Lens size compared to gopro 4 ?

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Does Yi 4k have the same lens size as gopro 4 ? Can anyone who has both cameras able to check this please ? I'm asking because of compatibility with lenses, specifically macro lenses that fit onto gopro.
Or better yet, if anyone knows any good macro lenses that fit on Yi 4k.
thanks, appreciate the answers!
 
Does Yi 4k have the same lens size as gopro 4 ? Can anyone who has both cameras able to check this please ? I'm asking because of compatibility with lenses, specifically macro lenses that fit onto gopro.
Or better yet, if anyone knows any good macro lenses that fit on Yi 4k.
thanks, appreciate the answers!

Virtually all dash cams and action cams use M12 (diameter) x .05 (pitch) board lenses.

Often they are more or less interchangeable between cameras but this depends highly on the circle of optical coverage, size of the sensor and the nature of the module it is mounted in regarding required barrel length, thread depth and back focal distance.

There are numerous sources for M12 lenses of differing quality. Peu Productions has the most specialized selection of high quality lenses, (and other items) intended to work with specific action cameras.

Many cameras already have lenses that work quite well for macro if you simply adjust the focus for that purpose.

https://www.peauproductions.com/collections/xiaomi-yi-camera-lenses

https://www.peauproductions.com/collections/mega-pixel-lenses

https://www.leopardimaging.com/M12_Lens.html

http://www.m12lenses.com/M12-Mount-Mega-Pixel-Lenses-s/21.htm
 
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Great reply, thanks! although i didnt mean to replace the whole lens but merely put on a macro filter lens like this
maxresdefault.jpg


and another subquestion, whats the diameter of yi 4k housing/case lens ? is it universal too ? so i could buy macro filters thats compatible with housing like this:
P1007_01_a25bc03b-7b4b-4d72-99d2-2f083bfffba5_1024x1024.jpg
 
Hah! There was no way to know that you really meant close-up "filter" lenses. Maybe someone else knows the answer to your questions. I don't own a Yi or a GoPro.

I do own quite a few Mobius cameras though and I've often used them for macro, especially working with kids in a local environmental group shooting bugs and critters close up.

With the Mobius all you need to do is refocus the existing lens for macro and you get great results. Almost any other camera where you can access the lens module will allow you to refocus the lens for closer focusing. There are lots a videos on YouTube showing how to change focus on the Yi if you want to consider going that route to obtain macro focus with yours. This approach can give excellent results and doesn't cost anything.

Here's one that seems pretty good:
 
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Yeah my bad, my question was kinda misleading. Great to know its possible but doing this constantly while i travel could be pain in the ass, so the replacement lens filter is still better solution for me... but your comment made me think, if there are any lenses that we can mount to camera and are made specificaly to adjust focus by turning them (just like dslr camera lenses for example), it wouldnt be to hard to make and they would be awesome.

Edit: it actually exists lol, but its really expensive
https://www.ebay.com/itm/122151772518
 
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Yeah my bad, my question was kinda misleading. Great to know its possible but doing this constantly while i travel could be pain in the ass, so the replacement lens filter is still better solution for me... but your comment made me think, if there are any lenses that we can mount to camera and are made specificaly to adjust focus by turning them (just like dslr camera lenses for example), it wouldnt be to hard to make and they would be awesome.

Edit: it actually exists lol, but its really expensive
https://www.ebay.com/itm/122151772518

There are various kits for mounting "C" mount type lenses on GoPro and Yi but you are right, they tend to be expensive.
You can find parts for DIY versions of this on eBay and elsewhere though.

yi_cmount.png
 
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Virtually all dash cams and action cams use M12 (diameter) x .05 (pitch) board lenses.

Often they are more or less interchangeable between cameras but this depends highly on the circle of optical coverage, size of the sensor and the nature of the module it is mounted in regarding required barrel length, thread depth and back focal distance.

There are numerous sources for M12 lenses of differing quality. Peu Productions has the most specialized selection of high quality lenses, (and other items) intended to work with specific action cameras.

Many cameras already have lenses that work quite well for macro if you simply adjust the focus for that purpose.

https://www.peauproductions.com/collections/xiaomi-yi-camera-lenses

https://www.peauproductions.com/collections/mega-pixel-lenses

https://www.leopardimaging.com/M12_Lens.html

http://www.m12lenses.com/M12-Mount-Mega-Pixel-Lenses-s/21.htm

Yeah my bad, my question was kinda misleading. Great to know its possible but doing this constantly while i travel could be pain in the ass, so the replacement lens filter is still better solution for me... but your comment made me think, if there are any lenses that we can mount to camera and are made specificaly to adjust focus by turning them (just like dslr camera lenses for example), it wouldnt be to hard to make and they would be awesome.

Edit: it actually exists lol, but its really expensive
https://www.ebay.com/itm/122151772518


I wonder if some of our more in-the-know members here can help source these lenses direct from China for cheaper. Those prices are ridiculous. But navigating AliExpress is a maze
 
I wonder if some of our more in-the-know members here can help source these lenses direct from China for cheaper. Those prices are ridiculous. But navigating AliExpress is a maze

GoPro cameras and related others are not just used by hobbyists but are now also used in professional film and television production as well as commercial/industrial/scientific use where nothing but the best will do and where very specific optical qualities and performance is required. The expensive high end M12 lenses you see offered for sale at places like Peau Productions are well worth the asking prices.

I was well aware of the huge range of prices when I posted those links above and this was why I also posted links to Leopard Imaging and M12lenses.com where you can find a good selection of decent quality lenses at more modest prices.

You can find much cheaper lenses on eBay and AliExpress but for most purposes they are of low quality and are best avoided. Often with these cheap lenses you are not even really provided with all the required specifications and buying them is a crap shoot.
 
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GoPro cameras and related others are not just used by hobbyists but are now also used in professional film and television production as well as commercial/industrial/scientific use where nothing but the best will do and where very specific optical qualities and performance is required. .

in a lot of cases the cameras used in professional situations are based on GoPro but often have lens assemblies that cost far more than the GoPro does and run their own firmware as well, a good starting point no doubt but a long way ahead of the basic product
 
in a lot of cases the cameras used in professional situations are based on GoPro but often have lens assemblies that cost far more than the GoPro does and run their own firmware as well, a good starting point no doubt but a long way ahead of the basic product

Yes, that's exactly what companies like Peau Productions specialize in.
 
For professional production $200 for a lens is no problem.

But for the rest of us, maybe we can get the rejects off AliExpress if we look hard enough :)

I've found dozens of sellers of lenses for 1/3" sensor size for CCTV cameras for $10-15 per lens. Sure they're not perfect, but good enough for me.

If I'm patient I'm sure corresponding 1/2.3" lenses will follow. I like to tinker.
 
For professional production $200 for a lens is no problem.

But for the rest of us, maybe we can get the rejects off AliExpress if we look hard enough :)

I've found dozens of sellers of lenses for 1/3" sensor size for CCTV cameras for $10-15 per lens. Sure they're not perfect, but good enough for me.

If I'm patient I'm sure corresponding 1/2.3" lenses will follow. I like to tinker.

There is no reason to buy random "rejects" from AliExpress when you can buy a wide range of decent quality specialized lenses for specific formats and with specific optical specs at M12lenses.com for $14-40 dollars. (and somewhat higher as well, if you so desire or require)

Those cheap CCTV lenses you are referring to are generally not suitable for dash cameras or action cameras. If you want to just tinker, well fine, but if you want to upgrade your camera or achieve a specific result you may find that you are wasting your money.
 
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Excuse my newbism, but what exactly does lens for 200$ on action cam do ? i always thought people are replacing action camera lenses so they avoid having distortion-fisheye, am i missing something ? isn't the sensor in camera in charge of megapixels, color,... etc. ?
 
Excuse my newbism, but what exactly does lens for 200$ on action cam do ? i always thought people are replacing action camera lenses so they avoid having distortion-fisheye, am i missing something ? isn't the sensor in camera in charge of megapixels, color,... etc. ?

good lens is the foundation, without that no amount of megapixels will make things better, it's a case of GIGO (garbage in, garbage out) of course just having a great lens doesn't make up for poor performance elsewhere but it's the first piece of the puzzle, a consumer product will always have some sort of compromise so even though GoPro use decent quality lenses they can still be improved upon, for professional use it's worth the money to upgrade
 
Thanks for info! I wonder if there are any websites that compares side to side photo quality in action cameras with stock and replaced high end lens.
 
Excuse my newbism, but what exactly does lens for 200$ on action cam do ? i always thought people are replacing action camera lenses so they avoid having distortion-fisheye, am i missing something ? isn't the sensor in camera in charge of megapixels, color,... etc. ?

There are enormous differences in the qualities and capabilities of different lenses, even if these differences may not be immediately discernible to the average user. The lens on a 100 dollar point and shoot camera may be able to take perfectly acceptable, even excellent photos but it cannot begin to approach the optical performance of say a Vario-Summilux lens on a Leica D-Lux camera.

Lens performance is determined by its ability to optimize attributes such as sharpness, contrast, lens flare, Optical Transfer Function, resolution, color correction, edge to edge sharpness, barrel and linear distortion, chromatic aberration and other characteristics as may be required, such as flatness of field.

All of these qualities are determined by the optical design of a particular lens (the number and types of elements and their configuration), the quality and types of glass, the quality and types of coatings, the barrels and mountings they are deployed in and the precision in which they are manufactured.

By their very nature and size, M12 lenses (also sometimes referred to as micro lenses) have somewhat compromised performance. Originally, they were used primarily in CCTV cameras and for machine vision where basic performance was all that was required. That has all changed now with the advent of HD technology and the introduction of miniature high performance video cameras such as the GoPro. Newer and better lenses are coming to the market all the time to meet the enhanced capabilities of newer imaging platforms (sensors).

As I mentioned above, action cameras are now being used professionally in many areas including film and TV production, as well as commercial/industrial/scientific and agricultural use. Many professionals using action cameras have very exacting requirements for their work and this often involves very demanding optical performance. One area for example is survey mapping using drone platforms along with ground based calibration targets and very specialized action cameras that are sensitive to specific wavelengths of light. For mapping purposes, lenses are required that allow for making accurate and detailed measurements from the air. Another highly specialized use is for monitoring agriculture for such things as crop growth and the health of forests. These cameras can discern between healthy and diseased trees, for instance. Yet another use requiring extremely well corrected lenses is in utility work and bridge/infrastructure inspection where detail and accurate measurements are also important factors. You need the proper lenses for this kind of work.

So anyway, to answer your initial question about what a 200 dollar lens actually does on an action camera, Peau Productions custom designs their own M12 lenses to their exacting optical requirements and one of the main things they have achieved is to provide a level of performance that was previously only achievable with much larger, heavier lenses such as C mount but can still fit inside typical action cam waterproof housings and chassis. They also supply custom designed software to match the characteristics of the lenses they sell.
 
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Here is what a high end custom designed "200 dollar" M12 lens can do, in this case an 82° HFOV (23mm) f/2.8 Aperture, -1% Extreme Low Distortion (Non-Fisheye) on a Mapir Survey2 camera from Peau Productions. (Sony Exmor IMX206 16MP (Bayer RGB) Novatek NTK96660)

Be sure to click on the photo to see this 4608 × 3456 pixels image at full size.

d68a8Ks.jpg
 
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These images are of a flower farm and the camera is being used to survey and monitor the progress of the flower crop.

Again, be sure to click on the photo to see this 4608 × 3456 pixels image at full size.

mliOoaU.jpg
 
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