REVIEW: MOHOC Elite Ops helmet cameras

Action cameras - especially GoPro - have established themselves very well in the tactical sector. As good as many of them may be, they are not all optimally suited for the rigors of deployment. The company MOHOC now offers a dedicated tactical helmet camera, the MOHOC. We took a look at it: The MOHOC, derived from Mohawk, known to us as a Mohawk haircut, earns its name, as can undoubtedly be seen in the main image.This camera has been optimized for mounting on curved surfaces, as can be clearly seen on the curved underside with hook and loop fastener.This camera is waterproof up to 10m, shockproof up to 2m, and can be operated very easily even with gloves, but more on that later. The dimensions are 52mm x 42mm x 88mm and the weight with the battery is about 200 g. Everything you need is included in the package - except the memory card.To open it, two side buttons must be pressed, which then release the locking arm...This is then simply flipped up and the lid can be removed.Here you can see one of the two lanyard eyelets under the locking arm, so that the camera does not hit the ground if you get stuck somewhere. You have to attach the lanyard yourself. The inside of the MOHOC. The battery, the memory card slot, and the small display with four buttons below are clearly visible. In terms of operation, it should be mentioned that this camera can be operated either with the Li-ion battery or with two CR123A batteries. It's very practical to have the choice. Batteries save money. The advantage of batteries is that you just throw them out after use and put fresh ones in. Your decision... All possible settings are made via the display and buttons. The menu navigation is actually self-explanatory. The most common settings (video resolution and WIFI) are found first, and the rest - like date, upside-down mode, and others - are arranged in a submenu so you don't have to click through all the settings. All settings can also be easily adjusted via WIFI and an APP using a smartphone or tablet. The operation is, as already mentioned, simple. On the back, there is a rotary switch and a push button. Turning the knob to the left: ON, but no recording. To the right: Video recording. In these two modes, a photo can be taken at any time by pressing the button. The center position of the rotary switch is OFF. How do you know if the camera is on or has taken a photo? Clever solution: through vibration. The functions of the vibration signals from the manual are visible in the image above. The lens can be rotated by 180° so that everything is always horizontal in the picture, in case the MOHOC is attached to the side of the helmet. This rotation is very, very, very tight, but that is not a disadvantage. We had both the regular MOHOC and the IR version available for testing. The difference here concerns only the sensor, which only captures the infrared spectrum. Unfortunately, nothing for fans of color film, but a "must" for night owls. The advantage is that the MOHOC IR also captures IR light and lasers. So to speak, a night vision device, but without residual light amplification. Here is an image of the two MOHOCs placed side by side. The monochrome image is always that of the IR version. It can also be used in daylight without any problems, as it is not an image intensifier. An image at dusk from the back of the helmet. The MOHOC IR clearly shows the IR-VLite.

But since the MOHOC is an action camera, we do not want to withhold some moving images from you. To illustrate this, we equipped our helmet with the two MOHOCs and a GoPro Hero. You can see the comparison run in the video at the beginning of the article, around the middle. But it's worth watching the entire video...

CONCLUSION: The MOHOC offers an extremely specialized helmet camera solution for the tactical sector. No other camera can match its compactness and robustness. The IR version is in a class of its own and represents an even more specialized version of the regular MOHOC, with its clear application area: We own the night!

The MOHOC is available directly at Spezial Brands (Link) for €550 for the regular version, and €750 for the IR version of the helmet camera.

A big thank you also to Firma Polas for providing another test camera.

MOHOC on the internet: www.mohoc.com