Rediscovering Action Cams

Lately, I’ve been diving into a new hobby that ties right into my love for motorcycles and tech: recording video while I ride. After some browsing and comparing, I decided to pick up the FitSpark Eagle i15 ProMax—an action camera I found on Amazon for under $100. My decision was based on a mix of price, features, and curiosity. I wasn’t expecting perfection at that price, but I’ve been genuinely surprised by what this little cam can do.

This isn’t my first action cam experience. Years ago, I had a GoPro Hero 3. It was fun at the time, but I lost interest and stopped using it. Fast forward to today, with a fresh website in the works and a renewed passion for creating content, I figured it was time to give moto vlogging another shot.

Like most tech adventures, there was a bit of trial and error at the start. My first few recordings had video that was decent—but the audio? Not so much. I had the camera mounted to my handlebars, and while the visuals looked great, the sound was practically unusable thanks to wind noise and vibration. I started experimenting and eventually picked up a chest harness, and that turned everything around. With the camera closer to me and more shielded from the elements, I was finally getting solid audio using just the camera’s internal mic. No fancy gear. No external mic setups. Just a smart mount and some patience.

Interestingly, my enthusiasm must have rubbed off—my brother caught the bug too. After hearing how much fun I was having with my new setup, he picked up an Akaso Brave 4 for his rides. He’s been enjoying it a lot, though we’ve run into an odd hiccup when he shares videos with me over RCS. Sometimes the clips look great, but other times they suffer from tiling and weird encoding glitches. We’re still not sure if it’s the camera, his phone, or something in the way RCS handles video compression, but it’s definitely something we’re looking into. Despite that, it's been a blast comparing footage and figuring things out together.

For the price, the FitSpark Eagle i15 ProMax has completely exceeded my expectations. It’s helped me rediscover the fun of capturing rides and telling stories on the road—just like Linux did for me with computers. I’m excited to keep experimenting, learn more about editing and storytelling, and start sharing my rides here on the blog.