Quality of gopro "knockoffs"

[AdamLanes 1]

Has anyone used any of these gopro "knockoff" cameras that are all over amazon? How do they compare? Are they good for skydiving? Any issues? Do any have image stabilization? Beneftis other than cost? Good for handcam?

[gowlerk 1,903]

The ones I have seen are great. If you don't mind poor image quality and shoddy construction that is. Why do you think they are so cheap?

Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

[TheCaptain 2]

I find it funny that TI's complain about the cost of 2 Gopro's and glove which new run about $1100.00. My first Handycam setup cost $1500 about $300 of that was for rushing it but that was for a glove, a remote, a lens & one camera.

Kirk
He's dead Jim

[AdamLanes 1]

Do you think this post was a complaint? I'm just trying to make an informed decision. By the logic of the first response, your original camera setup must be better than gopro since it cost more money

[TheCaptain 2]

Not at all. I understand the idea of if cheaper is just as good why not.I also believe you get what you pay for too I learned the hard way by buying cheap batteries for my first Handycam setup since then if it is a work tool I buy the best I can and have backups of everything.

I was making a comment that the cost of things has gone down alot. I remember buying my first PC105 on clearance sale for $750.00 from the $1100 original price. GoPro's are far cheaper now.My only complaint with GoPro's is I have had one of every model from the orginal HD to the 4 black fail right out of the box. Other than that they give great video for the price

Kirk
He's dead Jim

[Alexg3265 0]

I have 2 knock offs. One is great and 2.5 years old, and one is newer and shit... the good one is a DBPower 1080 action camera available on amazon for around 50$. I bought it over 2 years ago after my second gopro died after about 2 years. I had a 3 black, and a 3+black. My wifes 3+ black is still working fine almost 4 years later. hit or miss... My thought process in buying it is amazon is awesome for returns and its 1/8th of the price... so if it lasts 3 months, then its worth it.
The one i have has no wifi to kill the battery accidentally. The camera can be left for weeks and the battery will stay charged unlike the gopro. It has a screen on the back for instant replays. other than that, functions the same as a gopro. Side by side, the video quality looks a little less color rich, but just barely. Also switching from dark to bright and back again takes a half second longer than the gopro.
Id totally recommend the dbpower brand...
https://www.amazon.com/DBPOWER-Waterproof-Action-Batteries-Accessories/dp/B01MZ2BNQK/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1492720350&sr=8-4&keywords=dbpower

I was that kid jumping out if his tree house with a bed sheet. My dad wouldn't let me use the ladder to try the roof...

[Maddingo 21]

You must understand that brands market the same product with different qualities in different regions. That all depends on the laws.

That's why Europe has higher prices for the same camera. THe EU laws are so strict regarding quality that they have to be put trough numerous tests before they can be legaly sold in the stores.

US, Hong Kong, Japan etc. have much lower standards so you can expect cheaper price for a same product but at the end it really isn't. You have more so called hit and miss products on theese markets. Maybe u get lucky, maybe it will die on you way to early.

[hodges 4]

Had good results with the SJCAM series.

Not dirt cheap but still significantly cheaper than a GoPro.

I only use mine for backup and personal debriefing so sinking 400 quid on a GoPro would have been stupid.

Edit: The camera Alex posted looks like a knock-off of the sjcam sj5000x. It's like knock-off inception.

[VertexSkySports 0]

Best "knock off" action camera is the Yi 4k (now the Yi4k+). They are a pretty high end knock off, share the same sony sensor as gopro 4/5, same lens, and the more upto date ambrella chipset. They have about twice the battery life, a touchcreen, EIS (for what it's worth) and shoot 4k 30fps, 1080 120fps. The plus version shoots 4k at 60fps.

They also share the gopro mounts so you can use the same hardware.

The only downside is users are finding the cases a bit weak, especially around the tripod mount screw hole.

I paid about £180 for mine new, about $220. Not super cheap but they arguably have surpassed gopro at a cheaper price.

I also appreciated they added in firmware LED output from the USB so I could built a status indicator for 99p :-)

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