Review The New Drift Ghost XL Pro | Review & Thoughts

[Hippo-Drones]

So being the camera floozy that I am, I had to get hold of the new Drift Innovation Ghost XL Pro action camera, and was really quite excited about putting it through it's paces as a motovlogging action camera.
When it arrived, the camera looked great, really solid and well thought out mostly, and the specs on the box implied it was going to be perfect by offering 4k, stabilisation, 7hr battery life, etc.... Then I used it.
Here is my review and thoughts on the Drift Ghost XL Pro

 

[bernhtp]

Good review. The Drift just doesn’t cut it. Besides the narrow field of view and the consequent lower sense of speed, the video quality is substandard. I also don’t like the mount position on the helmet side (or top) due to air resistance and the view position. The chin is the proper point for me that gets the front view, instrument cluster and movement around that (I have an S1000RR sport bike).

 

[Hippo-Drones]

Yup, I def prefer the chin mount, and seeing the bike as well as the road ahead!

 

[nophix]

Dig the review, and it looks like the Drift may be my solution! I'm sort of the opposite on mounting. I HATE the chin mounts. That's part of why I've stuck to my Ghost x for the helmet.

 

[Hippo-Drones]

Fair enough. Shame you are not in the UK as I am selling the camera, as it is no use to me!

 

[LoneWolfer]

Wow, the difference in how they record is crazy. I am not a fan of how slow everything looks from the Drift. I did not even like watching the few seconds you shared at each speed!

 

[Hippo-Drones]

I had been warned it was noticeable, but didn't know how much so until I got this camera.

 

[NethSchot]

Newly registered here just because I found your review. Interesting. For the budget of £250 and the easy setup, I think it's gone top of my wishlist. However, my 'use case' is different as I would never or rarely chat to camera. Just want to capture the ride, ambient noise and maybe a bit of voice over in post editing. So I don't mind a calming shot of the scenery, if not ruined by wind noise. The ext mic and battery life are major pro's for me. And if it catches number plates and faces, bonus. I just need to figure out if it will fit my helmet, a Shark Evo GT. If it will attach to the side of the chin mount, I might be able to take rear facing shots when the helmet is open LOL. Apart from that it looks relatively easy to swap out onto other helmets for bike and horse riding.
Anyway, thanks for your honest review. Found it enlightening!

 

[Hippo-Drones]

Ahh thank you for saying so. It sounds perfect for what you want to do, and even if you don't want to talk while riding, by placing a mic in your helmet or out of the wind, you would be able to reduce wind noise quite well.
If you are in the UK and of interest, I am selling the camera as it isn't really useable for my type of riding (lots of off road). No worries if you are not, but drop me a DM if you are.

 

[ScotHarley]

I'm in the UK - is the camera still for sale? I'm looking at exactly this camera as a 'dashcam' for my bike.

 

[Hippo-Drones]

Hi Scott, sorry I sold it to @NethSchot

 

[rattlinjak]

Hmm, this is the review that brought me to this site....
Really wanted it to be the one for me, but youve highlighted some flaws that bother me enough to want to keep searching for the goldilocks camera.....
All I want is a camera that is "not shaped like a box" 1080p-60 frames per sec-170 degree field of view and be able to plug in a simple lav mic...... .....

 

[Hippo-Drones]

It is a shame that Insta360 have not got a lens mod for the One R or One RS to allow the lens to be attached on the end, as that could suit you well!

 

[rattlinjak]

It is a shame that Insta360 have not got a lens mod for the One R or One RS to allow the lens to be attached on the end, as that could suit you well!

Or a GoPro with the lens on one end would work well also......
Don't like chin mount, shows too much bike "read speedo" for me...
Top of helmet can work. I use a GoPro 4, bare bones, "no case" mounted really low, just behind the sun visor sometimes..... Can see less dash, easier to crop video before uploading......

 

[bernhtp]

Hmm, this is the review that brought me to this site....
Really wanted it to be the one for me, but youve highlighted some flaws that bother me enough to want to keep searching for the goldilocks camera.....
All I want is a camera that is "not shaped like a box" 1080p-60 frames per sec-170 degree field of view and be able to plug in a simple lav mic...... .....

This camera is called the Sony FDR-X3000. Great/best cam when it came out. I lost mine almost two years ago when a mount broke and it bounced down the road and off a cliff. It had (internal gimbal) optical stabilization, a 3.5mm audio in with decent AGC, and a long form factor.

But Sony sadly hasn't produced a successor.

 

[Hippo-Drones]

Or a GoPro with the lens on one end would work well also......
Don't like chin mount, shows too much bike "read speedo" for me...
Top of helmet can work. I use a GoPro 4, bare bones, "no case" mounted really low, just behind the sun visor sometimes..... Can see less dash, easier to crop video before uploading......

Ahh I prefer the chin mount, I like to see left and right views and also more bike. I have turned down the brightness on my dash on the bikes I can to reduce the amount of dash info that shows to the camera, you could also try tinting the dash to also darken it a little.