The Sportsman Eyewear Difference

All Video Recording Sunglasses are not the “Same”!

HANDSFREEVIDEO.COM

We receive calls and letters everyday about other Video Recorder Sunglasses that are cheaper in price "but the SAME in every other way". We feel it is time to let everyone know about the real difference that is Sportsman Eyewear Video Recording Sunglasses.

We know that there are knock-offs, imitators, and wannabes who are entering the marketplace with cheaper products that look like ours. The “look” is where all similarity ends because these knock-offs are inferior in quality. One of the companies actually approached Sportsman Eyewear early on as "investors" and did so only to steal our design and proprietary information. They contacted our original production facility and asked them to make some eyewear “just like Sportsman Eyewear but cheaper”.

Ben Franklin said it best …The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten

Sportsman Eyewear continues to be the Technology Leader with our Second Generation Dual Technology Video Recording Sunglasses featuring 720 x 480 Audio/Video Recording plus a 1280 X 1024 Digital Camera. Our processors are custom made to our Founder’s own exacting design specifications utilizing the finest US made components and producing the finest Audio/Video quality with bright bold colors and crisp resolution. 

In addition we use the industry best Kingston Micro SD Card as our recording media. Also included at no additional cost are the 115V Wall Charger Adapter, 12V Vehicle Adapter, and a Micro SD Card/USB Thumb Drive Adapter. Our lenses are ANSI rated while providing UV protection. When you purchase Sportsman Eyewear your warranty is immediately in effect and we have four (4) full service repair facilities in the US.

We will not lower ourselves to name these knock-offs but assure you that you will recognize them because the difference in video quality that is as different as night and day. They use a well known cheap process called “software interpolation” to “cheat the resolution” and claim a higher 736 x 480 resolution. This process results in faded washed out colors and poor resolution that lacks clarity and detail. These glasses utilize the cheapest, lowest quality, foreign electronics. Many offer their warranty only if the consumer mails a warranty card in within 10-15 days.

Some of these makers choose to record to a hard drive to sound high tech but Sportsman Video Recording Sunglasses moved away from hard drives for media storage after our first prototypes. Our designer knew there is only so much room for the processor’s electronics and his vision was always to offer the highest quality hardware resolution while also adding the digital camera function. The Kingston Micro SD 4GB card was chosen to provide flexibility in the field and on the go to making it possible to record multiple times without having to download from the hard drive.

Sportsman Eyewear is the number one manufacturer of the finest quality Video Recording Sunglasses on the market anywhere - period! As the industry leader we strive to remain the leader in professional knowledge of our product and with passionate, premium customer service.

 

Sportsman Eyewear - As Reviewed by TechwareLabs

 

Introduction

Ever since you were a kid, you’ve wanted a pair of glasses with a hidden camera. Most attempts to do this have resulted in ugly, impractical glasses that have a cord you have to run down your body, to a device that records everything. Sportsman’s Eyewear, a relatively new company based out of  Alexandria, Pennsylvania, took that idea and tried to perfect it. They offer two pairs of glasses, one in black, the   Sportsman Eyewear 440, and the other in a “Mossy Oak” camouflage pattern, the Sportsman Eyewear 465. Join us as we take a closer look at both versions of these glasses to see if they’re the real thing, or just another toy you can get for your 5yr old.

Sportsman Eyewear’s Take

Sportsman Eyewear is a company that would rather let their end product speak for itself. Check out the video at the top, produced by Sportsman Eyewear, that shows what these glasses can do.

Packaging

Packaging of the Sportsman Eyewear was actually better than expected. All of the lenses, the frame of the glasses, and all other components that could be damaged during shipping, fit perfectly into the included hard case. Both pairs of glasses come with interchangeable lenses, that allow you to properly change them in and out, so that you can wear them in multiple conditions. Each item had a plastic wrapper, reassuring that your product is unscratched and is indeed new. The boxes on each pair are completely different looking. Although I assume that this is to help distinguish the two during inventory, it is nice to be able to look at the box and know that you indeed have the correct model.

Sportsman 440 Video Eyewear
Sportsman 465 Video Eyewear

Wearing the Glasses

Both pairs of the Sportsman Eyewear glasses are comfortable to wear. Only one individual I had wear the glasses claimed that they were uncomfortable and would not be comfortable wearing them on a daily basis. I must point out that the back of the frame (the part that goes beyond your ear) is a little tight, but it is intended to be that way to hold the glasses still during rapid movement. I actually took the glasses on a road trip, leaving my normal glasses behind, and was surprised at the ability to wear these full time.

About the Sportsman Eyewear 440/465

Both models of the Sportsman Eyewear glasses record directly to a microSD card using the integrated 3 Megapixel lens. The operation and setup of the glasses is surprisingly simple. Once you unwrap the glasses, you simply plug them in, let them charge up, and you’re good to go. Fortunately, the glasses are directly to the point. You do not need to install any third party software to read, write, or edit the files, which is an extremely nice feature.

As mentioned, the video is written directly to a microSD card, that is included in the kit. For those that know something about flash memory, the card that was included with ours was a Kingston 4GB microSDHC Class 4 memory card. Although this is more than necessary for most circumstances, a larger card would allow you to use the glasses to their full potential. Luckily, the glasses support up to 8GB memory cards which would theoretically allow for up to 4 hours of video, or a full charge worth if video. As for the class 4 memory card, we would like to see a class 6 come with the unit, although this may not be necessary.

The design and fit of the Sportsman Eyewear glasses are similar to a pair of Oakley Flak Jacket sunglasses. Normally I would say that they are trying to copy the design, but it is not close enough to even be mistaken for a pair in person. When you wear the glasses, your field of view is not interfered with – a good thing if you want to wear these while you ride your motorcycle, shoot in a competition, or anything else that would require you to actually see out of your eyes. They do seem to be a bit of a tight fit in the rear, but I assume this is to make sure the glasses stay as still as possible.

ABOVE: Oakley Flak Jacket

Testing

WOW! Let me get that out of the way. I was absolutely blown away by the image quality of these glasses. I was expecting a grainy, jumpy, less than ideal video, that was depicted in the promotional video. The video was much better. Given it is NOT HD quality, but for standard definition, I was impressed. Thirty-five frames per second means that you are going to experience blur with extremely fast movements, but the Sportsman Eyewear adapts quickly and gets the new image in focus before you know it. Going from outside daylight to indoors is not an issue either. The brightness adjusts quickly and seems to never loose focus and adapt . As with all technology, performance is not 100% constant and can change based on different conditions. Of the 7 or so hours of video recorded during testing in multiple environments, actual frames per second rendered was between 29 and 36 frames per second (average taken from video recorded and exported to computer). The video does break up sometimes during quick movements, but that is almost to be expected.

Taking these glasses to the firearm range is an experience in itself. Watching the video, you feel like you in a real life game of Modern Warfare 2 (that’s a reference for you gamers). You will have unique videos that will allow you to make improvements by seeing what exactly you are doing wrong. As gunfire is loud, we were glad to see that the Sportsman Eyewear could handle it without destroying the microphone or heavily distorting each shot fired. This is one situation where the clear lenses come in handy. If you are shooting indoors, you can simply change the lenses to use them as safety glasses and call it a day.

From the Law enforcement standpoint, Sportsman Eyewear has potential to be extremely useful. Unlike an in dash camera, an officer can wear these and use the video as evidence for what he/she has seen on the job. These glasses could also be useful in a hostile situation to keep a video record of what happened from the officer’s point of view. As we have no police officers on staff, we were unable to test this scenario, only speak with officers on their standpoint.

The Class 4 microSD card included with the Sportsman Eyewear  was plenty fast enough to handle the data that it had to process. At the end of the video, the light indicating that it was processing and saving would light for around one second and then you would be able to begin recording or taking pictures again. Although a Class 6 card would be a little nicer to have, the glasses may not be able to use it to its full potential, thus making it little more than novelty factor to say that your memory card is Class 6. The included 4GB microSD card was able to hold one 1hr 51min of video before it stopped recording. The battery was able to stay charged for the entire time the card was recording meaning you don’t have to worry about running out of battery before you run out of memory.

Although it is nice and convenient to have a rechargeable battery, the fact that you can’t carry an extra battery in case it dies, or buy an extended battery pack to prevent it from doing so, is a little inconvenient.

The Sportsman Eyewear glasses are not only a video recorder, but also a hidden digital camera. If you simply give the glasses a quick push of the “play/pause” button, the 3 megapixel lens takes a snapshot of what you see.

Conclusion

When I received the Sportsman Eyewear, I was expecting to have to bash it a little. After using them for an few days, I honestly couldn’t find an area to complain. They are comfortable, do exactly what they claim, and do it well. The multiple types of interchangeable lenses allow you to adapt the glasses to your environment. With this ability, there an infinite number of uses for these. From law enforcement purposes and firearms training, to recording your newborn child or spying on your significant other by leaving them on the table when you leave, everyone could find a useful way to incorporate these into their life. With a price tag of $269, the Sportsman Eyewear is affordable for most and cheaper than a regular digital camcorder, however we would like to see these glasses a little more affordable. Not because they aren’t worth the money, simply because we think everyone should be able to afford one.