James Peel
Well-Known Fanatic
I first saw a Tachyon camera when Jeremy Moore brought one to a match last summer. I liked it so I picked one out for myself for Christmas.
On the website there are several packages to purchase for shooting sports ranging from the basic to the full blown kit with several mounting options/brackets. Since I am a gun gear addict there was no way I was going to pass up getting more so I went with the full deal http://www.tachyoninc.com/guncam.htmlfor $249.99. I put it to use yesterday and here's what I learned.
1. The camera is light, approx 2 oz, super easy to operate and takes good quality video, wide angle with no fish-eye distortion.
2. The clip on mount on the bill of your cap is a little awkward because it is nearly 3 oz of extra weight on the very tip of your cap which makes the bill fall over your face unless the cap is really cinched down tight.
3. The clip on mount used on your ear-muffs works well but puts the POV even higher on your head, in case you're trying for that eye-level view.
4. The hat mount is solid and doesn't pull the bill of your cap down as bad as the clip on.
5. The scope attachment rail is for 1" tubes and therefore won't even start to fit a 30mm tube. I didn't check that detail when I bought the kit just assumed that since they are marketing this kit to competition shooters the attachment would be made to fit the most common scope size. I've emailed Tachyon and asked if they make a 30mm attachment.
6. The shotgun magazine attachment rail will fit my Nordic MXT tube only in the clamp groove where the diameter is 27mm. If your tube OD is greater than 27mm you're out of luck.
7. The picatinny rail mount is robust and holds the camera very securely and I'm sure will protect from shock/recoil damage. However it also weighs approx 6 oz so with the camera inserted is approx 8 oz. If this was mounted on the shotgun magazine tube that's a lot of dead mass just hanging out 6" beyond the barrel nut. Same thing if it was mounted on your rifle handguard or pistol rail. A lot of dead mass just hanging there. I might mount it that way a time or two for practice sessions or if I use my guns in my strength training regimen, but I can't see having that extra weight on the guns during a match.
So overall I'm pleased with the camera and the initial quality but I wish I'd realized the limitations of the attachments that came in the gun cam kit and just bought one of the lower priced kits that just have the hat mount.
On the website there are several packages to purchase for shooting sports ranging from the basic to the full blown kit with several mounting options/brackets. Since I am a gun gear addict there was no way I was going to pass up getting more so I went with the full deal http://www.tachyoninc.com/guncam.htmlfor $249.99. I put it to use yesterday and here's what I learned.
1. The camera is light, approx 2 oz, super easy to operate and takes good quality video, wide angle with no fish-eye distortion.
2. The clip on mount on the bill of your cap is a little awkward because it is nearly 3 oz of extra weight on the very tip of your cap which makes the bill fall over your face unless the cap is really cinched down tight.
3. The clip on mount used on your ear-muffs works well but puts the POV even higher on your head, in case you're trying for that eye-level view.
4. The hat mount is solid and doesn't pull the bill of your cap down as bad as the clip on.
5. The scope attachment rail is for 1" tubes and therefore won't even start to fit a 30mm tube. I didn't check that detail when I bought the kit just assumed that since they are marketing this kit to competition shooters the attachment would be made to fit the most common scope size. I've emailed Tachyon and asked if they make a 30mm attachment.
6. The shotgun magazine attachment rail will fit my Nordic MXT tube only in the clamp groove where the diameter is 27mm. If your tube OD is greater than 27mm you're out of luck.
7. The picatinny rail mount is robust and holds the camera very securely and I'm sure will protect from shock/recoil damage. However it also weighs approx 6 oz so with the camera inserted is approx 8 oz. If this was mounted on the shotgun magazine tube that's a lot of dead mass just hanging out 6" beyond the barrel nut. Same thing if it was mounted on your rifle handguard or pistol rail. A lot of dead mass just hanging there. I might mount it that way a time or two for practice sessions or if I use my guns in my strength training regimen, but I can't see having that extra weight on the guns during a match.
So overall I'm pleased with the camera and the initial quality but I wish I'd realized the limitations of the attachments that came in the gun cam kit and just bought one of the lower priced kits that just have the hat mount.
