PS (18/11/14): I just realized the video playback isn't what is ACTUALLY recorded. I shall upload it to youtube and link it here when time permits. be patient!
And so, i received a SJ4000 Wifi as an early birthday gift. yeay! It wasn't something i expected, in fact, i nearly bought one for myself (just short of waiting for payday) till my friend passed the gift to me and TADAAA, SJ4000 yeay!
Prior to SJ4000, i bought another brand of action camera few months back, which is the WDV5000. I have this aunty mentality, and i will really just get anything that's cheaper (then regret it later). I'll explain why later.
Top: Video recording from SJ4000. note the lighting adjustments that the camera did when i entered KPE tunnel. Video is taken at (1280*720) 60 fps. I read somewhere that recording stuffs with lower resolution will drain your battery life less. For now i guess 60fps will be just nice for my journey to and fro from work. Anyway i still carry around my powerbank should i need to recharge the battery. (:
So anyway, there is this setting for SJ4000 that allows you to choose whether you want to record your videos in a continuous cycle or in splits of 3, 5 or 10 minutes. You can go to the settings under
Cyclic (press OK *button on top*) > select OFF / 3 minutes / 5 minutes / 10 minutes . I set it to 5 minutes because I am not so good with technology nowadays. Talk about getting old .. lol
Top: Video recording from WDV5000. Playback on my Samsung Galaxy Note 3 irregardless of putting in the memory card into the phone or through the WIFI app. However, when I downloaded the videos, it is playable BUT there will be this popout saying "UNSUPPORTED AUDIO CODEC". A point to note, upon playback, audio clarity is very bad.
As for the WIFI function on WDV5000, unfortunately the remote WASN'T EVEN WORKING. thus I had to connect the camera through my phone. Likewise for SJ4000, it doesn't come with the remote but the app is quite easy to use as you can just connect to the camera through the application itself without needing to manually find the connection through your phone's settings.
However, for both SJ4000 and WDV5000, there is a considerable timelag of a few seconds if you want to take selfies with your camera. It works just fine for videos by the way. So when taking pictures with either of the camera through your phone, do wait several seconds after pressing the shutter button before you look away okay?
But why do you need to take selfies using an action camera? I don't see the whole point of selfies using an action camera. Okay fine probably, like the GoPro, it manages to capture a wide angle view, which is desirable when capturing background sceneries. OH YA, talking about wide angle views, for wider range, it's best to opt for SJ4000 because it has a 170 degrees view as compared to 120 degrees view on the WDV5000.
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| Left: WDV 5000 vs Right: SJ4000 |
Notice anything on the waterproof housing? Yes it's different. Take note that the WDV5000 is not really compatible with GoPro mounts and will need slight modifications to make it more GoPro mounts compatible. Which was probably why I didn't manage to use it to mount on my bike or helmet to capture my daily rides.
The accessories for WDV5000 was pathetic, veryveryvery pathetic! It only came with a BICYCLE helmet strap mount, and a handlebar mount/clamp. As for the SJ4000, it came with various types of mounts, 3M tapes, cable ties, flat mounts, belt clips and etc. It can also double as a dashboard camera (you can change that in the settings, basically the camera will automatically record once connected to power supply, like in the case of in-car cameras.)
I will probably list down my experiences with both WDV5000 and SJ4000 in a table when i have more free time (yaa right, like as if my current 1 week off from work isn't more than enough time).
WDV5000 is NOT worth the investment even though it is much cheaper and comes with WIFI. It failed on me few months ago after I came back from my phuket trip. Not sure if i overcharged it, i RARELY overcharge my gadgets because somehow, I always forgot to charge my gadgets and always end up with a flat battery thereafter. But yes, WDV5000 died on me. Not sure if it was the battery fault, but upon charging (irregardless of through power supply or through PC), the camera gets VERY HOT upon charging. The battery wasn't bloated or whatsoever, so I didn't really know what was the underlying causes of the overheating and the malfunctioning of the camera. I tried finding an extra battery for WDV5000 over Ebay, Qoo10 but to no avail. Anyway since i already have my SJ4000, i can safely say I'm sticking to it and i can chuck away the WDV5000 down the rubbish chute.
Anyway, if you're wondering if i'll make the switch to GoPro soon, I guess the answer will be no because well.. i am not so adventurous and don't find the need for top end action cameras for my rides and erm selfies once in awhile.
I'll add on more to this post if i feel that i am missing some points. But till then, that's all for now. Hope it helps those thinking if they should invest in an SJ4000 or otherwise.
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