Monday, December 12, 2016

SJCAM M10+ Review

SJCAM M10+ Plus header image
Its the Christmas season and everyone is preparing for a happy month. Parties, homecomings, families getting together, almost all fun filled events are happening this month. But some people prefer a little different in terms of celebrating the Christmas and New Year, what I mean is, some people or families travel to a new destination, may it be a tourist location or just a relative location.

Well, if you are one of these folks who like to travel (with or without companion) during the yuletide season, you definitely want to capture each moment passing by so you can cherish it for a lifetime (Well, unless the social media you are using is hacked, or the storage device you are using goes bonkers, yikes!). But, images do not show everything, that is why video recording on portable devices became a trend.

Unfortunately, our lovely expensive phones and even high definition cameras don't always pack some features that almost every one wants to have, WATERPROOF CAPABILITY. Yes, these modern times, may manufacturers have produced some devices that have this capability, in return, they are very expensive and some (even branded ones) don't tend to last long leaving you in a stressed state because you just lost a handful of hard earned device.

Fortunately, some unknown manufacturers began creating a great alternative, what alternative? Well, if you follow any kind of tech, you know that there are plenty of manufacturers who started to produce cameras that are made to accommodate the people's needs in terms of portability and has a waterproof capability, to name one, GoPro makes one, but it costs a fortune (Well, you will get what you pay for), so what do we suggest? Take a look at SJCAM, especially this small and powerful camera from them namely the SJCAM M10+/M10 Plus which we will talk about right now (But wait, if you live in the Philippines and want it at a low price, we suggest that you look at TravelLight Ph (Facebook Page), we bought our review unit from them).

Editor's Note: Some Video samples are not yet uploaded in our channel, therefore, this review is quite short

PACKAGING
The box upfront shows the actual camera itself on its waterproof casing, the red cardboard box (which slides vertically) shows the primary features of the camera. The left hand side of the outer box shows a QR Code that you can scan to download the complimentary app that you can use to control the camera via WiFi (More on that later). The right side of the outer box shows the accessories included inside the box, while the back side of the outer box shows detailed specifications in three languages. Upon sliding the red cardboard box, the inner box is covered in white color. From this, you can now get the actual camera (Click image to view larger version).

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CONTENTS
Aside from the Action Camera itself, you will get some accessories, stickers, cleaning cloth, manual, 2 extra 3M Tapes and a Micro USB Cable. Most of its accessories are very similar (If not copied directly) to the ones that are meant for the GoPro brand. Either way, what separates the SJCAM Cameras from the GoPro ones is that, they always contain a handful of accessories that you won't need to purchase separately, and I mean, you can already use the camera wherever you want upon purchasing it, and on a side note, from the store where we bought this, we noticed that this is a newer packaging version as it contains an updated waterproof case which has buttons for up, down, and WiFi buttons unlike the old version which has none (Except for the mode and capture buttons)

contents - camera
contents - straps
contents - mount adapters

contents - mounts
contents - manual, stickers, cable
contents - waterproof housing

PRODUCT REVIEW
We know that you want how this camera performs, but before that, let's jump first on its physical appearance. The front side of the device contains the camera lens, and the SJCAM Logo together with the camera model (In this case M10+). The back sports a 1.5 inch high display which is quite decent. The top of the device contains a Mode/Power button and a Record/Capture/Ok button. The left side of the device (While facing the display) contains a Micro HDMI port, Micro USB Port (For charging and Data transfer), and a Micro SD Card slot (Supports up to 32GB, but the box says it can handle select 128GB Cards) while the right side of the device houses the mic, WiFi switch which is between the navigation up and down buttons. The bottom side of the device contains the battery housing which is covered in a push/lift plastic cover. (We placed in on top of an iPhone 6 so you can have an idea on its physical dimensions)

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Now, you want to know the performance of this action camera? Okay then, let's start with the Imaging department. First thing is, this has fixed focus, so don't bother trying to capture near subjects. On artificial lighting, such as florescent, it suffers from high noise everywhere, so we don't suggest using it on night time. On the daylight however, things change (Except for the fixed focus lens), focus it right and you will get some very decent shots. Colors are quite close to accurate, details are also present, well, just don't zoom in, why? Well, you see, things will get a little muddy (If you know what I mean). Overall, I should say that the image quality of this camera is good for daytime landscape shots. It can capture any moment, but take in mind that you're not getting High Quality images from this camera (Sample shots are untouched, directly uploaded)

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Now, how about the video quality? Unfortunately, we were not able to record some of its video formats like Slow Mo, 2K Video resolution (We will upload samples on our YouTube channel soon), BUT, we have a lot of 1080p samples ready to be watched at our video channel (Check it Here). As for our word on the video quality, we can also say that it is quite decent with the expected noise (From its price point) and quite blue-ish videos, but still, If you want some budget camera that you will only use for fun purposes (Like our Bike VLog Videos), this camera will serve its purpose.

VERDICT
This product has its pros and cons, so we can actually recommend it to people who wants a budget but great camera with great features such as WiFi and Gyroscope (Video Stabilization). Also, what we really liked about this camera is that you will already have a lot of useful accessories so you can start using it right away!

PRODUCT LINKS
SJCAM M10+ - https://goo.gl/RX4Zpz
Buy It - Amazon.com - https://goo.gl/01OFYS
Buy It - Lazada PH - https://goo.gl/pymGiw
Buy It - TravelLight Ph - https://goo.gl/NqKPTH

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