Are cheap action cams worth it? SJCAM Review
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An action camera needs to be tough, and it also needs to be capable. If it’s not tough, or capable, then it needs to be really cheap. Meet SJCAM, the king of the GoPro knockoffs. It looks identical to the GoPro, and sports most of the features of this year’s Hero Silver, like Wifi, a screen, and lots of shooting modes. It can even shoot in 4k, which is only available on the Hero Black. At $120 on gearbest.com, the SJCAM is within the means of most riders, but how good is it in reality? I’m pretty skeptical about features like 4k on products this cheap, but I was actually impressed. I used it for a few shots this weekend, which made it into my Grapefruit trails video. Here is some stabilized riding footage I took with it. The only reason I didn’t include any of this footage in my video was that the camera was angled too low. On future rides, this might be a great secondary camera to mount to the bike or to someone else. Full disclosure: This camera was given to me by Gearbest for review. It is what it is, so let the footage speak for itself. If you ask me, it's worth every bit of $120, but is far inferior to a GoPro. It would also be interesting to pair this camera with a cheap single axis gimbal, and try to piece together a stabilized helmet cam for under $200. Between my $400 Hero Black, and my $300 gimbal, I’m riding around with $700 worth of very breakable electronics on my helmet while I careen through mountain bike trails. To get comparable results out of a much cheaper rig could make this more practical for the average rider. I might experiment with that. While this SJCAM does have pretty decent video, the audio is almost unusable. See here. Now here’s my GoPro. That’s a night and day difference, but we’re also comparing two cameras that are priced very differently. For me, the SJCAM will always be a spare, but for a lot of riders it could be a great primary camera to bring out on the trails. Whether you’re filming your friends or mounting it to your helmet, it should survive the abuse. Of course, it also comes with this bulky case which makes it totally indestructible, but like the GoPro it makes it heavier and blocks the microphone. If you feel like you’re riding with a cat on your head, it’s because you’re using your action camera like this, instead of like this. For me, video is a really important part of mountain biking. It’s a way to share your experiences with friends, and maybe even convince them to take up the sport. It’s a way to rub in your coworker’s face what you did on your day off, or just prove to your riding buddies that you finally did that drop from last time. A lot of you guys have been asking about video, and that’s why I’m showing you this affordable camera today. Let me know in the comments what you think, and check my website for the exact settings I used on my SJCAM to get the best quality. Here are the settings http://www.sethsbikehacks.com/product/sjcam-elite/ Camera link: http://goo.gl/aLSqbq Get the slim housing for GoPro here: http://www.sethsbikehacks.com/product/go-pro-open-housing/ Stabilizer Gimbal: http://www.sethsbikehacks.com/product/z1-rider-m-camera-stabilizer/ We have shirts now! http://www.sethsbikehacks.com/product/hardtail-shirt/
Comments
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what about the sjcam 4000? it's even cheaper but without 4k and probably no wifi
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I have the same camera, how's battery life for you, and tips on extending it? I'd like to use this for my daughter's mountain bike race in moab this year, but I don't think 20 odd minutes will cover it.
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GoPro Hero4 FTW! :)
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Ive since bought 3 even cheaper DB power action cams that look exactly the same. 49.99 a piece of Amazon.
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Yes they are. I have a sj7000 and it works awesome. Besides for $50 you couldn't even get all the mounts from gopro that come with the sj7000
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How about Firefly 7S?
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at 0:38 what's the mtb rack you use to carry your bike?
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You can try xiaomi 4k
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Seth, do you know if the sjcam will fit in a gopro case?
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Do the mic mod and use any external mic and it still is a bunch cheaper.
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good review
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im getting a sjcam sj5000 elite
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can this be used as a dashcam? and how ?
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When he was riding the bike it was so trippy
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leavin a sub! Cant wait for a SJ7 (coming out soon) review! Seems to be a decent Gopro 5 comeptitor, lacking of only the built in waterproofness (not a big deal though). And its finally a TRUE 4k camera (this one is interpolated, wich means it "records" on the sd card in 4k resolution, but realistically the video is just a bit above 1080p).
You recomment any stabilizer on the cheap, to use f.ex with a chestmount? Or any cheap stabilizer for handheld -
I personally like the runcam, for 50 dollars it packs a punch with 1080p30fps or 720p60 fps
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quiet and/or bad audio is a deal breaker for $120. I'd rather spend 40 or 50 for a different action camera on Gearbest
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For the mic, you might be able to use a small piece of gauze to act as a wind screen.
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Cat on your head... HA!!! I just got the SJCAM M20... for whitewater kayaking... fingers crossed its not junk.
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Seems like a great secondary(for handlebars, chest, backwheel, and for quick clips)
2m 50sLenght
1160Rating