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Is 'Tac Camera' Bull or No Bull? We put it to the test!

Posted at 8:50 AM, Dec 21, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-21 13:55:25-05

Whether you're trying to catch porch pirates or get a glimpse of Old Saint Nick delivering presents, we're testing out a product that just might help!

Tac Camera by Bell and Howell is supposed to be, "the body cam for the rest of us." It's inspired by tactical technology, and supposed to capture 16 gigabytes of high definition video and audio. Tac Camera also automatically loops, so you "never run out of recording space." Plus, you can view, download and save videos for later. Click here to see the infomercial.

It comes with a clip, and is supposed to cling to your clothing no matter what you do. I clipped it on a dress that I was holding and shook the fabric all over the place aggressively, and the clip and camera stayed in tact!

Tac Camera is also supposed to have rugged, shock-proof casing. We dropped ours on the ground, and it was totally fine. It didn't even leave a mark.

We used the Tac Camera to roll while we walked with it clipped to a lanyard. The video was extremely shaky, full of glitches, and definitely not HD quality. When stationary on the dash of a moving car on the freeway, the video was just okay.

Tac Camera has night vision built-in with six infrared LEDs, but when we tested it, my photographer had to be right up next to the camera for it to pick him up. When he was five feet away, you couldn't see him at all.

If you have a perfectly-lit porch, it could be a possible, stationary alternative for the expensive doorbell video cameras, but each file size is large, so it won't be long before it automatically loops over the video.

We bought it for $19.99 at Fry's Electronics. So, where does it rank on our Bull or No Bull Meter? I'm going with... BULL!

What other products do you want us to test out? Email us!