footage? Let us know what you think below!

Visit Venom's homepage to see the Snake Eye camera along with a load of cool RC stuff!

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83 Comments

Score Time

+ 71

vanczakp (Mar 4, 2010 at 0:09)

that is a piece of crap

+ 41

Zbrodniciel (Mar 4, 2010 at 4:51)

agree, better to tape mobile phone to helmet....
130$

+ 26

cyberhawk Plus (Mar 4, 2010 at 5:34)

and its internal battery only lasts 2 hours.. how do i load it when i do not have a PC near me on holliday.. these must be able to work with batteries.. nno go for me..

+ 10

mooseduck13 (Mar 4, 2010 at 7:42)

I wouldn't call that gud quality

wwojciech (Mar 4, 2010 at 8:09)

I have the same looking cam but inside I have 720x640 and 30frame/sec who cost only 25$. If someone want to watch how recording, look on my video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4llH-E6LmYs

+ 13

WestCoastRider7 (Mar 4, 2010 at 8:10)

whn I watch the video, the quality seems like im watching a gameboy

faultlinetv (Mar 4, 2010 at 9:07)

Just my input: Not worth the buy. Its not HD, and the quality of SD isn't even up to that of the old GoPro's etc. The one thing I'm also worried about with this camera, is that all the plugs, slots, switches and "building seams" (dont know what to call them) are all exposed to the outside elements. I don't believe that the cover it comes with would protect it from the rain, mud, or dirt if it was ever to hit the ground. Why risk it.

DH-Til-I-Die (Mar 4, 2010 at 11:52)

You can get one copied and made in china, exect specs! for 2.98 and 10pounds shipping..

amando96 (Mar 4, 2010 at 13:31)

for the price it's no good, mate of mine got a camera smaller than that from ebay that shoots in 1280x720, and it cost 10€, so around 7 UK pounds, and free shipping...
oh, and you can charge any USB rechargeable device with 2AA batteries...

bikervince101 (Mar 4, 2010 at 13:40)

For less than 300$ you have the HD go pro and the quality is 100 times better.

kyleeiji (Mar 4, 2010 at 14:30)

go pro!

mooseduck13 (Mar 4, 2010 at 15:01)

go pro

keen28mtbr (Mar 4, 2010 at 15:40)

GoPro all the way mofo

mooseduck13 (Mar 4, 2010 at 17:40)

fo sho

squampton09 (Mar 4, 2010 at 18:37)

What a piece of SHIT!! Go Pro FTW!!!

afro-99 (Mar 4, 2010 at 23:09)

well lick the shit out of my a*shole, another overpriced crappy headcam, you better off gettostrapping a $50 point and shoot camera to your helmet

marcelkonskie (Mar 5, 2010 at 6:32)

^^^^^^^^

............ quality matters .......... tup

^^^^^^^^^

http://www.goprocamera.com/?_kk=gopro%20hd&_kt=e8e3702e-2b0b-4aca-98dc-0af755388645&gclid=CM3ZjProoaACFRhp4wodVCh2ag

afro-99 (Mar 6, 2010 at 12:52)

that surfer looks like a psycho-path, you can tell from the SHARP DETAILED QUALITY

rejean (Mar 6, 2010 at 13:08)

any of you ever seen the Flip video cameras? they're the same size as a deck of cards and come in HD

http://store.theflip.com/en-ca/

afro-99 (Mar 6, 2010 at 22:04)

now lets see you mount it on your helmet and cry when some mud brakes it

livelifeontheedge (Mar 6, 2010 at 23:59)

the ipod video camera is better

afro-99 (Mar 7, 2010 at 23:57)

well yes but the size is really small witch is just a punch to the nuts

[Reply]

+ 12

NorcoTweek (Mar 4, 2010 at 0:15)

they tried to make it to small, in the process reducing the quality of the vid, i would pay 60$ more for the GoPro helmet hero.

[Reply]

+ 11

runwithscissor09 (Mar 4, 2010 at 0:18)

Maybe for putting it in the girls locker room, but for all my POV i choose the vholdr 1080hd

bissellracing11 (Mar 4, 2010 at 21:40)

haha

[Reply]

amajors (Mar 4, 2010 at 0:17)

its a veho muvi rip off, or just exactly the same . see link below to see what i mean.
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/veho/muvi-camera-with-extreme-sports-pack-bundle-ec022127?query=veho

[Reply]

spankthewan (Mar 4, 2010 at 0:57)

That video was basically unusable. They mustn't have tested it offroad. I electrical taped my crappy point and shoot to my full face, and the quality was far superior to the Venom. Quit trying to take us for a ride..we aren't buying this crap. Market it towards elementary school kids or something.
Thanks for the post.

[Reply]

johnlukewalsh (Mar 4, 2010 at 9:22)

WHAT THE HELL this is such a rip off of the veho muvi, they made it way before these guys check it out its bang the same : http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/4461622/
http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/4461615/

every single thing is the same!

brodierider6 (Mar 4, 2010 at 11:23)

look up the video for that muvi thing, MUCH better than the venom

johnlukewalsh (Mar 4, 2010 at 12:30)

i no, check my headcam vid

[Reply]

Infiltrator (Mar 4, 2010 at 0:12)

Would be good except for the fact that the quality sucks and in the RC world, Venom isn't known for quality parts.

[Reply]

Kubsik (Mar 4, 2010 at 4:47)

The cam for itself, looks cool, small and seems like it is very easy to adjust to helmet. BUT, for that prize i expect more quality, you just can't take videos on board, from that kind of sports, where the cam itself will shake that much. Outlook is good, but video Q is Bullshit!!! And ofc, i think that Gopro has done really good, maybe too good job, coz it's hard to beat them from the market Big Grin

[Reply]

hncreature (Mar 4, 2010 at 3:48)

You can find the exact same thing on ebay for WAY CHEAPER - A friend of mine has one and the quality seems MUCH better than that video...they must of used one of the mounts = sketchy!!! - My friend taped his to everything from his lowers on the forks to his seat post and got some decent vids - As mentioned above...spend just a bit more and get the GoPro but definitely do not pay that for this camera when again you can find the same on ebay for less than $20

http://cgi.ebay.com/Mini-Sports-Camera-Spy-DV-Video-Camcorder-720x480-DVR_W0QQitemZ180464251992QQihZ008QQcategoryZ11724QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m444QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DCRX%26its%3DC%252BS%26itu%3DSI%252BUA%252BLM%26otn%3D5%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D8255108295648156791

spankthewan (Mar 4, 2010 at 20:30)

Damn, that is EXACTLY the same. Ridiculous...don't get taken for a ride... go back to your hole, Venom.

kylemciver (Mar 6, 2010 at 23:22)

That is what Dirt did in their write up of it, no mounts, just tape. LIke to see that footage.

[Reply]

Kimbers (Mar 8, 2010 at 3:37)

as everyone else says you are an idiot to buy one of these
when identical ones can be found on ebay for £20
ive got two (one was a gift) and for the money they are great and i get much better images than the ones posted above

[Reply]

jerryhazard (Mar 4, 2010 at 6:08)

concentrated 72mm viewing angle? Not wide enough... not for over $100 usd. I would pay $20-$30 for one though, just to try. Thanks for the link hncreature. I'll just keep using my digital camera - it has better recording specs anyhow...

[Reply]

Rolino (Mar 4, 2010 at 11:36)

Size of 2 twonies, value of one!

chubby5000 (Mar 4, 2010 at 12:53)

Hahaa.

[Reply]

JBizzle (Mar 4, 2010 at 19:15)

junk when the camera is moving. the only thing this would be good for is video taping some boom boom with out the woman knowing. junk and not worth 130 bones.

[Reply]

madbull666 (Mar 4, 2010 at 8:43)

cool concept, i like that its super small, but its not waterproof, usb only charging limits your range, the picture quality sucks and last but not least its just not a go pro. nice try venom, next time try a little harder

[Reply]

nick-hawkins (Mar 5, 2010 at 0:08)

Ive got one of these- the filming is ok for just recording what a tracks like but keep away if you want any decent footage.. Also the helmet cam attachment is really flimsy- mine broke yesterday.

[Reply]

gutkrencher (Mar 4, 2010 at 0:19)

I don't really see the point in cheap low quality helmet cams. There's no point using one unless the image is stable and decent quality in my opinion. Gopro hd is where it's at and those contour hds are good too.

amajors (Mar 4, 2010 at 0:59)

even the normal go pro wide is much beter quality, see link below for one i made in the UK with poor light quality
http://www.pinkbike.com/video/107086/

kylemciver (Mar 6, 2010 at 23:21)

I'd like to see what the picture would be like if the mounts weren't used. In the little Dirt write-up they just taped it, and that might reduce the shaking a fair bit. Because that was absolute crap.

[Reply]

danny777 (Mar 4, 2010 at 2:26)

video quality is crap but for its size its very robust ive slid on top of my freinds after coming off my bike and it was completly fine apart from some scrapes on the casing

[Reply]

crazyjohny (Mar 4, 2010 at 1:32)

the quality is rather awful...it wobbles and shakes... its not even worth watching afterwards!...if i bought this id just become really angry at myself for wasting the money.

[Reply]

dannyweiland (Mar 4, 2010 at 19:07)

too bad i dont know how big a canadian dollar is so i cant really tell how small it is

[Reply]

mtnbiker23 (Mar 4, 2010 at 8:34)

save your money and get a Hero HD.

[Reply]

tbrozz (Mar 5, 2010 at 7:30)

id rather have the toonie

[Reply]

JokerMachine (Mar 4, 2010 at 6:34)

Strapping the camera to your chest works better, gives a shot with more perspective as it will show your arms too.

But yeah that video sucks. Quality is horrendous.

[Reply]

seraph (Mar 4, 2010 at 12:17)

I hope that Venom paid for the shipping for this little nightmare camera. I would feel bad if you guys had to pay to send it back.

[Reply]

dmarsh15 (Mar 4, 2010 at 12:33)

what a piece of shit, just tape your digital camera to your head

[Reply]

mattgray (Mar 4, 2010 at 14:24)

Good choice of something to compare its size to... Who the hell knows how big a 2 dollar coin is?

odin333 (Mar 4, 2010 at 15:14)

CANADIANS DO. its actually really small. but whats the point of a small camera? its not like everything else on the market is massive and bulky. The GoPro is small and takes excellent video. there is no need for a super small camera in biking. the quality is absolutely garbage and i can get better footage from strapping a $100 camera to my head.

[Reply]

motormonkeyr6 (Mar 4, 2010 at 16:21)

My 100 dollar point and shoot camera takes better video than this...
No way would I ever buy one.

[Reply]

Brett13 (Mar 5, 2010 at 6:23)

I bought one of these on ebay for $12.36CAD its not venom brand but it will be good in the mean ime until i get a go pro HD!

[Reply]

metalmike (Mar 5, 2010 at 11:32)

won't be getting one of these anytime soon...at this point any new purchase HAS TO BE Hi-Def

[Reply]

FrantikLex (Mar 4, 2010 at 11:44)

The Tony Hawk $40 helmet cam is way better then this piece of garbage. Hero all the way

[Reply]

oonser Plus (Mar 4, 2010 at 5:52)

go pro is way better than this. way better.

[Reply]

pdxseth (Mar 4, 2010 at 6:11)

this review was a waste of PB time. that video it shot was a vomit cam. I was getting sick. SHIT CAMERA.

[Reply]

allenrotstein (Mar 4, 2010 at 3:29)

That's rubbish. Gotta be joking.

[Reply]

jcinkits (Mar 4, 2010 at 10:03)

The vid quality is as if he was holding the cam in his hand while *******off! AND riding at the same time!

[Reply]

DimS (Mar 4, 2010 at 1:43)

too much money for an ebay 16usd gadjet....
crappy quality...sux even for webcam

[Reply]

sidekicked (Mar 4, 2010 at 20:09)

Ill tape my cellphone to my head instead.

advorak (Mar 4, 2010 at 22:16)

Overall I'd say this POV isn't getting a great review, haha!

[Reply]

nastydh (Mar 7, 2010 at 15:08)

i would rather tape my cellphone to my helmet... piece

[Reply]

xxxxJMxxxx (Mar 5, 2010 at 5:26)

bad quality go pro for life Camera

[Reply]

fattrick (Mar 4, 2010 at 4:51)

Drunken vision. P.O.S.

hncreature (Mar 4, 2010 at 23:29)

No kidding...I felt like vomiting while watching that vid...ugh!

[Reply]

MitchPierias (Mar 4, 2010 at 20:01)

Another shitty low bitrate standard def POV camera...

[Reply]

bikeronbowen (Mar 4, 2010 at 19:49)

yea this is just terrible

[Reply]

jeremy77 (Mar 4, 2010 at 11:53)

this is a piece of junk this was the stupidest thing made

[Reply]

mattb (Mar 4, 2010 at 13:57)

This thing should sell for 50.00 tops.

[Reply]

sweetchiba51 (Mar 4, 2010 at 7:06)

I have used this....it's horrible..

[Reply]

dussei11 (Mar 4, 2010 at 19:23)

ive took better footage with a digital camera ductaped to my helmet

[Reply]

TonicMedia (Mar 4, 2010 at 0:39)

Not very good at all.

cripps (Mar 4, 2010 at 7:25)

No doubt. Where was this camera when the Blair Witch Project was shot? Or those youtube hobo fight videos?

[Reply]

Kimbers (Mar 8, 2010 at 3:37)

oops double post

[Reply]

jmenau (Mar 4, 2010 at 13:55)

Another "Made in China" crap!

[Reply]

letford (Mar 4, 2010 at 5:42)

you can get the unbranded versions on ebay for around £11..

[Reply]

Obranyrider (Mar 4, 2010 at 8:53)

are you kiding me??? Big Grin

[Reply]

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