Introduction

SENA has opened the door to the action camera market with their new SENA Prism camera. The new Prism offers unique features like Bluetooth audio and it will connect to a Bluetooth headset in your helmet.

What’s Included?

Included in the box is a large assortment of mounts including a Suction cup mount, Helmet pivot ball mount, Double suction cup mount and Handlebar mount. Also included are your standard foam tape surface mounts.

Settings

The resolutions and photo settings give you a number of options to customize. With these modes you could shoot video, take photos, time-lapse and even burst photos.

Video Mode Resolution

• 1080p 30fps
•  720p 30 / 60fps
• 480p 120fps

Photo Mode Resolution

• 3.5MP (3:2)
• 3.2MP (4:3)
• 3.0MP (16:9)
• 5.0MP (16:9)

Burst Shot

• 10 / 5 / 3 pics

Time Lapse Mode with Photo or Video

• 1 / 3 / 5 / 10 / 30 /60 secs

Raw Footage. The camera is able to capture the colors very well.

App

The iphone and Android app easily connects to the camera using the built in Bluetooth. Changing settings was easy. There is no video feed to line up shots or other options to start recording in the app though.

Quality

I have owned 5 action cameras since the first GoPro Hero came out. I was instantly impressed with this new Prism and the build quality. The menu works well, the app connects quickly and stays connected, and the overall durability of the mounts seems good.

Video and Photo Comparison

In order to test the video quality of the Drift Ghost vs the SENA Prism I strapped both cameras to my LS2 MX453 helmet and went for a ride. It was clear after reviewing the footage that the Prism has much better clarity and color correctness. While I can achieve close to the same results on the Drift after editing, the Prism footage required no editing.

1080 at 30fps screenshot Ghost on left and Prism on right.

The Competition

In the action camera market there are many options so staying on top, or doing better than the competition is hard. While no one camera has all the features in one, each has its strong points.

SENA vs Drift

My current setup was a Drift Ghost with an external mic on the right side, with a SENA 20s on the left side in my LS2 MX453. This setup allowed me to have my music, navigation and other essentials while still having video and in helmet commentary. This setup has worked well and the audio is pretty good. The only downfall to this setup is the Drift has an annoying buzz when using an external mic. This issue is well known, but Drift has yet to fix this problem. Having the Prism replace the Ghost allowed me to eliminate 1 microphone in my helmet. The Prism is also lighter than the Ghost which is important when mounting on a helmet. The Ghost does have 2 major benefits to the Prism. The Ghost has a replaceable lens should it get scratched, and has an on camera screen for lining up shots. If you were to scratch the lens on your Prism you would have to replace the camera. One other major difference is the lack of a rotatable lens like the Drift has.

One other issue on the Drift is the poor wifi connection to a phone. The app and Bluetooth connections on the Prism were much better.

SENA vs GoPro

Before swapping to the Drift I used a GoPro like many other helmet cam users. After a couple broken units I found out that when using an external mic the GoPro would wear out quickly. GoPro has excellent warranty service, so that was never a problem however it was annoying to keep breaking the same micro usb plug and having to use an adapter for a mic. Using the Prism I did not require any adapters or external wires to have in helmet commentary. However, you will need the Bluetooth headset.

The Prism and the GoPro are pretty close in size to each other, but shaped different due to the lens location. Neither camera has a user replaceable lens like the Ghost, but if kept in their waterproof cases the lens should remain intact.

The menu navigation on the Prism and the GoPro are very similar and you can see that SENA may have been inspired by some of the GoPro designs.

Conclusion

With excellent audio and easy menu navigation I feel that the Prism is a great addition to the helmet camera market. There are a couple things that I think could have been improved. The first is the app. I could not believe that the app did not have a video feed to line up shots. The second is the lack of microphone input on the camera. Users are forced to have a Bluetooth headset. If you do not have a headset I strongly suggest you get a SENA 20s reviewed here, because they are a great addition. The camera is light and I think in many applications will be great.  The SENA Prism video quality is excellent and the camera is a perfect size.

Pros

• Lightweight
• Bluetooth audio
• Lots of included accessories
• Easy menu navigation

Cons

• App controls lacking
• Non replaceable or tilting lens

Thanks for reading. If you have any questions or would like to know anything I may have forgotten to mention please feel free to leave a comment and I will respond as quickly as possible. The opinions in this review are my own. If you found this review helpful, please consider supporting our sponsors with future purchases.

This review on Spirit Strike was written by Jacob Roby of OklahomaKLR. If you guys like it, let him know in the comments below and subscribe to his Channel.

Read more: LS2 MX453 Dual Sport Helmet