Over the last months I was looking for 60fps capeable actioncams that are cheap AND good quality. Some guys just buy a Gopro (350$ or more!) and hope nothing bad happens to the expensive cam.
The last addition to my nice collection of cams is the Firefly 6s. Find all the details below!
I compared these cams:
Firefly 6S (newest addtion)
SJCam SJ5000+
Xiaomi Yi
Foxeer Legend 1
Eken H9
and for reference the Gopro 3+ Black
In the hangar I filmed my review with another Gopro3 with a 60° Lens (high quality replacemant - no distortion, high sharpness).
All cams were updated to their current firmware level - only the Eken H9 - here I didn't find a useable one.
First I mounted all cams on a cardboard mount and filmed the same scenes. The Eken H9 gave up first - the SD Card should have been ok (class 10) and the battery wasnt empty or cold - it just turned itself of soon.
The SJ5000+ had a similar problem: my model does reboot if I want to go into the menu to "soon" after I turn on the cam. Could be a bug just in my model...
On the Foxeer and Xiaomi Yi I already did the neccessary FOCUS Adjustment (see details in specs section below). Although the Foxeer and the Yi share the same chip and sensor - their results differ. I found the YI much better than the Foxeer - but the Foxy comes in a nice form-factor (easy to mount on a mini).
The Firefly 6S earned it's own mini-review in this video. Here a short writeup:
- the dimensions are really the same as the Gopro3 - you can even use it on Gopro3 gimbals - BUT not on gimbals that use the back connector of the Gopro (like my older Zenmuse Gimbal of the Phantom2)
- battery is really compatible with Gopro3 batteries (which is really cool) - but I dont believe their 1600mah rating - the gopro batt is the exact same physical size and only 1150mah...
- menu button works nice and get's you to resetting the resolution or switching Gyro on/off fast
- GYRO stabilization looks good - will have to test it in a flight ev it really works good - SJ M10's Gyro was a really good addition to an action cam for a quadcopter!
- Resolution: 4k with useable 24fps which is nice, BUT: as what you read in the forums the chip or sensor here can only work with 2880x2160 pixels - so there has to be some interpolation. But even if you could only use the 2.5k video mode - the sharpness is really nice here! Looks even better than my Gopro3+ (as someone already commented I should refocus my Gp3 as well)
- remove FISHEYE - I have to test this function - basicly it will try to calculate a "straight" image for you and get rid of lens caused distortion for you (otherwise you can do this on the PC with additional software)
- lowlight performance is somewhat poor. it looks brighter than the gopro - but get's blueish, and on car / dashcam shots it get's blurry soon where gopro would stay sharper
To compare the achievable SHARPNESS of the different cams I took video stills from different cams filming my test pattern (so called Siemens star) where you see in the center of the star - how far do you recognize lines - and from where on is it just a grey mass, circle). See the pics below and decide for yourself.
One commenter already told me: I should film some distant objects (like a brickwork house) cause on 1m distance like in my setup, most of the cams have good sharpness...
But the Siemens Star is a good start to compare them under same conditions.
In future tests I hope I can show you the new RuncamHD2 as well (it has some formfactor like Foxeer, but hopefully with better image quality and stabilization).
The SJCam M10+ is a nice alternative - but since I lost it in a crash I can only refer you to my test of this cam - it's a small DICE formfactor (also nice to mount) features stabilization that works great and even has a screen. With this features I think it's better than the gopro session (where you cant change battery, have no screen - but supposedly better camera optics from gopro).
Hope this helps you find a good actioncam,
leave me a comment and check out my Youtube channel,
greetings, RCSchim
------------------------------------
Firefly 6s FW: 2.3 (REVIEWED here)
------------------------------------
Sony IMX078 CMOS illuminated sensor
Processor: Novatek 96660 chipset
1600mah Battery! (but same phys size like 1050mah gopro3+ batt - sceptic I am ;-)
Firmware: http://www.cnfpv.com/en/TECH/110.html
Manual
Android app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zsbrother.firefly&hl=en
cannot set 4k mode or 2.5kmode (4k mode isnt compatible with wifi operation)
iOS app: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/firefly/id951580453?mt=8
Size: 59 x 41 x 12mm Weight: 70g
Working Voltage: 5V Charging Current: 800mA
Working Time:1.5h Charging Time: 2-3h
Compressed Format : H264 Video/ Photo Format: *.MP4 / *.JPG
Optical Parameter: Diaphragm: F/2.8,7 glasses Angle: 105 degree level, 140 degree diagonal
Photo Resolution: 16M/8M/5M
Video Resolution: 1080P 60fps, 2.5K(2560 x 1440) 30fps and 4K (4096 x 2160)24fps (4k video is only 2880 x 2160p).
ISO: AUTO/100/1600
AV Output Format : PAL/ NTSC
USB Port: compatible with Gopro Gimbals (but not the "old" zenmuse with Gopro Back connector!)
Support HDMI output:YES
Support max 64G TF card, Class 10
Support WiFi (Wi-Fi doesn't work on 4k mode!)
Buttons:
Power Button: Press once for power on, long press 3 sec. to turn off, Photo/ Record Mode switch.
OK Button: Start/ Stop recording
Up Button: Enter menu/ Add options of menu; long press to turn on WiFi
Down Button: Enter menu/ reduce options of menu.
------------------------------------
Xiaomi Yi
------------------------------------
16 megapixel Sony Exmor R BSI CMOS
Processor: Ambarella A7LS
Hacking the Xiaomi Yi Action Camera: http://www.tawbaware.com/xiaomiyi
Upgrade firmware: (I'm at 1.2.13) http://www.xiaoyi.com/update/sports
- why is the battery so small (phys size?) there is 2-3mm more space in the compartment!
------------------------------------
Foxeer Legend1:
------------------------------------
get the latest (currently 1.7) Firmware here on their Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/foxeer/
(just download FW file, drop it in the root of your SD card, then turn on the cam and it will auto-update in a few secs)
Size: 75 x 37,5 x 17,1mm Weight: 49gr
16 megapixel Sony Exmor R BSI CMOS
Processor: Ambarella A7LS
166° wideangle
Lens: F2.5
Possible to remotely control photo/video mode with servo wire connected to your RC receiver!
------------------------------------
Eken H9 my FULL REVIEW: https://youtu.be/66G277inhxY
------------------------------------
Chipset / Sensor: Sunplus 6630M + OV4689
Weight: 64gr
Size: Product Size (L x W x H): 6 x 3.2 x 4.1 cm
no TV Out!
------------------------------------
SJCam M10+ my FULL REVIEW: https://youtu.be/2MagKQoqzTs
------------------------------------
Chipset Novatek 96660(Newest)
Sensor: OmniVision OV4689
12Mega Pixels CMOS-Sensor (but I read pictures are only 4mp and interpolated to 12mp?)
------------------------------------
SJCam SJ5000+ my FULL REVIEW: https://youtu.be/GOy9tk1WiXo
------------------------------------
Ambarella A7LS75 DSP
Panasonic MN34120PA 16 Megapixel 1/2.33 CMOS Sensor
170° FOV
Filmed with Gopro Hero 3+ Black - check out http://Gopro.com !
used the great MP10 lens on my Gopro3 to get DISTORTION FREE video! chech the lens here: https://goo.gl/6hKvNz
Some shots with Lumix GX8
Siemens Star comparison PICS:
No Comments Yet
Be the first to leave one!