The Sena 10C is the premier communication system that combines a great Bluetooth camera – all in one helmet! Don’t be surprised if you get the feel of a CIA agent set out for a mission with the responsibility of reporting every curve of the road – it’s thrilling with this offering from Sena!
With the salient features that it comes with, it’s a great filmmaking device a travel enthusiast can have for making vlogs and other purposes.
What Should You Expect With the Sena 10C-01?
Sena’s Global Bluetooth leadership, combined with a great camera, makes the helmer idea for any use – from outdoor sports to motorsports and more.
It has Bluetooth 4.0 technology for all the wireless controls and it proves to be interruption free and smooth as far as the connectivity is concerned.
The built-in camera has a variety of still photo modes and video modes. The still modes include features such as single, burst, and time-lapse. The video modes, on the other hand, contain various combinations of resolution pixels and frames per second such as 1080p:30fps and more.
It can be easily used during adverse weather conditions including wind and rain. It gets locked with the helmet with almost negligible possibility of detachment at any point in time. It is water resistant and can be taken into use during rains.
We have worked closely with RevZilla, Amazon and 2Wheel over the years to provide our testers with products to review. They are all great partners and unique in their own ways, so make sure to check out their prices. Please don’t forget we may get a commission if you buy from them.
Salient Features
Let’s examine some of the attributes that company claims the device is equipped with.
Bluetooth
The Bluetooth 4.0 technology facilitates almost all the features present on the device except the recording part. The device can be connected to the phone and all the speaker functionalities can be operated with Bluetooth connection.
The quality of sound is not that superior but is good enough for enjoying the music. The phone calls can be easily answered and you can even talk to your fellow biker with the help of the intercom. The intercom’s sound quality is mediocre and works within the range of a mile. The range is applicable only when the ambiance is open terrain.
Operations and Functionalities
The jog dial on the device is a bit small. It has a lot of buttons and some button press patterns for changing songs and using speed dial. The jog dial seems to be a bit uneasy to reach by feel and rotate.
For dial to work properly, you have to use bare hands. Hands with gloves tend to touch more than one button at a time making it quite difficult to operate.
Camera
The camera is capable of recording three video resolutions, namely 1080p @ 30fps, 720 @ 60fps and 720 @ 30fps. The video file that is recorded is saved in MOV format. This format is the only kind it is capable of saving the video in and not any other such as MP4 or AVI. It’s a quick time format which is good but doesn’t bring that contrast of a difference to the quality of the video.
It has to be equipped with an SD card for the purpose of video recording since it doesn’t have any internal memory. The flash firmware is suggested to be updated as and when directed to do so.
The quality of image and video, at all above-mentioned resolutions, is not up to the mark as expected. It is observed to be blurry at times and pixelated with lots of aliasing. The rate for different resolutions are constricted to a limit such as 1080p @ 30fps is limited to 12 Mbits/sec, 720p @ 60fps is 8.6 Mbits/sec and 720 @ 30fps is 7 Mbits/sec. The limit can’t be adjusted and proves to be a constraint in this device.
You have the option to choose what sound to record while recording the video; you can choose from Bluetooth music, intercom conversations, FM radio or phone calls to be overlaid with your video.
However, irrespective what setting you have applied, it always records sound on the mic.
We have worked closely with RevZilla, Amazon and 2Wheel over the years to provide our testers with products to review. They are all great partners and unique in their own ways, so make sure to check out their prices. Please don’t forget we may get a commission if you buy from them.
Customer Reviews
A lot of customers complained about the lens having a fisheye. The objects near the edge of the recorded video look a bit distorted.
Some had an issue with the quality of the video recorded at night. It’s darker as compared to other competitors in the market. Heavy light sources such as traffic lights, street lights etc. give off large starburst in the recorded video.
Despite being sold as HD device, no matter what resolution the video has been recorded in, the audio is always saved in mono 32 kHz. It’s a problem of software settings.
Pros
It’s an excellent choice if you are fed up of those camera mounts that are attached to the top of the helmet.
The device provides a low profile helmet camera solution instead of having an extra limb or antler on the top of your head.
The Bluetooth supports communication between riders in the form of intercom connection that works smoothly within the range of 1.6 kilometers (approximately 1 mile).
The design of the body of the device is a unibody design and it has been made sure that it should not be a combination of a lot of small parts.
The body is water resistant, firm upgradeable and intuitive with voice prompts.
Cons
You may feel some interruptions while driving through the tunnel or in the areas where we have a lot of infrastructure and narrow pathways. It works great in open terrain.
The small part assembled system is more prone to jerks experienced on a rough terrain.
We have worked closely with RevZilla, Amazon and 2Wheel over the years to provide our testers with products to review. They are all great partners and unique in their own ways, so make sure to check out their prices. Please don’t forget we may get a commission if you buy from them.
Conclusion
Sena 10C-01 Motorcycle Bluetooth Camera and Communication System is suitable for beginners who want to try out recording bike rides. It still has to go long way before it starts competing with the professional devices dominating the market.