OK, so you want to buy an action camera to film your riding adventures. The good news is that picture quality and battery life are improving all the time. Thanks to their ubiquity, a GoPro is the obvious choice but is it the best camera? Are there any decent alternatives? And which is the best GoPro model? We’ll run you through the different options that we’ve used extensively to help you choose the best action camera for your needs.
- GoPro Hero 5 review
- GoPro Karma drone official price, specs and features
- How to record action camera footage to be proud of
For this guide, we’ve recruited the experts – our BikeRadar video team. Not only are they professional videographers who use these devices on a daily basis, but they also ride their bikes very, very fast. They took time out of their busy filming schedule to tell us what they like and dislike about these cameras, how suitable they are for cyclists and what sort of value they represent. All opinions are based on using each camera extensively.
(This article was updated 31st October, 2016)
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What to look for in an action camera
Picture quality
Of course, any camera worth its salt has to deliver a good quality picture. While camera makers like to dazzle consumers with resolution numbers and frame rates, a lot of that boils down to marketing speak. For example, 4K resolution is only great if the frame rate is reasonable. 15 frames per second delivers footage that isn’t usable; in our opinion, it looks like security camera video.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that picture quality can be hugely affected by the lens and the processor in the camera: that’s why GoPro footage consistently looks good, and why the videos created by cheap imitations often look a bit rubbish.
Battery life
This is definitely a key consideration, but perhaps the first question is – how long do you actually need to film for? Because if it’s just your commute then you probably don’t need a three-hour battery life. Our video team commonly find themselves hitting the record button for certain segments of a ride, rather than recording the entire thing. It saves on editing time, and eliminates the danger of recording over old footage if you’re using the looping feature. What is video looping? It simply means recording over old footage after a specified duration, to prevent running out of memory space.
Usability
Value for money
The best action cameras of 2016
GoPro Hero 5 Black
- Best-in-class 4K image quality, waterproofing to 10m, improved menus
- Clever features like voice control and image stabilisation
- Battery still doesn’t last more than two hours, and it’s not cheap
Garmin ViRB Ultra 30
- Superb video quality, way better 4K than the GoPro Hero 4 Black
- Simple, clear, clean user interface
- Useful, clever features like voice control and electronic image stabilisation
Garmin ViRB XE
- Solid, tough design that can take plenty of knocks
- Good quality video footage, but no 4K
- Some nice features like remote control and metrics overlay
GoPro Hero 5 Session
GoPro Session
Discontinued GoPro models
GoPro Hero 4 Silver
- Good range of footage quality, including 4K at 15fps and 720p at 120fps
- Ability to shoot 30 12MP still images per second
- Waterproof to 40m
GoPro Hero 4 Black
- Solid 4K footage at 30fps
- No touchscreen on the rear for framing your shot
- Slightly bulky design
You can read more at BikeRadar.com
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