1080P mini cams, alternatives to expensive GoPro

spinningmagnets

spinningmagnets

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I have no experience with these. I am sharing my recent research, and also hoping to draw info from ES members with experience. Apparently You-Tube doesn't play back in hi-def, but upgrading a cheap video cam from 720P to 1080P was recommended to me. I was told to record in Hi-Definition/HD, then run a "de-shake" program on your computer which will trim off some of the edge of the video, but it smooths out the action a little.

The GoPro is the industry standard, but the various models can be $200-$300 depending on features. The new years sales are just around the corner, so if you can find the features you like in an alternative model, you can save a lot of money.

I have enjoyed occasionally watching 30-minute reviews from "Techmoan.com", packed with the type of info that helps me figure out what features would be useful for me. There are a lot of features packed into some of these models that give them a wide range of applications:

Video adjusts from bright to dim light automatically
Motion sensing "on" to use as a "nanny cam"
Looping over pre-recorded data to make a continuous-run "dash cam" to record crashes for your protection.
Removable mini-SD card to make video easily transferable to any device.
WiFi/bluetooth so the video is recorded on a remote device (the police / mugger took my camera)
battery charged or device powered from any available 5V USB port.
Many have built-in screen, and also HDMI port to view on a larger device (without the need to transfer video first)

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GS8000L
Dashcam for car, may need to adapt the base to a handlebar clamp, $35 on Amazon. Requires a 12V DC power supply

gs8000l-in-palm.jpg
 
Mobius, and the very similar Innovv C2

Good: Roughly $80, very small,
Bad: the microphone is crap, but if you plan to overdub the You-Tube with voice or music this shouldn't be a problem

30-minute video review, and set-up video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wmIyD1fM4M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFTlcRPMK2w

This device requires a mini-SD card for memory. A "high speed" SD card is recommended for best results, as of Oct 2016 the SanDisk Ultra 64-GB mini-SD is about $20
https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-micr...d=1475109602&sr=8-1&keywords=sandisk+ultra+64

Dashcam1.png

Dashcam4.png
 
Innovv C3 "Snake" cam

Roughly $130. The body is almost identical to the $80 C2, but the lens is on the end of fairly long cable, which provides a lot of options. Other brands advertise these as a "bullet" cam. It is unobtrusive and aero when the lens is mounted to a helmet (with the body in a pocket). There are two lens options, a 90-degree, and a wide-angle lens.

30 minute video review.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aObCaFWvDzs

Dashcam5.png
 
SJ4000 WiFi

Amazon lists these right now as $113, with a "normal" price near $200. This has a LOT of features. Has a small built-in screen. The NON-WiFi version is a little cheaper, but I would definitely pay the difference "just in case" I want to access the full features in the future. Comes with a variety of mounting device options and also a water-proof case.

The Wifi lets you view the image that the camera is capturing on a second device. A smart phone in your pocket, or a tablet computer or a laptop...you can also control the camera features from the second device.

One of the big benefits of this model is that it uses the same mounting interface as the GoPro, so there are hundreds of cheap and generic accessories available. Handlebar mounts, helmet mounts, tripods, etc...

30-minute video review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uirzCD-qALE

Dashcam2.png

Dashcam3.png
___________________________________________

If you like most of this feature-set, but can live with a slightly poorer quality of video/sound and deleting some of the lesser used features, the WDV5000 WiFi is about $90.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvNItUEh9Ig
 
I keep waiting for something decent to come out. Full HD is only 2 megapixels. Most phones are better than that.
 
The best for me is the Sony action cam. I have gopro black plus aswell and the gopro is only better under water :wink: in all other places i like best thr Sony as30.

You can buy an adapter from Dx or other places to use all the stands for Gopro (that you can buy cheap copies from china :wink: )
 
chucho said:
The best for me is the Sony action cam. I have gopro black plus aswell and the gopro is only better under water :wink: in all other places i like best thr Sony as30.

You can buy an adapter from Dx or other places to use all the stands of Gopro (that you can buy cheap copies from china :wink: )
Click to expand...

Pd: sj4000 is a very good choice for the money but be carefull with copies (they are all around)
 
I'm interested in a cam like this that turns on, and starts recording (erasing the oldest video as it fills its capacity) from the moment I power on my bike-- or more accurately, my 12v system. Only cams I've seen like that though aren't cheap... great picks though! Bookmarked.
 
spinningmagnets said:
Good point...when buying anything direct from China, there are many counterfeits that look real.
Click to expand...

Heavens, check out direct from Amazon.com. They are filthy with knockoffs of it.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=sj4000
 
xenodius said:
I'm interested in a cam like this that turns on, and starts recording (erasing the oldest video as it fills its capacity) from the moment I power on my bike-- or more accurately, my 12v system. Only cams I've seen like that though aren't cheap... great picks though! Bookmarked.
Click to expand...
I haven't looked in a while but any dash cam should do that and the last time I looked (Amazon, eBay) there were several that could do 1080p and were under $100.
 
chucho said:
chucho said:
The best for me is the Sony action cam. I have gopro black plus aswell and the gopro is only better under water :wink: in all other places i like best thr Sony as30.

You can buy an adapter from Dx or other places to use all the stands of Gopro (that you can buy cheap copies from china :wink: )
Click to expand...

Pd: sj4000 is a very good choice for the money but be carefull with copies (they are all around)
Click to expand...

The Sony Action cams are the best by a country mile.. They all have GPS and Wifi and the AS100 now has 4K (pro mode).

And the SJ4000 is a clone/copy in the first place? It's just a fake gopro?
 
Techmoan.com is a great resource for information on these type of cameras....

Kudos
 
I highly recommend the Sj400 Wifi, its a tremendous cam, exactly same quality as a gopro (there are several videos comparing both image) (as thishttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpbmoRCPeYw or this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2h1R4N_cz7A). You can see that the difference is not the image quality itself, but the white balance. Sj4000 is more blueish in some enviroments, while gopro is yellowish. Although, the white balance cab ne adjusted on sj4000. That said, its about same weight and size as gopro, it comes with several mounts that are made to be compatible with gopro mounts, so you won't find any issues when buying accesories.

As a sj4000 owner, i'm 100% happy with the money i paid for it, i can say it is even better than gopro in some enviroments, as u can see in the second video, plus it has a lcd screen, which gopro doesn't.


Oh, be very carefull with fake sj4000's, the cam is so good that they fake it, so u have to be carefull to not buy a fake one. I bought mine from here http://www.aliexpress.com/item/1080...der-Bicycle-Action-Camera-Hot/1684922889.html, a trusted aliexpress seller who sells genuine SjCam products at very good prices, including the new sj5000 that can make slow motion videos.

Nobuo said:
the SJ4000 WiFi with a very interesting price with different tools kit and memory options

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Acti...iver-1080P-Helmet-Waterproof/32231073816.html
Click to expand...
At this price and by looking the pictures, certainly fake. The original sj4000 wifi has Sj4000 and Wifi where the fake one has HD 1080P at the bottow left, plus, where the fake one says HD at the bottom right, the original one has the SJCAM logo.

fake.png



Ps: someone above asked if sj4000 is a fake gopro. The answer is no. Its made to have similar size and weight as gopro so it can replace it in most applications at a lower price, its not sold as gopro.
 
mateusleo said:
Oh, be very carefull with fake sj4000's, the cam is so good that they fake it, so u have to be carefull to not buy a fake one. I bought mine from here http://www.aliexpress.com/item/1080...der-Bicycle-Action-Camera-Hot/1684922889.html, a trusted aliexpress seller who sells genuine SjCam products at very good prices, including the new sj5000 that can make slow motion videos.

Nobuo said:
the SJ4000 WiFi with a very interesting price with different tools kit and memory options

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Acti...iver-1080P-Helmet-Waterproof/32231073816.html
Click to expand...
At this price and by looking the pictures, certainly fake. The original sj4000 wifi has Sj4000 and Wifi where the fake one has HD 1080P at the bottow left, plus, where the fake one says HD at the bottom right, the original one has the SJCAM logo.

fake.png



Ps: someone above asked if sj4000 is a fake gopro. The answer is no. Its made to have similar size and weight as gopro so it can replace it in most applications at a lower price, its not sold as gopro.
Click to expand...

Thank for the advice!
 
I have a fake SJcam but knew it was fake when I got it for $40.00. At first the video was quite lousy with a pauses, blurred sections and sometimes it would record only half the screen and the other half would be black. After doing research, I found that the crappy card I was using was too slow recording. One of the best (according to some sites I visited) is the SanDisk Extreme PLUS UHS-I 32GB (SDSDQX-032G-A46A - 32GB). you can find them for between $20 and $35 and it makes a world of difference in the video. I believe you want your card to be able to record up to 80mb/s.

I know my vids aren't as HQ as others but for now, it is working fine.
 
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