There are so many action cameras on the market, and there are also many well-known brands of action cameras. But choosing a sports camera that suits you is the most important thing.
This article is mainly to provide some constructive suggestions to those who are new to sports cameras. Of course, if you are not a beginner, you can also take a look.
Are you planning to buy an action camera now? And the dazzling array of action cameras on the market makes you dazzled? In fact, those who are new to sports cameras really don't know how to choose a sports camera.
First of all, newcomers to action cameras should spend some time learning the basics of the camera, such as camera specifications/parameters, camera functions, memory storage, battery life, etc., in order to use the camera better.
1. The specifications of the camera are mainly the size of the photosensitive element, pixels, sensitivity, focus, and processor, which are also the main factors that directly affect the quality of videos and photos.
(1) Photosensitive element
The photosensitive element is the key to image quality, the larger the size, the better the image quality.
(2) Pixels
The pixel of the camera actually means the largest pixel. The pixel is the unit of resolution. This pixel value is only the maximum resolution supported by the camera. M stands for megapixels, and 10M stands for 10 million pixels. The concept of pixels is actually easy to understand. Cameras with higher pixels have more delicate images and richer details. Even if you zoom in on a photo, you can still show good picture quality, unlike low-pixel cameras that zoom in on the content. It becomes a mosaic.
But this does not mean that high pixels are necessarily good. For example, some current mobile phones have more than 50 million pixels, but the imaging quality is far inferior to a digital SLR camera with 10 million pixels. This is because making images displays more realistic and delicate details, also depends on the resolution of the camera lens.
(3) Sensitivity
Outdoors during the day, under normal light, the photosensitive performance of the camera is not important. However, under low-light conditions such as night and indoors, the importance of the camera's photosensitive performance is highlighted. If a camera with high sensitivity, in a low-light environment, turning on the high sensitivity can also obtain a fast shutter speed, ensuring that the captured photos have good clarity.
(4) Focus
For ordinary photographers, the focus performance of the camera is not particularly important, because in most cases users will use the central focus point to shoot, and even entry-level digital SLR cameras, the focus of the central focus point, its accuracy is also very high. But for some users who like ecology, sports, macro photography, and other subjects, focus performance becomes very important, because if the camera has more focus points and the focus speed is faster, then dense focus points can easily capture fast-flying birds and fast-running athletes.
(5) Processor
The processor performance of the camera is very important, which is equivalent to the CPU of a computer. The noise reduction of camera imaging, the processing of a large number of pixel information, and the continuous shooting speed of the camera all depend on the processor. Some professional models need not only higher pixels, but also higher photosensitive performance, and high-speed continuous shooting capability, so they often need the machine’s processing performance to be very strong and even need to be equipped with a dual-processor structure
2. Camera function
The more functions the camera has, the richer and more creative the video or photo is, and the invention of the sports camera is for people to record wonderful clips. For example, whether the recording video mode supports interval recording, slow-motion recording, loop recording, etc.; whether the camera mode supports time-lapse shooting, continuous shooting, and other modes; of course, sports cameras generally have other additional functions such as WiFi link, anti-shake Function, waterproof and so on.
3. Storage capacity of the camera
The storage medium of the camera is generally a memory card, and the camera itself does not have much space for storing data, and it needs to be inserted into the memory card that could be used normally, while the action camera has higher requirements for the memory card, at least a high-speed storage with a performance of 30MB/S in order to fully meet the recording and playback of 4K resolution video. When choosing an action camera, you can check the maximum capacity of the memory card supported by the camera.
4. Battery life
Generally speaking, the battery capacity determines the length of battery life, but if the processor of the camera consumes power, even if the battery capacity is large, durability still needs to be considered, but now sports cameras are all with detachable battery settings. If your battery power is exhausted, you
can change it to another one, and some high-end sports cameras can support the need to shoot while charging.
After we have understood the basics of the camera, let’s learn the camera settings and get familiar with the camera settings: Before using the camera, you should browse the setting options and understand how these options affect shooting, such as video resolution, frame rate, and white balance.
The higher the resolution and frame rate, the higher the quality of the video can be shot. High-quality video is often smooth without stuttering, even when the speed is slowed down; at the same time, it can ensure that the picture of each frame is clear. (Of course, the sharpness of the image is also related to the stabilization function of the camera.) So when people choose a sports camera, they often look at the highest resolution and frame rate supported by the camera.
Users also need to be aware of the camera's white balance, as it can affect the color temperature and overall color balance of a video or photo. When you adjust the white balance, you can ensure that the colors in an image or video look accurate and match the actual scene. If the white balance is not set correctly, images or videos may have a blue or orange cast, which affects the overall quality of the footage. Therefore, knowing your action camera's white balance is critical to getting the best results when shooting sports, outdoor activities, or action shots.
High-performance equipment is of course very important, but users also need to practice shooting skills. If you don’t understand shooting skills at all, it may be a pity that a high-end camera falls into your hands. Therefore, it is generally not recommended for new camera users to buy an action camera with a lot of functions for the first time because they are a beginner, and may not be able to use some functions at all. Generally speaking, general sports cameras can capture all kinds of sports and outdoor activities. Before shooting, you need to consider shooting techniques such as light, angle, speed of movement, depth of field, etc. in order to get the best results.
To be suitable for many outdoor sports scenes, action cameras are usually equipped with various accessories, and users also need to know how to use the accessories, including brackets, clips, and waterproof cases, which can help you take images from different angles and scenes.
Master editing skills: After recording a video, you can import it to the computer and use editing software to edit and edit it to obtain a more professional video effect. Some sports cameras also have built-in editing functions. After connecting to a mobile phone, you can also edit videos and pictures on the mobile app.
The above are some suggestions for some novices. I hope it will be helpful to you. When you buy an action camera, you must combine your own situation, compare different brands and models of cameras, and then choose the action camera that best suits your needs.