Buying advice for action cam for motorbike skiing etc

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Allan G

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Hi, I have been researching buying an action camera and ended up registering on this site as it seemed very knowledgeable and friendly. I was hoping for some advice/recommendations. My main use for the camera will be for a drift car, so internal and external videos, as well as motorbiking and some skiing and scuba diving, but not as much of the last 2 activities. I tried a friends GOPRO hero 2/3, i can remeber which, and was impressed, apart from the cost, as it wont be a thing I will use to often. I was just going to buy and sj4000 wifi for around Ā£30 and see how it performed, as they look decent enough on youtube. but i have had a look at more at features and need some advice whether i should go for something else. This is what i was thinking of originally.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/191584878146
I have now started looking at fps figures and thought i might as well go for something that did 60fps at 1080p. Then i started looking at chipsets and thought i may as well get something as most recent as possible so it lasts for a while, but I am unsure of what is good to go for. My budget is up to around Ā£100/$150 us, a xmas present for myself, I can spend a bit more if worthwhile, but i dont want to go crazy on something i plan to use a couple of times a month.

Next up i saw this at Ā£50 that does 4k at 10fps. Would that even be worthwhile?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131651016098
I also saw this SJ5000 plus with the ambarella chip and 60fps at 1080 for Ā£50
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151819693656
This SJ8000 was one of my fav choices with av out, 3 batteries and 4k at 24fps, with a novatek 96660 chip.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262112796245
This sj4000+ looked similar to the above with 2k at 30fps and the same chip
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/351531117262
This was another favourite the sj5000x with 2k at 30fps, the same novitek chip, and the main thing that was different was the gyro sensor, which i thought might stabilise on vehicle videos, can anyone tell me whether it is worthwhile?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221917386126
The last one i read about while researching the sj5000x elite with an upgraded sony sensor and 4k at 24fps
http://shop.sjcamhd.com/#!/SJCAM-SJ...Camera-Pre-Order/p/55375177/category=14060948

I also read about gitup cameras on here, which seem to get a good review. I looked up the new git2 and it has the gyro stabilisation, av out and Novatek 96660. The feature i liked the sound of on this one was an external mic, maybe for recording exhaust sounds to go with the video. I am unsure if the others offer this.

Anyway that is the 7 i have seen, I am welcome to other ideas or recommendations, as i am not totally clued up on what to look for, i gues the novatek 96660 is a good chip, if that is what i should be looking at? If anyone has any experience on the gyro stabilisation then please let me know whether it is worthwhile, or whether i should go for a cheap cam now and get one with better developed gyro stabilisation later on. Or not to bother at all! Anyway I hope you made it to the end of my long winded first post, thought i best be thorough!

Also does anyone have any recommendations on TF cards. I see some companies list 32gb max cards and some 64gb cards. I saw some on ebay, as you may have guessed by now i buy most things there! I saw some class 10 64gb cards for Ā£3, but i did read something here about unbranded cards being poor.Any recommendations on the card front.
 
The 64gb card will be fake, buy a known brand from a reputable source

A lot of the 4k products aren't true 4k so research carefully on that

The Gitup cameras are probably going to be the closest to what you want, I know the development team behind the product and their capabilities and attention to detail is better than the others doing this type of product, ultimately I think they're going to deliver a better result than the others you've mentioned

Almost due for release the JooVoo X is probably something you should have a look at also and see what it's like, a lot of effort going into that product also
 
Thanks jokin, I read your link about the cards and understand a lot more now.

I am not bothered if they are not full 4k, 60fps at 1080p seems great to me. If they have the capability for 30fps at 2k then that is a plus. I looked up the Joovoo X you mentioned, a bit more in price, but it is small. They mention "1080P at 60frames per second and 2.5k resolution". No idea what the fps is at 2.5k. It doesn't seem to come with a waterproof case which is a must for me, or the ability to buy one after. Also the battery looks more built in than replaceable, and no mention of gyro stabilisation, so maybe not the best choice for me.

The Gitup get2 seems good, one of my favourite choices along with the sj5000x and sj8000. I am unsure whether it is worth the extra for the gyro stabilisation yet, hopefully someone will help me out with that. Another one i have just seen is the firefly 6s, the only thing i am not so sure about is that it has no rear screen, but i could use my iphone to set it up.
 
from what I've seen the Firefly doesn't do great video, SJ8000 whatever that is has no relationship to the other SJ series cams, I notice in their ad here https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262112796245 they show SJcam batteries, maybe to make you think there's a connection, I'd be wary of sellers that misrepresent the products like that, @sjcam_official would be able to clarify that the camera is not what they are making it out to be

I haven't seen raw samples from the Gitup2 yet but I'd put my money on that one doing good video, I know who the engineer is that does it and know they're more than capable of delivering good results
 
Thanks jokin, yeah i just saw the review of the firefly on here and it didnt seem bad to me? The sj8000, i was just looking at specs of the cameras not the manufacturers as i know nothing about any of the companies, just sj cam has a lot of ads and replicas. Ok yeah i liked the features on the gitup2, anyone else any ideas on what i should go for?
 
i have a Git1 and my only complaint is that the mic is too sensitive when used outside the waterproof case. it's fine when it's in the case. apparently the git2 has a much better microphone so that's not an issue anymore. of course, BOTH the git1 and git2 support an external mic via USB, and the pro-pack comes with one. i haven't tried mine yet as it's been a while since i could go racing, but hopefully i can give it a try at the december event. only hangup is that you can't use any external usb accessories with the waterproof case. i can think of a few scenarios where you'd want to have the case on for physical protection against impacts, but you're not worried about water. such as on the front bumper (or hood) of a race car - road/track debris could whack the camera pretty good there, but chances of water are low. or when i have the camera on my mountain bike helmet. i don't go riding in the rain, but i don't want a tree branch or something to scratch the lens so i would use the case. thus i lose out on a lot of sound. šŸ™ of course, that's the nature of most waterproof cameras - not much you can do about that.
 
Thanks gibson, that is greay information, just the sort of thing i was wondering about, being new to action cams, the git2 is on my shortlist and thinking about it the cam will probably be in the case for protection most of the time, external mounted car videos, motorbike videos and skiing, apart from in car footage. The external mic is now not seeming like such a good feature as i could only use it on in car footage. Thinking now, I guess if i got a spare waterproof case and dremelled out a hole for the usb it would give me some degree of waterproof protection, but mostly impact protection, with the benefit of an external mic. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experience.
 
Allan G said:
Thanks gibson, that is greay information, just the sort of thing i was wondering about, being new to action cams, the git2 is on my shortlist and thinking about it the cam will probably be in the case for protection most of the time, external mounted car videos, motorbike videos and skiing, apart from in car footage. The external mic is now not seeming like such a good feature as i could only use it on in car footage. Thinking now, I guess if i got a spare waterproof case and dremelled out a hole for the usb it would give me some degree of waterproof protection, but mostly impact protection, with the benefit of an external mic. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experience.
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Duh, why didn't I think of getting a spare case and drilling a hole in the side for the USB? Then again, the hinge and lock are on the sides of the git up cases so that might not be possible. Then again again, I think @gitup said standard gopro cases will fit. So maybe a cheap generic case with hinge at bottom and latch on top would work for being modified like that.
 
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Thanks gitup, can you do a side by side comparison of the gitup2 and the 5000x, thanks
 
Ah well gibson, at least i have helped you back a little with a new project for you!
 
I am still curious about the gyro features if anyone has any experience. I have sort of decided either a gitup2 or a sjcam 5000x if the gyro is worthwhile, or one of the lesser models for a bit less if not. I have had a look at youtube videos but not found any direct comparisons as it seems a fairly new feature, and i am wondering whether to get one with a gyro now or get a cheaper one and maybe a gyro one once the technology is improved, unless it makes a difference now.
 
Gone for a gitup git2, just thought I'd keep it updated! i have also added the remote and external mic. Thanks for the info from jokiin about other cams, gibson99 with his experieances with the git1 and the manufacturer getting back to me, helped me decide.
 
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