The Kitvision Splash Action Cam Review

I'm actually bubbling with excitement today as I've got a product I feel most of you will love.
We live in a time where so many of us document our lives especially the special events. More and more people choose to record much more even down to their everyday lives, blogging especially has taken off hugely this year.

The action cam has exploded on to the scene over the last few years and I feel it will be on many peoples Christmas list this year. Of course the most popular action cam is the GoPro which I will refer to in the future as the "other-cam"; but many of us can't justify the high price tag of just the name.

So drumroll and Ill stop rambling and introduce you to the new

Kitvision Splash....who needs the "other-cam"!

Click after the jump to see my Oober photo-loaded review and video.

Warning it really is photoloaded....I loved it so much!

I have to say Kitvision really have got it right with the Splash what do you think of when you think of Splash...well I personally think of Summer fun at the beach, at the swimming pool...all in all I think having fun and memories.

High five...Kitvision!

Packaging

As soon as I took my cam out of the packaging it's substantial weight felt really good and I loved this clever packaging...might I say very, very similar to the "other-cam"...hmmm....but it does look damn good!

I love the fact the cam is attached by one of the many clamp attachments to the inside of the box. I loved the brightly coloured imagery and it shows everything this cam can do.

This is what I saw when I first opened the box,literally a box full of clamps and attachments...you don't get this with the "other-cam" you have to buy ALL of these separately even after paying a small fortune for the item itself.

Look at what you get for well under £80 its incredible.

Here we go, lets list whats in the box..just because I need to to show you just what your getting;

Kitvision Splash in the choice 1 of 3 colours; Blue, Pink or Black.
Waterproof case.
Vented helmet mount and strapping.
90 degree mount adapter.
Hook mount.
Bicycle mount.
Flat adhesive mount.
Tripod adapter.
3M adhesive pads.
User manual.
USB cable.

What a box full its incredible value for money and an excellent quality cam too..but I will tell you more about that later.

Checkout this box of adapters and mounts all inclusive with your Splash!

These adapters and mounts allow you to fit this cam to helmets for all action sports, specialized bicycle adapter and the adhesive mount ideal for surfing or snow boarding. Something for everyone here.

The above piks shows how the Splash will attach to a bicycle or mountain bike. The next pik shows the cam attached to the helmet mount.

Description

This adorable Kitvision Splash to summarize as there is sooo much to this little gem of a cam.

It is a simple to use ONE touch recording action cam with an LCD screen on the back to compose your shots and view playback.

It has full HD 1080p video and 12 MP photos to give you stunning quality and capture all your most treasured moments. You have everything you need to attach your cam to bikes, helmets, snow boards, selfie poles and tripods so you don't miss a thing!

The Splash arrives in its own colour coordinated waterproof case included.

This super strong enclosure is so well built, on one side is the pink fold clamp to seal this case tightly closed, the other side shows how well designed the thick plastic hinges are.

The shutter button is extended into the case itself so you only need 1 touch to capture your favorite moments even while underwater. Its beautifully sealed and easily pressed from the outside. Often these cases have stiff hard to use shutter buttons, this is smooth and responsive.

Using the arrow for guidance flip open the tight clamp closure to open the waterproof case. This allows you to remove the cam to charge and access all the settings.

You can see here just what fab quality this case really is; the ABS plastic case surround has a really nice 3-4mm thickness all the way round so it also protects from bangs and scratches too. The front lens has a separate plastic piece which is crystal clear with a waterproof seal. I love the colour coordinated lens surround this really adds a fun touch to your cam. The bottom comes with a built in tripod thread.

Im so impressed with this case; just look how well made and designed it is. The hinge is built out of the cases ABS plastic with a metal pin for extra strength.

A waterproof seal surrounds the whole inner square to prevent any leaks.The door even has 2 spongy strips to cushion the cam while inside the case giving a really firm tight fit; this prevents any jiggling inside which could damage your cam. How many waterproof cases are ill fitting and do more damage especially with action sports. This will keep your Splash safely and firmly inside, dust free and waterproof. There is no way this will fall out believe me.

Excellent tripod mount with brass thread on both Splash and case; both with embossing for extra grip.

Once out of the waterproof case your little Splash really is small..its adorable.

This gorgeous mini cam is beautifully designed with the coordinated colour glossy pink front panel.
The lens is fixed at f/3.2 which will give you faster shutter, better in low light images, sharp focus and slightly blurred backgrounds making your subject pop. The 4 holes are for the speaker/microphone.

All the surrounding sides have a nobbly texture for better grip; as being so small it could easily slip from your fingers.

The top has a nice 1cm square shutter/play button showing a small video camera. Then you have charging port and TF SD card slot on one side and the Mode button and HDMI port on the other; plus a reset button.

3.7cm x 3cm or 1.7 inch corner to corner bright LCD screen; which is easy to see and read. Here you can alter the settings to suit you using the mode and shutter buttons.

Just some of the easy to read settings screen.

Easy to charge using the USB cable provided, the red LED shows its charging and turns off when fully charged.

It charges within 3-4 hours or less; just brilliant.

The Splash's first day out to the beach....brrr

The Splash and a trip to the beach, I simply took the Splash and the Selfie pole so I could take the Splash for a test dip in the sea...without me getting to wet in the process...or that was the plan.
*Result one pair of soggy seawater wellies; the things I do for reviews ;-)

Before putting the Splash in the case I left the closed waterproof case in a bowl of water for a few hours to make sure it didn't have any leaks before taking the cam for its first dip in the British sea....brr it was a really cold dull day.

Here is the Splash in action

I found the LCD screen easy to see even through the case but you do need to sort your settings before putting into the case as once inside all you can do is press the shutter/record button.

This worked perfectly for me however,

One of my favorite images Ive taken with the Splash; gorgeous colour, contrast and sharp.

The Photos

The shutter button is responsive and fast even through the case. I set the images at maximum 12MP to see the quality and I wasn't disappointed as you can see above.

The quality of the images are just brilliant the 12MP camera is sharp and saturation is balanced. You have a huge range of settings just for the camera side of things; these are on par with expensive high end cameras. Being a photographer myself I love the fact I can alter my white balance, ISO and exposure to + and -3 is just fab and all this is done so quickly if I want to alter anything. I particularly love the scene modes; although I chose beach as I was going to the beach but it turned cloudy and I should have altered to cloudy white balance so you can see if the images look this good, how good they could have looked.

Camera settings

Images; single, timed with choices of 2/5/10 seconds intervals.
Resolution; VGA/1.3/3/5/8/10/12MP.
Quality; Normal/fine/super fine.
Sharpness; Soft/Normal/Sharp.
Exposure; -3EV to +3EV.
White Balance; Auto/Daylight/Cloudy/Fluorescent/Incandescent.
Colour: Standard, Sepia, Mono, Vivid.
ISO; Auto 100/200/400.
Scene Mode Auto/Scenery/ Portrait/ Night Scenery/ Night Portrait/ Night Sensitivity/ Beach.
Anti-shake on or off.
Continuous shot; takes 6 piks continuously.

When taking images in the waterproof case; be aware you can get a fish eye effect in some positions...not all positions; but hey this is pretty cool...fish eye lenses are expensive.

*Please ignore the date and time as in my eagerness to play with my Splash I forgot to set it. Its easily done or you can turn it off completely.

Please see my own video footage samples above.

Video

You will see in my video footage that the sound once in the case is really muffled and can barely be heard; except for the crash of sea and pebbles against the case. This is clearly stated too in the manual.

The audio is clear and crisp when not in the case. Im also impressed with the variety of settings available in the Splash; checkout what you can change and the fact it has Motion detection is pretty cool too, me thinks trail-cam for animal footage.

Video settings

Size; 1080p/720p/VGA/QVGA.
Exposure; -3EV to +3EV.
White Balance; Auto/Daylight/Cloudy/Fluorescent/Incandescent.
Anti-shake; on/off.
Loop recording; off/3minutes/ 5minutes/ 10minutes.
Motion detection; on/off.
Record audio; on/off.
Date stamp; on/off.

I love the fact it has the bonus of motion detection, loop as well as the photographic settings white balance and exposure.

The Science Bit

(for those that want all the techy details.)

Available in 3 colours.
Waterproof up to 15m.
Video resolution: 1080p 25fps/720p 30fps.
Video Modes: Loop recording and Motion detecting.
Video frequency: 50hz/60hz.
TV modes: PAL/NTSC.
Photo resolution: 1.3/3/5/8/10/12MP.
Photo Modes: Single shot/ Timed/ Continuous shooting.
Micro SD/Micro SDHC up to 32GB (not included).
Sensor: 5MP.
Lens: 120 deg, f/2.5. f=3.2.
Screen 1.77 TFT LCD.
Mini HDMI output.
Built in microphone speaker.
Rechargeable Built in battery.
Battery life: up to 90 minutes.
Weight: 60g without case.

Measurements

Height is 4.8cm

Width is 5cm.

Depth inc lens is 3.6cm

Pro's

3 great colours.
One touch recording.
Full HD video 1080P.
Video 1080@25fps or 720@30fps.
Motion detection.
12MP camera.
Single shot, times, continuous, and scene modes.
Waterproof up to 15m.
Rechargeable.

Con's

A pouch would have made it perfect to keep all the mounts and USB cables in...or just the Splash and cable for my handbag.
Addicted to capturing your memories and others.

Improvement Ideas

An improvement; would be nice to have a cheap Micro SD card to use from the box.

Buy yours from

Amazon Uk

£69.99

Kitvision.co.uk

All my thanks goes to the lovely girls from Kitvision and Kondor for sending me the Splash for this review free of charge.

All my views and opinions are my own.