What we don't like, however, is taking an expensive video camera and putting it in places where it can get knocked, bashed, or splashed with muddy water. It can be so easy to trash a jewelled box of high-tech goodness. What we really need is a decent robust camera with no moving parts, that can shrug off the odd dink and stores it's videos on cheap SD cards. Well, if you enjoy sports which involve a bit of rough-and-tumble, you are going to love the Oregon Scientific ATC2K Action Digital Camera- we do!

It isn't just a video camera with no moving parts and a robust case, it comes complete with a rather cunning mounting system, which enables you to securely attach it to your crash helmet or metal strut such as handlebars. Unlike many supposedly robust cameras, the ATC-2000 is waterproof down to around 3 metres and even includes some extra silicon grease so you can keep the waterproofing seal working at its best.

The simple to use controls are great for cold or muddy hands, making it equally at home whether you are windsurfing in a warm climate, or climbing in chilly Canada. Getting the videos off the camera is easy too. Provided in the box are a set of AV leads so you can plug it directly into your TV/VCR, and a USB lead so you can connect it to any standard PC USB port. Getting at the video files is as simple as drag-and-drop.

The built in memory is good enough for up to 11 minutes recording time, but if you slip in a standard inexpensive SD memory card (up to 2GB capacity) you can expect up to an hour's full quality recording, or over 13 hours in super-duper-long-play mode - that's a lot of adrenaline!

Oregon Scientific ATC2K Waterproof Hands-free Action Cam Video Recorder features:

• Three selectable resolutions (640x480, 320x240, 160x120)
• Built in microphone
• Built in 32MB memory
• Takes standard SD cards (up to 2GB)
• Standard USB interface (software compatible with Windows 2000/XP)
• Waterproof to 3 metres
• Camera size 109 x 45 x 45 mm / 4 x 2 x 2in (approx)
• Complete with helmet and crossbar mounts
• Standard AVI file format
• UK TV AV output
• Requires 2xAA batteries (not included)