Oakley Meta Vanguard's 3K Camera is Not what I expected

All right, check out what I got myself for Christmas this year. These are the Oakley Vanguards. Are these the future of wearable cameras? How's the 3K? How's the stabilization? Do I look like Tom Cruz in Mission Impossible? I mean, these are my first set of wearable smart glasses with a camera on it. So, I have a huge list of questions right here. So, I brought in a special guest that knows much more than I do. Potato Jet from the future. — Oh, you come seeking wisdom from old Potato Jet. — Um, I was thinking maybe just like a few weeks in the future. Oh, hey. It's me from Slightly the future. Come on in. 2026 is cool. We're just in a robo taxi going around town. No big deal. I'm recording out of my face. This is what recording the future looks like. Hi, Frank. — What's up? I'm still recording like a peasant with my hands. — That's so 2025. Did a bunch of different things from trying to play basketball and suck at it. Oh my gosh. I got to do some biking with it, which is my original intention for getting these glasses. And also, my mom asked me to cut down some dead trees. And it's actually surprisingly fun. I'm contemplating a career as an arborist now. So, at this point, I would say I'm pretty familiar with these Oakley Vanguards and have things I like about it and things I don't like about it. What questions do you have for me? All right, so obviously I'm mostly interested in the camera that's on here. And I've kind of avoided Meta Glasses in the past because they only shoot vertical and I'm a horizontal guy. I'm old school like that. But at least it's not like 9x6. It's a little bit more square than that, right? And it's 3K. So yeah, right now I'm recording with the highest resolution, which is technically 3K by 4K vertically, but that's before processing. Once it gets stabilized and onto your phone as a usable clip, it gets closer to like maybe 2. 2K or so and 3K vertical. And also, my glasses just auto stopped recording because in this higher 3K resolution, I only have a 3minut record time limit. — Oh my gosh, I wasn't recording on these glasses. — Oh, you weren't? — Because they shut off every 3 minutes. No, I could drop down my resolution and get 5 minutes. So, there definitely are some pretty heavy restrictions. You know, you have 30 frames per second, you don't have 24. So, in the highest resolution, how good does it look if you just crop a 16x9 out of that? Is it passable for YouTube? Oh, here I'll just show you some sample footage of a vertical video getting cropped in to 16x9. I'd say it looks all right if you're watching on your phone, but if you're watching full screen on a laptop or a TV, you'll definitely see the resolution loss there. From a technical standpoint, it's still over 2K, but you know, technical specs only really tell part of the story. To maximize the quality out of full screen, you got to record like this. There we go. — Now we're talking. — How do I look? — Looking great there. I have gotten a few shots just like this. And you have a nice reflection, so you could kind of check your framing like that's almost like a little selfie mirror. Like I thought it'd be really cool if I could just record horizontally just like this, you know, clipped on, but I haven't figured out how to turn it on and get it to record with the arms folded in like that. Now, how about slow-mo and hyperlapse? Are those any good? Yeah. So, in 1080p, you could go up to 60 frames per second or 120 frames per second in 720p. Here's how they look. Like, I will say when it comes to basketball, this might be the best perspective, especially for sports where you don't want to wear a helmet or a hat and you just want like an actual true POV, this is awesome. 120 frames per second. I think the record time limit is a minute and at 60 frames per second is 3 minutes. And yeah, there's also the hyperlapse, which is kind of fun. I was kind of expecting it to be super smooth, but I think my head actually bobs more than I expected when I walk. Let's walk like this. Here's me spinning the ball at 120 frames per second. Yeah, look at me spinning. I'm also very curious about the low light performance out of this. You can see this little light right here. So, you can tell that it's recording. And let's see how this view looks with the Vanguards compared to Sony's full-frame 12,800 ISO FX3. How does it look? And is it just me or is this kind of insane? — It looks like Aurora Borealis. — It does. But these Vanguards in particular, they're sunglasses, so you're only really going to be wearing it when there's a lot of light. But I'm surprised at how good it actually does look. So I'm kind of tempted to get some clearers so that I can wear it indoors or at night. And how's the audio quality out of this? I mean, I would imagine that the mic placement is pretty good proximity to your mouth. It's not too close. It's not too far. Does it sound decent? So, here's the sound from these microphones that's built into the glasses right now. Going about 20 mph. It definitely doesn't do well with loud sounds. So, I'll cut through a couple of scenes where I'm talking kind of loud and you can just hear that clipping happening. Oh, no. I have my wallet right here. — If I switch over to this DJI mic, it definitely sounds cleaner and you hear more of the environment. A lot of sound cancelling that happens in the glasses. Let me switch back to the glasses. And I would say it sounds good as long as it's not too loud. — Frank, what do you think about this vehicle, by the way? — This vehicle is really cool. This is the future right here. — that I'm actually excited about. — Not the Terminator T1000 future. — I just want the humanoid robots just to be smart enough to like clean and organize the house and do all the chores, wash dishes, all that stuff. But then just stop right there. Okay. No more getting smarter. — Yeah. No, this is cool. This is what I want. — This is awesome. Like it feels so spacious.

spacious. — Yeah, really comfortable. — Yeah. All right. Well, that pretty much wraps up our futuristic drive. That was pretty sick. I I'm liking 2026 so far. — That is 2026, — I must say. Now, I got to say, I am super impressed with my very first pair of Meta glasses, but not necessarily in the ways I was expecting to. You know, I really got these for the camera and thinking, okay, this is going to replace my action camera in a majority of cases. But in reality, I don't think it's going to do that. Let me start with the biggest issue I'm having with the camera right now, which is my video and audio not being synced. So, the beginning of the clip, my clap syncs up perfectly to the video, right? But if we skip 2 to 3 minutes in, listen to this. All right, so I'm just about to upload this video, but then got a notification that there's a firmware update for this guy. So, I installed it and it seems to have finally fixed the sync. So, hopefully this whole sync issue is now just a problem of the past, even though it drove me crazy the whole time I was testing this thing out. So, good news. I also have some trust issues cuz once in a while I'll get a clip that glitches out. Looks like it's recording at one frame per second basically. You know, it's happened to me enough times to where I know it's a thing, but luckily hasn't happened to me on a super important clip yet. And then, of course, my other gripes with the camera is vertical only, no 24 frames per second, things that are more specific to me. But I think for a lot of people, if you're just fine with the limitations and you're just looking to grab a few clips here and there, totally fine. Now, one of the things that did surpass my expectations is how useful it is to just have simple headphones built into the glasses. Now, it's not going to have the sound quality of AirPod Pros. Not even close. It doesn't have that deep bass, but it's perfectly fine for watching videos or phone calls. Right now, I'm on the line with Carrie. — I'm going 17 miles per hour right now. And you can hear me okay? — Yeah, I hear you just fine. — I'm actually surprised at how decently I can hear you. Like I can hear the wind right now, but I could also very clearly hear you. — So, the sound quality is pretty good. But also, when you're using WhatsApp or I think Facebook Messenger, you can actually share live. — Yeah, it's very cool. It's like I'm on the ride, too. — Yeah. — So, right now I'm listening to music at a fairly loud volume, like probably where I would want to listen to music. Can you hear me? — I can hear the music loud and clear. — Can you hear everything? — Yeah, I can dance to it. How far do you have to get before you can't hear it anymore? — Oh, I can hear it clearly — over there. — Yeah. — Don't assume that you have complete privacy when you're listening to stuff on this. Part of me was wondering if I could use these instead of my goggles in a full face. And I think the problem is that my face is a little bit too circular. You can see that these are the parts right here at the base of the arms is where it's extra thick. And that must be where they store a lot of the electronic components. So, it does make it a little bit tough to stick into this full face helmet. Like I could push it in and it fits, but my face hurts right now. I think if you had a skinny face, this would slip right on no problem. Also worth noting that if you're wearing a hat, you'll probably see the brim in your shot. So, you may want to flip it to the back during a shot. And that's the same for if your helmet has a brim as well. So, I guess that's one advantage for cameras that clip onto your hat. All right, battery life test. I recorded the whole time we were playing in 3K. Now, how long did the battery last? So, the answer is 31 minutes and 23 seconds. So every 3 minutes when this thing auto cuts, I just start a new clip. Didn't overheat on me or anything. And over 30 minutes, I would say that's more than I was expecting. Of course, there's a much bigger battery in the case. So when you drop this in, it recharges the glasses and you could go quite a bit longer. Now, is it worth recording in 3K when 1080p actually looks pretty decent and you get 5 minutes of record time? And I would say yes. We do a little bit of pixel peeping. It's definitely cleaner. But overall image quality, I got to admit, I'm pretty impressed with these. I mean, a lot of times it looks on par with iPhone in terms of color and contrast. I think they just did a really good job considering the limited space they have to fit all that hardware. You know, you're not going to put a crazy fat lens on here or a big ass sensor. But at the same time, is it as good as the camera on your iPhone? And I would say almost, but no. Sometimes I'll see the highlights clipping if the auto exposure doesn't catch up as fast. And of course, you can't compare to having multiple lenses. I mean, field of view seems very comparable to the ultra wide angle. But as soon as you want to zoom in any closer, these Oakleys become worthless very fast. So, the iPhone camera is better, right? Well, it always comes down to when and where, right? Like when we went to the Rams game. Go Rams. I was using my zoom lens to get some clips and then Puka Nucula does this crazy one-handed catch and I completely missed the shot from all the chaos and the excitement. But what was worse is I missed the moment. instead of just looking at the thing with my eyes, I'm looking at my phone like trying to, you know, get shots of it. And that's truly the beauty of having the camera on your face is you're just looking through glasses at whatever is happening in front of you. You're experiencing the real world, right? And that's what I'm trying to do more of. So, we also have AI available to us. So, I went ahead and taped a microphone straight up to the speaker so you could hear exactly what I hear. So, hey Meta, do I need a jacket

for going out tonight? In Los Angeles, California, it's currently mostly sunny and 75° F. Tonight, it will be mostly cloudy with a low of 55° F and a 9% chance of precipitation. So, a jacket is recommended. — Hey, Meta, what kind of camera am I looking at right now? — You are looking at an Insta 360 camera. — Hey Meta, I want to go to the Super Bowl. How much will it cost me? — Super Bowl 2026. Ticket prices start at around $6,246 with an average ticket price of $11,798 depending on seat location and demand. — Okay, I can't afford that. Can I sneak in? — I'm not able to assist with that request as it's against the law and the policies of the venue. — I want to build a jetpack. How do I do so? — Building a jetpack requires significant engineering expertise, materials, and safety precautions and is not a feasible DIY project. Well, not with that attitude. — I apologize if my previous response came across as unhelpful. I'd be happy to provide information on Jetack Development if you're looking for a serious approach. — Hey, Meta, I'm hungry. Is there some ramen nearby? — A nearby place for ramen is Genua Ramen Express located at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard. — I must say, I am happy that this fits my face, but it is only one sizefits-all. So, Carrie thought they were way too big for her. — This looks a little big. They need to make a women's model. — Of course, these wraparound style gives you great eye protection. Although, I must say, I think I found the one thing where it doesn't give you the best eye protection, which is when cutting trees above you, you have sawdust that comes straight down here, and it got in my eye. — Uh-oh. You need to go to the bathroom to rinse out. Well, you were looking straight up, so it fell straight into your eye. — I was also fairly impressed by how stupid simple these glasses are to use. On the left side, there's a power button, and on the right side, there's a camera button. So, short press for photo, long press for video, and then right behind that is a custom button. So, I put that for slow motion, volume control, start stop for music, and also when it comes to downloading the media off of here, which you do need to do fairly often because there's only 32 gigs of internal storage in here. So, it does need to offload fairly regularly onto your phone, but every time you connect your app to the glasses, it basically does it automatically. It downloads it and processes it and then basically saves onto your iPhone. You could also just have it auto upload to a cloud account if you want to do all that stuff, too. But honestly, I've just been happy with it just sending the clip straight to my phone. I'm also really good at losing glasses, and that would be pretty devastating to lose $500 glasses. So, do appreciate that there is like a fine feature. It's kind of basic. It only just tells you the last time it was connected to the phone, which is usually enough information to be like, "Oh, that's where I left it. " But if someone takes it and runs off with it, it won't update consistently like Air Tags would. But overall, I feel like I can finally say I understand the value of having essentially like a Swiss Army knife of all these different tools attached to your face. So, for my birthday, I'm getting myself a pair of Ray-B band Metas cuz I'm really loving the experience of having these Vanguards, but I'm finding myself wanting to wear them more often. And these are kind of intense to wear all the time. And now I'm like kind of inspired to create some vertical content. You know what should my our Instagram channel be about? It should be about hotels, like really cool hotels, and if we get enough followers, like hotels will invite us to come stay at their hotel for free. That would be my dream. — You like hotels? — I love hotels. But anyways, I'm going to go off and celebrate my birthday now. And I hope all of you are having a great start to 2026, and I will see you later.