Agie
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2016
- Messages
- 2,164
- Reaction score
- 1,094
- Location
- Perth, Australia
- Country
- Australia
- Dash Cam
- 70mai A510 + S500, A229 Pro + VS1, N4 Pro, S1 Pro, A119 v3
Back from exile and back in the game. Let's see what Xiaomi's first entry in the action camera game has what it takes to either distract or topple the competition, in an already crowded market. Thank you to @GearBest for providing a review sample - you can purchase the camera directly here:
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Specifications: Sony IMX317 sensor w/145 degree field of view (same sensor as the Sony FDR-X3000!), F2.8 aperture and 7-element glass lens, Ambarella A12S75 chipset (same as ThiEYE T5e and SJCAM SJ7 Star), six-axis electronic image stabilisation (Bosch unit), WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, 2.4-inch capacitive touch screen (960x540 pixels), 1450 mAH battery.
4K (3840x2160) video recorded at 30fps with constant bitrate of 60MBps, audio constant at 128KBps @ 48kHz in stereo stream. 1080p recorded at 36MBps bitrate. Other video modes available with 2.5K @ 30fps, 1080p up to 100fps, and 720p up to 200fps.
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Box Contents: Xiaomi Mijia 4K action camera, user guide in English / Chinese, microUSB cable, camera battery.
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Firmware Version: v0.6.11.02 released early November 2017, updates handled by FIMI company, who also handled the Xiaomi 4K drone.
The final verdict: Overall, its neck and neck (in my opinion) between the video footage quality from the Sony IMX117 and Sony IMX317 sensors. Xiaomi has made a very strong claim for the action camera market here, with its ease of use and practicality to make the user experience as painless as possible. The camera doesn't make the process of setting up and capturing video complicated at all, and they should be commended for a fantastic effort on their first try. An easy recommendation from me to purchase this camera - I thoroughly enjoyed using it, and the results it provided.
Unboxing video and Xiaomi Mijia 4K action camera sample footage:
The Xiaomi Mijia 4K action camera reviews in true 4K, unlike many of the cheaper action cameras out there. Coupling the Sony IMX317 sensor with the tried-and-true staple of Ambarella A12S75 chipset gives a smooth experience. The camera records dash cam footage by enabling the Loop Record video mode and Rotate (set to "On" in the settings), and a video length of 1 minute.
My nitpickings:
The positives:
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Specifications: Sony IMX317 sensor w/145 degree field of view (same sensor as the Sony FDR-X3000!), F2.8 aperture and 7-element glass lens, Ambarella A12S75 chipset (same as ThiEYE T5e and SJCAM SJ7 Star), six-axis electronic image stabilisation (Bosch unit), WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, 2.4-inch capacitive touch screen (960x540 pixels), 1450 mAH battery.
4K (3840x2160) video recorded at 30fps with constant bitrate of 60MBps, audio constant at 128KBps @ 48kHz in stereo stream. 1080p recorded at 36MBps bitrate. Other video modes available with 2.5K @ 30fps, 1080p up to 100fps, and 720p up to 200fps.
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Box Contents: Xiaomi Mijia 4K action camera, user guide in English / Chinese, microUSB cable, camera battery.
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Firmware Version: v0.6.11.02 released early November 2017, updates handled by FIMI company, who also handled the Xiaomi 4K drone.
The final verdict: Overall, its neck and neck (in my opinion) between the video footage quality from the Sony IMX117 and Sony IMX317 sensors. Xiaomi has made a very strong claim for the action camera market here, with its ease of use and practicality to make the user experience as painless as possible. The camera doesn't make the process of setting up and capturing video complicated at all, and they should be commended for a fantastic effort on their first try. An easy recommendation from me to purchase this camera - I thoroughly enjoyed using it, and the results it provided.
Unboxing video and Xiaomi Mijia 4K action camera sample footage:
The Xiaomi Mijia 4K action camera reviews in true 4K, unlike many of the cheaper action cameras out there. Coupling the Sony IMX317 sensor with the tried-and-true staple of Ambarella A12S75 chipset gives a smooth experience. The camera records dash cam footage by enabling the Loop Record video mode and Rotate (set to "On" in the settings), and a video length of 1 minute.
My nitpickings:
- For those using this as an action camera, it would have been nice to have received action camera accessories (such as underwater case, quick release buckle, handlebar/seat mounts, pivot arm) - that being said, Xiaomi has just released and underwater case and that should come down in price in the coming months, so it is a good sign.
- Due to its wider stature as an action camera, standard accessories that fit many action cameras that are of similar dimension in the price range may not work. There now appears to be official and third-party cases and screen protectors appearing online, so this is somewhat negated already.
- The microphone gain / sensitivity in recorded audio is far too high. Audio can come through somewhat distorted, even when the music / person talking in the car is talking at a moderate volume. The location of the microSD card inside the actual battery compartment also gives some concern, in case the battery were ever to swell.
The positives:
- Once set-up (Xiaomi, please fix your pairing process with all your ecosystem devices!) through the Mi Home app, connection to the camera is flawless and transfer speeds are decent. Ease and lay-out of the app and the camera menus is thoughtful and well-presented.
- The touch-screen is buttery smooth. Much flak is given about the speed of the Ambarella chipsets when navigating the interface, but Xiaomi has nailed it here - rarely does lag present itself. Along with the operation of the camera, this is a testament to the usual Xiaomi using high quality components. Playback of recorded videos and photos on-device is actually a pleasure to undertake, compared to other cameras.
- It may seem silly, but having a rotate screen option straight out of the box made me quite happy. This is something that not every camera implements, and its lack of presence can be quite frustrating when wishing to mount the camera in-car.
- Construction is solid, and the inclusion of a standard quarter-inch thread is handy for those wishing to use a standard tripod mount for example. The unibody soft-touch plastic feels nice to the touch, and doesn't heat up very much in operation - along with the wider stance, the heat dissipation of this camera is the best I've encountered yet.
- Videos are well-exposed in daytime and sunset conditions, with colours represented accurately and not too much grain. With a high bitrate record rate, videos turn out quite well considering the use case scenario as a dash camera. Night-time of course cannot hold a candle to dedicated dash cameras, due to the rather small aperture of F2.8, but i have seen some dash cameras handle night-time equally poorly. For those that drive mainly during the day, then there is no barrier to using this as a dash camera (bar the lack of capacitor, possibly for hotter climates).
- You can take or leave the lens adjustment for distortion, as 145 degrees even for dash camera use is quite serviceable. If you have read my other dash camera reviews, you know that anything that is 170 degrees or approaches that mark tends to bother me with its rather impactful fish-eye effect.
- Electronic Image Stabilisation: using this in 1080p at 60 frames per second makes for very smooth video viewing. The six-axis gyro does a fantastic job at taking out all the bumps when driving.
- The firmware updates come thick and fast, and it's fantastic to see the makers also engage on Facebook to assist users and hear their concerns and suggestions.
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