If you are a lover of adventure and extreme sports and you thought that the world began and ended with GoPro cameras, I have good news: it is not true.
Luckily, GoPros are not the only ones in the risk photography market but they have a very good competition with the (perhaps unfairly) lesser known sony action cam.
Do you want to know more about them?
So let’s see its main characteristics. Although before, if what you are looking for is simply an underwater camera, here are our recommendations.
General characteristics
As I have already mentioned, they are cameras designed for sports or extreme situations. They are designed to be portable (small and light) and to resist shocks, splashes, water, snow, and almost everything that comes your way.
- Very light: Weight approx. 90-115 grams With battery included
- Approximate size: 8.8cm long x 5.1cm high x 2.45cm wide
- 1/2.3″ type back-illuminated Exmor R® CMOS sensor 8.8 to 11.9 MP
- 2.8 maximum aperture
- Lens Type: Carl Zeiss® Tessar® 170º Ultra Wide Angle
- Shutter speed 1/30 – 1/10,000 (30fps)
- Electronic SteadyShot Image Stabilization
- integrated Wi-Fi
- gps
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GzR-E89wco
To whom?
It is no secret who this camera is aimed at, since it is baptized as standard with the word action, we can deduce that it is not for macrophotography 😉 but for almost the opposite.
This camera is aimed at those who enjoy taking photos and/or videos in all those situations in which they would never take their reflex camera due to its weight, size, or fragility against dust-water-shocks. This camera is for the one who loves super-wide-angle action shots, the one who likes to jump into a wave, record a jump in the snow, or record their pet’s paws underwater. For those who are interested in focusing on the action without worrying about the settings, knowing that the result will be good in 99% of the situations (very bright optics) and who like the aesthetics of these images.
If you meet the above “requirements”, you will love these cameras 🙂
Which to choose
There are several models on the market with different specifications, but always with the same philosophy and basic principles regarding the action cam philosophy: low weight, small size, bright optics and ultra-wide-angle images.
If you are interested in any of them, you should know that the main differences between models are the specific functionalities. There are some with great video quality (4k), specialized in scuba diving, with their specific housings and settings, etc. And of course with a wide range of prices. To give you an idea, let’s take a look at a couple of the models currently on the market.
Sony Action Cam X1000V / X1000VR 4K
It is the latest model in Sony’s Action Cam series designed for high quality video recording (4k Ultra HD)
- With WI-FI® and GPS
- Water resistant to 10m with the case (included)
- Size: 2.4cm wide x 5.2cm high x 8.9cm long
- Weight: 114gr.
- Effective pixels 8.8MP
- f/2.8 maximum aperture number
- SteadyShot Image Stabilization
- 4K Ultra HD image quality (4 times more detail than Full HD)
- Remote control that allows you to control the camera from the wrist
- Price N/A
sony action cam HDRAS50B.CEN
- With WI-FI® and GPS
- Water resistant to 60m with the included case
- Size: 4.2 x 4.70 x 8.30 cm
- Effective pixels 11.1 MP
- f/2.8 maximum aperture number
- SteadyShot Image Stabilization
- Full HD 60p image quality
- Price N/A
You can see its full specifications here and the opinions of Amazon users will give you more clues, as you can see, they value it quite well.
If you are really interested in these cameras, it is recommended that you take a look at them taking into account the function you mainly want them to perform, because you cannot simply be guided by the model and/or price since most are designed for specific contexts. If you want it for water sports, scuba diving, recording video or simply taking photos, the same models will probably not work for you or, at least, you will surely have a model more adapted to your interests.
Strengths
- Price more competitive and at the same level of performance as its main competitor; the GoPro
- Body shock and splash resistant without the need to use the case (included), thus reducing weight and size even more. In addition, dispensing with the casing allows us to gain in image and audio quality.
- casing with tripod adapter universal
- In its superior models great image quality and professional results
Weak points
- It’s no secret that the autonomy (battery) of this type of cameras is insufficient. If we take into account the small size of this type of camera, it is something that most of them have to deal with.
- Although it has enough accessories and accessories, the truth is that it cannot compete with those of the GoPro. So if you are a fan of supports and gadgets to place these cameras in the most disparate places, you may be missing one.
- Generic cases, although they have been improving model by model, do not have the resistance of their direct competitors.
Concluding this review
If action photography is your thing and you dream of a camera capable of following you underwater, on your bike, through the air, snow, mountains and seas, or if you are simply fascinated by its size, weight and the style of its images, If you are also looking for a more than reasonable price and with great image quality, one of these little ones may be the camera you are looking for.
What do you think? Did you know them? Isn’t the competition between brands that allow us to enjoy better products at lower prices every day fantastic? 🙂 I hope this review was useful to you, if so, please do me a favor and share it so that someone else can benefit from it. Thank you very much and until next time 😉 .