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Which Sport/Action Camera are you using?

3K views 11 replies 8 participants last post by  tuffguy1967 
#1 ·
I was searching a while back for a decent (Couldn't afford a Gopro) Sports/action camera. The type with the water proof housing.

I had no idea that there were so many different ones being made, a major part of them in China!

I have been looking at the different models made by SJCam. They are pretty much a knock off of GoPro but it's a good enough knock off that it's being copied by others, even to the point that you may buy one says it's an SJCam and it's not.

Anyway, I wanted something that shoots good video, has WiFi so I can stream it to my phone, has an LCD screen on the back and has an app available so I can control it with my phone.

I finally decided to just get the one I'd been looking at. I bought an SJCam M-20. It came with lots of accessory mounts, the water proof housing, two batteries and has all the things I wanted. The built in microphone isn't the best but it works ok when not in the housing. It also is compatible with all the GoPro mounts as well as many less expensive mounts. I paid $123 for the camera kit.

I also picked up a 51 piece mount kit that comes with all types of mounts including a floaty, chest harness, head band, clips mounts and selfie stick all in a case. It cost me $20 for the mount kit.

Of course, then you need a good micro SD card. The camera advertised that it was compatible with up to a 32gb card. But, I had read where you could format the cards in Fat32 and the camera would then work with up too a 128gb card. It also needed to be at a class 10 for recording and playback to be smooth. I picked up a Sandisk 64gb card for $18.

I have used the camera once and it works great and the video is good as well. I'm looking forward to warm weather so that I can use it on the bike as well as trips to the river to get some underwater shots.

If your using a camera like these, which one do you all have? Why did you pick the one you have and how does it perform?
 
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#3 ·
I have been thinking about buying one but just haven't yet. I was looking at the cheaper knock offs than what you bought. There are some cameras out there in the $70 range that also use Go Pro equipment. Still looking, comparing and thinking about it though.


Dan
 
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#4 ·
I have an HD camera I picked up at a local motorcycle dealer. Was a 2yr old model, and the display, so I got it at 1/5th the normal cost. Had always been inside a glass case, and they had all the bits. It is a "Drift Ghost HD". They now make it as a 4k model. i put the 3m sticky mount on the side of my helmet, and clip the camera in/out. makes for some fantastic video. I will, at some point get an external mic for it so I can put it in my helmet. Right now the mic on the camera just picks up wind noise past 30mph, so I watch the videos on mute. Has several accessories, and is solidly built. Oh, and it came with a remote control that allows me to start/stop recording as well as a push for taking a snapshot while videoing. Its rechargeable like a cellphone (botht he camera and the remote) and I have the remote strapped to my handlebar. The buttons are like 2" long by 1" wide, making them plenty huge enough to push easily even with my heavy riding gloves on.

here's a link.
https://driftinnovation.com/
 
#5 ·
Many people are now eschewing GoPro in favor of less expensive options. There are a lot of really good cameras out there. I have been seriously thinking about pulling the trigger on one, but can't really make up my mind. Thanks for the review on the Drift Brian. I may jump on that one.
 
#6 ·
I've been using an SJ Cam copy camera (I guess you can call it that). It's the Lightdow 4k model. I got it on Amazon for $50 shipped, plus I spent another twenty bucks on an accessories kit. So far I think I've gotten my money's worth. The camera quality is actually pretty good, especially in the daytime. Night clarity isn't so great, but I didn't expect it to be. I use the camera as additional insurance for myself since people tend to cut me off or try to overtake my lane like I'm invisible. I've been good enough to only have been run off the road one time in the past 11.5 years, but, still, I don't want to take a chance someone tries to kill me and I can't prove that I wasn't at fault.

The only issue I've had so far with the camera is that it seems to corrupt the video files if you try to pack too many on the card, even if the card you use has plenty of room. I have a 32 gb card and I can't use even a quarter of it before the files get corrupted. I don't know what's up with that. I just periodically format the card if there's nothing during the ride to keep. Again, so far so good, and for $50 I'm not disappointed.
 
#7 ·
Thanks for the replies guys. I looked at the SJCam M20 for quite a while. I watched reviews on it an VS videos as well. I saw many of the even cheaper cameras and kept seeing so many different ones. It kept me wondering if I was making the right choice.

I finally had to just commit and buy one while I had the extra $$$ so......... I went with the M20 and so far I'm happy with it. They say the sound with the built in Mic isn't the best, but I found to be good.

The only thing about this particular camera is that you can't use an external mic. I do have a work around for that if I can ever get a decent video editing software I can figure out and use.
 
#8 ·
I looked at action cameras for several years but didn't want to fork out the cash. I bought a refurbished GoPro 3+ from GoPro. It has the same warranty as a brand new on and it cost me $117. I have been extremely amazed by the quality of the videos and think it was well worth the cost.
 
#9 ·
Please share the awesome find! Ebay?
 
#11 ·
That's what I liked about the SJ Cam as well. It has a built in screen on the back. I like the ability too see what is going on in front of the camera so I can get it set up correctly. And the use of the app is great as well, that way when I want to helmet mount the camera I can see that I have it aligned correctly so I'm filming something other than the sky or the ground.

I'm looking forward too spring so that I can start making use of the camera on my rides. Since I bought the accessory pack of mounts I can put them in several different spots on the bike so that I can film from different locations and angles on it.
 
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