Gopro Knockoffs

EyeMWing

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For my upcoming Youtube project, I've already got an older Gopro (Hero3 Black, IIRC) and a shiny Canon camcorder for the serious business of primary shots. But I find myself in need of more static B-roll cameras that I can stick to things and forget about for a few hours at a time.

Let's be real, though - a main line Gopro costs a LOT of cash and is mostly just trading on brand name rather than any real technical merits. I'm hoping to get 2 or 3 for rather minimal investment.

Anyone have experience with the stuff in the Gopro clone/comparable market segment? Gopro mount compatability is a bonus. Ability to get rained on is also helpful.
 
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First, what's your budget?
 
First, what's your budget?

Tentative $150-200 for at least two. More if that's what it takes to get something that doesn't suck.

I'm currently playing the "Does this cheap Chinese wireless microphone setup suck? Yes? RETURN IT AND ORDER THE NEXT CHEAPEST ONE!" game trying to dial in where the suck-barrier for that market, and anything leftover out of that budget goes to more cameras :lol:
 
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Ok if the budget would've been a little bit higher I'd suggest a Garmin one.

But at that price point, have a look at the Yi action cameras. I got one with lots of accessories for about 100 bucks and it's pretty much great - only sound could be better. Especially with wifi enabled there can be some noises...
 
That video quality looks amazing compared to the knock-off cams I was looking at a couple of years ago. o_O Which specific one is that? (sorry to hijack the thread). Even the lens viewing angle looks like what I was looking for.
 
Sound issues aren't terribly important - ambient mic, body mics and spot mics are all going into multitrack USB interfaces. The video, though, is totally awesome. Probably even better than the frigging Gopro (which, incidentally, I hate. So much battery drain. Literally unusable without a USB cable.)
 
This one - though I paid 80 for it. 100 is still worth it. Sadly you can't put an external mic in it, but if that's not a problem, it really is worth it. :)

There's one thing though: Some people say they have a problem of the image not being quite sharp. There are tutorials out there how to adjust the lens to get a properly sharp picture. Mine didn't have that though, but a friend of mines did and he told me it was a 5 minute job.
 
I got my dad a SJCAM SJ4000 a couple of years ago for about ? 80 for his RC boats, snorkling etc. which he has used a fair bit. The sound is crap but otherwise it has held up surprisingly well.
 
I got my dad a SJCAM SJ4000 a couple of years ago for about ? 80 for his RC boats, snorkling etc. which he has used a fair bit. The sound is crap but otherwise it has held up surprisingly well.

I got myself an SJ4000+ about 1.5 years back for about 80? as well. Picture quality is alright, although I can say the white balance struggles in snow :p Apart from that, it comes with a buttload of accessories that are all compatible with the old gopro stuff (with the newer models you don't need the waterproof case anymore). for that kind of price, I can't really complain, although the YI might prove to be a more "polished" product I bet.
 
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