Cappen Boidseye
Well-Known Member
I looked at getting a Go-pro last year, after pricing a waterproof case for my Panasonic 3CCD type camcorder, I did some research on Youtube and other review sites, I settled for a Sony Action cam, more than happy with it for the following reasons:
Similar sharpness to the Go pro cameras but better colours.
Much better sound recording, sounds better and is in stereo, (waterproof housing permitting).
Cheaper (getting on for £100 difference if I remember correctly)
Best of all, it has image stabilisation, turn the stabilisation on, you get a slightly narrower field of view (120 degrees instead of 170 degrees) which gives you less fish-eye distortion, you get very effective stabilisation vertical, horizontal and even sideways tilty stabilisation, brilliant! Go-pros just didn't have any stabilisation then, don't know whether they do now.
Oh, the Sony also had much better low light performance.
Downsides: No tripod mount unless in a waterproof case or in a holder, which came seperately.
Camera has a rounded bottom so won't sit upright on a table, also the charging/data ports and external mic socket are on the bottom of the camera, bloody silly!
The standard waterproof cases have a rounded lens front, great for silming above water, but if you want crystal clear footage as you drown, you need to buy an alternative front hatch with a flat lens. Personally, that doesn't really bother me as I prefer to be above the water, where I can breathe!
When in the 60m waterproof case sound gets muffled, both waterproof cases can suffer from condensation, I actually drilled small vent holes in the 5m case so that I could use it for foul weather filming without it steaming up. (Mine came with the 5m case, the previous generation came with the 60m case which also fits mine, I bought a 60m case for underwater and drilled the original to give me one for normal, i.e. foul weather use on the boat.)
When water damage is not a problem, there is a skeleton case, which gives you a tripod mount, access to the bottom of the camera for external microphone or charging cable and full quality sound, unfortunately that is not supplied with the camera, it is a seperate purchase but is more than worthwhile.
Sony have updated their offerings at least twice since I bought mine, with a flattened bottom so it will sit upright and they are showerproof when outside the waterproof cases now, so unlike mine they are safer to use without the case.
I think I would still opt for the Sony over a Go-pro, the sound is so much better, the image stabilisation is nothing short of brilliant and last time I looked they were still cheaper to buy than a Go-pro.
Similar sharpness to the Go pro cameras but better colours.
Much better sound recording, sounds better and is in stereo, (waterproof housing permitting).
Cheaper (getting on for £100 difference if I remember correctly)
Best of all, it has image stabilisation, turn the stabilisation on, you get a slightly narrower field of view (120 degrees instead of 170 degrees) which gives you less fish-eye distortion, you get very effective stabilisation vertical, horizontal and even sideways tilty stabilisation, brilliant! Go-pros just didn't have any stabilisation then, don't know whether they do now.
Oh, the Sony also had much better low light performance.
Downsides: No tripod mount unless in a waterproof case or in a holder, which came seperately.
Camera has a rounded bottom so won't sit upright on a table, also the charging/data ports and external mic socket are on the bottom of the camera, bloody silly!
The standard waterproof cases have a rounded lens front, great for silming above water, but if you want crystal clear footage as you drown, you need to buy an alternative front hatch with a flat lens. Personally, that doesn't really bother me as I prefer to be above the water, where I can breathe!
When in the 60m waterproof case sound gets muffled, both waterproof cases can suffer from condensation, I actually drilled small vent holes in the 5m case so that I could use it for foul weather filming without it steaming up. (Mine came with the 5m case, the previous generation came with the 60m case which also fits mine, I bought a 60m case for underwater and drilled the original to give me one for normal, i.e. foul weather use on the boat.)
When water damage is not a problem, there is a skeleton case, which gives you a tripod mount, access to the bottom of the camera for external microphone or charging cable and full quality sound, unfortunately that is not supplied with the camera, it is a seperate purchase but is more than worthwhile.
Sony have updated their offerings at least twice since I bought mine, with a flattened bottom so it will sit upright and they are showerproof when outside the waterproof cases now, so unlike mine they are safer to use without the case.
I think I would still opt for the Sony over a Go-pro, the sound is so much better, the image stabilisation is nothing short of brilliant and last time I looked they were still cheaper to buy than a Go-pro.
