Stealth Cam LLC, a Texas firm with an office in Oceanside, is hoping its new video camera benefits from the trend in sharing videos on social networking sites and people documenting their sporting exploits.
“The camera is geared to anybody who wants to record action from their point of view,” said Doug Mann, Stealth Cam’s director of product development and marketing.
Called the Epic action sports video camera, the device is 3 inches long and weighs less than 3 ounces. It can be attached to helmets, hats or clothing, allowing users to record their activities without using their hands.
Stealth Cam maintains its product development, sales and marketing and distribution office in Oceanside with about 25 employees, or about half the company’s total, Mann says.
Why Oceanside? Stealth Cam’s founder, Tim Schnell, has family there and prefers the site, Mann says.
The miniature video camera was an outgrowth of other products made by Stealth Cam’s parent company, Good Sportsman Marketing LLC, such as flash digital cameras, infrared cameras, 35 mm cameras and accessories.
From the Hunting Market
GSM also makes products aimed primarily at the hunting market, including lighting instruments, game feeders and hearing devices.
Mann says the video device was an outgrowth of making a surveillance camera to help hunters detect their prey.
“As we were developing the surveillance cameras, we saw the chip technology and memory card technology getting smaller and smaller, and decided to create this camera.”
The camera is perfect for surfers, mountain bikers, skateboarders and others involved in extreme sports. Many users post their videos on sites such as YouTube so that others can view them, he says.
The Epic camera has a built-in microphone and can store 200 minutes of video, which can be downloaded to a personal computer for viewing. It runs on three AAA batteries.
The camera, along with other GSM products, is manufactured in China.
Mann says the camera is sold at Dick’s Sporting Goods, Bass Pro Shops, Sportsman Warehouse, and at the firm’s site at epicstealthcam.com. Later this year, it will be available at Sport Chalet stores.
The price ranges from $159 to $199 depending on accessories.
Mann declined to reveal sales, but says that in the past two years, sales have leveled off from earlier years, when the annual sales gain ran 20 percent compared with prior-year results.
