New Z23L owner with some concerns...

MrWorry

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Firstly, Hello to everyone.

Now, Today i received my Yi Z23L (after 10 weeks wait from Bang good!) and the first thing i did was to jump on this forum to read up about it.

One of the reasons i specifically purchased the Z23L was because i read plenty of people suggesting to avoid the Z22 due to focus issues and the like. So, i did. Imagine my horror today when on here i read people discussing Infra Red this and blown out halos that due to the lack of IR filter on the Z23L.

Due to the late delivery and the already dark, rainy night i can't test the camera in daylight conditions but now i'm worried that i've wasted my time and money buying it. Hopefully you can tell me not to worry and everything will work out fine.

A few other things i've noticed are:
  • It get's pretty hot during use, is that ok?
  • There is a slight pulsing/clicking sound on the recorded video. Is that normal?
  • As a bonafide Yi technofobe, will i need to / should I install the custom bits and bobs users have created for the Yi and how safe and easy are they to use?
You may realise by my user name that i'm a bit of a stress head so please be gentle with the answers and suggestions as i'm new to all this and i'm a definite glass empty kinda guy!

Thanks in advance.
MrW :)
 
Hi MrW,
About focus:
My Z23L had to get refocused. By factory its in "near" focusing area and i wanted the "far" focusing area. So i opened it, and did the fix. Its easy.

About IR:
The IR filter isn't a bad thing, except you are going to use the yi in front of the sun all the time. I got this version and i think that the purple-red spot in direct sun is ok, i like it. Also without this filter you get more reliable colors. So it depends on how are you going to use the cam.

About heat:
Yes camera gets hot when you shoot for more than 10 minutes. Its pretty normal BUT i realised after many shootings that when i installed a U3 microSD card, camera was cooler than before (class 10 card). So i suppose that with lower write speeds, the buffer of the camera is working hard and camera gets hotter. Try to use a faster card if you worry about heat.

About sound:
I don't hear any sound on my Z23L but i have read that 22 versions have problems with wifi interference. If you have this sound to the whole video, then you got mic problem. Try to turn off wifi and shoot a sample. If you don't hear these sounds, then its wifi interference. If these sounds are too low, or hard to realize, then just don't worry MrWorry. Be happy with your camera.

About bits and bobs:
Custom firmwares,autoexec files etc are good if you are looking to improve your shooting quality. If you are a semi-professional (or professional) shooter, then you MUST try them. Imagine that with these files, you can have MANUAL settings to your camera. Thats big. Remember,better quality (highest bitrates) needs faster cards (U3 microSd card best option).

Don't worry, you got a great little action cam. Get some good accessories for protection and start shooting. You will get amazed about it.
Also remember that you got it at 45-50 gbp, not 300 (gopros). Be happy with it! :D
 
About IR:
The IR filter isn't a bad thing, except you are going to use the yi in front of the sun all the time. I got this version and i think that the purple-red spot in direct sun is ok, i like it. Also without this filter you get more reliable colors. So it depends on how are you going to use the cam.
you tested???..i tested many times with both lenses, the colors are exactly same but shooting against sun you have with no IR purple spots and white flares on the picture and this looks very bad, like smoke over the video and no contrast. Replacing lens is best for good videos, when the focussing is done anyway!
 
you tested???..i tested many times with both lenses, the colors are exactly same but shooting against sun you have with no IR purple spots and white flares on the picture and this looks very bad, like smoke over the video and no contrast. Replacing lens is best for good videos, when the focussing is done anyway!
Hi Gente,
If you check the second video(after 10 sec because the IR version is behind the tree) and pause it at 0:11 you can see that in direct sunlight both versions have good result. But in IR version colors are more blue, like saturated. Thats not bad of course, but no IR version is more natural.
Also night shooting is better without the IR filter.
GoPro 4 has no IR filter. Thats something that made me wonder..

With or without IR, Yi is amazing! :D
 
Hi Gente,
If you check the second video(after 10 sec because the IR version is behind the tree) and pause it at 0:11 you can see that in direct sunlight both versions have good result. But in IR version colors are more blue, like saturated. Thats not bad of course, but no IR version is more natural.
Also night shooting is better without the IR filter.
GoPro 4 has no IR filter. Thats something that made me wonder..

With or without IR, Yi is amazing! :D
...i see only good result with ir, the non ir has white flares over the footage!
more blue, perhaps more saturation because of not having flares.
gopro has an good ir filter behind the lens, i have one too.
test it with making video of your ir remote while switching and you can see good or bad ir filter!
look at first video such quality only with new lens, no flares in front of sun.
 
Hi MrW,
About focus:
My Z23L had to get refocused. By factory its in "near" focusing area and i wanted the "far" focusing area. So i opened it, and did the fix. Its easy.

About IR:
The IR filter isn't a bad thing, except you are going to use the yi in front of the sun all the time. I got this version and i think that the purple-red spot in direct sun is ok, i like it. Also without this filter you get more reliable colors. So it depends on how are you going to use the cam.

About heat:
Yes camera gets hot when you shoot for more than 10 minutes. Its pretty normal BUT i realised after many shootings that when i installed a U3 microSD card, camera was cooler than before (class 10 card). So i suppose that with lower write speeds, the buffer of the camera is working hard and camera gets hotter. Try to use a faster card if you worry about heat.

About sound:
I don't hear any sound on my Z23L but i have read that 22 versions have problems with wifi interference. If you have this sound to the whole video, then you got mic problem. Try to turn off wifi and shoot a sample. If you don't hear these sounds, then its wifi interference. If these sounds are too low, or hard to realize, then just don't worry MrWorry. Be happy with your camera.

About bits and bobs:
Custom firmwares,autoexec files etc are good if you are looking to improve your shooting quality. If you are a semi-professional (or professional) shooter, then you MUST try them. Imagine that with these files, you can have MANUAL settings to your camera. Thats big. Remember,better quality (highest bitrates) needs faster cards (U3 microSd card best option).

Don't worry, you got a great little action cam. Get some good accessories for protection and start shooting. You will get amazed about it.
Also remember that you got it at 45-50 gbp, not 300 (gopros). Be happy with it! :D
That was a great response, thanks a million.

I've just had a look through the various script and custom firmware threads and as interesting as it all sounds its not something I can make sense of. It all seems a bit techy for me but I'll give it a go if I can figure out what to do.

Thanks again for such a helpful comment.


Welcome to DCT @MrWorry :)
Thanks for the welcome :)
 
Hi MrW,
About focus:
My Z23L had to get refocused. By factory its in "near" focusing area and i wanted the "far" focusing area. So i opened it, and did the fix. Its easy.

About IR:
The IR filter isn't a bad thing, except you are going to use the yi in front of the sun all the time. I got this version and i think that the purple-red spot in direct sun is ok, i like it. Also without this filter you get more reliable colors. So it depends on how are you going to use the cam.

About heat:
Yes camera gets hot when you shoot for more than 10 minutes. Its pretty normal BUT i realised after many shootings that when i installed a U3 microSD card, camera was cooler than before (class 10 card). So i suppose that with lower write speeds, the buffer of the camera is working hard and camera gets hotter. Try to use a faster card if you worry about heat.

About sound:
I don't hear any sound on my Z23L but i have read that 22 versions have problems with wifi interference. If you have this sound to the whole video, then you got mic problem. Try to turn off wifi and shoot a sample. If you don't hear these sounds, then its wifi interference. If these sounds are too low, or hard to realize, then just don't worry MrWorry. Be happy with your camera.

About bits and bobs:
Custom firmwares,autoexec files etc are good if you are looking to improve your shooting quality. If you are a semi-professional (or professional) shooter, then you MUST try them. Imagine that with these files, you can have MANUAL settings to your camera. Thats big. Remember,better quality (highest bitrates) needs faster cards (U3 microSd card best option).

Don't worry, you got a great little action cam. Get some good accessories for protection and start shooting. You will get amazed about it.
Also remember that you got it at 45-50 gbp, not 300 (gopros). Be happy with it! :D


im interested on what you said about heat and micro sd card

what u3 micro sd card class 10 do you use? the 90mb/sec or 60mb/sec one? .. i am currently using the 32gb class 10 micro sd 48mb/sec one... i would gladly pay and change if i can improve the performance of the xiaoyi.. do you think its also better to change sd cards if i decide to change to custom firmware and scripts??

thanks.
 
...for me the focus is good enough, i have saw much worse.
Foto or snapshot from video?
 
i think its a good footage...
 
Hey, at least you get to feel like JJ Abrahms when you record without the IR filter.

To note, when Gente steps in front of the sun in the video at the :10-:11 mark with the IR filter there is a huge blue and purple flare that fills the screen for a moment.

Either way I think the Yi has great quality with and without the filter. Great video for those considering it though. Thanks.
 
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