- Garmin has announced a bicycle light that functions as a 4K security camera
- That means that it is effectively a cycling board with a 600 lumens light
- La Varia Vue is now available for $ 549 / £ 459 (around AU $ 965)
Garmin has just revealed a new and powerful device for cyclists who wish to invest in their road safety, a cross between a powerful 600 lumens front light and a 4K security camera, which means that it can double as a cycling board chamber.
The new variety is effectively the rear light side and the Radar de Garmin (called Vario RCT715), with which it can also synchronize. However, this model is much more powerful, it is much brighter thanks to its exit of 600 lumens. It also includes a 4K front camera (instead of 1080p), which can automatically save videos if it detects an incident, as well as the best board cams.
It is one of those products that it seems that Garmin should have done years ago. Whether he cites in the occupied and well -lit urban areas or on rural roads, or, like me, a little of both, a powerful front light and a camera are essential cycling accessories, so it is good to see them combined a combined package of a good designed, although expensive.
Garmin says that the built -in camera has electronic image stabilization to help you make license plates even in hammer roads, although this comes at the expense of a harvest. We will have to see how well that stabilization is compared to the best action cameras such as the GoPro Hero 13 Black.
While Garmin has experience with action cameras with his now discontinued virb series, I do not hope that the Vue Vue coincides with Gopro and DJI for the image quality. Even so, it must reach a certain level to be a viable dashboard in cycling, since capturing small details can be important. To help capture those incidents in its entirety, it also has a hidden microphone for the audio.
The only potential inconvenience to combine these two devices is the battery life, but Garmin’s claimed specifications suggest that it is viable. He says that the Vue Vue will last “up to seven hours” in the day flash mode with the camera recording (although this falls just over an hour with a total shine) and “up to nine hours” when the lighthouse goes out and shoots in 1080p. If you are planning a long trip, the camera can also be used while loading.
Its video clips are stored on a microSD card (which is not included), and can also automatically save images in the cloud through Wi-Fi using Garmin Vault.
The inconvenience? Inevitably, there is a subscription to use Vault, and is quite expensive at $ 99 / £ 99 a year.
Even so, the general concept is good, and as a cyclist based in London, I like the idea of carefully combining a camera of light and cycling in a relatively small unit. La Varia Vue is available to buy now for $ 549 / £ 459 (around AU $ 965).
Security comes with a considerable price
Attend
In many ways, Bike Tech still feels a bit behind The Times, so I still combine a fairly outdated Lezyne light (which still has a micro USB cargo port) with an old goopro if I go to a long journey on the roads.
But it seems that there is finally a little more competition in the intelligent bicycle light space, with Garmin varies arriving to face the most established Cycliq Fly12 Sport (which combines a 4K camera with a light of 400 lumens for $ 319 / £ 299 / AU $ 449 more affordable). Wahoo also recently announced the new Trackr radar, a rear light with radar technology such as Garmin RCT715.
None of these is exactly cheap, and there is an argument that it is better to go with two separate devices if you do not need a camera for each trip. While it is pleasant in theory, the cloud storage component of Varia Vue could also be an excessively expensive extra if you do not use it often.
Even so, it is good to see a long -awaited innovation in bicycle security technology, and the greatest competition should mean that some more affordable options are followed in the sliding of Varia, depending on the tariffs, of course.
