Anyone have experience with cheap action cams?

[tirwin]

I have an original GoPro Hero that I was dusting off to film a fall drive next weekend. Daughter borrowed it and I didn’t see it again for many years... you know how it is.

I went to buy a new SD card on Amazon and I was shocked at how cheap they sell 4k cams these days. $40-$80 bucks. Of course they are made in China with brand names no one has ever heard of. I noticed some have stunning reviews and then I dug a little deeper and it seems many manufacturers are offering free stuff for 5-star reviews.

On the other hand, $40 for a cam that could fall off and bounce down the road has it’s advantages too.

Just wondering if anyone has tried any of these knock offs and have any feedback?

[mrrolleyes]

The yi brand is a good cheap camera.

[Cajundaddy]

I used a $25 (4k) key fob camera on my front bumper once. The results were interesting but hardly good enough quality to share with friends. To get decent in-car action video I want good color rendition, reasonably good lens, excellent stabilization, and 1080p 30fps. The ability to use a "dead kitten" on the mic to eliminate wind noise really improves the sound of the motor and tires as well.

4K is interesting but file sizes are huge and if the camera has marginal stabilization, all of the 4k magnificence is lost.

Modern gopros are pretty good for vid, combined with an external mic. This Sony is arguably better for in car video or all around action cam due to it's extraordinary optical stabilization and quality glass. It comes with a standard 1/4 20 tripod mount point so it easily adapts to any camera mounting option. Worth a look.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1278151-REG/sony_fdr_x3000_action_camera.html/c/product/1278151-REG

[911 SLANT]

I purchased a Aukey camera. I was surprised how clear 4k video was. Paid 40.00 online. Cheaper then losing a GoPro on the road.

[tirwin]

Appreciate the feedback.

Seems like with some of the these the sensors aren’t as good (which is what I would expect). As the resolution increases, the frame rate decreases. I guess the question is it acceptable or not?

[sugarwood]

These cheap one are not true 4k.
http://actioncamguides.com/real-or-fake-4k-resolution-in-action-cameras-how-do-you-identify/
http://elproducente.com/native-real-vs-fake-4k-resolution-how-to-check/

Why don't you just get a 1080p dashcam?
I use this one for my DD, and it works fine.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01C89GCHU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[cstreit]

GoPro is mostly marketing, however there are two areas the cheap cams seem to do worse:

1. Light balance - they don't handle changing light conditions as well as the more expensive ones.
2. Image stabilization - when things get shaky - cheap ones don't keep picture quality. (this could be software and not hardware for all I know...

[tirwin]

Well, I couldn't find this thread for a while because it was moved by a mod. :rollseyes:

My understanding of image stabilization is that either the lens, the sensor or both moves to counteract the movement of the camera. There is only so much it can do though.

I've seen a lot of comments about light being washed out on the cheap sensors. Makes sense... they are cheap for a reason.

The dash cam approach may be good. I already have a suction cup mount for my old GoPro. I was thinking of mounting the camera outside the car for the scenic part of the run to capture the glorious sound of the flat six. I finally found all the missing parts this morning so I'm going to go give it a try later today.

I think 1080p is plenty. 4k is probably overkill. Google tells me a 64GB memory card should record 3 hours of video at 1080p.

[sugarwood]

Yes, 4k is total overkill considering almost no one here has a 4k monitor or GPU.

[pmax]

I figured Raw' would be an expert in cheap "action" cams.

[tirwin]

Originally Posted by pmax

i figured raw' would be an expert in "cheap action" cams.

fify

[tirwin]

I did 3 quick drives the other day with the old GoPro. I have a tripod suction cup mount that I stuck to the windshield.

The first drive I used the case with the open back. Under 25-30mph was fine. Above that was useless. The next two I tried some homemade wind filters. They helped a little but overall still pretty much useless. Next I'll try the full waterproof case and see what it sounds like.

I'll probably just stick with the old GoPro for now. I would like to find a good way to record external exhaust sounds w/o wind noise. I know I'll need some type of external mic with a "dead cat". The old GoPro doesn't support an external mic and my iPhone doesn't have a headphone jack.

[widebody911]

I too am in the market for a new action camera.

I have a GoPro Hero 4, and they pushed a new version of the android app that will not only no longer recognize the camera, but also now requires Location Services to be enabled. I never had to have it enabled previously on any device which I connected to the camera - and I'm a stickler for keeping GPS and location services off unless absolutely needed. There is no reason they need my location in order to connect to the camera. This is all after they pushed a version of the app that required an internet connection and a site login in order to use it. However, even after enabling it, it still won't connect, so effectively the app update broke the app. Long-story-short, GoPro is trying to get into the personal data collection business, and I don't want to play along.

[tirwin]

Originally Posted by widebody911

I too am in the market for a new action camera.

Long-story-short, GoPro is trying to get into the personal data collection business, and I don't want to play along.

Yea, that's no bueno. It seems odd to me given that people use these things in places where there may not be an Internet connection.

Everybody wants to be in the data collection business though. Especially the Chinese... that is something that bothers me about some of these cheap products. Who knows what malware could be embedded in a seemingly legit app?

[pmax]

Originally Posted by tirwin

fify

Even better !

[Cajundaddy]

Originally Posted by tirwin

The first drive I used the case with the open back. Under 25-30mph was fine. Above that was useless. The next two I tried some homemade wind filters. They helped a little but overall still pretty much useless. Next I'll try the full waterproof case and see what it sounds like.

I'll probably just stick with the old GoPro for now. I would like to find a good way to record external exhaust sounds w/o wind noise. I know I'll need some type of external mic with a "dead cat". The old GoPro doesn't support an external mic and my iPhone doesn't have a headphone jack.

A few choices.
1. You can get a Zoom H1 recorder with dead kitten ($100) record audio and video separately, and sync with editing software just like they do with major motion pictures. This allows for adding narration, sound effects, data overlay, and all sorts of other creative stuff for a very pro result.

2. Get the Zoom H1 and a quality action cam that accepts audio input. This prints the external audio right into your video file simplifying editing. You do lose some creative options but you can get very good results this way and a lot of action YT vids are done this way for rapid publishing. The Sony FDR 3000 is becoming more popular due to excellent optical stabilization and the ability to accept hi quality external audio.

3. Create a dead kitten for your existing mic that can be slipped on and held securely while in use. Just some faux fur from a fabric store and a little creative DIY design to filter all of the sound through the fur to eliminate 90% of the wind noise. Camera onboard sound usually has a pretty harsh compander so it will compare poorly to a true hifi digital recorder but you will eliminate most of the wind noise.

In this launch video, I used option 1. A Zoom recorder, dead kitten, and sync audio/video in post. Go to the 1 min. mark and you can get the full dynamic range and depth of the sound from the rocket while still hearing voices from the crowd. Not my best visual tracking effort though.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmkijDadIKc&t=5s

[sugarwood]

Originally Posted by widebody911

I too am in the market for a new action camera.

I have a GoPro Hero 4, and they pushed a new version of the android app that will not only no longer recognize the camera, but also now requires Location Services to be enabled. I never had to have it enabled previously on any device which I connected to the camera - and I'm a stickler for keeping GPS and location services off unless absolutely needed. There is no reason they need my location in order to connect to the camera. This is all after they pushed a version of the app that required an internet connection and a site login in order to use it. However, even after enabling it, it still won't connect, so effectively the app update broke the app. Long-story-short, GoPro is trying to get into the personal data collection business, and I don't want to play along.

So what? Don't use any app.
I have a Hero4, and did not even know there was an app.
Just remove the SD card and copy your files to your main computer.
Like every GoPro version before it.

[sugarwood]

Originally Posted by tirwin

I did 3 quick drives the other day with the old GoPro. I have a tripod suction cup mount that I stuck to the windshield.

The first drive I used the case with the open back. Under 25-30mph was fine. Above that was useless. The next two I tried some homemade wind filters. They helped a little but overall still pretty much useless. Next I'll try the full waterproof case and see what it sounds like.

I'll probably just stick with the old GoPro for now. I would like to find a good way to record external exhaust sounds w/o wind noise. I know I'll need some type of external mic with a "dead cat". The old GoPro doesn't support an external mic and my iPhone doesn't have a headphone jack.

Get one with an external audio jack.
I've seen people tape an AUX mic next to the exhaust pipe.

[911TerryT]

Anyone have any experience with this one. Has external mic option
https://www.amazon.com/AKASO-Adjustable-Waterproof-External-Accessories/dp/B07CKV9FRX?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_2&th=1

[jyl]

I've used couple of $30 Chinese no-name microcam / spycam / actioncams.

You have to figure out how to set them up as they may come with no directions, but some internet searching usually solves that. They then seem to work fine. I never needed extra features like motion detection, looping, dashcam, etc and they didn't have them. They didn't seem to be water resistant either. I just zip tied them on bike helmet to record rides, etc. One of those rides was the local Naked Bike Ride so I can say that they work adequately at night . . .

This UK blogger tests a bunch of the no-name Chinese cams and I'd check there to see what he recommends. http://www.techmoan.com/