Action Camera SJ5000 Plus SJCAM: overview, features, package

Sometimes the brand becomes a household name, as it happened with the companies Jacuzzi, Toilet, Xerox, Jeep and the trademarks Pampers, Aspirin, Fen, etc. The same can be said about the brand GoPro, which became known as mini-camcorders in transparent plastic waterproof boxes, attached to a vehicle or a person. Another name for them is action cameras. They are attached to moving objects, motorcycles, skiers, quadrocopters.

Nature does not tolerate emptiness

GoPro itself evolved over several generations, but its high cost left a niche for inexpensive copies. Inside, GoPro is a stuffed CCTV camera paired with a lens with a fixed focal length. All these components can be purchased separately and placed in a transparent plastic case to receive a NoPro-camera. Previously, these anonymous counterfeits were of poor quality, but one manufacturer, SJCAM, is attempting to become a new brand, releasing new models with specifications that match the GoPro products of the average price range, at just a third of the cost. SJCAM SJ5000 Plus Black, for example, will cost $ 169, and its Ambarella A7LS75 processor, used in GoPro Hero3 Black, and a real 16-megapixel Panasonic sensor produced a real sensation at the end of 2014.

The situation with SJCAM is interesting because competitors prefer to forge this brand, not GoPro. Numerous clones are difficult to distinguish from the original, until the matter concerns technical support or replacement of firmware. This led to SJCAM taking steps to protect its brand, including stickers on the packaging and the certification system of approved resellers.

The best budget action movie

SJ5000 Plus SJCAM is an inexpensive waterproof FullHD camera, the evolution of the SJCam SJ4000 with new hardware capabilities, including a new 16 Mp Panasonic sensor and a new Ambarella A7LS75 processor, also installed on GoPro Hero 3 + Black. All this should please the users, since they can now make real, rather than interpolated, like in the SJ4000, 16-megapixel pictures and shoot video in 1080p at 60 or 30 fps and 720p at 120, 60 or 30 k / S, which allows slow shooting.

There are several versions of the SJ5000:

• The SJ5000 is the basic version, a simple successor to the SJ4000 without significant improvements, with the same Novatek chip.
• SJ5000 Wi-Fi - version with the possibility of wireless connection.
• SJ5000 Plus - SJCAM-top model with Ambarella A7 chip, Panasonic 16MP sensor and Wi-Fi. In this version, a number of profound improvements have been implemented.
• SJ5000X Elite Edition - the best video camera line, records video with 4K resolution at 24 fps, 2K - 30 fps and 1080p - 60 fps, has gyro stabilization, Sony 12.4 Mp sensor, Novatek 96660 chip, 2 "-screen, Wi-Fi, supports Micro SD-cards up to 128 GB.

What to choose?

The SJCAM SJ5000 Plus camera is $ 60-70 more expensive than the SJ4000, but it has much more efficient and high-quality hardware. Provides a resolution of 1080p at 60 fps and 16 Mp photos with a Panasonic sensor. If you do not want to spend $ 160 or more, you can think of a Xiaomi Yi camera that has about the same video quality as the SJ5000 Plus SJCAM and records in 2K resolution, but does not have a rear display, accessories and an underwater case (it can be purchased Separately for $ 15), and all this costs only $ 80.

Main characteristics

The camera is waterproof, with f / 2.8-aperture and Full HD resolution. It deserves attention with the new CMOS image processor 16 Mp Panasonic MN34120PA, which significantly improved the recording quality compared to the SJ4000. This allowed to shoot 60 fps Full HD video, 120 fps HD 720p and 240 fps 480p. Also, you can take pictures with a resolution of up to 4608 x 3456 pixels or 16 megapixels. The camera is equipped with a dual LED flash that improves video quality in low light conditions.

The main improvements of SJ5000 Plus SJCAM, in comparison with its predecessor, are determined by the Ambarella A7LS75 chip, so the quality of the video recorded at 1080p at a speed of 30-60 fps is better than on the SJ4000. The duration of the work is 60-80 minutes recording in Full HD format with Wi-Fi and screen off.

SJCAM SJ5000 Plus differs from a number of analogues by the presence of a screen on the rear panel, allowing to see what is being removed and easy to navigate through the menus and settings, as well as Wi-Fi, a highly valued function that allows instant transferring of recordings to a smartphone using the application. In addition, like the SJ4000, the device is sold with many useful accessories.

Features of SJCAM SJ5000 Plus are:

• 1.5-inch TFT LCD screen with a resolution of 960 x 240 pixels;
• HDMI output;
• Easily replaceable battery for 900 mAh;
• Built-in Wi-Fi;
• Accessories and grips;
• Transparent case that allows you to immerse the camera in water to a depth of 30 m;
• Slot for microSD cards up to 32 GB.

In Drive mode, recording starts automatically when the car starts or when the motion sensor is triggered when the camera is in the field of view of moving objects. The SJCAM SJ5000 Plus wide-angle HD-lens , which has a 170 ° view, allows you to take spectacular shots. In the timer mode, the unit takes pictures every few seconds (1, 2, 5, 10, 30 or 60 seconds), and then connects them to one video file without having to do it manually.

Also there is the possibility of cyclic recording, in which it runs continuously by overwriting existing files. This is useful in a car when using the camera as a DVR. In the new high-speed mode, you can shoot in batches of 3, 5, 10 and 20 photos per second.

Dual streaming mode allows you to record two videos simultaneously: one in high quality, and the other in low, at 10 fps, which allows you to view files on your phone in streaming mode via Wi-Fi without having to download them.

Dimensions - 24.7 x 60 x 41 mm, weight - 58 g.

Wireless connection

SJ5000 + has Wi-Fi, which with the help of a special application for phones and tablets allows

• Control the camera from an external device;
• Enable or disable recording;
• take pictures;
• View the recording live on mobile phones or tablets.

In addition, on the smartphone you can play video and photo recording.

The configuration file is recorded on the SD card and the Wi-Fi only works with the inserted memory card. To change the configuration, you must edit this file. In the open space, the wireless range is 30-40 m. When Wi-Fi is active, the front green LED turns on, but it can be turned off in the menu.

To work through your smartphone, you need to install the LinkinEyes application.

Accessories

Another feature that makes the SJ5000 + unique, is a large number of accessories, such as

• Mount on a mountain bike,
• Underwater camera housing,
• Breast clip,
• Charger,
• USB cable,
• Stickers for helmets,
• Adapter for tripod,
• Various connections, etc.

This greatly increases the value of the kit and eliminates the need for further purchases, saving time and money. Compared to the SJ4000 accessories have become stronger. All of them are compatible with GoPro, because they use the same capture. Therefore, if you need additional devices, they will be easy to find.

SJCAM SJ5000 Plus: User manual

On the front panel is the Mode button, which is used to turn on the device and switch between recording modes, video playback, displaying photos, setting parameters. Pressing it during recording makes the video erasable. There are also two indicators in the form of narrow horizontal bands: the lower one lights up when the camera is on, and the upper one, green, when Wi-Fi is activated.

The top button on the right side panel is used to turn Wi-Fi on and off, and the bottom buttons to scroll through the menus and zoom in. On the opposite side there are HDMI connectors, micro-USB and a microSD card slot.

The button at the top serves to start recording. When pressed during recording, the image is captured with a resolution of 2 megapixels (1920x1080).

The battery lasts for 55 minutes with the screen on and wireless. After the firmware was improved in SJCAM SJ5000 Plus (version 1.7), the battery began to work for 15-20 minutes longer.

The maximum frame rate for files recorded with the SJ5000 Plus is 24 Mbit / s (1080p 60 fps) versus 15 Mbit / s in the SJ4000. This means that the files are less compressed, contain more information and have higher quality. Obviously, they take up more space on the memory card.

In the menu, you can adjust the volume of the microphone, which must be set to 100% when using a waterproof case and at 50-60% without it, otherwise the sound will be loud and distorted.

The SJ5000 Plus adds two new sensitivity settings in addition to ISO 100, 200 and 400 in the SJ4000, namely 800 and 1600 ISO for shooting in low light conditions.

If the camera is turned off by mistake during video recording, it can be restored using Recovery Movie if the file size is not too small.

For quality you need to pay

The SJ5000 Plus, compared with the previous model, the characteristics have significantly improved. This became possible thanks to new quality components - the Ambarella processor, also used in GoPro3 +, and Panasonic's 16-megapixel sensor. The camera allows you to shoot 16-megapixel photos and Full HD-video at a speed of 60 fps or HD at 120 fps with the possibility of slow motion. 4K or 2K video is not available, but for such money it would be too much. The sound quality has also improved significantly.

If there is a question what to buy - SJ4000 or SJ5000 Plus, then the answer depends on the budget of the buyer. SJ4000 costs about $ 100, and the SJCAM SJ5000 Plus price is $ 160. The difference in quality is huge, so money will be spent knowingly.

Sensor and optics of action cameras

The SJ5000 made a big leap in quality compared to the previous model SJCAM SJ4000, the 12-Mp resolution of which was created by simply increasing the file created by the 2-megapixel sensor. Two basic models - the SJ5000 and SJ5000 WiFi - are equipped with a new 14-megapixel Panasonic image sensor, and the SJ5000 Plus and even more - 16 megapixels. The number of pixels says a lot, but it is worth recalling the requirements for the design of the optics of action cameras.

Small overall dimensions and light weight are decisive factors. Aesthetics GoPro means ultra-wide-angle review of action cameras with the effect of "fisheye". This type of lens has a deep focus, so you can have a lens with a constant focal length, so that the depth of field is maximum. Such lenses for large SLR cameras are too heavy and expensive. Devices in the style of GoPro use a small and inexpensive version of optics with the same small size of the image sensor. The SJ5000 Plus is a 1 / 2.33 "Panasonic MN34120PA CMOS, its tiny size is 5.8x4.3 mm, like the iPhone 5 sensor, and is significantly smaller than a digital SLR camera.

For this reason, any evaluation of image quality must be realistic and take into account the physical limitations of the device. Even the best camera due to the small size of the sensor is invariably subject to more noise, especially in low light, high sensitivity and limited dynamic range.

In ideal conditions, you can create an impressive picture on your mobile phone.

A wide-angle view of the action cameras unequally displays all objects: objects on the middle distance seem very far away, and photographing near significantly distorts the face.

How can I improve the video?

Professionals do not tolerate when the video can not see the sky. Most of the material captured on action cameras using the default settings is distinguished by horrible cloud spots or strange color shades wherever there should be a blue sky. This is because a small sensor can not cope with the high dynamic range of many scenes, and the factory settings are designed to correctly transmit the main subject, giving the rest to chance. In order to achieve the desired result, you should set the maximum exposure, which does not distort the sky, and medium shadows and shadows to bring in post-processing. For example, when the exposure is -1.0Ev, AWB and ISO 100, the sky looks good, the clouds are detailed, realistic blue is visible. In this case, the shadows and the middle are too dark, they need to be made brighter.

Unfortunately, sometimes processing 8-bit video can lead to layering and excessive noise, but the adjustment of SJ5000 Plus files had no such effect.

Costs of low weight

The first impression of the pictures - they look grainy and noisy. After processing the graphic editor, halos of sharpness and other defects remain visible. According to users, the inclusion of the sharpness adjustment menu in many ways could prevent this at the post-processing stage.

Customers are pleasantly surprised by the performance of an inexpensive lens, the price of which does not exceed $ 3. Detailing the image reaches the edges of the frame, and in the aggressive level of sharpness embedded in the camera, in fact, there is no need. Not surprising was the high level of chromatic aberrations. Its blue-yellow variety is clearly visible in the pictures. The photo editor is able to remove it, but purple halos on the boundary of areas with high contrast images to remove is much more difficult.

Like all cameras with a small sensor, the SJ5000 Plus has a dynamic range. When using the default settings, the device tends to "bloat" bright areas of the image, causing the sky to become white and there are extraneous colors. With the exposure set to -1.0EV, the sky looks pretty good, but the light buildings are still very prominent.

Thus, with the use of light post-processing, it is possible to obtain quite suitable photographs, provided that measures are taken to prevent overexposure. Unfortunately, the professional use of the camera is prevented by aggressive image sharpness, which limits the size of the image when printing, but its quality is sufficient to display ultra-high definition on the TV screen.

SJCAM SJ5000 Plus: reviews

Users have doubts about the accuracy of automatic white balance, they note the presence of crashes and hangs, insufficient power management, unstable operation of SJCAM SJ5000 Plus WiFi and limitation of the waterproof case frame format 4x3.

In the following models, customers want to be able to set sharpness, perform automatic shooting, hardware scaling, which can reduce video on the chip to use reduced sensor area and resolution, rather than cutting off the output signal, increasing noise, defects and lubrication of parts. It would be superfluous to have a narrower field of view and a smaller effect of the "fish eye".