Revl Arc Action Camera Packs Built-In Stabilization

Posted on 31/03/2016 by Alexandru Chiuariu

Revl Arc 4K Action Camera with Built-in Stabilization

Touted as the world’s smartest 4K camera, the Revl Arc is the first action cam to feature built-in stabilization. Considering that this could only be achieved with external gimbals, it’s a pretty major step forward.

Even though most sports aren’t characterized by fluid movements, that doesn’t mean that the video recordings have to be that way, too. Thanks to the Revl Arc, the world’s first action camera with built-in image stabilization, you can say goodbye to shaky footage of you and your friends skydiving, rollerskating or water-skiing. The Arc isn’t the first sports camera to take on GoPro, but the ION Air Pro and the Contour, two of cameras that tried doing that, have been long since forgotten. Of course, those two didn’t pack an ace up the sleeve, like the Arc does.

The Arc has a tube-shaped design and the end of which it features a motorized gimbal based on magnets and a motor that bring stabilization to the camera. Basically, the back of the Arc moves in tandem with whatever the camera is attached to, while the front remains level.

Eric Sanchez, Revl’s founder, pointed out that the whole thing started out as a stabilized GoPro case, until the company realized that integrating the technology into an action cam would be a far better choice.

The 12-megapixel image sensor made by Sony is one of the details that make the Arc stand out even if you take built-in stabilization out of the equation. In terms of video resolutions and framerates, the Arc can record 4K footage at 30 fps, 1080p videos at up to 120 fps and 720p clips at up to 240 fps. That’s great for shooting slow-motion videos, which should make the footage even more spectacular.

Revl’s Arc can even be attached to a selfie-stick, in case you don’t want to mount it on a helmet or on a chest strap. As seen in the following video, footage shot while using a selfie stick looks particularly great, as long as you don’t suffer from motion sickness. Beside that, the following clip features some of the situations that bring out the benefits of built-in image and video stabilization.

The Arc action cam is currently the subject of a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. Revl has set a funding goal of $50,000, but that has long been surpassed, and there still are 16 more days till the campaign ends. The camera will retail for $500 when it will hit the market, but early birds can get it for as little as $379. To get the King of the Air bundle, which as its name suggests, includes a bunch of accessories for skydiving enthusiasts, you’d have to pay $479, which is still less than what the camera will retail for. Bear in mind that these prices don’t include shipping.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the Pulp Fiction explicit talking action figures, or the Ubuntu tablet that can be turned into a PC if you add peripherals to it.

[via The Verge]

SJCAM SJ4000 Plus Records 2K Action in Wide Angle

Posted on 22/06/2015 by Alexandru Chiuariu

GoPro may be the leader of the action video industry, but as of late, it’s facing some fierce competition from Chinese manufacturers such as Xiaomi or SJCAM.

One of the latest products to come from SJCAM, the SJ4000 Plus action camera, is quite similar in design to the GoPro Hero series, but manages to provide relatively the same functionality at a fraction of the price. The Plus in this product’s name denotes some additional features when compared to the basic SJ4000. More precisely, this action camera is capable to record in 2K at 30fps. While inferior to GoPro Hero’s 4K resolution, this still is a major step up from Xiaomi Yi Camera‘s 1080p shot at 60fps.

Besides 2K at 30fps, the SJ4000+ can also record at 1080p at 60 or 30fps, and at 720 at 120fps. The latter framerate indicates that it’s possible to shoot slow motion videos with this device. Photo shooting modes include single shot, burst, timer, and continuous, while the photo resolution is 12, 8, or 5MP. All of these are stored on a microSD card Class 6 or above with a capacity of up to 32GB.

The 170-degree wide lens ensures that none of the action taking place in front of you escapes the camera. That includes audio, which is recorded in AAC with the built-in microphone.

In terms of connectivity, this action cam packs Wi-Fi, which enables you to connect a smartphone or a tablet to the SJ4000+ and stream the recorded feed directly to it. Of course, you can check that on the camera’s LCD display, but at 1.5″, that’s kinda small.

As seen in the following image, the SJ4000+ comes with quite a lot of accessories. An IP68 waterproof case is provided, for capturing video at up to 30m, along with all sorts of helmet and bike mounts and stands. Not at last, you’ll find in the package a 3.7V 900mAh li-ion rechargeable battery that can keep the camera up and running for up to 80 minutes, when shooting in 1080p. It’s also possible to record while charging, so it might not be a bad idea to carry a power bank with you.

GearBest offers the SJCAM SJ4000 Plus for $149. The action camera is available in a wide variety of colors, including black, white, silver, blue, red, pink, yellow and golden.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the Blackview Hero 1 & 2 action cams, or Kodak’s sports and action camera.

Stabilize Action with Blackview Hero 1 & 2 Cameras

Posted on 26/05/2015 by Alexandru Chiuariu

Most sports and action cameras have very expensive accessories that people have to buy separately, but Blackview decided to pack everything people could ever need with its Hero 1 & 2 cameras.

With such a name, it’s pretty clear who Blackview is going after. GoPro remains the leader of this market, but we have to admit that not everyone can afford one of their Hero action cameras, not to mention the expensive accessories. Hong Kong-based smartphone manufacturer Blackview is willing to offer a more affordable alternative in the form of its Hero 1 & 2 sports cameras.

It may sound weird for a company to launch two (very) similar products at the same time, but Blackview definitely wants to offer more options if it’s expanding to this new field. Hero 1 (pictured above) relies on SDIO Wi-Fi connectivity to upload, save, share videos online, or even play them back on a smartphone or tablet.

Blackview Hero 2, on the other hand, comes with a RF remote that plays a far more important role than you would expect. The companion device even has a display of its own, so you can watch from a distance what the sports camera is filming.

Other than that, both cameras are capable of recording video at 1080p, come with 1GB nand flash, and support microSD cards of up to 64GB. The 1050mAh rechargable lithium battery takes about 3 hours to charge and enables you to record videos for up to one hour, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to carry a power bank with you if you intend to shoot longer videos.

The most important part surely must be the optics of these cameras. The 170-degree wide angle lens features optical image stabilization (or anti-shake system, as the manufacturer calls it), so action videos don’t end up shaky.

As mentioned before, these two action cameras come with a bunch of accessories, from underwater cases to helmet mounts, and a fair share of spare parts were also included. In this context, it’s easy to see how the Blackview Hero 1 & 2 action cameras get you more bang for buck that its counterparts.

GearBest currently sells Blackview Hero 1 for $139.98, but you can cut down the price to $129.98 by applying the coupon code GBHero1 during the checkout procedure. Blackview Hero 2 comes at the same price with the coupon code GBHero 2, so pick the one that best suits your needs and start shooting some action videos.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the Xiaomi Yi action camera, or Kodak’s sports and action camera that shoots 360-degree videos.

Xiaomi Yi Action Camera Gives GoPro Hero a Run for Its Money

Posted on 03/03/2015 by Alexandru Chiuariu

China’s largest smartphone vendor couldn’t have missed the mobile world’s greatest conference of the year. At MWC, Xiaomi exhibited its latest creation: the Yi Action Camera.

Now that smartphones manufacturers have learned about Xiaomi’s true potential, it’s time for another industry to fear for its products. Action camera makers such as GoPro represent Xiaomi’s most recent target, and the weapon used for destabilizing this industry seems to have better technical specs on paper, while also carrying a smaller price tag of only 399 CNY (the equivalent of $64). For an extra 100 CNY ($16), Xiaomi will offer a travel version of the camera, which comes with a selfie stick. Various other accessories, such as pet mounts (much in the vein of Sony’s Action Cam pet mount) will be launched at a later point in time.

Xiaomi made a habit from delivering companion Android apps with most of its gadgets, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the Yi Action Camera also comes with one. For the time being, the app is only available in Chinese, but an English version should be available, too, in the near future, if not from the company itself, then from the MIUI forum members.

The 16 MP Yi Action Camera is capable of recording video in 1080p at 60 fps, while the $130 GoPro Hero can only handle 1080p at 30fps and 720p at 60fps. That’s not the only part where Xiaomi outshines GoPro, as the Yi Action Camera also comes with 64GB of internal memory, double of what the Hero has to offer. It remains to be seen how the Sony (an Exmor R CMOS) sensor behaves in real life scenarios, and if the image quality is at least as good as of Xiaomi’s competitors, GoPro can really pack their bags and go home, as the game is over.

Word has it that the Yi Action Camera won’t be available outside of Xiaomi’s home country, but in the age of Internet, that’s hardly a problem. Unlike certain smartphone models, which work exclusively in China (that happens when they support only LTE TDD bands instead of FDD-LTE, even though this has hardly been the case with Xiaomi’s devices), the sports camera should work all over the world, as long as there are Chinese online stores willing to ship it there. Granted, it won’t come at its launch price, as these stores have a tendency of adding a premium while also offering free worldwide shipping.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the Xiaomi Mi Bluetooth gaming controller, or the Kodak sports and action camera.

Kodak’s Sports and Action Camera Shoots 360-Degree Videos

Posted on 30/10/2014 by Alexandru Chiuariu

GoPro’s supremacy in the sports and action camera department started being disputed recently, as both Polaroid and Kodak have launched similar products. The latter’s addition to this sector can shoot 360-degree videos and has a lot of connectivity options.

Once a popular brand of photography-related products, Kodak went out of the spotlight and gave way to manufacturers of digital cameras. Now, the American company makes the news when launching innovative products such as the AstroZoom AZ651, which has the largest optical zoom (65x) available in a consumer compact camera. The newly-announced Kodak Pixpro SP360 Action Camera, however, targets a different audience than the one interested in shooting pictures and videos at a distance. This little gadget was built with lovers of extreme sports in mind, but it might prove suitable for action scenes shot by casual users.

What really sets Kodak’s sports camera apart from its competitors is the unique 360-degree curved lens that lets you shoot more action in more angles. As any reputable device that gets to be used in all sorts of environment, the camera can withstand physical shocks, extreme temperatures and humidity. More precisely, it is 2m shockproof, -10 degrees Celsius freezeproof, dust- and waterproof.

In terms of technical specs, the SP360 includes a 16 megapixel sensor, is capable of recording video in 1080p, as well as shoot still photos in 10 MP at 10 fps. As far as connectivity is concerned, there are Wi-Fi and NFC sensors included. Both of these are used for pairing the camera with smartphones, so as to have a larger viewfinder when shooting photos and videos.

The PixPro Remote Viewer is a companion app for the SP360 camera that’s currently available both for iOS and Android devices. It’s particularly convenient when you want to control or view the videos shot with this action camera.

The Kodak PixPro SP360 Action Camera can be purchased on the manufacturer’s website for $349. That’s a lot less than the $499 you would have to pay for a GoPro Hero 4, but you need to keep in mind that Kodak’s camera also has fewer functions. Still, for the purpose it serves, Kodak’s product should manage to attract some of the people who have been considering buying an action camera, but can’t afford a GoPro.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the cute Cube camera that breathes new life into the Polaroid brand, and Sony’s Action Cam pet mount that enables dogs to shoot wacky videos.

JVC’s upgraded GC-XA2 ADIXXION action camera is really, really hard to put down

Posted on 09/07/2013 by Darren Murph

Look, we all know someone suffering from an insatiable appetite for [insert vice here]. But if you've ever met someone who picked up the OG ADIXXION, you probably understand just how fixated on a single product one can become. Keeping the fix going is JVC, who has introduced the latest -- and perhaps most addicting -- ADIXXION yet. The GC-XA2 is obviously designed to rival anything in the space that GoPro presently owns, boasting a water-, shock-, dust- and freeze-proof enclosure and mounting options galore.

Performance improvements in the new model include 1,920 x 1,080 60p/50p Progressive Full HD recording, and 1,280 x 720 high-speed recording at 120fps / 100fps for 4x slow-motion playback. ther upgrades include a brighter and wider-angle optical lens, improved image stabilization, a higher-resolution LCD monitor with auto-off and auto-brightness functions, a higher-resolution image sensor, a higher audio bit rate and better noise reduction. It'll start shipping later this month for a hair under $300... just don't go stealing from your mum in order to finance it, okay?

Filed under: Cameras, HD

Comments

Source: JVC

Geonaute’s 360 degree sports camera catches all the action, even our hands on

Posted on 11/01/2013 by James Trew

Sport and action cameras are big business, and even though there are a couple of main players, it doesn't stop other's trying to get a bite of the apple. Geonaute, however, have come at the situation from a different angle. Heck, they're coming at it from every angle, with its 360-degree offering. Equipped with three 8-megapixel wide-angle lenses the camera captures an almost spherical field of view. This might initially sound like a strange idea... after all, who wants all of that in one video, won't it all be warped beyond recognition? The short answer is no, in fact it's much better than you would ever have thought, and we'll explain why shortly. Going back to the camera itself, it looks a little like the innards of those security cameras you find in government buildings etc that peer at you ominously. However, in this case, the three lenses have color detail around them which makes them look anything but sinister, and the circular base section might look a little large, but in fact it's light in the hand -- and actually helps it sit quite comfortably atop a helmet.

In 360 video mode the advertised resolution is up to 2,048 x 1,024. In photo mode you'll get single shot, burst and time-lapse modes with a top resolution of 4,096 x 2,048. The actual FOV is 360 degrees on the horizontal, and 150 degrees vertically, but the end result is a fairly complete viewing sphere. The 3,000 mAh battery should be good for two hours of footage, and the microSD card slot will take cards of up to 32GB. While there is a waterproof housing, the camera itself will take the elements on pretty well thanks to its IPX7 rating. Read on after the break for more impressions.

Gallery: Geonaute's 360 degree sports camera catches all the action, even our hands on

Continue reading Geonaute's 360 degree sports camera catches all the action, even our hands on

Filed under: Cameras, Portable Audio/Video

Comments

iON reveals Adventure and Air Pro 2 sports cameras, we go hands on

Posted on 08/01/2013 by James Trew

You may remember iON stepping out onto the action camera market back in spring, when we went hands on with the OG Air Pro. Fast forward to CES, and it's back with a brace of new cameras to capture your every move. First up is the iON Adventure, a 1080p GPS-enabled helmet cam with a twist, almost literally. The device has the same tubular format as the original, but the lens is actually on one of the longer sides, rather than at the end of the barrel, making it more suitable for chest mounting. The Adventure also has two memory card slots, meaning you can pack in a whole lot more footage, battery willing. For those extended shoots, a new loop recording mode allows continuous, non-stop recording between the two cards -- no more swapping out your micro-SD on the move. Other features include a vibrate-to-record function (it starts and stops recording when it detects movement) and a partnership with map / video sharing service Kinomap. The device has a sleek, gloss back finish, weighs just 4.2 ounces, and has a large, easily accessible record button on one end. While we only spent a short time with the camera, the quality of the build felt good, and the demo footage looked impressive. The Adventure will be available starting in March for $349.

The second new family member is the Air Pro 2. As you might have guessed, this is the second iteration of the original we saw back in March. Much of the external design remains the same, with the distinct octagonal accents at either end of the barrel. The main difference being the image sensor upgrade, which can now shoot at 14 megapixels, with 60fps for video and a 180-degree mode for those extra wide shots. Last time we liked the Air Pro, but we'll be especially keen to see how the follow up performs. With more and more cameras launching into the market, differentiating can be difficult, something apparently not lost on iON, who has clearly tried hard to introduce new and distinct features. The Air Pro 2 also becomes available in March, with two versions -- one with WiFi, one without. The wireless enabled one will cost you $299, or $249 if you don't need the extra functionality.

Gallery: iON reveals Adventure and Air Pro 2 - Hands on

Sean Cooper contributed to this report

Continue reading iON reveals Adventure and Air Pro 2 sports cameras, we go hands on

Filed under: Cameras

Comments

Sony Action Cam review: a good rugged camera with a few software wrinkles

Posted on 05/11/2012 by James Trew

Until now, Sony's efforts in the element-stopping sports cam world had largely consisted of handhelds such as the Bloggie Sport HD and the waterproof Handycam. The $200 Action Cam, however, is an all-out hiking-boot-wearing adventurist, with a backpack full of tools and supplies by comparison, that frankly, makes the brand's previous attempts look like they're barely prepared for a school field trip.

A lot of technology can be broken down into numbers. PetaFLOPS, gigahertz and megabytes -- the idea usually being, the more the better. And often that's true. Sometimes, though, what you really need are a couple breaths of fresh air and a healthy shot of adrenaline. And that's where something like Sony's new HDR-AS15 Action Cam shines. It's one of a growing breed of devices that allow us to get our fill of the great outdoors, while still satisfying our gadget fix. With plenty of other competitors lining up to be your sporting partner of choice, however, does the Action Cam have what it takes to keep up? Dive past the break to find out.

Gallery: Sony Action Cam review