Not long after I started my new job in September, I got an email saying that it was employee appreciation month. As such, they were going to be drawings for prizes. I of course didn’t have anything better to do so I registered for the drawing. About a week later, I was sent an email saying that I had won a prize. Truth be told, I forgot about it because it didn’t arrive for several months.

What am I going to do with this? Well, I thought that I would try it out and make videos. One time, I used the kids’ GoPro to make a video and it was nice to have two hands free rather than trying to hold the phone in one hand and do the rest of the work in the other.

In the box that it came with were straps to mount it to my person. A waterproof case, a remote control, different mounting platforms to put the camera on handlebars and pretty much wherever you want to put it. I have a planned a video for tomorrow so that I can break it in.

I am under no illusion that this is equal to the GoPro in performance. It was stated that any gifts over $100, we (the employees) would be taxed on the value of that prize. I think the stated value was $99.99. It is still cool and it is still better than nothing. I would say that if this proves to be worth it, I will use it until I reach the limitations and then at that point consider upgrading to a more refined device.

The question might be asked, do I feel appreciated? The truth is that I suspect every person that entered got a prize. In the application process, I selected all of the things I didn’t want which were largely things that I already have or don’t really need or want. I will test my theory next year and potentially get something that I might give away. But, to answer the question, not particularly appreciated because they gave me a gift. That being said, I have never had anything like this happen before.

The truth is that my phone is starting to get tired. I have had this iPhone X for five years now. I find lately that the lens is smudgy and shows a glare on many of the pictures that I take. This causes me to retake them. Additionally, transferring the raw clips are very cumbersome. It takes a lot of bandwidth to move them from my phone to One Drive where I keep all of that stuff and start editing. I often have to do this in multiple iterations for all but the smallest of clips. I welcome the ability to take content directly from the device via a wire.

End Your Programming Routine: As of the time of writing I haven’t done anything but charge the battery and power the camera on. I have no concept about how well it will really do, but like I said I will use it until I see the limitations. But hey, it is better than a stick in the eye (or a pink slip). So, I can appreciate what new dimensions this will bring to AltF4.