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Deleted member 24437
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Reminds of Huawei and the Google smart phone (Nexus 6?), where they ran out of the quality component and began using cheap ,low quality, junk that began failing the phones!
My sj7 produced fine 4k with great detail of the finches on my feeders as well as good rendition of audio with their external mic., but 1080p120 fps video was poor with wavy lines in my cam.Based on the SJ7 record on various forums, parts played some role, but design, assembly and QC (or lack thereof) appear to be the main problems posted on the forums I track or moderate. Multiple reports pointing to a common part failure are very much in the minority, if they exist at all. Things like WiFi pulsing showing up on the audio track, for example, are more common. There have been some DOA cameras; diagnosing why a particular camera died is not possible via web posts. Usually, though, the camera is partially functional; symptoms vary. (Of course, any web forum doesn't contain the user universe. Observations based on postings on any forum will not give mean data. But anecdotal data shouldn't be dismissed.)
The SJ7 case is wide open to airborne contaminants and rain or condensing moisture. For an action cam, this is ridiculous. That the camera can't be used at least for snorkeling isn't a major problem. A "diving" case is included. Why a flexible "plate" is offered escapes me. The screen won't respond to it except when pushing the screen to near destruction. And the existing buttons covering all of the screen-controlled items anyway. Poor design. Mics don't work, batteries won't charge, the lens is defective. QC was probably on vacation that day.
The firmware has been a large topic. V1.21, the current rev., should be called a beta. RAW support is not consistent with most RAW use. A number of requested items (proper image inversion, for example) have been ignored. V1.21 crashes (a "pull the battery" crash) far too often. The firmware crew is MIA.
Going back to V1.15, which I see as limited but useful within its limitations, camera temperature was "very warm" but not objectionably hot. By the time V1.21 arrived, the camera was hot enough to cause batteries to swell appreciably. It takes some clever work to extract a swollen battery, wedged in tightly enough to pop the removal tab. It's bad enough that the battery was cooked, but there's a larger problem waiting to happen. Li-ON fail catastrophically when shorted out externally or, more important here, internally. That means, if an SJ7 battery swells to a certain degree, internal shorting might happen. YouTube is filled with what follows next.
The heat increase clearly comes from driving the camera electronics hard. They harder they work, the hotter the camera becomes. The firmware needs to be tuned to handle power demands better than happens now. Poor design (heating) and poor QC for not spotting V1.21's many problems.
But the above may well be moot. There's no further contact with SJCam regarding the SJ7 (or AFAIK the SJ8). And that's not a good way to proceed.
For all of my negative comments about the SJ7 in particular, it does produce excellent video. I've seen worse, worser, and worsest. The SJ7 is, at least in my thinking, the gold standard for video quality. There's plenty of room to debate frame rates, exposure times, amplification, etc., etc. But in the typical setting for an action cam, the SJ7 delivers. It's the maker who doesn't,
Now to sell my wife on yet another camera...
Ditto-Reached the conclusion that the Sj8 imaging can't hold a candle to the Gopro!What follows has been edited for clarity:
Bad news, boys and girls. I just stumbled on this review comparing the SJ8 and the GP H6B.
IMHO the reviewer is an SJCam "homer"; I question a number of his conclusions. The H6B imagery is simply better. The one gripe I have, and it's not a small one, is the H6B imagery has far too much contrast. I have no idea about whether reducing contrast can be done during shooting, or if it has to be fixed in post. Other than that significant issue, the H6B walks away from the SJ8.
If, however, your budget rules out the H6B, the SJ8 is a reasonable alternative. If... you trust SJCam to support it with firmware updates (everybody needs updates - SJCam isn't unique in this regard), and customer support. I leave the reader to draw their conclusions on these points.
Now to sell my wife on yet another camera...
The 4k+ uses the higher grade, more energy efficient H2 SOC.Hehe yeah the SJ8P do lack in dynamics and or contrast there, it also seem to be the much the same with GPH6B Vs the Yi4K+ this i think should be fixable in firmware, and i will agree upon this one comparison the SJ8P do look a bit soft or less vibrant if you like.
Color dynamics i dont feel look too bad, but its much up to the individual how saturated they like their footage, and i assume in the SJ8P there are a warmer setting to be selected ( assuming this are stock settings in regard to IQ )
It is nice someone can compare against the direct competitors, i would never be able to do that as i dont have those cameras.
Looking forward to more from this guy, maybe see if SJ8P setting changes can lift it up.
And i am wondering if firmware changes at least in regard to IQ results can be used both on the YI4k + chipset and this smaller one, if so SJ could piggyback on the improvements already made by the Yi people with their camera.
All you have to say are " Hony its a better camera, and so it will make you look even better" then if down the road it turn out to not be so, you can always say its the brand, or wife is getting older,,,, if you dare to go there.