The Shimano CM-1000 Sports Camera

Dashmellow

Dashmellow

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I stumbled across an interesting new action camera I hadn't been previously aware of. It's not so new actually, as I understand it's been on the market about a year now. It's from Shimano, the people famous for bicycle derailleurs, fishing reels, rowing and other sporting goods. In fact, not surprisingly, they're kind of promoting this camera to anglers and bikers.

The reason it caught my eye was that it looked similar to the Mobius in form when I saw a photo of it and that prompted me to take a closer look at what it was. It turns out it's bigger than a Mobius but still very interesting.

The camera has some unique features. It is waterproof and submersible (to 10 meters!) without a case. It has WiFi built in and it has automatic orientation depending on the position of the camera. It also has interchangeable front lens covers including a polarizer. It records in stereo, which is something I don't recall seeing on any other camera. The unit measures 70.8 x 30.3 x 44.2 mm (2.78 x 1.19 x 1.74 in), has a back-lit CMOS sensor (don't know which one or which DSP) and runs on a 950-mAh Li-ion battery.

You can shoot 1920 x 1080 @ 30fps > 1280 x 720 @ 120 fps and > 640 x 360 @ 240 fps. Video is recorded in MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 format.

I kind of enjoyed coming across a camera that takes a unique design approach instead of trying to mimic many of the other action cameras on the market.

The first video is geared towards anglers but explains the camera pretty well.

http://www.shimano-sportcamera.com/us/index.php


Shimano-1.jpg


Shimano2.jpg


 
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looks good and nice to see a big brand name that hasn't just slapped their name on some generic product, looks like some thought has gone into it
 
jokiin said:
looks good and nice to see a big brand name that hasn't just slapped their name on some generic product, looks like some thought has gone into it
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Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, especially after watching the video. I wonder what DSP and sensor it's got?
 
Dashmellow said:
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, especially after watching the video. I wonder what DSP and sensor it's got?
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no idea but I'll throw a wild guess out that the hardware is very similar spec to the Xiaomi but with a better lens
 
jokiin said:
no idea but I'll throw a wild guess out that the hardware is very similar spec to the Xiaomi but with a better lens
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That sounds plausible and like a good educated guess.
I'm surprised this camera hasn't gotten more attention after a year on the market. Seems to have great potential.
 
I notice in the video that the WiFi iPhone app seems very responsive. That's a plus right there!
 
I've found out a little more info about this camera. For one thing it sells for $299.00 USD. Considering what this camera apparently can do that may not be entirely unreasonable.

The camera shoots standard angle 135° FOV video but also has a super wide 180° mode.

Another very interesting and unique feature is that it handles ANT+ and ANT private wireless connections to work with data from bicycle computers and accessories along with the E-tube wiring and electronics found in Shimano's Di2 electronic road bicycle shifting systems and Shimano D-Fly wireless Di2 transmitter to show your performance data in videos. This means that statistics such as gearing data, speed, cadence, power and heart rate could be integrated with video footage. That sounds pretty cool and is a feature I've never heard about in any other specialized action cam.

Shimano SM-EWW01 Di2 Wireless Data Transmitter
D2.png

D-Fly
D-fly.png
 
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Havent it been out for a while, i seem to remember a shimano action / bicycle camera, but offcourse this might be a new version.
 
kamkar1 said:
Havent it been out for a while, i seem to remember a shimano action / bicycle camera, but offcourse this might be a new version.
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Yes, I mentioned in my first post to this thread that it's been on the market for about a year but I only just discovered it yesterday.
 
seem longer to me, but i allso have a warped sence of time when it come to large gaps of it.
And not forgetting my very selective memory that store some wierd things at times.
 
kamkar1 said:
seem longer to me, but i allso have a warped sence of time when it come to large gaps of it.
And not forgetting my very selective memory that store some wierd things at times.
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We know. Things just haven't seemed the same with you ever since you told us about the late night alien abductions and missing time episodes. Remember? :cool:
 
I just had a nosey at the firmware and it's either compressed, obfuscated or encrypted so no idea what this runs on!
 
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reverend said:
I just had a nosey at the firmware and it's either obfuscated or encrypted so no idea what this runs on!
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That's interesting. I've not heard of anyone encrypting firmware before. I guess that's what might be considered the opposite of "open source".

I think @jokiin was right on target when he made the distinction between a company that just slaps their logo onto a generic product and a company that puts a lot of thought into what they are developing. It seems as if this camera is designed to be fully integrated into the rest of the Shimano product line rather than just a me-too action cam added to their line-up so I can see that they might feel motivated to protect what they have developed. I don't know much about bicycle computers but these integrated data features could potentially be a big deal in the world of professional racing.
 
Dashmellow said:
That's interesting. I've not heard of anyone encrypting firmware before.
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a few do, not that common though

I would lean more toward it being Ambarella based if they've gone to the effort of encrypting it, I say that only because 90% of hacking is concentrated on the Ambarella platform, given there are so many accessories that will work with these that can be used in high level competitive sport perhaps they are being cautious to avoid anyone manipulating something they shouldn't, just a thought
 
The whole idea of an action/sports camera requiring encryption for elite competitive sports use is absolutely fascinating.

This camera itself fascinates me in that I can't think of another camera where the developer is optimizing the device for specific sports and activity demographics such as cycling, rowing and angling, especially when the camera is intended to be integral with the rest of the manufacturer's product line and not merely a gimmick product.

The only other vaguely similar developer approach intentionally geared to a specific activity might be the Mobius and the RC market.
 
jokiin said:
it seems like quite an impressive product, surprised it hasn't been mentioned sooner
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Yeah, I said the same in an earlier post yesterday. It's almost like Shimano needs a much better marketing department! You would think if anyone would have known about this camera before I basically tripped over it yesterday it would have been one of us here on DCT.
 
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