SJ4000 Action Cam Test

[thunderpantz]

Hi all! Was recently looking for an action cam but didn't fancy splashing out £250 on a GoPro when the current has been discontinued and the new one isn't being released for a few months.


In my search for a cheap one to get me by, I came across the SJ4000 on Amazon (available on eBay and other China sites) and for £75, I thought why not....


What a fantastic bit of kit! Comes with every mount you can think of, all the GoPro mounts work with it too and in all honesty I was blown away by the quality.




Youtube unfortunately sucks all the life out of it with it's hideous compression but the raw footage is awesome

For the price, I'd definitely recommend it 

[woodwizzard]

That is pretty good quality. I can't stand music on bike vids though, I want to hear whats going on, false neutrals, accidentally hitting the horn, that sort of thing

[kawasutra]

Hi, I was looking at gopro as well and then went for the tcl-svc200. not edited much bike footage yet.


Does the waterproof housing on this have a curved lens bit or is it flat?


The tcl has both lens covers rounded and this makes all underwater footage slightly out of focus. I've been told it's because of the roundedness.

[Skippernick]

Hi, I was looking at gopro as well and then went for the tcl-svc200. not edited much bike footage yet.


Does the waterproof housing on this have a curved lens bit or is it flat?


The tcl has both lens covers rounded and this makes all underwater footage slightly out of focus. I've been told it's because of the roundedness.

Apart from that gripe do you rate the camera?

[kawasutra]

Apart from that gripe do you rate the camera?

For bike use, it's slim profile is a good thing. Comes with a remote so could possibly mount it on handlebar or have it in a tank pad.


The battery is the same as some nokia phones, the 5C something, they go for a fiver, so spare power never a problem.


Had a built in tripod mount so no need to use the plastic case if you don't need it.


Underwater footage disappointing because of rounded lens and housing window.


With a gopro tripod adapter, you're set to use almost all gopro accessories!


I like it!

[Grahamm]

Does it have an external microphone socket?

[kawasutra]

Does it have an external microphone socket?

Which one Grahamm? The TCL does, it's 2.5 one though, not 3.5.

[thunderpantz]

Does it have an external microphone socket?

No the SJ4000 doesn't. I can upload the video without the music if you'd like to here what it's like raw?

[dazza]

ACTION CAMS ARE FOR PUSSIES MAN......

[Grahamm]

Does it have an external microphone socket?

No the SJ4000 doesn't. I can upload the video without the music if you'd like to here what it's like raw?

Thanks, but I'm (still) looking for a sensibly priced camera that I can talk into whilst I'm riding.

At the moment the GoPros are way too expensive, but these are looking promising.

[thunderpantz]

As requested, no music

[Deezildennis]

Not selling anything here...

Just making the rounds letting people know they can Modify the sj4000 to have a external microphone.


Here is my instructable on how to make the camera to accept a external mic.  There is a Long rambling video in the link as well to give youa  a idea on on how good it sounds.     Again....Video is long and rambling!   Mainly just a test run to test the mic and battery life.  Video was taken with stock default settings and on a very cloudy day that was about to rain.


I spent about $20 to do the mod.  Only $5 US was spent for the standard size Mic jack.  Small gauge wire from a old radio was used for the Wires.  You can get cheap lapel mikes for this for about $5-10 US on Ebay.


Enjoy!
http://www.instructables.com/id/SJ4000-External-Microphone-HACK/

[AyJay]

I've got the TCL SVC200. Cracking camera for 90 quid. Baffles me as to why people are spending 3-400 quid on GoPros. There's precious little difference in quality, maybe the GoPro has more saturated colours, but for the price you could have a front and rear facing TCL for the same money. Bought mine from Joovuu.com.