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Think for a moment that you can walk into the biggest dealership in the world and ask that a car be assembled with the best of each brand: the best engine, the best gearbox, the best finish and the best paint. Wouldn't it be great to walk away knowing you have the best car on the market? Well, that's what the Sony set out to do with his new action cam.
Before talking about the camera itself, let's talk about the history of Sony and the evolution of this technology. For many years, the company was the reference brand for camcorders, still cameras and later digital cameras.
She followed the path that television itself led. First there were the huge studio cameras, which kept getting better and smaller. Then, cameras invaded the homes of millions of families, creating memories of weddings, baptisms and birthdays and it became common to film vacations, trips, everything. Then technology advanced and cameras got smaller, gained image quality and finally... digital age.
A Sony it was 2 decades ahead of its biggest competitors, producing good batteries, video and audio quality and, mainly, in the assembly of the lenses. But as time went on, a new niche proved more difficult to master: smartphones with cameras.
Both Sony than its traditional competitors – JVC and Panasonic – lost ground with the arrival of this market. After all, even though its cameras and camcorders are market references, nothing beats the famous saying: “The best camera is the one you have when you need it most”. And in that, smartphones are unbeatable.
For that reason, the Sony spent years of development and research, to reduce components and bring its technologies to mobile devices, cell phones and later smartphones. And along the way, another revolution took place:
Before, anyone who wanted to film events and radical sports, needed a helmet with a big camera and often a big external battery. the american company GoPro changed this scenario by introducing in 2004 a small, ultra-resistant camera with high image quality, which could be attached to helmets, vehicles and bicycles without difficulty. Then began the coveted segment of Action Cams (action cameras, in free translation), a natural evolution of the process of filming events, sports, extreme maneuvers: it was not the camera that moved to record action, it was the camera that moved along with the action.
But will the Sony, with many years of experience at the forefront of GoPro, could you create a competitive product in a market where a brand is already established and is synonymous with action? The answer is, “Why not?”
Design
Starting with the design, the Sony thought of a camera that fits in the hand and has a good grip. There's nothing worse than dropping your camera while you're filming something or taking a selfie; thus, the recording button is strategically positioned to be used with the thumb or forefinger, without the risk of dropping the camera, and of course it has a lock to prevent you from accidentally canceling the recording of a video (which by the way is a legacy of handheld analog cameras from Sony). What we could see during the tests is that the camera format favors a firmer grip. Running with her took place comfortably, without the need for her belted.
Conectividade
Instead of using the infamous bluetooth, the camera connects via Wi-fi Direct, which makes the live streaming experience much better and much more fluid. In addition, the camera has a GPS sensor, which can be used to tag photos and videos.
The camera also has a NFC sensor to more easily pair with any device, without having to enter a super long password.
It is still possible, via Wi-fi direct, Connect a wrist remote with built-in display, very good for filming when in the water and perfect for hands free:
This controller can simultaneously connect to up to 5 cameras, and still do live streaming. Both for transferring photos to cell phones and to the computer, the Wi-fi Direct proved to be very stable. We had no connection problems at any time, even when transferring a video from 20 Gb. The GPS sensor has a very good accuracy, in all the photos that were taken, the position had a difference of at most 100 meters.
Resistance
One of the characteristics that most concern the owners of action cams it's resistance, not only to falls, but also to dust, water and even ice. THE Sony promises that your camera will resist dust, drops of up to 1.5 meters, dives of up to 60 meters – inside the case itself – and, amazingly: temperatures down to -10º C (at this temperature, a pair of gloves as an accessory is highly recommended) . Under water, the camera does what it promises, shoots well and doesn't slip when handled, hence the fact that the buttons are rougher. As for water resistance, the camera was used in Star Wars Run and was worn on the belt for 7 kilometers, almost 50 minutes in the rain. At the end of the race, we did not identify any damage to the equipment.
Quality of recordings
As lentes Carl Zeiss help a lot in the matter of focus, which is one of the great promises of Sony: less blurry photos in motion. THE Digital zoom works well and with a 4k resolution does not harm the photos. One feature that positively surprised us was the Wind Noise Reduction (reduction of wind noise), the sound of the wind is almost not heard in outdoor recordings, even when I was running.
The fast-moving action allows you to record fast motions in high quality, so that you can later use the Slow Motion without loss of sharpness.
Accessories
Just like a child at Christmas, when we opened the box we were surprised by the amount of accessories: in addition to the case for diving up to 10 meters, the Sony also has support for helmets, boards and the indispensable Selfie Stick.
One of the strong points, and which in our opinion counts well as an accessory, is the image editing software that comes with the camera. In addition to the app for Android e iOS – which has editing functions – the Sony also provides the Action Movie Creator guidance on Mac e PC. The software is very intuitive and has some really cool audio editing features. Sony Vegas. lighter than Vegas, it doesn't require a super machine to run smoothly.
Battery
There's nothing worse than having to charge any gadget more than once a day and that's where the camera surprises. with a battery of 1240 mAh, the recording autonomy in 4k was from 5 hours, is at 1080p of horrible 9 hours and 05 minutes.
Price
A Sony managed to get his camera to have a competitive market value and sell in the US at the same price as its biggest competitor, $499,99. Here in Spain, The Sony Action Cam X1000v Digital Camera Wi-Fi GPS 8.8 MP 4K Recording (FDR-X1000V) can be found for R$ 2.499,00.
But not everything is perfect…
Like all equipment, the camera does have negative points. Unfortunately, as good as the footage and photographs are, the camera still has the same Achilles heel as all action cams: variations in brightness. Despite the efforts of the state-of-the-art Exmor R processor, the camera does not overcome very bright or variable-light environments.
The built-in microphone is very good, but if you want more protection during a recording and decide to use the case, the sound ends up being very muffled.
And finally, the lack of a display that can be attached makes framing difficult if you don't have the camera connected to your cell phone or computer.
Conclusion
If you are looking for a friendly design and a good experience, this Action Cam 4k da Sony It will make you very happy and really worth the price charged for it. She is tough and gets the job done.
And there? Do you have any doubt? Do you think something is missing? Comment below!
