# Action cam under $200 ( gopro too expensive)



## GregW (Jun 7, 2009)

I've been looking for an affordable action cam and found the two below. I like the sony features and its a name you can trust. the monoprice is a cool little gopro knock off but I really dont know if I want to take a leap of faith with a company known for many cheap/affordable things other than cameras.

anyone know of other affordable action cams? Id really like to get one that has wifi access that way I can use my phone as a viewer and to start/stop the recording or pic taking.


sony action cam AS15 $150 @ amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Action-Video-Camera-Sony-HDR-AS15/dp/B0090EC5MS/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

monoprice MHS Sport $177 @ monoprice.com
http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=117&cp_id=11704&cs_id=1170401&p_id=10629&seq=1&format=2


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## jdpber1 (Aug 21, 2013)

i have a *Kodak Play sport* that is waterproof to 10' that we use in the boat, beach, snorkeling, snowboarding.. i have 2 of them for 3 years now used on many trips and they are great.. 

i have a new and a reman both off of ebay for around the $125 mark and both have been great..no it is not a goPro but it does everything that i want.. and has threaded mount on the base..


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## jdpber1 (Aug 21, 2013)

addition the model that we have does not have wifi but it does have a good screen and i have the remote was like $6 or something and it works great..


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## cutrunner (Jun 8, 2010)

For the extra $150 I would just get the gopro, endless possibilities and not worth the heartache over $150 if you end up not liking the cheaper camera


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

Why not just buy a GoPro hero 3 white edition for $199, or find a slightly used hero 2 (some are still new on ebay) for $150 or less?


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## Dmagee (Jan 2, 2014)

GoPro has more mounting options.
I had the housing open on my goPro open while sitting in a rinse bucket and GoPro replaced the camera no questions asked.


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## anytide (Jul 30, 2009)

gopro......


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## NoeSmyrnaBch (Aug 19, 2013)

I have a HERO2 and love it. Monoprice makes good stuff, I wouldn't shy away from them if you are going the bargain route.

I had to send my GoPro back (firmware update bricked it) and I can say their service is very good. Something you probably won't get with the cheaper models. Only thing that sucks about the GoPro is they seem to be on a similar launch cycle to Apple and Samsung. New flagship device every year....


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## oysterbreath (Jan 13, 2009)

I also have a kodac action sport. I do not recommend it. it is mid-of-the road at best. If you can find one at a super price. It might be worth it. Otherwise pass.

Go pro white is vastly inferior to the silver and black. It's not a matter of features. It truly is a different camera altogether. Even the CCD is different. There are options though. The Hero 2 much better than the Go pro white. Infact, the Hero 2 is on par with the Hero silver.

The Ion 2 is a good option. It usually sells for around $240 but you can find it sometimes for $199. The Ion 1 is sim. to the go pro white but the Ion 2 is more comparable to the Go pro silver. Don't get the Ion and the Ion 2 confused or you will be disappointed. The biggest advantage the Ion 2 has over the Go pro silver and black is that it is inherently water proof and doesn't need a case. It's body is super tough. The mount is WAY stronger than the Go pro mount. The mount is a standard 1/4 thread just like your SLR cameras. People who own the go pro sometimes complain about the mount and how it easily gets Jared. The BIGGEST advantage is the sound. When you put your gopro into the water proof case you get some sound degradation. That's not the case with the Ion.
Another cheap option is the gear pro gdv285bk 1080p. It's not as good as the go pro silver. It's comparable to the go pro white I've been told. The nice thing is that it can be found for around $70-$80. I think it also comes with blue tooth...I'm not sure though.

Oh yeah....IF you are also into R/C, with out a doubt, go pro is the way to go! Most brushless gimbals suitable for R/C are go pro exclusive.

http://www.helipal.com/tarot-t-2d-brushless-gimbal-for-gopro-hero-3.html?gclid=CLPUvr_Smr0CFUVp7AodwGsAzA


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## bamorris83 (Jan 29, 2014)

Compare the specs of go pro to other cheaper cams and go pro will come in first. I wanted a cheap cam but after some research I went with the go pro for 199. It is the only way to go if u want to spend 200.


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## swampfox (May 9, 2007)

Just got a HP and love it. They also sell under another name. I used it in the Glades recently. Check out this comparison of two GoPro models and the HP. You can get non wifi ones for under $100.
http://youtu.be/NmXWxxYA1cI


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

Oysterbreath, you seem to be up on tech, do you know if the GP hero 2 has built in Wifi like the hero 3 white?

I am running the Savage Race next week and am thinking about wearing a camera on a chest harness.


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## oysterbreath (Jan 13, 2009)

> Oysterbreath, you seem to be up on tech, do you know if the GP hero 2 has built in Wifi like the hero 3 white?
> 
> I am running the Savage Race next week and am thinking about wearing a camera on a chest harness.


You'll need one of those "Hero backpack" thingies as far as I know. They sell them on Amazon. If you are going to use a chest harness I don't know why you'd want to use wifi w/the Hero 2. Seems like a whole lot of extra junk. You'll have the backpack and the wristband. Good luck in the savage race.
Have you done the tough mudder, spartan, or savage before or is this going to be your first?

Anyway, for chest mounting...the Hero line is top dog. I plan to eventually upgrade to an Ion 3 but will admit, as far as body mounting it's only good for head mounting.


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

I wouldn't want the WiFi for the race specifically, just in general, but the white has it built in for the cell phone app. I'm not looking for pro video, anything that can do 720p without major skipping (buffering?) when it moves quickly from side to side. I had an ATC2k, and a few others back in the day that shot great when still but if you moved them the video got choppy.

I haven't done any of these races, and I'm not sure I'm up to the challenge, lol. One of our crew members is ate up with doing these races and talked the rest of us into doing it.


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## oysterbreath (Jan 13, 2009)

This thread was about a sub 200 action cam, well how about HALF of that price:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QppW_0_DuiE

Action cam under $100


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## Damon (Mar 24, 2014)

I have an Emerson action cam 720p with 16gb memory. Cost me $40 from big lots. I bought it for snorkeling, but it works just like the gopro only not 1080p and fisheye. It also has a screen on the back.


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

I ended up buying the GoPro Hero 3 white edition after all, along with the chest mount for the Savage Race this past Saturday. I think I'm going to keep it.

It shoots pretty good at full 1080/30fps, but at the lower settings I was a bit disappointed. 

The video itself, the camera, even the wifi, once you figure it out, and the app work pretty well. The Problem I have now is the video editing software and my laptop. The GoPro editing software of pretty limited on effects, titles, and transitions. Maybe I need to play with it more, but I was only happy with one feature and that was the protune setting, which automatically balances stuff like white balance, color, contrast.....

The biggest issue is the format. The GoPro records in MP4 format, but the editing software has to convert it to AVI before it can make changes, then it converts it back to MP4 to save it. So for a simple 1 minute video you have to spend a long time converting everything before bringing it into an other program to edit it a second time. 

I made a 14 minute video of the race, but between converting and editing it took me a day and a half to get it done. It's funny when you do a search on the subject as all the guys usually recommend buying another software, but I'm not willing to spend more on the software then I did for the camera, so if I can't make it work well for free I may ditch the camera later on. You would think as big as their business is they would have the back end figured out well, or at least figure out how to modify the MP4s without having to jump through so many hoops. I'll post the link here later once it's done uploading to youtube.


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## oysterbreath (Jan 13, 2009)

Firecat, take a look at:
TrackAXPC Pro
Corel Video Studio
Cyberlink Powe Director

I have Corel Video studio and used to use Pinnicle. Both work very well and are ultra intuitive. I THINK Corel video studio natively supports MP4. Look it up because I'm not sure. Those are good starting places.


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## Knight Patrol (Mar 11, 2012)

Look at the Midland lineup of cameras.  They make a wide variety of models that range from $125 to $250.  I have the XTC400 and it out performs the GoPro in my opinion.  The camera has WiFi so you can connect any Android or Apple product which can act as a remote as well as a remote viewer.   The camera includes a waterproof housing and a variety of mounts so you can use it right out of the box unlike the majority of the others.

https://midlandusa.com/xtc-cameras/products/water-sports/


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

Thanks Oyster I'll check it out in a bit.

KP, I'm ok with the price of the gopro, and the reason I ended up going with it was ease of access. Also a big decision was the form factor, I couldn't use a long thin camera the way I want, and it's hard to find decent mounts for a lot of the other brands.


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

Here is the race video. It was shot using a chesty mount which worked out well, actually a lot better then I thought.

Even though I shot it at 1080, I reduced it down to 720 in editing because of the amount of memory and time it was taking. Youtube I'm sure reduces it even more. Here you go.

http://youtu.be/dr_vS7IR7Zg

Embedding failed, so just click the link above.


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