HTC announces periscope camera ‘Re’

HTC has announced the Re: a compact video camera in the shape of a periscope that can record video at 1080p. The camera has a grip sensor and an accelerometer and the design is said to make shooting video hand-held or from a holder easy.

Thanks to the grip sensor, the camera turns on automatically when picked up. A photo is taken by pressing the large button on the back and a video recording is started by holding it down for a long time. Via a button on the front you can switch to the slowmo mode, which does not film in 1080p and 30fps, but in 720p with 120fps.

Inside the Re houses a 1/2.3″ bsi-cmos sensor with a resolution of 16 megapixels and an ultra wide angle f/2.8 lens. This fisheye lens has a field of view of 146 degrees, but users can also choose to correct the fisheye distortion afterwards, so that the final angle of view becomes somewhat smaller.

Images are stored on a micro-sd card and HTC provides an 8GB card. It is also possible to forward the images to a linked smartphone. The same smartphone can be used as a viewfinder; a connection is then set up via bluetooth and the stream from the camera is then forwarded directly via wifi. The battery capacity of the Re is 820mAh and with that the camera could shoot video in full HD for an hour and 40 minutes or shoot 1200 16-megapixel photos.

At the bottom of the Re are a micro-USB connection and a screw connection for a tripod. HTC also comes with various accessories, such as a clip so that the Re can be attached to a jacket or bag, a bicycle clamp and a clamp with suction cup. The dimensions of the compact device are 96.7 x 26.5 mm and the weight is 65.5 grams.

One microphone and one speaker respectively are available for recording and playback of audio. The Re is IP57 certified waterproof so that it can continue to function under water up to a depth of one meter for half an hour. With the release, HTC is entering the action camera market that is currently dominated by GoPro, which recently announced its Hero 4 models. The camera will be released in the Benelux in early 2015 and will cost 229 euros.