Friday, October 9, 2015

SJCam SJ5000+ vs Xiaomi Yi vs Gopro3+Black 60fps review



►important Tech Specs:
1080p60 Mode!
170° FOV
16MP stillimage resolution
Ambarella A7LS75 DSP
Panasonic MN34120PA 16 Megapixel 1/2.33″ CMOS Sensor
WiFi Connection for iOS / Android device
Support AV out while recording with specific USB-to-AV cable
Multiple photo shooting modes: Single shot, Snapper, Time-lapse
Support HDMI HD output function
DVR Car mode (dash cam)

►Recording time:
20min ~ 3,5GB clips 24MBit Datarate in 1080p60fps mode
~52min in 60fps mode (with no Wifi - LCD turned off most of the time)

►Firmware-Updates:
it's confusing that there seem to be many different versions of SJCam5000. The plus, the wifi...
Mine is SJCam 5000+ (with hardware version 3 and initial firmware 3.1)
you can find firmware for all versions here:
http://techtronic9000.blogspot.co.at/2015/05/sj-cam-firmware.html

How to upgrade:
Download the correct FW from above. My download had 3 Files in a 7zip archive.
I copied the file "SJCAM_FWUPDATE_V3.bin" from the subdir with chinese letters to the ROOT of an empty SD card
start cam with powercable attached
go into the menu and move "up" to get to the firmware version (mine was 3.1)
then hit the rec button there and it asks you to upgrade FW (but it does this there only if you have a SD card with firmware file inserted)
It takes only a few secs and then reboots - you can confirm in the menu that you have upgraded (3.2 in my case as of 22.Sept.2015).

►official support here:
http://www.sjcamsupport.com/sj5000/
http://www.sjcam.com/content/16-how-to-upgrade-the-sjcam-sj5000-action-camera-firmware

►Competition (1080p60fps cams):
The Foxeer Legend 1 looks interesting, also features the Ambarella A7LS processor but differs on the chip - with using a sony one. So here it's Sony Exmor Chip vs Panasonic - and I couldnt find details on which should be better...
Sample flight: https://youtu.be/LkkK6qs9gWk

The Xiaomi Yi isn't only hard to pronounce but also hard to focus ;-)
I might try the mod to get it sharper - then it could be a good and cheap alternative.

The Gopro (3+ or even 4) are still top notch - but their price range is terribly high. Maybe the Gopro Session could also be interesting for Miniquads - but it's also expensive.

►other reviews of this cam:
TECHMOAN Test: http://www.techmoan.com/blog/2015/2/7/the-big-sj5000-action-camera-review.html