One of the best real 4K action cams we reviewed is on sale, the ThiEYE T5e. This is the cheapest I’ve seen it available, only $45 after 50% off coupon on Amazon.
Does someone in your house want an action cam for Christmas, but you don’t want to spend GoPro money? We’ve got you covered! Below is our list of top action cams for December 2018 at any price point, from cheapest to most expensive. Merry Christmas!
There are some crazy good deals and coupons available this week for action cams. Gearbest is having their September sale and a bunch of sellers on Amazon are blowing out old stock since summer is over. If you’re looking for a cheap GoPro clone or budget action cam here are the best deals this week:
Spoilers: I really wanted to love the T5 Edge because the video looks very good, but it was just too often that I couldn’t use the audio from it. So that means the 8S is still my go-to every day camera.
The Thieye T5 Edge and the T5e are significantly different cameras. My goal with this video is to help you decide which would work best for you.
Let’s start with the unboxing. It’s been a while since I unboxed the T5E but I remember it coming with two batteries and less accessories whereas the Edge comes with a few more clips but only one battery.
The ThiEYE T5 Edge is very slightly better than the V50 in almost every way (lens, stabilization, user interface), but it’s not enough to justify the 30% higher price on Amazon. The V50 has a more rounded accessory package too. If you can get a deal from an overseas seller the Edge is a marginally better cam, otherwise stick with whatever is cheaper on Amazon.
The ThiEYE T5 Edge is one of the newest cams in ThiEYE’s lineup, and it is one of the first cheap cameras to feature real 4K and electronic stabilization at 4K 30FPS. Initial tests look promising – but this camera has a big legacy to live up to. The original T5e was one of our favorite cameras last year, so it’s going to be a tough fight. Subscribe to us on Youtube to find out when the showdown video is released later this month.
All of these cameras are so close and the differences in how they process video are so minimal, that what you should look for while watching is which camera processes exposure more appealingly to you, which camera has the most appealing audio to you and which cameras user interface will work best for you. No matter which you buy you’ll end up with a camera that has decent video quality.
The SPCA 6350 / OV4689 Processor and sensor combo does a decent job faking 4K. Some Youtubers even claim (incorrectly) that it’s better than GoPro 4K! You might not be able to tell the difference on a smaller screen…
While this camera may not have the best video quality of all the cams I’ve tested recently, it certainly has some of the best hardware, with a metal front plate and handsome orange accents. The camera feels well built in comparison to other cheap action cameras. Since this cam is based on the OV4689 4MP image sensor, it is not capable of real 4K.