Cheap Go Pro Alternative

[Yorkshirewanderer]

Hi Guys,

I would love a Go Pro but cant afford the price tag that goes with them. I've been looking at the cheaper alternatives that can be found on Amazon/ E-Bay etc and just wondered people views on them? Has anyone got one? what do you think to them, quality, ease of use, comparison to the Go Pro etc. I have heard good things about them but just wanted any honest reviews from anyone that owns one.

Thanks

 

[Goatboy]

I got one of these BladeFish cams for about £40 new. Came with underwater case, loads of mounts (helmet/chest/ect) and all the leads. No screen for instant viewback but you can just hook it to a laptop and the likes to do that. Way cheaper than the Gopro and a lot less hassle too as the two of the Gopros I had had to go back faulty and took ages to sort out and eventually get a refund. Cool, tough little cam.

 

[bopdude]

THIS has gotten praise from a guy on another forum I go to.

 

[Jared]

Yeah, the SJ4000 seem to be well regarded. But beware there are fakes of it.

 

[bopdude]

Yeah, the SJ4000 seem to be well regarded. But beware there are fakes of it.

Thanks for that, I completely forgot that

 

[weekender]

How do you distinguish between fake and real???


Sent from somewhere in a galaxy far far away...

 

[Jared]

How do you distinguish between fake and real???


Sent from somewhere in a galaxy far far away...

Real ones are branded with the company name "SJCAM"

Googling for "sjcam fake" will link to articles and youtube videos explaining other differences.

 

[Tank]

If you want sound with your video, if not then SJ's are... ok'ish when not in the case. but when in the case its very bad.

The benefit of the SJ is it has a screen on the back meaning you can frame the shot easier than with the gopro.

Using the camera is pretty simple (i find it easier than the gopro as you have the screen to see the menus.)

The SJ is a copy of the Gopro and as it became more popular they made copies of the copies, there is lots of youtube videos/site to explain what to look for with the fakes.

an alternative to the SJ is the EKEN H9. pretty much the same camera, Donny Outdoors on youtube has done quiet a few videos testing it out. https://www.youtube.com/user/DonnyOutdoors/videos

 

[dasy2k1]

I have a cheap vivitar, it works OK but the focus is not as good as the real thing and the iris adjusting from dark to light is somewhat slow

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

[Hunkyfunkster]

I got an SJ4000 to use to video the weans on their sledges this winter just gone. Could be a copy, don't rightly know. But it came with loads of accessories, including an 8gb micro sd card, and works brilliant for what I wanted. Probably going to use it loads when the good weather comes in. Thinking about getting the dog harness so I can see what he sees when he's chasing the wee ones around, lol.

For £25 I have no complaints.




Alex

 

[heron74]

Cotswold outdoors do one for £45 pretty decent reviews for it as well, it's the Rollei Actioncam 300.

 

[peaks]

I use a Veho Muvi HD - I find it really good. Some good deals around too.

 

[Yorkshirewanderer]

Thanks for the replies guys, I didn't realise that there were fakes of the fakes around, the SJCAM is the one that i have been looking at as its the one i've read most good reviews on but also a few bad. I'm just reluctant to spend the money on the gopro for the amount of videos I do. I suppose storage space is really my main problem, tbh that is why i was looking at the gopro type unit. At the moment i'm using my iphone which is only a 16gb but i normally only have around 5gb spare on it which makes it awkward juggling memory around, the other alternative is using something like this and still using my iphone http://www.amazon.co.uk/Leef-iBRIDGE-Mobile-Lightning-Connector/dp/B00OGT0AWE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1458722419&sr=8-2&keywords=leaf+ibridge

What software do people tend too use to edit their videos? I'm using an app called splice at the moment which is quite good but i'm thinking of getting something better for the pc, i was looking at Wondershare possibly?

 

[GadgetUK437]

Or wait until Lidl have their version in again. £40 and a no-questions-asked returns policy, if you don't fancy it.
2 years and mine is still going strong after much surfing abuse.

 

[neoaliphant]

Thanks for the replies guys, I didn't realise that there were fakes of the fakes around, the SJCAM is the one that i have been looking at as its the one i've read most good reviews on but also a few bad. I'm just reluctant to spend the money on the gopro for the amount of videos I do. I suppose storage space is really my main problem, tbh that is why i was looking at the gopro type unit. At the moment i'm using my iphone which is only a 16gb but i normally only have around 5gb spare on it which makes it awkward juggling memory around, the other alternative is using something like this and still using my iphone http://www.amazon.co.uk/Leef-iBRIDG...8&qid=1458722419&sr=8-2&keywords=leaf+ibridge

What software do people tend too use to edit their videos? I'm using an app called splice at the moment which is quite good but i'm thinking of getting something better for the pc, i was looking at Wondershare possibly?

SJ4000 is the best camera that SJ made, it is cheap and getting a bit dated now,
A much better quality camera is the Git2, ive got it and its marvelous

Avoid the Sj5000plus, i had it and really regret getting it.
Also there is no customer support from SJ, also avoid using bangood.com

Re software, im about to give shotcut a go, open source video editing, that has been recomended on an actioncam board....

 

[ozzy1977]

The fake sj4000 can be bought for around £15 on ebay.

 

[HMS9999]

Try this:
http://www.banggood.com/Original-Xi...-CMOS-WIFI-Sports-Action-Camera-p-969228.html
highly recommended, equivalent to mid range go pros. (Although does not have waterproof case included, but available for £15 or so)
Bought mine from the above company, shipped from China in 15? days and no customs charge.
Dashcamtalk has a large forum discussing this camera.
https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/forums/yi-action-camera.153/
h

 

[Switch]

Check out the Xiaomi Yi camera...as above. It's one of the better cheap gopro knockoffs I've seen. It, to me, looks much better than the Eken and SJCam. The Eken has absolutely horrendous chromatic aberration going on.

 

[CumbrianLad]

I got one of these BladeFish cams for about £40 new. Came with underwater case, loads of mounts (helmet/chest/ect) and all the leads. No screen for instant viewback but you can just hook it to a laptop and the likes to do that. Way cheaper than the Gopro and a lot less hassle too as the two of the Gopros I had had to go back faulty and took ages to sort out and eventually get a refund. Cool, tough little cam.

Hey my brother has the same camera and it is a great and easy to use bit of kit 10/10