Action games used to be all about The GoPro, and the original is still a market leader, but it comes with a market leading price. and as technology has accelerated, so has the competition.
Action are still one of the best ways to capture your day to day surfing and adventure life, as well as sticking in a bag and taking on holiday with you. Not only are they very capable video cameras, but they have become increasingly capable as stills cameras as well, coupled with a good smart phone you barely need a bulky DSLR any more. You do have to do your homework though, and figure out whether it is worth dropping £500 on a top end GoPro, or whether you can get away with a less expensive model.
1. GoPro Hero 4/5/6 – Hero Six £550
In the world created by GoPro, GoPro still reign supreme, although their days of being an un-challenged participant are long gone. The GoPro Hero 4 Black was a revelation, both for video and image quality; the sensor produced clean enough images in most light that would satisfy even pro users, and the interface became more useable. As an action camera for video it became the benchmark and thanks to improved sensor tech, it also became a viable alternative to a normal camera for stills, including in poor light, an area where previous GoPros had really struggled. The GoPro 5 was an upgrade, not a massive leap into the future, but made advances like dropping the housing and improving battery life, as well as adding video features. Now the 6 has done a similar thing. Essentially the GoPro is still the best all round package, with a good sensor that delivers incredible quality for both stills and video in almost all light. It also has a well developed software and battery system that makes for reliability and usability.
2. Sony RX0 £799
Sony have been the great disrupters in the world of cameras of late, and that disruption has been based around the fact they are the world’s leading sensor manufacturer, and the RX0 builds on this. Unlike every other camera here the RX0 has a 1 inch sensor. What does that mean? Well a bigger sensor equals incredibly better image quality, both for stills and video, and it also has an incredible range of slow mo specs as well. This is a kind of game changer/ pic stills, high quality video, colour profiles and a pretty high end lens, which all adds up to a higher price tag, but you get what you pay for. Is it a GoPro killer though? Well the price puts it in a bracket above the old faithful, and the fact you cannot film things like 4k internally means that it is more aimed at the pro/pro-summer end of the market. Should you wish to take your in-water filming up a notch, and have the ability to take incredible stills, this is for you.
3. Sony FDR-X3000 – £399
This is arguably the best action cam on the market but it has always suffered a little due to it out pricing the GoPro and its form factor being a little different than the standard GoPro box. However it packs three very important things: the best lens in the action sport market, optical image stabilisation and a sensor and processor. Together they turn this hardware into the sharpest, sweetest 4k footage out of any of these cameras, except the bigger sensor of the RX0. However this quality comes at a premium, and if you want this tech then you have to pay.
4. Yi 4K+ – £289
It’s not as cheap as a lot of the newcomers to the action cam market, but the Yi has entered this competitive arena and impressed. Its 4k 60p slow mo at time of release blew all competition away, and its speedy processor coupled with well thought out memory system mean that it is a very good alternative to the GoPro. It comes in at a little under the price of a GoPro, and a lot less than the Sonys. However, annoyingly, it doesn’t come as standard with a water housing and is in no way waterproof without it. In all other ways it is a very solid competitor to the GoPro and Sony FDR, in fact until the GoPro 6 arrived, it trumped almost every feature.
5. The Cheap GoPro Alternatives ƒrom £50 -£100
As sensor tech has become more and more available so there has been a flooding of the lower end of the market with a number of action cam brands that appear to deliver GoPro like cameras for fractions of the price. Before we look into what they can and cannot do, they all deliver an affordable option to the GoPro and Sony models, in all but less refined packages. There are a number of different makes. Akaso, iEye etc. and they have a number of models generally falling into three categories: the very cheap, sub £50 that will record up to 720p; the full HD machines that fall into the £50-£100 range; and then the 4K cameras that generally top out at a little over £100. I’ve used quite a few, and in good light, and optimum all round conditions, the end results are much the same as you get from a top end GoPro for a fifth of the price. However, every model has lacked in refinement in one way or another. Firstly sensor tech is lagging, so whilst they may be great in good light, generally the quality falls off a cliff in less optimal conditions. Then there are little things like battery life, which is often worse and less refined apps and menu systems. What they do allow is for you to get out and shoot in the water or in the mountains for a fraction of the price of a GoPro and with all the accessories, but if you’re after top quality then give them a miss.
Conclusion
GoPro is still king, just, but the market has fragmented. This means that no matter what your budget you can find a cam that will allow you to nail clips in the water or in the mountains. That at the end of the day is what really matters, and once you’ve edited your film and uploaded it to social media, you first get judged on content