At Popular Airsoft, we are always in search of gadgets to record the airsoft action without increasing the weight that we carry during airsoft games, or increase the number of stuff we attach to ourselves. We are probably have the only sport that makes us carry too much stuff with all the contraptions, weapons, gadgets, tactical gear, protective equipment, at any given time, even for just short games. We always want to minimize the number of essential gear to play airsoft, but still be able to record our games well.

Optimus Prime has written about gadgets such as the helmet and other wearable cameras that we can use when recording our great airsoft moments. But as he always states, the holy grail in wearable cameras would be something that you can put at eye-level --- which is how we can say that our POV is properly captured. It also removes the problem of aligning the cameras to be pointed at the direction where are our eyes are also looking at. That is always the problem of helmet or weapons mounted cameras, they do not provide that true "eye level" capture.

The answer is pretty much easy -- provide us with an eyewear that is already fitted with a camera and allow us to be able to review the footage captured without waiting for the gadget to be connected to another gadget, be it a computer, or TV, just for us to view what has been captured. Being in the skirmish field won't allow us to do have that luxury. Helmet cams are the nearest to this, but as I have stated above, they are not true "eye level".

Active-i tries to answer this need. It got our attention since it comes in different designs, with camouflage patterns that make it look so "tactical". Looking at the design, it actually reminds me some of those cameras made in China that budget-conscious stalkers would love to get.

Active-i can be also be connected to a TV or to a computer as a webcam. The design looks sleek enough to be used for airsoft games and it also comes with interchangeable lenses. It has an attachable monocular LCD viewer so you can check the video clips you have captured without going home to get to a computer to download the clips.

It might have the possibilities of being used for airsoft games, since the makers claim that it can be used for various outdoor activities such as racing, skating, hiking, climbing, snowboarding, etc. which are usually activities that require high-impact resistant protective eyewear. However, checking the specs at their website do not show any information if it meets certain standards in eyewear protection.

The big let down however is that it's a 640 x 480 camera which for us is already passe. With helmet cameras already providing 720p to 1080p HD recording, the Active-i is still stuck in the past. Many viewers at Youtube prefer high definition videos nowadays.

But at 199.00 Euros, it may look like a good value thing to use. But there are other similar eyewear-cameras that you see on eBay that provide almost the same quality video for a much cheaper price.

If they can only provide something that can take HD videos, good quality, adequate image stabilization, good audio capture, and can meet eye protection standards then we might consider getting one these. But with its present specs, we'll take a pass.

We are not stopping you from trying one out however.