Liquid Image Torque HD Video Goggles Review

Video Performance

To test video performance I ran the camera through it paces on dirt and street in both regular and low-light situations. The performance is compared side-by-side to its main competitor, the GoPro HD Hero 2 for both video and audio quality.

In the dirt testing, the GoPro was equipped with the waterproof back and in the street testing the skeleton back is put on.

Compared to the GoPro, which is generally considered to have the best video quality of all of the action cameras, the Torque HD did remarkably well. The GoPro had less pixelation, especially noticeable when looking at grass and brush at high speed where the Torque HDs would just start to break up and the GoPro would blur. The GoPro also has slightly better image stabilization, which was mainly noticeable when I would ride over the really bumpy stuff. The colors are really down to personal preference. For the dirt riding parts it was overcast outside which caused the colors to come out a little duller than usual. The GoPro also began to fog up toward the end for some reason which muted the colors even more.

On the street the stabilization differences are much less noticeable since it is a smoother ride. The main things noticed between the two videos is the change in perspective (with the GoPro being mounted on the top of the helmet and the goggles right between the eyes) and the smaller field of view of the Torque HD goggles (135 degrees with the goggles and 170 degrees with the GoPro). The FOV is also down to personal preference, but one feature the GoPro has over the goggles is the ability to adjust the FOV between wide, medium, and narrow.

The low-light performance was surprisingly decent seeing as attempting to film in anything but full daylight with most action cameras is a waste of time. The GoPro again had the edge in this test as well, though the Torque HD was still completely watchable.

Where the Torque HD really shines is audio quality, which generally is much better than the GoPro, especially at reducing wind noise. With the waterproof back on the GoPro, the audio is reduced to little more than clicks from things rattling and still lots of wind noise. With the open back in place the quality is much better, though still muffled compared to the goggles, and at anything above about 30 mph you just get mainly wind noise. The Torque HD’s wind noise suppression was excellent, with barely a hint of wind even above 60 mph. The quality of the sound itself was also very good, recording crisp, fairly accurate audio. There is a catch though. The second you turn your head, you are going to get nothing but deafening wind noise. This for me was not a very big deal as I generally keep my head forward with only very occasional glances back, but if you are the type who look around or backwards constantly, keep this in mind.