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Pivothead glasses sport a camera for recording video

Ever feel suspicious, if not downright paranoid, when interacting with a stranger wearing dark sunglasses? You can't help but wonder if while listening to you, he or she is rolling their eyes under those shades. And absent the visual cues that come with eye-to-eye contact, you may even have trouble determining the true intent of people you do know.

Now consider how on edge you'd be if you suspected your every move was being surreptitiously recorded behind those specs. That's possible with the Pivothead video-recording eyewear that I've been testing, from a New York City start-up of the same name. Partially concealed inside these pricey $349 sunglasses are a microphone and camera, capable of producing high-definition videos and still images.

The chief purpose of Pivothead's eyewear is not to have neighbor spy on neighbor. The glasses are positioned as an alternative to the many sports action "point of view" cameras marketed by brands such as GoPro, Contour and Ion, and mounted onto motorbikes, surfboards and helmets. Only here, you're wearing Pivothead eyewear just like any other pair of glasses. The result is a true first-person perspective. Suffice it to say, your head isn't a good substitute for a tripod. What quickly became evident was how jerky my head movement often was, whether I was driving, walking the dog, or even greeting my kids coming off a school bus. Still, the quality of the videos was impressive.

People are fascinated by the idea of putting cameras inside glasses, as evidenced by the publicity surrounding Google Glass, which remains a ways off commercially.

Pivothead is more modest on features than what Google promises for Glass. There's no live video chat, for instance. Pivothead envisions the glasses being used by the likes of coaches training athletes, surgeons teaching at medical schools, and dermatologists documenting skin disorders. Pivothead eyewear is sold online and soon will be available at select Sports Authority stores and specialty retailers.

From a reasonable distance, the Pivothead glasses resemble an ordinary pair of sunglasses. Their polarized lenses are protected by an anti-scratch coating. The design won't win any fashion awards, but the glasses are light, comfortable to wear and sporty enough. And they lack the "I'm a geek" quality that might make you reluctant to wear them in public.

The frames are considerably larger than a typical pair of sunglasses. Pivothead eyewear comes in four models and 16 styles. I had the Durango Glacier Blue style. And when I wasn't capturing video, I used them as ordinary sunglasses.

A small hole for the lens and 8-megapixel image sensor is situated above the bridge, and more visible when you come up close. Inside is 8 gigabytes of internal storage, good for about an hour of full HD video.

On the top side of the rubberized left arm is a switch to shoot video — or capture stills. It takes some getting used to, and the only way to know if you turned the control on properly is to take the glasses off and peek at the LED lights inside the arm.

On the bottom of the left arm is the tiny power button next to a micro-USB port that you use to connect the glasses to a computer. The connection serves a few purposes. It's the only way to transfer the video (and stills) you shoot to a computer. (Pivothead will soon come out with a $99 Air Wi-Fi accessory which, in conjunction with a smartphone app, would let you dump and share data without tethering the glasses to a computer.)

You also have to connect to a computer for the not-always-intuitive software required to change multiple settings and options on the camera. Without the computer, I found it extremely frustrating, for example, when the inspiration hit me to shoot on the fly in one of the other available options, black and white.

Among the functions and settings you can change from the software:

•Alter the video resolution from 1080p HD at 30 frames per second to 720p at either 30 or 60 fps.

•Display a Pivothead watermark or time/date stamp.

•Choose the image size, exposure settings and burst capture mode.

•Change to shoot, say, in action sports, party mode or "macro" close-ups.

You also have to connect to a computer to charge the Pivothead eyewear. In typical use, you'll get about an hour to an hour and a half of use, depending on settings and video quality.

Pivothead glasses are a potential hit at parties, on the slopes or with the kids on the beach. But it's difficult to recommend at the current price.

The bottom line:

$349, www.pivothead.com

Pro: Hides video camera in normal-looking, easy-to-wear sunglasses. Good image quality.

Con: Expensive. Changing settings requires cumbersome software and access to computer.

E-mail: ebaig@usatoday.com. Follow @edbaig on Twitter.