# Cheaper gopro alternatives?



## andy spanners

hello, lurkers first post!

i want an actioncam to mount on my m/bike for trackdays. the brutal reality is that the bike could well end up in the gravel and i dont want to spend £100s on a gopro for it to end up broken. ive noticed some copies on ebay and amazon, just wanted your thoughts. thanks


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## lick0the0fish

I bought a y8 camera from eBay for £30. It came with a ton of accessories. Spare batteries were £11 for 2 and a memory card was £4.50

I figure if it lasts 6 months it's a bargain. I used it at the Wolf Run last weekend and it survived all the way. The battery lasted about 70 mins


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## Kimo

Buy cheap, but twice

With how cheap you can get them for no I don't know why you'd scrimp

They've fell out of airplanes, very rarely come off cars because of how well made the genuine accessories are so very much doubt it'd get broken anyway


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## nick_mcuk

Kimo said:


> Buy cheap, but twice
> 
> With how cheap you can get them for no I don't know why you'd scrimp
> 
> They've fell out of airplanes, very rarely come off cars because of how well made the genuine accessories are so very much doubt it'd get broken anyway


Didnt mean to thank that post wrong button pressing!

Sorry that is total and utter rubbish I have 2 cheap GOPro style cameras that I regualrly use when off roading and for fun.

Both work exceedingly well and I have had ZERO issues with them one is 2 years old and the other 6 months old.

The newer one has wifi and there is an App for the iphone that allows you to remote view/control it.

Neither of these cameras cost me over £40 and both come with a bucket load of mounts and accessories...best thing is too if you need a HQ GoPro mount you can if you wish use them as they are fully compatible!



Here is some video footage off the older one....(I was only running it in 720p mode to save on space...)


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## Serious Performance

Like Nick above I bought an SJ4000 WiFi and came with a tone of spares and 3 batteries for £40.00 delivered. use it as a DVR cam on the front of my bike (pedal). Been faultless. Also took it to Hawaii late last year and it was great underwater and survived being nibbled by a 12ft shark so gets a thumbs up from me for the price .


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## danwel

Did you guys but the branded sj4000 by sjcam or just the unbranded one? Might give one w whirl at that price


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## CLS500Benz

I've tried the likes of cheap GoPro copies, Wasn't what i was looking for picture quality wise. But it does depend what you want out of the camera. I now have a GoPro Hero 4 Black that was on offer around Christmas at Tesco for £199 and haven't looked back since. If you use the appropriate skeleton cases etc.. they are robust little things plus the picture quality will be more future proof as such. That's just me anyway.... It's worth keeping an eye out on HUKD that's where i saw mine was on offer.


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## shane_ctr

I have also got the same as Nick superb camera.


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## nick_mcuk

danwel said:


> Did you guys but the branded sj4000 by sjcam or just the unbranded one? Might give one w whirl at that price


Unbranded ones I will find a link from eBay for you

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## gatecrasher3

I have a GoPro and am more than happy with it, however my brother in law recently purchased one of these and the quality seems really good http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/For-GoPro...800927?hash=item1a0b2f549f:g:TNcAAOSwoudW9LW0


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## nick_mcuk

Here you go this is the one I bought....only thing was the delivery time from this lot was a bit slow...was not an issue for me as I was in no rush.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281893624695?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Believe it or not I paid £29 for it...still a bargain at that price though.


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## REVERSiN

I have sj4000 WiFi (genuine) work great and has decent quality.

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## andy spanners

thank you all, this is exactly what i wanted to hear


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## nick_mcuk

REVERSiN said:


> I have sj4000 WiFi (genuine) work great and has decent quality.
> 
> Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk


LOL "Genuine" they are all GoPro knock-offs and probably made in the same factory in China....and god bless em cos they have done an epic job for a fraction of the price!


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## danwel

nick_mcuk said:


> Here you go this is the one I bought....only thing was the delivery time from this lot was a bit slow...was not an issue for me as I was in no rush.
> 
> http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281893624695?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
> 
> Believe it or not I paid £29 for it...still a bargain at that price though.


Cheers, in having one at that price as I'm in no rush. Just need to get a suction mount to mount it to my motorbike and a memory card.

I'm same as you absolutely no rush


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## nick_mcuk

danwel said:


> Cheers, in having one at that price as I'm in no rush. Just need to get a suction mount to mount it to my motorbike and a memory card.
> 
> I'm same as you absolutely no rush


Just have a search on ebay you might find one for sub £30?

I just got a universal suction mount off Ebay that I use on the screen of the Jeep...if you wanted to get the official GoPro one you could though as its fully compatible with all the GoPro accessories.


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## ninja250r

Replay xd 



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## REVERSiN

nick_mcuk said:


> LOL "Genuine" they are all GoPro knock-offs and probably made in the same factory in China....and god bless em cos they have done an epic job for a fraction of the price!


True but still there is a genuine knock off that is trade marked 

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## nick_mcuk

REVERSiN said:


> True but still there is a genuine knock off that is trade marked
> 
> Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk


Gotta love the irony of that haven't you :lol:

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## james_death

The cheap ones do mean you can run a couple front and rear etc hanging off swing arm etc.

There are the Drift cameras also not cheap but the drift stealth 2 is at the £100 mark... great for on a helmet.

You will find I'm sure that most tracks won't let you run with a camera however, may do if you have additional fixings to ensure if the camera leaves the mount it won't go flying off.


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## nick_mcuk

These kits come with the little wire cable for securing it too....


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## titanx

I have this kit http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Wate..._2&btsid=1ef4cdbc-df0b-49fe-9215-17cd25676108 took around 9 days to arrive


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## [email protected]

nick_mcuk said:


> Here you go this is the one I bought....only thing was the delivery time from this lot was a bit slow...was not an issue for me as I was in no rush.
> 
> http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281893624695?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
> 
> Believe it or not I paid £29 for it...still a bargain at that price though.


Just ordered one for myself, have a gopro hero the non wifi one so my lad can have that for his bicycle and ill keep this new one for me


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## [email protected]

nick_mcuk said:


> Didnt mean to thank that post wrong button pressing!
> 
> Sorry that is total and utter rubbish I have 2 cheap GOPro style cameras that I regualrly use when off roading and for fun.
> 
> Both work exceedingly well and I have had ZERO issues with them one is 2 years old and the other 6 months old.
> 
> The newer one has wifi and there is an App for the iphone that allows you to remote view/control it.
> 
> Neither of these cameras cost me over £40 and both come with a bucket load of mounts and accessories...best thing is too if you need a HQ GoPro mount you can if you wish use them as they are fully compatible!
> 
> 
> 
> Here is some video footage off the older one....(I was only running it in 720p mode to save on space...)
> 
> Ford Crossing 1 - YouTube


I might be being a bit thick but my original order never showed hey ho got a refund, so bought another but when in its case theres no audio on playback, im guessing its because the mic is covered but what if you want sound?


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## tmitch45

From my experience the GoPro isn't all that. I got a hero 4 silver and found the following. Wifi didn't work so couldn't connect to my phone. Second gopro from the shop exactally the same thing, the sound using any of the cases is just awful. Picture quality I have to say is stunning and I like the wide angle perspective but........ Its ok getting all this great footage if you cannot do anything with what you capture. The compressed nature of the footage means you need a decent spec computer to get the footage off you gopro and into an editing program. So I ended up tking the whole lot back for a full refund which I was given no questions. The guy at Jessops said lots of people were taking them back because of wifi problems. Also he said that people were taking them back because they didn't have good enough computers to deal with the footage. Our laptop is less than a year old and was a mid to high performance laptop (as I do a lot of photo editing) but the footage was so jerky it was unusable for watching or editing. Buy and expensive gopro........ buy once but then take it back.

I now have an Olympus tough camera, its waterproof no case needed, drop proof, dust proof and easy to operate. Picture isn't as good as the gopro and no wide angle but I can easily edit the photo and video on my laptop with no issues.

Nick what are these cheaper copies like for editing. Any issues with editing on a 'standard' laptop?? and how does the picture compare??


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## fozzy

I have a couple of GoPro's a 3 and 4Black, neither have ever had any issues although I do know a few people that have. Editing wise the footage is a pretty generic codec so I'm a little surprised to hear of people having big issues, I've edited the footage with 5yr old 13" Macbooks (non Pro) and similar aged Windows machines with no probs. The only editing nightmare I have found is when shooting 4k on the 4Black, even the Mac Pro workhorse with 64G Ram and twin xeon cpu's starts to get a little out of steam. I did try cheaper alternatives when looking to purchase the 4 Black but IMHO they weren't in the same league quality wise.

Just to add I recently changed my mobile to the LG G5 with twin lenses and 4k at 30fps capability, although not as good as the GoPro it's starting to get mighty close!


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## Guest

I have a GoPro 4 Black, never had any issue with editing on MacBook Pro or signs of getting damaged, there designed for an "Active" life, i have mine mainly on a harness for my springer spaniel (chest & back) all 5 are not what you would call lazy dogs, and they all use it, the camera is primarily in a waterproof case, and it gets a real good beating, bounced and banged off low tree branches, bushes, even when they lose there footing and end up rolling over the camera never moves from its mount, the harness may need adjusting but the case or camera never suffer damage, i bought mine off eBay for £279 as opposed to £390 from currys, i wouldn't want to paying £40 for something that just "claims" it can do GroPro stuff, they maybe ideal for a dash cam but i wouldn't expect to much from the £40 market, you pay for what you get in my opinion.


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## LSpec

there are many options without the gopro look, sony action cam as100, or ricoh wg-m1, polaroid etc.

or the options ^


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## nick_mcuk

combat wombat said:


> I have a GoPro 4 Black, never had any issue with editing on MacBook Pro or signs of getting damaged, there designed for an "Active" life, i have mine mainly on a harness for my springer spaniel (chest & back) all 5 are not what you would call lazy dogs, and they all use it, the camera is primarily in a waterproof case, and it gets a real good beating, bounced and banged off low tree branches, bushes, even when they lose there footing and end up rolling over the camera never moves from its mount, the harness may need adjusting but the case or camera never suffer damage, i bought mine off eBay for £279 as opposed to £390 from currys, i wouldn't want to paying £40 for something that just "claims" it can do GroPro stuff, they maybe ideal for a dash cam but i wouldn't expect to much from the £40 market, you pay for what you get in my opinion.


To be fair I have kicked the crap out of the older non wifi one...its been on the outside of my Jeep when greenlaing and survived perfectly...including falling off in many a muddy rut and being ****'ed by all sorts 



tmitch45 said:


> Nick what are these cheaper copies like for editing. Any issues with editing on a 'standard' laptop?? and how does the picture compare??


Not had any issues editing footage on my Mac...never gave it any thought it just worked and edited fine.



[email protected] said:


> I might be being a bit thick but my original order never showed hey ho got a refund, so bought another but when in its case theres no audio on playback, im guessing its because the mic is covered but what if you want sound?


I turn the audio off on mine, but it is muted when its in the waterproof case...this would be the same on a genuine one too though..if you think about it...it is a waterproof case if it had a hole in it for the mic it wouldnt be waterproof anymore


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## Andyg_TSi

The Mobius Actioncam is very highly regarded. Many say it's a mini go-pro.

Can be used as a dashcam as well


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## [email protected]

> I turn the audio off on mine, but it is muted when its in the waterproof case...this would be the same on a genuine one too though..if you think about it...it is a waterproof case if it had a hole in it for the mic it wouldnt be waterproof anymore


Yeh true, doh


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## JacobDuBois

Got an sj4000 wifi aswell I bought direct from SJCAMS it takes very very good videos. Currently in Mexico and it took some nice videos of whale sharks very much worth the money


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## sniktaw

Also got SJ4000 and have great video of swimming with giant turtle on Great Barrier Reef. Excellent kit.

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## sunnyV5

Hi guys

Is this the alternative camera that you guys recommend?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SJ4000-WI...391506?hash=item3ac0998c12:g:ZfcAAOSwiylW~a4s


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## sniktaw

Yup

sent using the force


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## steve_07

So which one is recommended?


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## Mikej857

The sj4000 is a nice little camera, I've had mine for over a year and the video and image quality is brilliant especially for the price

My only criticism is the sound not being fantastic but this is over come by adding an external mic


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## danwel

Finally bought one off eBay which arrived in very quick time. Had a little play with it on my boys bikes while they were riding around and the footage was terrible. It was jittery and green.

Messed about with it a bit and had to turn the quality down to make sure i get footage i can actually watch and use.

What setting have you guys been using?

Also i bought a cheap suction mount from Ebay from Hong Kong which doesn't instill me with confidence as i stuck it to the kitchen window and it fell off so either it is garbage or i used it wrong. So that said i want to be able to attach the fake go pro to either my motorbike helmet or the bike itself....any ideas?


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## nick_mcuk

danwel said:


> Finally bought one off eBay which arrived in very quick time. Had a little play with it on my boys bikes while they were riding around and the footage was terrible. It was jittery and green.
> 
> Messed about with it a bit and had to turn the quality down to make sure i get footage i can actually watch and use.
> 
> What setting have you guys been using?
> 
> Also i bought a cheap suction mount from Ebay from Hong Kong which doesn't instill me with confidence as i stuck it to the kitchen window and it fell off so either it is garbage or i used it wrong. So that said i want to be able to attach the fake go pro to either my motorbike helmet or the bike itself....any ideas?


That doesn't sound right....I run mine in 1080p 30fps

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## Mikej857

Very strange as I run mine at full resolution with no issues other than with the sound but an external mic sorted that


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## danwel

I'll have to have a play with it then but at full resolution it was choppy as hell


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## danwel

So just made 3 videos while sat in my room. the first one is 720p, second 1080 30 and third 1080fhd

As you can see the first one is absolutely fine on playback but the other 2 not so much. Interestingly when i play them back on the actual camera they are fine with no jittery or green on them at all.


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## danwel

Just watched the videos i uploaded and they work fine after being put through photo bucket so downloaded a new media player form App Store to test and voila all is well on the 1080 30 so happy with that


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## JyGee

nick_mcuk said:


> Unbranded ones I will find a link from eBay for you
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I'd like the link too please mate


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## nick_mcuk

JyGee said:


> I'd like the link too please mate


This should help you....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SJ6000-Wa...i-For-GoPro-/281893624695?hash=item41a22b5b77


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## JyGee

Cheers nick


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## danwel

There are UK based sellers or at least those with UK based warehouses as i ordered from abroad and it never turned up so got a no hassle refund as i was advised it was out of stock.

ordered form a UK supplier and was here in a few days and currently sat offshore with it now trying to work out what mount will work best for me on the bike lol


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## JyGee

My old man is a mad cyclist and films everyday, uses the Gitup Git2, and says it's never missed a beat! His first one fell of a yacht when he was sailing- but at 20 odd quid he wasn't too upset. I'm going to get the same one.


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## danwel

JyGee said:


> My old man is a mad cyclist and films everyday, uses the Gitup Git2, and says it's never missed a beat! His first one fell of a yacht when he was sailing- but at 20 odd quid he wasn't too upset. I'm going to get the same one.


20 odd quid??? just had a quick google and they look much the same but a lot more than 20 odd quid.


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## JyGee

danwel said:


> 20 odd quid??? just had a quick google and they look much the same but a lot more than 20 odd quid.


I've not been on to look but yeah, he literally just text me saying he checked and was 23.99 he paid? Are they much dearer? My old mans getting on so it could easily be a copy he's bought, or somthing else entirely tbh lol


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## JyGee

Lol just had a look myself, 120 quid maybe!! He's bought a cheap Chinese copy, and he now thinks it's genuine. I rememberror him showing me footage from it and he was all chuffed with the quality for his 20 quid lol


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