ASUS just dropped a video for their new Reco Smart camera that is designed to not only work as a dash cam but also as a portable camera. With a fast lens, Sony sensor and an interesting design, things are looking pretty good for it.
The Reco Smart camera is shaped a lot like a regular camera lens, without the body, which means that it is also quite large, much like Sony‘s QX Camera. With that extra real estate though, ASUS can fit a large (and fast) f/1.8 aperture lens which should let it perform well in low-light conditions.
ASUS’s camera also has a ‘Parking monitor mode’ that lets the camera detect movement in front of your vehicle and automatically start recording until it detects no further movement for one minute. Coupled with a 150-degree wide-angle lens, this Reco Smart cam is shaping up to be a pretty good dash-cam.
In the event of a collision, the built-in three-axis G-sensor triggers the emergency record function. It will then save the recording to the ASUS WebStorage cloud and lock it down so it won’t be deleted by accident. Besides that, the camera can also be programmed to send out an emergency text message to a designated contact.
Although there is no mention of the sensor’s megapixel count, the camera supports full-HD 1080p video recording as well as real-time previews and downloads on smart devices via the Reco app. Pairing with your smart device should also be a breeze with NFC One Touch Engage. As the device is WiFi capable (802.11 b/g/n), you also get 500GB of ASUS WebStorage cloud storage for free for one year.
When ASUS said that the device could also function as a portable camera, they weren’t kidding because from the looks of things, the Reco Camera is compatible with a wide range of standard camera accessories. Stuff like tripods, monopods and even lens filters (which work with 58mm diameter lenses) should fit with no problems.
The only bummer is that the device comes with a tiny 720mAh battery that can only support up to one hour of 1080p video recording with the WiFi turned on. As a comparison, a GoPro Hero4 usually averages 1.5 hours of battery life at 1080p recording.
You do get a decent amount of kit in the package though, including a microSD card, car charger, dual USB car charger, GPS mount holder and more. A waterproof housing for the camera is also available for purchase. For now, there is no information on availability or pricing.
