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Tachyon HD Camera
Dear Customer,
Thank you for buying the Tachyon OPS or OPS HD, the latest generation video and still helmet camera designed for filming extreme action in extreme conditions. It is very rugged and very simple to use, while delivering 30FPS of quality video.
Tachyon OPS cameras are incredibly light and incredibly easy to use. Take them almost anywhere to bring back your stunts, adventures, and bloopers.
About Tachyon
Tachyon, Inc. is a company that deals in extremes: We make extremely cool products for extreme people who engage in extreme activities. In order to make the best products, Tachyon, Inc. does not compromise on materials or on the quality of construction. We exceed industrial standards to ensure that our products exceed your expectations.
Please be sure to set up your new action camera using the following instructions. If you have any questions feel free to contact us.
The Management
Tachyon, Inc.
Charging Your Camera
• To charge your OPS camera, open the rubber cap over the USB and memory card slots. Then plug the small end of the USB cable into the back of the camera and the large end into your computer's USB slot.
• Another great way to charge your camera, even when away from a fixed power source, is to use Tachyon's Battery-Powered Charger (Bottom Photo). It's small and light - pervect for taking into the field with your cameras. It may also be used to charge your other USB-based electronic devices.
• This charger comes with 4 AA Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries. These will fully charge your camera multiple times.
• We suggest that you only use Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries in this unit. If you use lower-quality batteries, you may see a "Charging is not supported with this accessory," warning.
• This battery-powered charger will work with most electronic devices that charge via a USB cable - including iPhones and iPods.
• You may also use a USB adaptor and a normal wall socket, or car-lighter adaptor to charge yoru cameras.
• When charging your camera, the LED on the top will show blue. When the battery is fully charged, this LED will turn off.
Important: Use only the supplied USB cable for charging your OPS or OPS HD cameras. Others may not work and may harm your camera.
Inserting Memory Card
• On the back of the camera is a small rubber flap. Pull this down to reveal the USB jack and the micro memory card slot.
• Insert a micro memory card into the slot. Be sure the gold leads are facing up.
Be sure that the memory card clicks into place. You may need to use your fingernail to push it in far enough to lock it into place.
Recording Video
• Once your battery has been charged and a micro memory card inserted, turn on your camera by pushing, but not holding, the power button.
• You will hear a beep sound and see the green LED light up, quickly followed by the red.
• That’s it! You have begun shooting video!
• To stop filming, push and hold down the power button again. You will hear a lower beep sound and the red LED will turn off.
Video - Photo Switch
• Change recording modes from Video to Photo (Time-Lapse) by sliding the switch on the left to the desired position.
Video
• For video, make sure the switch on the left is in the UP position.
• Your camera will record video at 30 FPS. The OPS will record in Standard Definition, and the OPS HD in High Definition.
• After you have been recording for 30 minutes, your camera will pause for five seconds to save your file to your memory card. But don’t worry; it will automatically start up again after those five seconds.
• You may edit your video files with most common video editing programs.
• A 4GB Micro SDHC card will hold just over one hour of video. Larger cards will hold multiples of that amount.
Time-Lapse Photos
• To shoot time-lapse photos, slide the left switch down to the PHOTO position.
• Now press, but do not hold, the power button in the middle. There will be a beep sound and the LED will flash alternately Green and Red to show that you are now taking photos - one photo every two seconds.
•To stop, press and hold the power button until you hear two beeps and the LED turns off.
LED Functions
• When you are recording video, the LED on the bottom will shine in RED.
• When you are recording in Time-Lapse Photo mode, this LED will flash RED - GREEN - RED - GREEN.
• If your memory card is full, this LED will flash GREEN for 30 seconds and then turn off.
• If there is no memory card in your camera, or if there is an error with the card, this LED it will flash GREEN for 30 seconds before turning off.
Mounting
The OPS and OPS HD cameras come with a patented 8-direction mounting system gives you a variety of mounting options.
• The three dimples on each side of your camera match up with the three bubbles on the gripping parts of the mounts. You can rotate your camera inside your mounts from the 12 to 3 to 6 to 9 o'clock positions and face it either forwards or backwards.
• Why rotate your camera? Suppose your mount is mounted at an angle that would cause your video to be rotated 90 degrees. All you need to do is rotate your camera inside the mount so that the top is facing up. This will ensure that your video comes out right side up. The engraved Tachyon logo shows which side is up.
• A tether is also included with your camera. Thread it through the hole on the back and make use of it when engaging in very extreme activities, as a backup to your standard mounts.
• The clear Impact Armor is best to use when engaging in activities that potentially might harm the lens of your camera, such as paintball, airsoft, or when riding in dirt and gravel.
3M™ Dual-Lock™ is a trademark of 3M Company in the United States and/or other countries.
Connecting to Your Computer
• The Tachyon OPS cameras come with with a USB cable. Use only the cable that comes with your camera. Cables that you have purchased separately, or cables that came with other devices, may not work correctly with your OPS camera.
• Plug the small end into the jack inside the back door of your camera and the large end into your computer’s USB port.
• Turn your camera on by pushing the Power button. When you do, a window will pop up on your screen asking you to "Open folder to view files".
• Open this folder to view the files in your camera's memory card.
•You can now copy, move, rename, or delete the files on your card. We suggest that you copy your files to your computer first, before playing or editing them.
• Video files played directly from your camera may not play as smoothly as those that have been copied to your computer first and then played.
• When your camera is connected to your computer and powered on, you will see both the blue charging LED and the green power LED lit up. If your camera is fully charged, the blue LED will turn off.
Micro Memory Cards
• We recommend that you use a Class 6, 8GB Micro SDHC card or larger. These will give you longer recording times so that you can be record more action without having to stop and load a new card.
• 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB (when available) cards are all compatible with your camera.
• With a 4GB card you will get 1 hour of video. With larger cards, you can double, quadruple and octuple these numbers.
• Do NOT use Class 4 cards or below. These may cause problems with your camera.
Video Shooting Tips
Although Tachyon OPS cameras perform well indoors and in low-light situations, it is specifically tuned for shooting in sunlight. So for the best looking videos, try to shoot your action when the light is good.
Always be sure to use the fastest (Class 6) micro memory cards that you can. These will be written to at a faster rate, giving you smoother video.
Make sure that your lens is clean. One small spot can ruin a great video.
Video Publishing Guide
Videos taken with your OPS cameras are perfect for uploading to YouTube®, or other video sharing sites.
You may edit your video with most common editing programs. Be sure to edit and save at the highest possible quality settings so that your videos will look their best.
See this YouTube page for optimizing your video uploads.
Please be sure to mention "Tachyon OPS" or "Tachyon OPS HD" and "Helmet Camera" in your title or tags so that other OPS users can find and comment on your videos.
Video Statistics
OPS cameras us Micro memory cards. From 4GB up to 32GB.
We recommend always using Class 6 or Class 10 cards for fastest write-to times.
Class 2 or 4 cards are not fast enough to record and save this camera's video and may cause further problems with your camera.
With a 4GB card you will get 1 hour of video, and over 100,000 still photos.
With larger cards, you can double, quadruple and octuple these numbers.