Best action cam

We all know that GoPro has the market on action cameras sewn up, but are they really the best? I really do not want to shell out gopro prices if something else is better. What says the hive?

I have a GoPro 4, and a Chinese knock off, both junk. 

I bought a Garmin Virb Ultra 30. It's never failed me. 

Here's the discussion about the Virb on GRM.

I've had great luck with my cheap knock-offs, their interface seems much better than the older GoPros I've used.

Plus, they are cheap so if they get destroyed or lost, I'm not out a ton of money, just the footage (though many have Wifi capabilities so you could stream directly to your phone/tablet and not lose the footage).

The biggest piece of advice I can give you is to not cheap out on the memory cards, get cards of the proper speed rating or you'll have trouble capturing footage fast enough.

I bought a cheap "eken" 4k camera with lots of impressive specs from amazon, its crap. Always fish eye and grainy video. 

Floating Doc said:

I have a GoPro 4, and a Chinese knock off, both junk. 

I bought a Garmin Virb Ultra 30. It's never failed me. 

Here's the discussion about the Virb on GRM.

Flip the lever forward:  You recordin'

Flip the lever back:  You ain't.

In reply to Knurled. :

Can the 'Garmin Virb' in the top left corner be removed from the footage at all? I may need to add this to my shopping list for camera's...

I have 2 GoPro's (Hero3 and Hero4) and a knock off variation. Only the knock off doesn't record with a wide angle lense 

In reply to DjGreggieP :

Probably.  It's one of the overlays in the VIRB Edit software. I haven't tried, because I like the product so much I don't mind having it on my videos.

For as anti-commercial as I am, that's saying something.

In reply to Knurled. :

It's a lot less intrusive than some on screen branding I have seen, and for pure action footage it would be fine, but I've had friends approach me for assistance in filming/editing projects and being able to remove it would probably be something they would want.

I wsa just reading my Saturday newspaper, and noticed this in their Sound Advice column:

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SOUND ADVICE

Budget action camera still highly recommended

By DON LINDICH • Tribune News Service

Q: I am going to Italy in October and plan to take a tour of Rome on a Segway. I thought an action camera attached to my helmet would be a great way to record the tour as well as to get video of my companions zooming along with me. I remember in the past you wrote about a good action camera that was well under $100. What is the model and is it still available ?

A: The action camera is the SJCAM SJ4000. It looks almost exactly like a GoPro, but features a rear screen for composing and reviewing. The SJ4000 sells for $69 and includes quite a few accessories, such as a watertight housing and several mounts.

I still recommend it and its very appealing combination of simplicity, affordability and excellent image quality. It is compatible with the GoPro mounting system and records sharp, colorful 1080p video at 30 frames per second. The frame rate is a bit slow if you want to do high-speed action shots or editing in slow motion, but if you just want nice-looking videos of your adventures, it works fine. I’ve taken mine on several trips and have never been disappointed, especially given the price.

A Wi-Fi version is available for an extra $30, but I do not recommend it. The battery life is reduced significantly, and when you start adding extra features and complexity as well as dollars to the price, the camera and the value equation suffer. This is a case where less is definitely more.

One last caveat: If you want an SJ4000, I strongly recommend that you buy it only from the authorized dealer,  bhphotovideo.com. The camera has been so successful that counterfeits litter Amazon and eBay, and these knockoff versions don’t perform anything like the real deal.

By the way, I have done that Segway tour of Rome. You are in for a treat. 

 

In reply to DjGreggieP :

Ah, I see.

The VIRB records video and metrics data in two separate files.  The overlays are not done while recording, they are added in post-processing using the VIRB Edit software and you write a new video.  The raw video does not have anything on it but video and audio, in a standard MP4 format file (IIRC).  That video I posted was later redone as part of a larger compilation video, using an overlay I created rather than one of the canned ones.

I did check just now, and yes, the logo can be removed from your overlay if you don't want to see it there, assuming you did want to use an overlay.

nice to know, I will check out the virb as it seems to click all the boxes

This is an autocross run with my Ralliart wagon, left the Miata home that day.

I've been watching a lot of dirt bike videos lately and hear mention of a Sony cam becoming favored over GoPro largely due to improved image stabilizing and better audio.

Here are 2 good vids that give solid info & comparison opinion.

And if you have any interest in trail/enduro dirt bike stuff I highly recommend this guys channel: Cross Training Enduro