Decent action camera suggestion?

[davidg4781]

Sorry if this is the wrong place, I was going to put it in the general but thought it might get more attention from creators.

I'm looking to buy an action camera. I think I want to start doing some outdoor lobbying (off trail driving, fishing, who knows what else) and thought it would be cool to get video of it. Maybe a midlife crisis, who knows.

Either way, my first thought was a GoPro and while their quality seems great, I don't even know if I want to publish it and not sure if I want to drop that kind of money on something that may sit in the closet.

Are there any other brands or models to look into? I certainly don't want some generic off brand and I'd like decent quality, 4k or 1080p and image stabilization.

 

[JW5566]

The problem with buying cheaper GoPro imitators is you do lose features and quality, most notably in my experience the stabilisation on cheaper models is nowhere near as good. I have a GoPro Hero 9 and it's stunning as an action camera and even as a vlogging (talking to camera) set up, thanks to its light weight. The Hero 9 is still on sale here in the UK at £250, the GoPro 11 is £400 so it's quite a saving going back a few generations. Even the Hero 8 is considered a capable action camera. GoPros also allow manual control which is critical in some situations to get the most out of it (example, night and low light shooting).

There's quite a few YouTube videos out there comparing GoPro and DJI offerings with cheaper knock-offs if you want to see what you'll lose.

Another consideration would be your mobile phone. Most are fairly capable - I use my now-old iPhone SE2 more and more for vlogging, using various holders and grips. Possibly not for trail driving, but for fishing you could rig up something quite cheap.

 

[davidg4781]

Oh yeah. I ended up picking up the Hero9 on sale.

I wish it had HDR though but I’m good for now. Sometimes the HDR videos look a little off.