Polaroid XS100 Extreme Edition HD 1080p 16MP Waterproof Sports Action Video Camera With Full Mounting Kit Included

2 reviews for Polaroid XS100 Extreme Edition HD 1080p 16MP Waterproof Sports Action Video Camera With Full Mounting Kit Included

1. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Shaun Anderson – January 18, 2025

   So, after reading all the reviews (good and bad) I’ve come to the conclusion that many (not all) bad reviews are posted by competitors not wanting you to buy this camera. I’ve even looked at the Micro-SD cards and many of them had horrible reviews that just seemed “over the top”.Well, I ordered this camera knowing that there were remote possibilities that it would arrive ‘broken’ or unusable just like the negative comments. Well, mine arrived exactly as it was supposed to. In a brand new box with brand new parts. The camera is small and lightweight. I bought this one vice a competitor due to it’s price and accessories. Other cameras would require me to purchase the mounts separately. This one is all included (nice feature). Some of the parts I won’t use but at least I have them for later.The camera itself is very easy to operate. After reading the manual (not much to read) it became very obvious what I needed to do in order to operate the camera. It’s very simple after reading the directions. I recorded a couple of quick videos to see the quality. Overall the quality seems fine for what I’m going to use it for (taking a race car around a track for my personal videos). I then connected the camera to my PC to see the videos. I had great video images (using Windows media player) but no sound. I read the box to make sure it came with sound – it’s supposed to, right? Well, it does if you play the video in Apple’s Quicktime player. Once I figured that out I realized the videos DO have sound. Is it high quality? It’s probably what you would expect from a camera of this size and price. Don’t expect a sound studio quality or anything.I could not find out anywhere whether or not this camera could record at the same time as when you charge it. Since the camera batteries only last about ~2 to ~2.5 hours I needed to be able to charge it while recording. Something that’s not on any websites or in the manual. I’m not sure if it’s supposed to operate that way or not.So, I started recording with the camera and then plugged the camera into the computer to start charging it. The video record stopped. I tried this a couple of times and each time the recording stopped. Then the solution hit me. Restart recording while charging! That worked. Now I can have the camera recording while charging! (I think???) It’s plugged into the power supply (PC, external USB battery or car charger) and it can record. Whether its recording and charging at the same time remains to be seen but it appears its working for now.Regarding the “plastic threads” on the base. As long as you recognize that they are there – treat them with respect. The screw is metal and the threads in the base are plastic. I only needed to install the metal threaded base into the camera once. I made sure that I didn’t over tighten (using the supplied tool). I don’t see a need to ever take that piece off again. There are U-shaped ball mounts (straight or 90 degree) that attach to this piece. All other ‘mounts’ attach to these ball joint things.I think the camera will be fine for most people as long as you don’t drop it or want a camera that will have serious damage potential. It would be a good helmet cam or bike camera for sure.Nice things – all the mounts, HDMI cable, strapes, USB cable, stickers for mounts.Not so nice – didn’t come with Micro SD card – well, at least it allows you to pick out which speed you need on your own.In my opinion I wanted a camera that was cheap, small and easy to use. I got all three and it’s exactly like I thought it would be.5 Stars.

2. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Dr. Morris Murazik IV – November 29, 2025

   This is a review and comparison of the Polaroid XS-100 and the Panasonic HX-A1M mini/wearable video cameras. If you get them both with Wi-Fi connection they are about the same price on Amazon. The Polaroid XS-100 that I have doesn’t have Wi-Fi so I can’t compare those features (about 50 bucks cheaper that the wifi version as I write this).Size/Build:The Panasonic is way smaller. Panasonic: 1 inch diameter, almost 3.5 inches long with rear cap on. Polaroid 1.75 inch diameter, 4 inches long. The Polaroid is definitely heavier but still pretty light. I put the rubber skin on the Polaroid; it is a nice protective accessory. The lens on the Panasonic is flat and probably less likely to be scratched. The Polaroid lens bubbles out a bit and I am worried I am going to scratch it. The Polaroid comes with a nice little case/pouch with a Velcro closure that will help protect the lens. The Polaroid case fits the camera even with the rubber skin on. Both cameras claim to be waterproof. Both have rubber seals to lock water out on the one or two access areas. Both of them got a not particularly gentle test drive by my kids in the pool (max depth about 5 feet). Both cameras survived with no problems. Both did a fine job of filming under water and in and out of the water.Mounting accessories:Both came nicely packaged with an assortment of straps and holders for attaching the cameras to various things. I haven’t spent a lot of time mounting the camera to things but it looks like the Polaroid setup is probably more adaptable to a variety of applications. It comes with a bracket that would mount securely to a tube (i.e. bike handlebars), an adapter to stick to things with a couple of adhesive mounts included (ski/snowboard helmet?), and two widgets to connect between the adaptors and the camera to either mount straight or 90 degree bend. There is also a strap mount option (maybe around your arm?) with two different strap lengths provided. I think you can probably figure out most mounting situations with the Polaroid setup. The Panasonic mounting kit is more limited. There is a strap mount and a threaded mount (like to attach to a camera stand) that can probably also be stuck on with some of the sticky mount tape supplied. Overall, the included Polaroid accessories definitely beat the Panasonic for mounting.Instructions/interface:Both came with reasonably good instructions. I figured out how to use both devices through reading and playing with the camera. The controls on the Panasonic are definitely better. I think I will always know what button to push to make it do what I want just by looking at it. The Polaroid has just two buttons/switches and you will have to reacquaint yourself with how to make it work if you don’t use it for a while. There is a power button (long press to power up/down) that also takes still images (quick press) and there is a slider (video camera on/off)…so it isn’t hard and I don’t want to make this a big negative but the Panasonic controls are better than the Polaroid.Software:Again, it is important to note that I am comparing the wifi Panasonic to the non-wifi Polaroid. The computer software to run the Polaroid is a bit clunky but it does what you need to get the camera set up (clock, video settings, etc). Now I don’t use the application (which is resident in the camera…you just open it when you access the camera via USB) , instead I just transfer the files to the computer using file manager on my Windows computer. The Panasonic has a phone app (I used iPhone) that connects the phone to the camera for settings (to include automatically setting the clock) and to operate the camera (video, slow mo video, or stills) to include a viewfinder so you can check your aim. The viewfinder lags maybe a second or a bit less but it definitely does the job. I was cheap when I bought the Polaroid (Amazon Vine provided the Panasonic). In retrospect I think that the phone app connection is probably worth it. It would be a bummer to take an epic video of whatever epic thing it is that you do only to find out afterwards that you didn’t film it because you didn’t have the camera aimed quite right (which you could check with the phone before you start filming with the wifi app). Unfortunately I can’t comment on the quality of the phone app for the Polaroid. It is probably important to consider that the wifi is probably going to be a battery killer for both your phone and the camera…I don’t think you are going to ski all day with the wifi blasting away.Audio/video quality:The Panasonic has brighter video with more vibrant color both indoors and out. The audio on the Panasonic is also better because the Polaroid sounds a little muffled. However, I think the audio and video quality on both was pretty good for what these cameras are (small, waterproof action cameras). The Polaroid has a wide angle lens, the Panasonic has more of a normal angle lens. Which is better depends on what you want the camera to do. As you would expect the wide angle lens on the Polaroid causes a bit of a fish bowl effect to the video. One thing I was curious about was whether the camera could be used to assess trap shooting so I mounted the Polaroid to my shotgun to see what would happen. It filmed just fine for a quick test drive with rubber bands holding it on (although it shifted when I shot…would need a better mount option). Unfortunately from the 16 yard trap line (closest) I could see the clays come out of the house but couldn’t see them at the range where they are shot. I have yet to try the Panasonic…it might work with the narrower field of view. I would also like to try them both on skeet since the range is much closer. Interestingly the still picture quality on the Panasonic is not good. The Polaroid will take wide angle still pictures but they are much nicer than the Panasonic. It is possible that there is a picture quality setting on the Panasonic that I just haven’t come across yet.Playback:I tested playback on both on my old windows based Dell laptop. I copied the files on to the computer before running them. The Panasonic videos were .mov files while the Polaroid videos were .mp4. I tried playback using Windows Media Player, Quicktime, and VLC. For me on my computer the Polaroid has no audio on Windows Media Player and the video has little skips on Quicktime, but it works just fine on VLC. The Panasonic videos played fine on all three. I am computer literate but not a computer genius. I did a Google search on the playback problems and installed a codec that was recommended but the Polaroid still has the playback issues. However VLC is free and works for both cameras so the issues aren’t necessarily a showstopper. Still, I would say the Panasonic wins on this front.Things I didn’t test:I am not sure about the relative battery life of the two cameras because I haven’t used them that much yet. I also didn’t mess with the slow motion filming capability on the Panasonic or the low light lens. I have also never used a GoPro so I can’t compare to the premium option.Conclusion:I am pretty happy with both products but in a side by side comparison the Panasonic wins. The big weakness in the Panasonic was the still image quality but Panasonic video/sound quality was a bit better. The wide (Polaroid) vs. normal (Panasonic) lens depends on your application. The Panasonic is also smaller and didn’t have compatibility issues (video playback) on my windows computer like the Polaroid did. The Polaroid comes with better accessories (mounting stuff and case). Overall, I will give the Panasonic 5 stars and the Polaroid 4 stars at this price point.