The Ghost-S takes quite good pictures, and you can shoot in time-lapse mode at 0.5-, 1-, 2-, 3-, 5-, and 10-second intervals. You can also shoot in burst mode in five or 10 shots per second. There were also aliasing artifacts and there's a fair amount of chromatic aberration (purple fringing) in high-contrast areas. And if you're shooting in low light, you'll notice an increase in noise/artifacts. That's not unusual, though, and well-lit indoor video was still watchable. The Ghost-S's best and most differentiating feature is Drift's signature lens, which swivels up to 300 degrees by simply twisting the lens itself by hand. With the up-facing arrow to indicate the lens's upright orientation, and as long the camera is pointing in the direction you want to record, it lets you mount the camera at almost any angle while keeping a perfect orientation. By comparison, action cameras without the swiveling lens must be mounted in their upright position if you want to shoot properly oriented footage. In the box, you'll find the camera itself, a remote, the battery, a non-waterproof connector hatch that gives easy access to the mini USB and mic out ports, a universal clip, two mount clips, a wrist strap, a mini USB cable, a microphone extension cable, and a goggle mount. Alongside that feature, there’s also the ability to shoot at 4K@30fps, 2.7K@60fps, and 1080p@120fps.

Drift Ghost XL Pro Review - Camera Jabber Drift Ghost XL Pro Review - Camera Jabber

You also have the advantage over all other action cameras: it doesn’t have to be level, either the right way up or upside down; you twist the lens to get the horizon correct. Simple and solid essentially sums up this action camera. The sleek design makes it a perfect option for side mounting on a helmet, and with a huge array of mounts available, attaching it to almost anything isn’t difficult. Video quality is improved from the Drift HD Ghost, especially when it comes to detail. Everything looks more crisp, and I saw fewer artifacts when using the camera's high-bit-rate setting. Using that setting will eat into the battery life and the files use up more storage, but it's worth using if you plan to view the video at large sizes. Mounts are always an important factor with any action camera, and here the Drift utilises its style of clip mount. While this isn’t the GoPro three-prong style universally used by many manufacturers in practical use, it offers a far more rigid connection with anything it’s mounted to. In the past, before decent EIS, this mount proved itself for its robust build and reduction in vibration when compared with the GoPro equivalent. One of the most impressive features is the internal battery that can provide up to 7 hours of battery life when recording at 1080p or 4.5 hours at 4K. To put this into context, that’s over double that of the standard GoPro battery.

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Connecting the Drift to a Nexus 5 and an iPhone 5s via Wi-Fi was painless, and the well-designed app lets you remotely operate the camera and change its settings. The iOS version's video stream of what the camera is looking at was fairly immediate, but the same can't be said about the Android version; it shows a two-second lag. However, with the Drift Ghost XL Pro, you know that you have one of the best action cameras on the market. It doesn’t try to please everyone or cram in all the features you can think of; it just provides you with the core, and there’s a lot to say.

Drift Innovation HD Ghost Review | PCMag

Out on trial, and the mounting options are well beyond the GoPro or, for that matter, any other action camera; want to put it on your bike forks? Not a problem; attach and rotate the lens. The Ghost-S lets you record 1080p video at25, 30, 50, and up to 60fps withfields of view ranging from 90, 127, and 160 degrees. Setting the camera to 960p adds the option to record at 48fps, and if you want to shoot footage that you can slow down in editing, you'll have to step down to 720p, which the Ghost-S records at the same fps as 1080p, but with additional 100 and 120fps options. For both 960p and 720p settings, you're limited to the 160-degree angleof view. Dropping the resolution definitely costs you some detail, but the 720p/60 video is still very good. In the end, the results are above average, especially considering the flexibility of the camera and all it can do.

FAQS

When it comes to using the Drift Ghost, XL Pro is one of the easiest action cameras to use. It’s been designed to be as simple as possible, even when using gloves or underwater. The large button closest to the lens starts and stops recording with the light changing to indicate that the recording has started; another press to finish. For motorcyclists, this is the camera of choice; its sleek, low-profile design sits easily on the side of a helmet. For motorsports, the ability to rotate the lens to get a level horizon is a godsend when attached to a roll cage.