The RunMe R3 is far from the worst camera we have seen (especially at its current price of $20) however it lacks consistency. Video quality can be hit-or-miss depending on lighting conditions resulting in brightness and colour issues. These problems were common in budget cameras from 3 or 4 years ago.
The DBPower D5 is the cheapest action cam I have ever reviewed. I picked it up for a whopping $23 on Amazon on sale (and at time of publishing it is less)! Despite skepticism, it does real 4K and appears to be a clone of the MGCool Explorer 3, with overall similar, if slightly lower video quality. But for under $30 who cares! The fact that this camera does real 4K is astounding.
The Vantop Moment 6S positions itself price wise between true budget cams and the high end. The 6S has great build quality, very respectable video and good audio from the internal mic and should be more than enough camera for those who are wanting something premium but don’t want to pay GoPro money.
The Campark V30 is one of the better sub $100 action cams, featuring native 4K at 30FPS with solid electronic image stabilization. This camera is easy to use, decently built and has acceptable audio quality. Of course, stepping up to a more expensive camera will net more customizable video and better build quality, but the next step up is nearly double the price and for most people and those just starting out, something like this camera will be more worthwhile.
The SJ8 Pro is a premium level action camera from Chinese maker SJCam. Featuring 4K at 60FPS and stabilized 4K30, this camera has all the features a budget pro level camera should offer. The Akaso V50x is from a brand that primarily trades on Amazon and is some of the more popular budget action cams. Offering stabilized 4K30, this camera has decent video quality for the price. So is it worth spending twice as much on the SJ8 Pro?
he Akaso V50x is a real 4K action cam with stabilisation at 4K and costs under $100. The $100 price point is kind of a tough one because it is generally where manufactureres start to make sacrifices in order to meet the cheap price, so let’s talk about what the V50X does right, and whether or not it’s a good camera: spolier alert, it is pretty good, but there are a few things about it that might make be a deal breaker for you. I would honestly recommend going for the V50 pro if you can swing the extra $20.
SJCam makes several excellent cameras, and the SJ8 Pro and SJ8 Plus are no exception. But I only think you should buy one of them, and completely skip the other. Straight to the point, the Pro is the camera to get. Skip the Plus. Let’s talk about why.
The HyphenX M80 is an Amazon Special of a generic action cam. All of these cams share similar hardware, so this review also applies to all of them. While some “brands” may have minor improvements over others or different included accessories, do not buy them. The results are universally disappointing and far worse than other cameras at this price point.
The V50 Elite is one of Akaso’s best camera. It has quite a lot going for it: decent 4K with stabilisation, acceptable audio quality and a touch screen UI, so how does it stack up compared to other cams in its price range? Well, on Amazon, there are few other cams at this price that hold up to it in terms of video quality so let’s take a closer look at it.
This is a head-to-head with two great action cams from 2018. They’re both great values but with the video side by side it can help you decide which one will work best for you! Either way you are going to get an excellent camera – just that one will be better for some people based on how they use it. Planning to film in 1080p only? Save some money with the Firefly 8SE. 4K? SJ8 all the way.