The Tachyon XC is the worlds toughest camera/video cam.
Capable of withstanding the harshest of knocks and bangs, it's a camera built for the extreme.
Professional bikers have taken high-speed tumbles with the camera mounted and has still operated fully afterwards.
It's waterproof, light and easy to use.
The video quality shows little sign of compromise also, despite it's tiny size.
Tachyon Camera Specs
In-depth look at the XC
Taken from the manufacturers website with my own views and experiences added.
High-Dynamic Sensor and 90º Wide-Angle Lens - This is mostly true on the 2010 model. The earlier models were poor when filming night-sequences.
Remote Controlled - Does the job of starting and stopping filming. It's not waterproof and gives you no feedback (via the remote of whether the camera is 'rolling' or not)
Patented Shock-Proof Design prevents loss of video - I'd agree with that wholeheatedly
Uses 4 to 32GB SDHC memory cards - Strongly advise memory cards of 16 to 32 GB for a decent length of time filming.
It can film in the fairly high resolution of 640 x 480 VGA @ 30 FPS (recommended) down to the 320 x 240 QVGA @ 15 FPS (good for saving space on the chip).
The Tachyon XC Overall
Tachyon XCThat's the camera's hype. Now I'll give you my take on the deal.
The camera itself is as strong as they make out.
I personally have slammed it into the side of road when I had a minor bike accident in Asia.
It didn't have a mark on it and filmed the entire thing (video below).
It is also waterproof, as the manufacturers say.
However it's depth rated to only 10 meter; meaning scuba divers won't really be using this for all their diving.
The tachyon camera is mounted via the supplied custom mounts that you can buy from the suppliers.
These vary from a cradle mount that, via elastic straps, sits on the side of you head, hat or helmet.
It only takes disposable AA batteries. Re-chargeable AA ones are just ever so slightly too big for the chamber, if you try forcing them in you'll damage the housing.
The use of AA batteries does give the device a nice compact look and portability. With lithium AA batteries the camera is good for 4 hours plus of filming.
However this is at the expense of a re-chargeable power-pack that other helmet-cam devices use. If you're doing many hours of filming the cost in AA lithiums will start to bite a bit.
The buttons are a bit clunky to use. They work and do the job but due to the tough nature (and waterproof qualities) they require firm, constant pressure to activate.
Overall though I use this camera and it hasn't let me down. I'd recommend this to any biker, extreme sports enthusiast, adventurer etc.
Camera Mounting Systems
General Mount - curved bottom for mounting securely on round surfaces. May separate into two pieces for mounting onto tripods.
Swivel Mount - Similar to General Mount, but can be rotated through 360 degrees. May also mount on tripods or flat surfaces.
Side Mount - curved surface mounts securely on the side of your helmet or head. Slips easily and securely over your goggle straps.
OptionalHandlebar Mount - mounts on tubular structures such as handlebars.
I personally use the swivel mount system, as I feel the general mount is a bit too high-profile.
The side mount works, but at high-speed it's not perfect, with the wind resistence striking it constantly I lost my 2008 helmet while bike touring in Asia...
This is my old Tachyon (the 2008 model).
Being put through it's paces:
'Crash' Test!
I put it through it's paces though. Here it is taking a knock from me when I messed up a U-Turn!
While touring at high-speed it blew off my helmet while I was riding. It was too exposed for this kind of work. Hence I switched to the 2010 which now operates behind the wind-deflector / shield.
Original Review Source:
Bike Camera - Tachyon XC
Tachyon XC 2010 
Linear Mode
