11yo reckons he wants an action cam for christmas
i thought it might be a good thing for the family too for nice footage etc and we currently dont own a camera just phones.
he can learn editing etc. I reckon if i get one ill want wifi and a screen for ease of use. We do a bit of underwater stuff so 30m case is good.
Checked out the plethora of SJCAM offerings. One review i saw said to chuck all of their accessories as they wobbled etc.
the m20 looks to be fairly good value as 2k vid and stabilised. I dont think i will like the poor battery life of the sjcams at all. I reckon its great to have the good battery life so you can use and capture stuff and cut all the ****e out.
(not that ive ever edited any video ever)
part of me wants to just go out and get the gopro black latest, as the sj cam vid doesn't look that great and the vid looks great, but maybe that is a bit overboard.
I guess we will always have our phone video for normal non action stuff so i am leaning towards a cheap option. And perhaps I shpould be looking at even cheaper than the M20 as the vid seems pretty ordinary so maybe if going cheap go proper cheap?
Im sure there's a wealth of knowledge on here. opinions?

I've got a couple of gopros they are great but definitely not value for money..

I recommend the jay car option: its on special, from a reputable shop front, 1080p, wifi, lcd.. www.jaycar.com.au/1080p-wi-fi-action-camera-with-lcd/p/QC8028

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kitebored said..
I've got a couple of gopros they are great but definitely not value for money..

^This
I bought a 3+ Black a couple of years ago (like 3? tops) and it was great.

Screen now has a row of dead pixels - Go Pro support wanted nothing to do with it.
I've just had another non support where the App for Android is no longer available for my version of Android. (Reset phone and cant get the app back)
Numerous emails back and forth - GoPros response was to buy a new phone as there was no way they were going to release the old APK. (Even though they still support older iPhones)


Definitely better options out there now... my cousin bought something that looks identical* off ebay for about $100.
*Fits gopro housings and mounts. Doesn't do 4k but for kids faffing about 1080 is gonna be fine.


I wont be buying another GoPro.

Smashed my second go pro, so i wanted a cheap replacement.

Kaiser Baas X-150 Action Camera. 200 bucks, comes with a watch that allows remote recording.

www.jbhifi.com.au/collections/cameras/video-cameras

I like to take stills with the camera, so what I found best was to shoot at 15 frames per second at 2.7k.

Makes terrible filming but very very crisp pics.

If you want film, 1080 is fine.

The app is user friendly.


Three negatives,

Hard to see if the camera is on when filming - flashing led is impossible to see when the camera in in my kite line.
LCD screen on the back is hard to see in bright sunlight.
Cant tell if camera is filming from watch.

I have a GoPro 3+ black and a SJCAM 4000 that are both 3 years old and been flogged almost to death.
The 4000 is a great sacrificial camera where you don't want to risk a fortune with it getting clouted by rocks, trees or drowned etc.

Both have great video but the 4000 does suffer from sudden light adjustments more than the gopro. (but at a 100 bucks purchase price at the time it's outstanding.)

The stabilized SJ's are really good at steady video in a high vibration situation but they do crop the field of view to achieve this.

There is no way I would buy another GoPro when I can have 3 other cameras for the same price that achieve the very same quality.

SJ are right up there now as my mate has a SJCAM 9000 and it kills my Gopro with image quality in rough situations. (landsailing/kite buggying) My son has a Gopro 4 and it's over rated I reckon. Battery life is crap on the GoPro 4.

PS: I'm not chasing studio quality 4K video though. 99% of what is captured is ho hum throw it away footage anyway. I'm happy with 1080HD.

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Chook2 said...
I have a GoPro 3+ black and a SJCAM 4000 that are both 3 years old and been flogged almost to death.
The 4000 is a great sacrificial camera where you don't want to risk a fortune with it getting clouted by rocks, trees or drowned etc.

Both have great video but the 4000 does suffer from sudden light adjustments more than the gopro. (but at a 100 bucks purchase price at the time it's outstanding.)

The stabilized SJ's are really good at steady video in a high vibration situation but they do crop the field of view to achieve this.

There is no way I would buy another GoPro when I can have 3 other cameras for the same price that achieve the very same quality.

SJ are right up there now as my mate has a SJCAM 9000 and it kills my Gopro with image quality in rough situations. (landsailing/kite buggying)

PS: I'm not chasing studio quality 4K video though. 99% of what is captured is ho hum throw it away footage anyway. I'm happy with 1080HD.

Interesting to hear you say about the image quality. The bits of footage I have seen on YouTube The sj seems to have the colours all wrong and grainy but yes I was thinking 1080 would be good enough and we m a big fan of cheaper!

Just found this..

www.chinavasion.com/

less than $100

Sony 20MP 1.4 Mega CMOS Sensor

Photos Resolution: 20MP (5120x3840), 12MP (4032x3024), 8MP (3264x2448), 5MP (2592x1944), 3MP (2048x1536)Video Resolution: 4K(3840x2160)/15fps,2.7k/30fps,1440p(1920x1440)/30fps,1080P(1920x1080)/(60/50/30/25)fps, 720P(1280x720)/(120/60/50/30/25)fps

Than better than my camera at half the cost.

or 25% of the cost of a go pro.

Yes true my 4000 is down on quality from the 3+ but the 9000 is up there when both are on the same formats.
Also I will use the cheaper camera and not bat an eyelid if it is in a high risk environment. I have gone through 3 cases on my Gopro with them cracking/chipping or the mounting breaking off the clear cases. Genuine cases that cost heaps.
Have broken 2 case clips on the 4000 and the buttons are not high quality stainless steel and corrode up over time. The wrist control WIFI, is not rechargeable on the SJCAM but is still on it's second battery. I get lens replacements for the waterproof cases on the SJ for $9.99 which is a bonus.

Some of the accessories to mount the SJ's are a bit flimsy and I use knock off GoPro ones from flebay instead. I buy "J mounts" in 6 packs and always use a tether cord to a secure anchor .