Hohem’s Eyepic Combines an Action Cam and Gimbal. I Haven’t Seen Anything Like It Before

Hohem says the Eyepic is the world’s first “two-in-one pocket gimbal camera,” and that’s probably true. It’s a tiny mechanically stabilized camera, and Hohem has long made gimbals, but it’s also a tiny, wearable, waterproof camera. In theory, it offers the stability and smooth video of a gimbal camera, but when the shot requires it, it can work as a wearable POV camera. The camera’s small size is reminiscent of Insta360’s Go line.

I checked out an early prototype at IFA in Berlin. Here’s how it works.

Eyepic hardware 

Does this count as a selfie?Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

The Eyepic can record 4K video at 60 frames per second in both horizontal and vertical modes. It doesn’t do this by cropping in on the sensor. Instead, it rotates the gimbal head 90 degrees. The large, 2.5-inch touchscreen can also pivot separately from the body to show what you’re recording at the correct aspect ratio, full screen.

The tiny camera body connects via magnets and a mechanical clip. You have to physically snap it into place and press a button to remove it. I can see this making sense from a safety standpoint. I’ll be curious to see how much, if any, this slows down the transition from gimbal to wearable. 

Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

At the booth, they had examples of some of the mounts they intend to offer with the Eyepic. Basically, they cover anything you’d want to attach a camera to, including hats, bikes, backpacks and essentially anything ferrous, since, as mentioned, the body is magnetic. 

Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

It was too early to judge image quality since this was an early prototype, and it doesn’t expect to release the camera until Q1 next year. They expect to have a version at CES in January that’s even closer to the final version.

Twofer

I’m a recent convert to gimbal cameras, having used the Insta360 Luna Ultra extensively on my travels, including my current adventure. Being able to separate the camera portion of this device is certainly interesting. If you take a lot of POV videos, this likely reduces the complexity of your kit by giving you one less camera to carry. If Hohem can get the price right, this could be an interesting product.

Geoffrey Morrison

Contributor

Geoffrey Morrison is a writer/photographer about tech and travel for CNET, The New York Times, and other web and print publications. He’s also the Editor-at-Large for Wirecutter. He is the author of Budget Travel for Dummies as well as the bestselling sci-fi novels Undersea, and Undersea Atrophia. He’s NIST and ISF trained, and has a degree in Audio Production from Ithaca College. He spends most of the year as a digital nomad, living and working while traveling around the world. You can follow his travels at BaldNomad.com and on his Instagram and YouTube channel.

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