I had always wanted to go to CES (Consumer Electronics Show). It’s the largest electronics show in the world and takes place in Las Vegas every year. Up until now though, I never really had much of a reason to go to it, other than curiosity and a chance to be one of the first people to see new and innovative tech in just about every realm. Suddenly this year I was afforded the chance to not only go there, but to chronicle some of what I did and saw with a new camera from EZVIZ. I was excited to be going, not only because I was going to be able to check out the show, but it would be a lovely respite from 24/7 the chaos of my house.

That’s not to say I NEED time away from my family. I don’t. But I don’t know a single parent out there who wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to get away for two nights. Two nights with a nice hotel room to relax in. Two nights without breakfasts to make and re-make. Two nights without arguing over showers and teeth brushing. Two days and nights where I won’t have to break up any fights over any manufactured sibling slights. Two nights of heavenly alone time.

So, I was off. Leaving super early so that I would be able to enjoy as much of the day as possible, I hit the road and soon afterwards was led on a 200 mile detour through the desert thanks to a closed highway. Any other time and I would have been upset, but you know what this really meant? 200 miles of beautiful desert scenery I wouldn’t have experienced otherwise, and no complaining passengers to spoil the route.

Finally getting into Las Vegas, the scope of CES started to come into sharp relief. Out of the many many hundreds of people I saw walking the streets, in the hotel I was checking into, and in the cafe I stopped at, maybe 7 of them weren’t wearing a CES badge. It seemed as though the entire planet had arrived for this party and I was already 2 days late. I quickly shot over to the EZVIZ booth, which I learned wasn’t located at the main Las Vegas Convention Center. As that place only has 200 Bajillion square feet (give or take a bajillion), the convention spills over into multiple locations all over Las Vegas. Thinking they were in a smaller location, I thought it would be easy to find. Then I realized that it was “smaller” in the same sense that Texas is smaller than Alaska. Still massive and very daunting.

So I met up with the excellent people over at EZVIZ and they hooked me up with a Five Plus 4K30 Action Camera along with a few of their Mini Plus Wifi cameras to set up once I got home. You know, to better manage the pandemonium. At first I was going to stick around the booth for a while to get a rundown on how to use the camera, but found it to be super easy. In just a few minutes I had the camera (with it’s super helpful touchscreen) synced to my phone. I could not only see what the camera saw through my iPhone, but I could adjust the settings, change camera’s from still shot to video to burst or timelapse. Learning how to do it all took maybe 10 minutes. So I took my new camera and I went touring the “smaller” convention center. After a few hours, I had seen maybe ½ of this one. I was beat and wanted to head back to my room, and so packed up my new gear and rolled out.

That night I took my camera out to capture some of the Las Vegas sites, but being unprepared for the cold (around 40) I didn’t make it super far, but was very impressed with the functionality of the camera in any lighting situations. After a brief  tour around, I hit the hay, getting myself prepped for a full day in the main convention center.

 

 

Some awesome stats on the camera:

  • This camera (MSRP Starting at $279.99) is EZVIZ’s top-of-the-line action camera featuring 4K video at 30FPS, an Ambarella A9SE chipset that consumes less power, and a Sony Exmor R image sensor for 12MP burst photos at 30IPS in low-light conditions.
  • A built-in 2” IPS touchscreen simplifies operations on the fly and lets you playback video with sound instantly. Dual microphones reduce wind and background noise to enhance audio.
  • The G-sensor makes it easy to record road trips and bike rides, automatically recording when you start moving and pausing when you stop. The FIVE PLUS also comes with a waterproof touchscreen accessory for using the 2” display underwater and a waterproof case for recording at depths of 131 feet.

 

The next morning I realized that my nice quiet “alone” time was going to be anything but. Being a native NYer, I’m used to crowds, but holy guacamole. CES is a whole new beast. Lines, hundreds of people deep crowded sidewalks. Queues for coffee were a solid 60 people long and traffic surrounding any of the CES locations makes a rainy commute in Los Angeles (notoriously and comically disastrous) look like a pleasant country drive. The pandemonium inside the convention center was something to behold. Crowds formed around demonstrations that were so thick, there would have been no way for me to see what was happening if I didn’t have my EZVIZ camera to hold above my head and observe from my phone below. This thing was coming in more handy than I would have thought!

 


After just a few hours navigating the massive space and maneuvering my way through the pulsating crush of gear laden humanity, I started to feel something I didn’t think would be possible. Was I actually starting to miss my the pandemonium of my home? Could that…… could that be an actual thing??? Sure enough, the lights, the noise and the rush of people all through CES proved to be even more chaotic than my own home life! I actually felt relieved that I’d be returning to it so that I could unwind. That’s something I never would have thought possible!

However, knowing that I was returning home with a few new cameras to set up around the house gave me a bit more peace of mind. Now I’ll be able to actually keep track of my kids and what they are up to from my office. I won’t have to scramble upstairs every time the kids decide to duke it out over a toy they both ignored for the last six months. I can see the action, and actually talk to them through the camera. I’m so very excited for all of the stuff they won’t be getting away with anymore! I can even refer to the cloud to see who actually hit who first! This is going to be marvelous. So, thanks to EZVIZ, I got my fill of CES. I was able to see and record tons of sites and now that I’m home, my camera tech upgrade is just going to make my life that much easier to manage.
I have partnered with Life of Dad and EZVIZ for this post. All awesome thoughts about everything are strictly my own.