Budget 4k action cameras

[coldel]

OK, so yes I know I could spend hundreds of pounds on a GoPro Hero[insert number here], yes they are better, but I really am not looking for video quality I am going to be releasing on the big screen in Leicester Square. ta 

 

OK, so that pre-amble out the way, I have noticed in the Amazon Sales area a spattering of budget 4k video cameras (literally around the £50-£60 mark). Suddenly thought it might be good to pick one up and capture some on car video. The two I saw in the sales are the Apeman and Akaso AK7000. I have looked at some YT vids of both, the AK7000 is a bit contrast happy but otherwise quality is not bad for the money. The one thing I would like to ensure I do capture is decent audio which many reviews of these online seems to neglect.

 

Anyone had any experience with low end budget 4k cameras? I would expect them to probably give up the ghost after a year or two but thats ok. Be good if you have captured some footage on a car i.e. on the outside with wind noise and exhaust sounds etc.

[Adrian@TORQEN]

I know is not budget etc etc, but have a look at this too, although it's only 1080p:

 

https://waylens.com

[Ekona]

Most things can be sorted in PP with the right software, ironically that's why the GoPro is so good as it records in a friendly RAW file.

 

As long as you're not shooting night stuff, I'm not sure I'd be too fussed at the lens quality: At that price it's all much of a muchness. When I used to film stuff with my GP externally then as soon as it was in the sealed case wind noise became much less of an issue, so a decent case would be a must OR a shielded mic. @StevoD has some good experience with his cam and the ext mic, be interested to hear his views. 

[neo]

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/ee-4gee-action-cam-full-hd-13-mp-1080p30fps-waterproof-view-finder-watch-case-for-facebook-live-str

 

must be worth punt for the price ?

 

 

 

ah sorry its only 1080 tho

Edited September 7, 2017 by neo

[coldel]

Cheers guys, these are the things that were popping up on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0742YCX3M

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01HPXH29Q

 

I suspect I will use them 4 or 5 times then get bored of them, hence the reason for something cheap but enough to capture the moment. 

 

[StevoD]

My views on it are you get what you pay for.

 

Tbh that footage from the raft looks ****ing terrible.

 

I have played with budget cameras from £120 1080p stuff back in 2008 and Kodaks first 360-degree budget video camera and they were both ****. 

 

 

 

TBH i don't really rate GoPro footage especially if it was the main source of media for a project if you're just going to mess about with it and never touch it again save your money and go out for a drink or something 

if you have stuff you want to document you can pick up some good quality point and shoots camera like the g7x etc which will do 100% better job than any 'action' camera 

[coldel]

Cheers Steve, as up top quality is not on the agenda, capturing the moment is more important. We can all still sit and watch stars in low resolution non HD quality and enjoy every minute of it  I already have a pretty decent mirrorless CSC but wanted something smaller which if it gets busted up/falls off side of car etc. I wont be too concerned about. In the end I took a punt on the apeman one which seemed to have a few edges over the competition in terms of image stabilisation and audio capture. Will give it a test run and post up results 

[veeg33]

I recently purchased an SJ7 Star by SJCAM for around £140 ish. It's a 4K camera and it's pretty good. Seen lots of video on youtube before I made my purchase. Few year back i was going to purchase the SJ4000 (around £100 at that time, £50 ish now), again by SJCAM. They seems to be pretty good too but on at 1080P. Micro SD card will cost around £30-£60 depending on the speed of the card  needed. 1080p you can get away with slower card, but for 4K you'll need a fast read and write card.

[coldel]

Dozens of cards lying around at home due to all the camera equipment have had over the years, no problems on that front.

[StevoD]

that SJ7 star doesnt look to bad tbh 

[Rob350]

3 hours ago, StevoD said:

that SJ7 star doesnt look to bad tbh 

I bought an SJ 6 sjcam for japfest and my recent nurburgring trip, I paid £110 for and cannot fault it at all.. it comes with loads of attachments and plenty of in camera options from like fps, car mode, night, 720p, 1080p, 4k... (more pics than vids) and many more options to play around with.

 

I compared footage with a freinds go pro he paid 3x what I did and had to buy attachments and mounts and there wasn't much difference at all, in fact YouTube have some comparisons of go pros and SJ cams to see for yourself, also the SJ6 has a screen to veiw and watch where the go pro doesn't. The SJ6 battery lasts around 1 hour of recording too. It's my first action cam iv iv ever used and bought and I'm glad I went for it over a go pro.

 

Watch the YouTube vid comparisons and see price difference and quality difference 

[coldel]

Gave the Apeman cam a test and its pretty impressive! Image stabilisation is really good and picture quality great as well. A little dark in the picture (but as expected by the reviews) however shot some test footage in 4k when uploading it to You Tube it gets a bit funny when playing back and judders? It plays back fine on quicktime on my mac but gets upset on you tube, also it doesnt upload in over 1080?

[monkeybrain1234]

One thing to keep in mind.  High Quality 1080p will beat Poor quality 4K.  Particualry if your TV screen is above 46 inchs.

 

For your needs I would look at a high quality 1080p, which you can probably get in the same budget. 

[coldel]

I bought the Apeman 4k camera in the end - paid £61 for it from Amazon.

 

I took a quick video of it attached (without mic screening hence the wind noise) to the side of my car and took a drive around Richmond green. Its strange as its 4k on my laptop when watching the mp4 file via a media player but then on You Tube when I uploaded it the settings say its 1080/60

 

https://youtu.be/FJUdXD-AJnA

 

In any case this is easily good enough for what I wanted the camera for. Small, cheap and easy use to capture the moment. 

 

Not sure on the image stability function, its weird watching the car move around but the rest of the scene stay stable - shows the function works really well but to feel in the moment I guess you should feel all the undulations of the road!

[Ekona]

Looks like it’s working well fella, although that’s the most boring video I’ve ever watched!  

 

Try some nighttime stuff next? 

[coldel]

Ha! Yes it wasnt interesting in the slightest, I just wanted to test out the camera but also the 3 stem mount I had stuck to the outside of the car to make sure the whole lot didnt drop off, it was a nice safe place to try it out 

 

But yes, the image quality is really good, it has a case it can go in which has vents towards the back which should shield the mic I will try it in. Also might stick it towards the front of the car to try and capture the noise better (but so many curves hard to find a decent surface space to attach it).

 

But overall, a brilliant piece of kit for £60. Came in a decent box as well which has all the attachments in so easy to store. For what I needed it for, absolutely no reason to go spending silly money on top end gear at all.