Mt. Fuji Climb with the Subaru Cycling Team (Test)

Ahh finally, a real chance to test out the as100v in a situation where I really needed it.

Last weekend I went on a cycling trip with the Subaru Cycling Team where we climbed to the 5th station of Mt. Fuji.  This was an all day trip with roughly 5,000 feet of climbing over a 25 kilometer course.  During this trip I cycled one of the most beautiful routes I have ever seen, made some great friends, and had the time of my life.  So how well did the Sony as100v capture these memories?

Both on and off the bike, this little camera was always a few seconds away from "off" to recording silky smooth 1080p 60fps wide angle video.  As I had experienced during my previous rides with this camera, the lightweight and aerodynamic design of the camera made it hard for me to even tell that the camera was mounted on my head.  It was a pleasure to ride with and I had the camera mounted on my head for the majority of the ride.  (I only took it off to use it with my monopod)  The aerodynamic design also came in handy when I was descending at 40mph.  

When I used a Gopro White Edition, using the camera was a pain and detracted from my overall riding experience.  It caught the headwinds and dragged my head back (which just felt miserable) and was heavy to the point where my helmet could not ventilate and I got drenched in sweat.  This as100v is a VAST improvement in every regard.

Its official, I love this camera.  You can be sure that it will be with me on every notable ride and trip I take from here on out.

Side Notes:  Another cyclist in the group also had an as100v and like me preferred to use it without the waterproof housing.  BUT he warned me that I should buy the front lens cover to protect the precious Carl Zeiss lens on the camera.   In hindsight I have to admit I am taking a huge risk riding without any protection on this lens.  (The cover is 20$ and depicted in the video)  Damage the lens, and your camera is heavily compromised.

Also, when you record with GPS with the intent to put GPS overlay on your video, you need to import it via Sony Playmemories Home.  I imported my descent videos in IMovie and deleted the video data, but it did not keep the GPS data.