Dynamic range is very good and the details between shadows and light are great which is important when filming in filtered light (like trees on a sunny day). We’re not going to kid ourselves and say it’s DSLR quality, as no little camera like this is, but it is more than good enough to produce excellent web edits. Image quality is clean, very colourful and great for such small lens and sensor. The lens is very wide angled with two different field-of-view options: 120-degrees and 170-degrees (that’s super wide.) There is also a flexible and very handy time-lapse mode that’s great for shooting your standard “moving clouds” video intro. The Action Cam has several different video modes: 1080p 30fps, 720p 720p and 720P just what you need for the slow motion action. Now to the guts of the camera – it has all the numbers to impress any camera nerd. We only got about an hour of use when we were abusing the Wifi connectivity, so only switch it on when really necessary. The Action Cam also has GPS capabilities, however, we did not test this function. A very handy function once they get it a little more stable.īoth the watch and phone connection do chew through the battery (due to the WiFi connection) so it’s best used very sparingly. We did have some issues with the connectivity of the smart-phone app and our connection rate was about 20%. There is also a smart-phone application that connects to the Action Cam via WiFi and lets you see both the live view and control the camera. It is however a little big and looks a little awkward on the wrist. This was great as you can see, in real-time, where the camera is pointing – no more guessing. We also received the additional wrist-watch accessory that enables you to operate the camera from your wrist. Turning the camera on/off is a simple single button push with some audio feedback (although a little muted inside the waterproof case). The on-camera menu system is easy and intuitive and the information displayed, as to settings and mode, is very clear. Setting up and operating the Action Cam was very simple. This has been fixed in the next generation model. As you can see the only mounting point is at the bottom of the waterproof housing. On that point, the only way to mount the camera to anything is with the waterproof case. The ports are great and add functionality to the camera however in reality they cannot be used when operating the camera as you cannot mount the camera without the door being shut. At the bottom of the camera is another compartment which hides the various ports used for USB (data transfer and charging), HDMI out, Sony accessories, and external microphone port. The rear of the camera has a start/stop button, a lock button (to prevent accidental operation the camera), a hinged door which opens to reveal the memory card (a 4GB micro SD is include in the box) and the replaceable battery. On the side of the camera is a small LCD screen and two control buttons. Its “orientation” is opposite to that of GoPro with the lens at the front of the body and more in a “pointed” stance, which in theory is more aerodynamic (but more of pain to chest mount). The Sony Action Cam is long and slim and very light. Also, let’s be honest, most people don’t buy these cameras in the hope of winning the next Academy Award for cinematography, so we’ve reviewed the camera from a real-world perspective – is it good enough for what the majority of people want and how they’ll actually use it. We are reviewing this camera as a mountain bike accessory and while the camera has many other uses and functions we will focus on how useful it is on the trail. We think Sony is an industry leader for image quality and stabilisation (and that’s a point of difference), but lacks a little in the accessory and MTB usability departments. The Sony Action Cam is Sony’s aggressive attempt at the first person market and when it’s a market that’s pretty saturated already you have to come up with a good point of difference for the masses to be converted. ![]() GoPro led that charge and over the past few years others have followed, Sony included. The Sony Action Cam with the Live-View remote. ![]() One search on YouTube will yield enough MTB first-person footage to keep you viewing for a lifetime. ![]() First-person video cameras, point-of-view action cameras, small wearable cameras – whatever you call them – have become infinitely popular in the last few years.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |