Medion Life S47000 Digital HD Sports Camera review

With Flip and Creative dominating the pocket video camera market, other manufacturers need to innovate to stand out. The Medion Life S47000 does so with ruggedness and weather resistance.

It certainly looks the part, with a tough-feeling, ribbed black band around the outer edge, and the odd splash of search-and-rescue orange dotted around.

There’s a chunky loop at the top for tethering the camera securely to a belt loop or bag, and the whole thing is splash-proof, so there’s no need to worry about getting caught in a downpour.

It’s reasonably priced, too, shoots in 720p HD using the H.264 codec and MOV file format, and comes with a protective semi-hard case for further reassurance.

But there are problems. Although the results are acceptable, they’re not as good as either the Kodak Zi6, the Flip Mino HD, or its weatherproof rival, the Kodak Zx1. It burnt out highlights in brightly lit scenes and introduced lots of noise in suspect light conditions.

The buttons on the rear are too fiddly to use with thick gloves, and there’s very little flash memory built in, so you’ll have to supply your own SD card.

The S47000 is certainly a cheap option, and it’s tough and light too, but for better video quality look to the Zx1.