VIDEO. The Garmin VIRB takes good video, at a quality like nearly all Action camcorders. Pictures were sharp though not as much as the better models, which means you can see much but not all details and subtle patterns in the image. In low-light situations, the video was good: quite viewable but not as bright or clear as the better models. It captures full HD video at 1920x1080.
AUDIO. It captures fair audio in mono, better than most.
PHOTO QUALITY. In Photo mode it captures at best 16-megapixel stills with good quality.
LENS. The lens has a fixed focal length; it has no zoom capability.
IMAGE STABILIZER. Shooting in well-lit scenes, this model did a very good job of minimizing the effects of camcorder shake.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS. It survived our repeated-drop test. It survived being dunked in 3 feet of water for 30 minutes when used with its waterproof enclosure. It has a moderately-sized 1.5-inch LCD, but with fair quality that's not as easy to use as the better LCDs. This model is smaller and average in weight among all action camcorders.
