Last year, GoPro showed a new line of action cameras, consisting of the modest Hero 2014 and the older Hero4 Silver with Hero4 Black. But what if you don’t have enough features of Hero 2014, and Hero4 Silver and especially Black can’t afford it? Today I will tell you about the affordable cameras SJCAM SJ5000, SJ5000 Wi-Fi and SJ5000 Plus, which provide decent quality for an affordable amount of money.
Design and management
The form factor of the camera is identical to solutions from GoPro. All three cameras are made of black matte plastic, there are no differences in design between them. There are also models in other colors. Weight 74 grams, dimensions 41.0 x 30.0 x 60.0 mm.
On the right side of the cameras are microHDMi, microUSB, microphone hole and microSD card slot. On the left side there is a speaker and three control buttons: up / down and turn on Wi-Fi.
On the front panel there is a power button and mode change button, and on the back there is a 1.5-inch display in the SJCAM SJ5000 Plus or a 2-inch display in the SJCAM SJ5000 and SJ5000 Wi-Fi. At the same time, the display resolution in all versions is the same: 960 x 240 pixels. The upper face was equipped with a recording enable button, and the lower face was equipped with a battery compartment. Battery capacity 900 mAh.
Video
Despite the external similarity, the cameras are equipped with different fillings. The SJCAM SJ5000 is the entry-level model powered by the Novatec 96655 processor and equipped with a 14-megapixel CMOS sensor with a physical size of 1/2.33 inches. The SJ5000 Wi-Fi is the Wi-Fi version of the entry-level model, while the SJ5000 Plus is the older model equipped with a more powerful Ambarella A7LS75 processor, Wi-Fi and a 16-megapixel sensor.
The difference in processors allows the SJCAM SJ5000 Plus to record 1080p video at 60fps, 720p video at 120fps, and 480p video at 240fps. At the same time, SJCAM SJ5000 and SJCAM SJ5000 Wi-Fi can only record 1080p video at 30fps, and 720p video at 60fps.
The lenses in all three cameras are the same: wide-angle optics with a focal length of 2.99 mm, a maximum aperture of f / 2.8 and a viewing angle of 170 degrees. Naturally, a lens with such a wide field of view suffers from distortion, which causes the fisheye effect.
The video quality is good: in the daytime, the videos are sharp and clear. The light sensitivity range of the camera is ISO 100-1600.
In low light, an aggressive noise reduction algorithm kicks in, blurring details when shooting at 60fps. By reducing the frame rate to 30 frames, you can get quite nice videos.
All three cameras have the ability to shoot timelapse video as well as capture images. In SJCAM SJ5000 and SJ5000 Wi-Fi, the image resolution will be 4254 x 3264 pixels (14 megapixels), while in SJCAM SJ5000 Plus it will be 4608 x 3456 pixels (16 megapixels).
Versions of cameras with built-in Wi-Fi allow you to connect smartphones based on iOS or Android to them. With a dedicated app, you can use your device as a remote viewfinder. In addition, basic camera settings and the ability to view finished images and videos will be available from here.
Conclusion
SJCAM SJ5000 and SJ5000 Wi-Fi largely repeat the capabilities and cost of the younger Hero 2014, although there is one important aspect: the presence of a built-in display in SJCAM, which is present only in the expensive GoPro Hero4 Silver.
In the case of the SJ5000 Plus, everything is no less interesting, since this camera costs almost half the price of the GoPro Hero4 Silver and at the same time is almost not inferior in technology. This camera is for anyone who wants to get into action shooting more seriously, but is not ready to spend a fortune on it.