Those who read my review of the Victure AC940 will see a lot of similarities between the two cameras. This camera has adequate 4K30, fake 4K60 and is overall very usable, although it does still have some downsides.
The Gitup G3 Duo is a few years old at this point, and now with a lower price (at least in Canada) it represents a fantastic value. If the price is over $80 USD, this camera may be too expensive for the video quality unless you specifically need some of the special features it offers. Those include a secondary camera unit that can be hooked up to the main unit and a GPS module – interesting features for adventure trekkers, motorcyclists and quad/atv riders. The base unit itself, the only component tested in this review, is more like an ordinary action camera. It supports a high level of customization, is easy to use and has decent video quality overall, making it a compelling option when the prices is under $100.
Recently on Youtube we have received several comments mentioning the XTU X1 Max Action Cam. XTU Action Cam, the next Gopro Killer, XTU New Action Cam with an Amazon Link. Most of these comments seem kind of spammy, buy hey, XTU is a company we’ve never tested, and it turns out the X1 Max is real 4K 60. With image stabilization. And actually performs very well! There is a lot to break down about this camera so let’s get into it.
This is part 3 of the Budget 4K Action Cam Showdown puts head-to-head the Apeman A77, Dragon Touch Vision 3, Jeemak M5 and Crosstour CT8500. If you enjoy content like this please consider subscribing on Patreon.
In part two of the cheapest action cam showdown, we test 4 more cameras: the Cooau SPC06, Crosstour CT8500, the Campark ACT74A and the Jeemak M5.
In the hunt for the best budget 4K action cam from Amazon, we purchased 8 different cameras to test and put in a head to head showdown. Let’s see which camera is the best!
The Firefly X is pretty middle of the road: excellent audio quality, decent video and OK image stabilization. The only stand-out feature is the waterproofing (without external case). And I would not trust it all that much as it is pretty basic and some of the clips holding the battery door in place is pretty sketchy. They do not hold on as tight as I would hope so I do not trust this camera to stay waterproof. Overall I cannot find any glaring flaws in the camera but there’s also not too much that it excels at. Perhaps it’ll be more worthwhile when it goes on sale in the future but at a $170+ price point I think it is too much money.
The Ivy Rec is a bit of an odd duck in Canon’s camera lineup: more like the Fuji Instax has somehow mated with a Go Pro rather than anything else Canon makes. That makes sense seeing as this camera is meant to be paired with the Ivy Instant Printer, making it some sorta weird digital print hybrid. However, the Ivy Rec itself, from a camera perspective, is kind of a wreck. It isn’t a good enough digital camera to buy just to own a digital camera, and furthermore the Ivy printer can easily be used with a smartphone. And since any smartphone has autofocus, their image quality will be better than the Ivy. So what is the point?
The Vantop Moment 5C is a budget 4K action cam that claims to produce 4K 60 FPS video at under $100. While it is true that the camera can make a 4K video file with 60 FPS, this format is interpolated (upscaled) from a lower resolution. However this camera appears to do near-true 4K 30 with image stabilization and very decent 1080p 30 with EIS. As well, it produces colourful and vibrant video that most people will find pleasing, especially if they are not pixel peepers.
The DBPower EX7000 is an ultra-budget action cam based on the iCatch SPAC6350 processor and a 14MP Panasonic sensor. This is an interesting combination that could have resulted in potentially better performance than other generic 6350-based cameras, however the overall results are rather disappointing. Fake 4K, 1080p60 frame dropping and quality control concerns mar what could be a decent budget camera. Only get this one if you plan on shooting at 1080p30, or if you plan to mostly shoot still photos.