action cam Archives » Technically Well https://technicallywell.com/tag/action-cam/ Tech that's good for you Fri, 01 Jul 2022 14:40:47 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://technicallywell.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/cropped-Square-Technically-Well-1-32x32.png action cam Archives » Technically Well https://technicallywell.com/tag/action-cam/ 32 32 DJI Action 2 Review https://technicallywell.com/dji-action-2-review/ Tue, 23 Nov 2021 11:33:03 +0000 https://technicallywell.com/?p=8078 Design The DJI Action 2 camera system has a modular design comprised of “blocks”. The main block is about 1.5 x 1.5 x 1 inch and is the “brains” of the DJI Action 2 camera itself. This block contains the camera lens on the front and a small 2-inch display on the back. The blocks […]

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Design

The DJI Action 2 camera system has a modular design comprised of “blocks”. The main block is about 1.5 x 1.5 x 1 inch and is the “brains” of the DJI Action 2 camera itself. This block contains the camera lens on the front and a small 2-inch display on the back. The blocks contain magnets that allow you to easily attach different accessories. 

At launch, there are two different kits you can purchase: 

  • The Power Combo contains an add-on power bank as the 2nd block and adds about 66 minutes of recording time, as well as a USB-C port and a Micro SD card slot.
  • The Dual-Screen Combo that I’m reviewing, which includes a 2nd block with a built-in display, power bank (although only adding about 49 of recording time), USB-C port, Micro SD card slot, and additional microphones.
DJI Action 2 camera with accessories

There’s also an interesting magnetic lanyard included that you can wear under your shirt and attach the DJI Action 2 magnetically through your shirt. This makes it great for recording your hikes, bike rides, etc without needing to strap on a chest harness. It also makes it quick and easy to detach and reattach the camera as needed.

Performance

Both pictures and videos recorded with this camera are impressive, especially considering the DJI Action 2 is so small! Photos can be captured with a resolution of up to 12MP and exported in JPG or RAW format. Videos can be recorded up to 4K at 120FPS.  Both video and picture quality is great: even when shooting directly into the sun, the camera still captures a good amount of detail in the shadows for a well-balanced photo.

Sample picture of fall leaves with the sun in the background

DJI has two modes of video stabilization. The “Rocksteady” mode does a surprisingly good job of smoothing out videos while walking around, almost as if I was using a gimbal.

The second stabilization mode is “Horizonsteady” which keeps the horizon level in the distance regardless of how you rotate the camera while shooting.  I found this useful when I wanted to move the camera down to ground level and back up as I could rotate the camera around without it showing on the video recording.

There is a button on the main block and the accessory block. You can turn the camera on and off with a long press of either button and snap pictures or start/stop recording with a quick press of either button. 

Using the small 2-inch display takes some getting used to, especially if you have big fingers. You can swipe left-to-right to view your pictures, and swipe right-to-left to view picture settings.  Swiping from the middle of the screen to the left or right changes between the different modes, such as photo, video, slow motion, etc.

The DJI Action 2 only has 32GB of internal storage, with only about 22GB available out of the box. You’ll likely want to take advantage of the MicroSD card slot on either the power bank or dual-screen block. 

The DJI Action 2 also features a “webcam” mode when connected to a computer, so you can use it for video calls when you’re not out on an adventure.

I have noticed that the camera will sometimes pause operations after prolonged use due to heat. It’s only happened a couple of times to me, but I could see these becoming more of an issue during the summer season.

Battery Life

The DJI Action 2 camera can last about 30 minutes by itself. The Power Combo block adds about 66 minutes while the Dual-Screen Combo block adds about 49 minutes.

9.1Expert Score
Great

The DJI Action 2 takes great 4K videos and 12MP pictures in a tiny 1.5 x 1.5 x 1” design. Optional accessories connect magnetically and can either be used to extend battery life or add a second display. The magnetic lanyard is a genius feature for quickly attaching the camera to your chest. Limited built-in storage and battery life make this more ideal for short clips rather than long recordings.

PROs
  • Great picture quality
  • Strong stabilization performance
  • Magnetic lanyard
CONs
  • Short battery life
  • Occasional shutdowns due to heat

DJI Action 2 Dual-Screen Combo 4K Action Camera

$399.99
Impactradius Best Buy U.S
Last update was on: October 6, 2023 4:15 am

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AKASO V50 4K Action Camera Review https://technicallywell.com/akaso-v50-4k-action-camera-review/ Thu, 18 Jan 2018 22:47:26 +0000 https://technicallywell.com/?p=3684 Picture Quality The camera support several resolutions for video recording: 4K 30fps 2.7K 30fps 1080P 60fps 720P 120fps 720P 60fps 720P 30fps The camera also supports encoding to both the H.264 and space-saving H.265 standard.  The camera also has some additional shooting modes such as time lapse and slow motion. You’ll likely want to leave […]

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Picture Quality

The camera support several resolutions for video recording:

  • 4K 30fps
  • 2.7K 30fps
  • 1080P 60fps
  • 720P 120fps
  • 720P 60fps
  • 720P 30fps

The camera also supports encoding to both the H.264 and space-saving H.265 standard.  The camera also has some additional shooting modes such as time lapse and slow motion.

You’ll likely want to leave this set to 4K 30fps for the highest picture quality, which looks very good on my 4K television.  The 4K resolution shows a great amount of detail in the video (I could easily read street signs in the distance).  It also takes up a good deal of space: 1 minute of 4K recording takes up about 450MB of space, so be sure to purchase a large memory card to go with it.

At 30 frames per second, you don’t get that buttery-smooth soap opera effect you would get at 60fps, but you can set the camera to 1080P 60fps if you don’t care about the 4K resolution.

Image stabilization does help with camera jitter, but it doesn’t completely eliminate it and doesn’t replace a gimbal.  Give this camera to a kid and you’ll still likely need some Dramamine to get through an entire recording.  However, I was surprised that the video I took out a car window while holding the camera was very watchable.

Low light performance does suffer from significant “muddying” of the image as the camera tries to reduce the noise.  So this camera would be best for daylight recordings.

Sound

The built-in mic quality isn’t the best, but it’s better than nothing.  While it’s OK for a soccer match, you won’t want to use this to record a concert or piano recital.  Using the waterproof case will reduce the sound quality even further, as expected.

Features

The camera starts up very quickly and is ready to record.  There is a slight delay between pressing the shutter and when the recording starts, so be sure to factor that into your “…and GO!” announcement.

You can transfer video directly to your phone with the camera’s built-in Wifi.  First, download the iSmart DV app to your phone.  With the Akaso camera on, hold down the shutter until your see a white screen on the camera.  The WiFi information will be displayed on the camera’s screen.  Then, go to your phone’s settings and connect to this WiFi network.  Once your phone is connected to the camera’s WiFi, you can open the iSmart DV app and use your phone as a viewfinder or transfer recordings to your phone.  Just be aware that the large 4K recording take a few minutes to transfer and having the camera’s WiFi on eats through the battery quickly, so you may only want to use this option in a pinch.  I experienced occasional disconnects and failed downloads periodically while using this feature, so I typically remove the Micro SD card and insert it in an adapter for my computer when I want to transfer videos.

Included accessories

The camera’s package includes a Bluetooth remote control allowing you to take photos and start/stop video recordings for your selfies.  You need to manually power the remote on each time you use it by holding down the red circle button.  It will automatically turn off when you turn off the Akaso camera.

The date and time on the camera doesn’t seem to be maintained when changing out the rechargeable battery.  I’ve turned off the date and time stamp in my videos, but this still affects the video file’s metadata and may make your video files appear out of order when loaded into a photo management program such as macOS’ Photos app.

Value

Whether your vlogging or simply recording some videos while at the beach on vacation, the Akaso V50 is a great value and can save you quite a bit of money over a GoPro.  The image quality is sharp and detailed and the camera is easy to use.  The WiFi download feature is a little hit or miss and the date and time is not consistently maintained, but if you can overlook these issues, the camera does an impressive job at this price point.

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