Amazon.com: Customer reviews: YI 4K Action and Sports Camera Selfie Stick Bundle, 4K/30fps Video 12MP Raw Image with EIS, Live Stream, Voice Control

Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2016

Style: Camera OnlyColor: White PearlVerified Purchase

Pros:
*Great 4k and 1080p/120 option.
*Excellent touchscreen performance (smooth, no lag, responsive)
*exceptional audio for an action cam
*Built in tripod adapter
*excellent app (not quite as easy as go pro, some icons aren’t what you expect them to be)
*Can run directly off USB power bank with or without the internal battery installed.
*Available in white to help with heat if recording outside on hot summer days.

Cons:
*128gb card support seems sketchy, their site lists 6 cards they recommend and they are all 64gb cards. I have 2 of the cards they recommend (actually 4 of each), both types work perfectly, but I also have the 128gb versions of those same cards and they do not work. I have formatted in camera and on pc with different block sizes but they all pretty much start recording, then crash when the file size limit is reached producing a corrupt file on the card. I believe a firmware update can and will fix this but as of version 1.12 (1.07 default) it is still a no go.
**this is not really a “con” of the camera but when running direct off USB power source with no internal battery installed I seem to be limited to 3ft cable length in certain situations. With a 6ft cable the cam will shut down shortly after recording starts. I have successfully recorded 15 straight hours (minus card swaps every2h18m) with a USB power bank and 3ft cable. I tested this at home and found that one of my AC powered USB hubs was able to power this device successfully on a 6ft USB cable but none of my battery powered USB banks could do this. I suspect the cam is running very close to the 2.4a limit so I will try a male-male-female “Y” cable to boost power to see if this resolves the “issue”

IMO:
I have a very specific use case where I need to record up to 18 hours of fishing from a full size bass boat. I have a gopro hero3 white, a hero session and now this Yi2. I do not have any of the hero4 editions, I had the black but it would overheat every so often and shut down so it was returned. This part of the review will be comparing this against those other models.
Up to now, the best “overall” solution I had found was a Hero3 white with battery eliminator and waterproof housing mod. This setup allows me to record no matter what the weather conditions but it can be cumbersome changing cards, always required an external power source (batteries were always dead because I never use or charge them), always had to set the date/time (battery eliminated), had muffled/unsuable audio (waterproof housing) and it was 1080p30 max.
The Hero Session with its integrated battery, waterproofing and excellent dual microphones was a good upgrade and compromise. The “upgrade” being excellent audio, great video… as long as the sun was behind us and protune was enabled, and 1080p60 max. The “compromise” being it was not “waterproof’ while charging and the if the sun was facing the cam the subject would be too dark. However, If the weather turned I just unhooked the charger, closed the door and it was weatherproof for as long as the battery could hold. I also didn’t have to remember to set the date/time since it always had power from the internal battery.
The Yi 4k cam has all the resolutions and modes you could want. The touchscreen works incredibly well, is fluid, is responsive and is excellent for framing shots or checking status without always needing the app. The app works well and connects much faster than the gopro app but the controls in the gopro app are clearer and easier to use. In the Yi app there are some icons for switching video/photo and they appear to do the opposite of what I expect, however, I only really use the app to check the framing after a high-speed run (easier than getting behind the cam when it is mounted)
The things that set this apart for me are more mechanical, I can run this cam directly off a usb power bank with no battery installed in the camera (hero3 white can do this, hero session does not) which greatly reduces heat out on a hot summer day. (the hero3 and session will get so hot you can't hold them... but they still ran and the session is waterproof so I can cool it off in the lake) It is available in white which makes a huge difference in the amount of heat this thing absorbs. It shoots 4k and 1080p/120 along with a host of other modes including in-camera time lapse video.
Of course, all of this is accomplished outside of the waterproof housing. This still leaves me needing the hero3 white setup for rainy days but I was in the same situation with the session
I think MarkHawkCam has a complete review of the technical aspects on youtube ([...]) and covers everything in depth. Here is a sample running video I captured and uploaded right off the card to youtube with no enhancement: [...]
Overall, for me, this cam fits in my arsenal at a very fair price. It doesn’t replace any of the other cams I am already using but it my new primary camera.

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Artie Deco

Not Perfect, But Very Good - Great Customer Service

Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2019

Style: Camera OnlyColor: Night BlackVerified Purchase

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Yi 4K Action Camera

UPDATE:

As noted below, after less than 48 hours with the camera, while videoing my daughter's volleyball, the camera, no a tripod, was struck and knocked to the concrete floor. As you can expect, it was damaged, breaking the corner off of the front cover (the one through which the lens extends, and containing the words "4K video recording...."

I contacted customer support, and asked to purchase a replacement front cover. I was told that Yi did not have these available. However, after a few back-and-forth emails (see below), they did decide to replace the camera under warranty. They DID NOT HAVE TO DO THIS, and I ask you not to expect them to do this very often (YMMV).

They then asked for my Amazon order number, which I provided. However, they responded that they could not locate that order number, and asked for screenshots of my Amazon order. I provided these, and they informed me that the company from which I purchased was not an authorized reseller of Yi products, so they could not honor the warranty. They suggested I return the camera to Amazon and then purchase from an authorized dealer.

I bought this legitimately through Amazon, with this listing (and Amazon's Choice label), and through Amazon Prime ("Sold by Electronics Club and Fulfilled by Amazon."). I was understandably, none too pleased. I contacted Amazon, and complained that they had connected me to an unauthorized dealer, without letting me know, and to my surprise, they offered to refund my purchase. Since the damage to the camera was caused by me, I insisted that Amazon provide a note in writing that they would accept the return, and started the refund process with them.

Yi had provided an Amazon link to connect me to an authorized dealer, but when I looked it was this same listing. I queried Yi about which of the companies connected to this listing were authorized, so that I could re-purchase the camera, while the refund was in process (I have more events to video nearly every week), but did not get a response within a couple of days. So I called Yi to see if I could get that list, and was told that they did not have that kind of a list in the support department. They told me that they could not connect me directly with the individual I was corresponding with, but that he was the only one with that information, and I would need to continue my email thread with him to get that list.

Well, given the delay in response, and the ticking Amazon return timeline, that meant I could return the camera, but if I bought another before ensuring I purchased from the right vendor, I would risk not getting the warranty again. I emailed my Yi contact again, and finally received a response. Yi decided to honor the warranty anyway, and shipped me a replacement camera!

I must say that, in the end, this was excellent customer service. They definitely went above-and-beyond for me personally. However, not knowing which of the vendors listed here are authorized is a problem. I wish I had gotten the list to share with you here.

---- Original Review ----

I've gone through several inexpensive action cameras, researching a lot, and ordering a few. I'll include other items I liked and didn't below, but the one thing I noticed with all these cameras is the inaccuracy of the advertised video modes, both in resolution and frame rate. The Yi 4K is about double the cost of the previous camera that claimed similar modes, but that camera didn't deliver. The Yi 4K is close enough for my purposes, but not quite perfect.

As for resolution, those appear to be standard:
4K/UHD is actually 3840x2160
2.7K is actually 2704x1520
1080p is 1920x1080, etc.

But frame rate is a different matter. The attached video shows many of the modes:

* The video itself is 4K/UHD @ 60 fps (although I don't know whether Amazon will scale it or change the frame rate). Each input video mode was scaled (by my editor) to 4K/UHD, for the duration of each 20 second segment.
* In the lower right of the screen is the "name" of the video mode, (mostly) matching the designation on the camera (although modes with "Ultra" in the name were abbreviated to "U" to save screen space).
* The source video timecode is overlaid on the lower left. This lets you compare the frame number to the frame contents. (Due to the design of my editing software's frame counter, I had to put the timecode on the left to chop off a bunch of extra, unimportant text.)
* In the bottom middle is an indication of the actual recorded frame rate (the actual number of individual, unique frames recorded each second). This should not differ from the playback rate (except for designated "slow motion" modes). This text is also color coded to indicate whether the mode matches what is specified.
* The frame rate of each input video was also scaled to match the 60 fps (actually 59.94, but that difference doesn't matter here) during the first 10 seconds of each segment. (e.g. the timecode would count from XX:00:00:00 to XX:00:00:29 during the first second of a 30 fps input video, and each time code would be shown twice to match the 60 fps output video.)
* The second 10 seconds shows the video slowed down to 1 fps, to clearly show individual frames. Comparing the video to the timecode makes it obvious when a frame is replicated (timecode changes, but content of the image does not).
* Further, (most of) the media info (obtained from Media Player Classic, using codecs installed with K-Lite CODEC Pack) is overlaid on the first 5 seconds. The important items to notice there are the video's resolution and frame rate, the latter being highlighted.
* Finally, some segments include extra information overlaid on the video.

Each video clip was recorded with most settings at defaults/auto (e.g. WB, ISO, etc.). The field of view (FOV) was set to maximum (Wide), except for the unconfigurable Ultra modes. The lens distortion was enabled for all modes that allowed it, which was mostly non-Ultra modes.

With respect to the frame rates, what the video shows:

"4K/30" - Recorded at 30 fps, played back at 30 fps. (GOOD)
"2.7K/60" - Recorded at 60 fps, played back at 60 fps. (GOOD)
"2.7K/30" - Recorded at 30 fps, played back at 30 fps. (GOOD)
"1080p/120" - Recorded at 60 fps, played back at 120 fps, causing the clip play twice as fast and run for half as long as recorded. (BAD)
"1080p Ultra/90" - Recorded at 45 fps, played back at 90 fps, with each frame repeated twice. (BAD)
"1080p/60" - Recorded at 60 fps, played back at 60 fps. (GOOD)
"1080p/30" - Recorded at 30 fps, played back at 30 fps. (GOOD)
"720p Ultra/60" - Recorded at 60 fps, played back at 60 fps. (GOOD)
"720p/120" - Recorded at 60 fps, played back at 120 fps, causing the clip play twice as fast and run for half as long as recorded. (BAD)
"720p/240" - Recorded at 240 fps, played back at 240 fps, but the image is dark. (GOOD)

That's much better than other cameras (7 of 10). The last one I tested was accurate (GOOD) only on 2 of 7 modes.

The actual image quality of these modes will take some further testing to be thorough, but so far, it is fairly decent. Some other cameras used very poor methods of scaling the data from the sensor to the video resolution, resulting in immediately obvious poor quality (see Nearest Neighbor Scaling). But the Yi 4K scaling is pretty decent on first look. I'll have to break out the resolution chart to get any more detailed, but I haven't done that yet (and I'm not certain how that's going to work with such a wide angle camera, anyway).

Beyond frame rate, here are some other Likes and Dislikes:

Likes
-----
+ Most frame rates are as advertised (at least the ones that are critical to me).
+ The individual files of long recordings, which are broken into ~3.8 GB h.264 files, are actually complete! This is not only the first action camera I've seen with this, but even my high end consumer video camcorders don't do this. They all require post-processing to join the files together (Google for AmateurResolveAndFusion), in order to avoid losing frames at the boundary, before loading the video into the editor. MANY KUDOS to Yi (or their silicon vendor) for this simple solution that saves a LOT of time!
+ Camera includes lens distortion correction. Obviously, there is some loss of data at the edges of the picture, but the lines are straight! It's not perfect (objects at the sides of the screen are a bit wider than they are in the middle), but unless your video editor has this feature, it's great to have.
+ Has built-in tripod mount, so no frame or case is needed (however, see last Dislike below).
+ Mobile app (at least for Android -- Yi Action) is much better than the one used by other cameras (XDV).
++ It doesn't crash (at least not yet).
++ It will update the camera's firmware, so you don't have to load it onto a microSD card (I think you can do that as well, but this is easier).
++ It reconnects with the camera well and fast, even after your phone goes into low power mode. (XDV usually requires killing the app, and often clearing the memory and starting from scratch.)
++ It displays the video image correctly (a bit of glitch sometimes, but great for framing) after reconnecting. (XDV video is blank.)
++ Has full controls for the camera. (XDV is limited.)
++ Has short cut buttons, including lens correction.

Dislikes
--------
- Not all frame rates are as advertised (see video).
- 720p/240 image is dark, even with ISO at max (6400 -- see video).
- Sound is poor. I haven't done much with sound (just noisy volleyball gym, so far), but what I've heard sounds pretty bad. There's distortion and buzzing, plus tons of noise. I did not include the audio with the sample video, but this was taken in a room where the only actual sound was a ticking clock, and the internal noise was so loud that the tick could not be heard on the recordings.
- File naming, especially for 2nd and later files for long recordings (>3.8 GB) is very confusing (e.g. YDXJ0028.MP4, followed by YN010028.MP4 then YN020028.MP4).
- Doesn’t do 4k Ultra (i.e. full wide angle) at 30 fps (only 24 fps)
- No configurable/setable WB. Unfortunately, at least for the volleyball gyms I've used the Yi 4K in so far, none of the presets give anywhere near a decent picture. The Auto setting isn't too bad, but the nature of Auto is that it changes (not sure whether it will change during a recording, but definitely between recordings). So doing post-processing to correct the color means a different adjustment for every clip! A setting that allowed the camera to set the white balance while looking at something (in the middle of the screen) that is white, would at least let the color be consistent, allowing one adjustment (if necessary) to be used for all video clips.
- Mobile app uses the same button to start/stop video. There is a delay, which seems to vary, so if you press the button, see that video hasn't started recording, then press it again, you are likely to have just stopped the video after it recorded only a few frames.
- Doesn’t display correct field of view (FOV) on screen until the recording starts. The first time I tried this setting, I thought it didn't do anything. So I set my camera up to take in the whole volleyball court (using either the camera screen or the mobile app, it doesn't matter). But when I started the recording, suddenly the FOV changed! The lens distortion adjustment shows immediately, even if the video isn't being recorded, but not the FOV (Wide, Narrow, etc.).
- The list of supported SD cards are too small and limiting. Not only does the list only contain the most expensive cards going, but the biggest cards on the list are 64 GB. I'm afraid to buy a 128 GB (expensive tier) card to see if it works. What about 256 GB? Yi could definitely help us out here by updating the list.
- Connecting the Mobile app to the Yi 4K via WiFi disconnects you from any other data network. This means I don't get any app notifications, and can't access the internet, if I use this feature. (I realize this may be an Android limit with WiFi, but then I'd ask whether we can't use Bluetooth instead.)
- No control over shutter speed in video mode. Again, with sports, I'd really like a faster shutter (I realize this will require increasing ISO) to freeze the ball better. The faster frame rate helps, but direct control would be preferable.
- Does not take a fall unscathed. OK, well, this isn't fair. I video my daughter's volleyball games, and a ball ricocheted and hit the camera on the tripod, knocking it to the concrete floor. It was less than 48 hours old! (The sample videos were taken before this injury.) The corner of the front cover broke (plastic vs concrete). Otherwise, the camera works fine. I've now ordered and received an aluminum case (Amazon ID: B01LPWTX0E) to avoid further injury. (I looked for a replacement case or front cover, but so far, the only one I've been able to find has me concerned about whether giving my credit card information might be dangerous. Yi, if you're reading this, and you have an empty case, broken camera, or front cover lying around, I'd love to get one!)

Maybe some of these Dislikes can be corrected with a firmware update. However, the Yi 4K is a 2017 model, and the newer (and double the price) Yi 4K+ is the top of the Yi line of action cameras, so I'm not sure how much work is still being done on this one.

I still haven't tested other features of this camera, like EIS, YouTube streaming, time lapse, (don't care too much about voice control), etc. And I haven't really checked the battery life. I didn't buy an extra battery and charger, because I doubt even 2 would make it through one day of the volleyball tournaments (the longer they play, the better they are doing, so running out of power late might mean missing the championship game!). Instead, I've been using an external battery, connected via microUSB, to be sure the camera lasts all day.

While not perfect, overall, the Yi 4K is very good. This one (unlike the last one) is definitely a keeper.

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Buckeye Bob

Happy the with Yi 4K bundle

Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2017

Style: Camera + Gimbal + Selfie SetColor: Night BlackVerified Purchase

So far I love these items. I had a Yi 4k camera that was stolen about a month ago and I wanted to replace it. The deal I got on this bundled set was too good to pass up and I had wanted the gimbal and the selfie stick so this worked out perfectly. This camera actually performs better than the first one for some reason though it is the same model I had before. The resolution is just amazing in the 1080 60fps mode and the 4k mode also though there is a bit of a fisheye effect in the 4k mode. One thing to know is that the quality of video is only as good as what you're playing it on. For example, the 4k video looks amazing on my 4k TV, but when I view it on my laptop it stutters due to lack of processing power and a video card that can't handle the speed. The same is true of my phone. 1080 looks great on my laptop and fairly good on my phone but nothing close to the quality I get when connected to a 4k viewing source.
The gimbal works well and nicely smooths out the videos I take on my hikes. I did have one hike where the gimbal made a "grinding" sound and didn't move smoothly but I took out the batteries and it reset itself and has worked perfectly since. So far I'm really happy with this gimbal and would recommend it.
I like the selfie stick. The build seems good and the Bluetooth, though limited in what it controls, works well and has made making videos much easier and more seamless. I haven't had any issues with the connectivity and again, so far, so good.
Overall, this had been a great purchase. The quality and design of the camera is amazing for the price. The color is a bit warmer than the gopros but the difference isn't really that great (Hero4 and Hero5). Using the camera is pretty intuitive and the touch screen is responsive and easy to get used to. I've had a Yi 4k camera now for 4 months (counting the one that was stolen) and I'm still experimenting with all the settings. It's been a ton of fun.

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Compass

Updated review with more cards & accessories tested!

Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2016

Style: Camera OnlyColor: White PearlVerified Purchase

First impressions:

The box is minimalist in design, with a small logo and title on the front and a large picture of the camera, and makes me think of a certain fruit oriented manufacturer. The box is 4" x 4" x 2 1/8" and the cover lifts off to reveal a tiny pearl white (in my case) nugget nestled within. It has a gorgeous, slightly satin finish and feels of much higher quality than most other action cams. Labeling and graphics are minimalist and add to the feeling of quality and sophistication (yes, I'm waxing slightly lyrical, but this camera has exceeded my expectations by a significant margin). It has a good heft and feel in the hand, weighing in at 3 1/4oz or 89g on my basic Ikea kitchen scales.

Unlike many other GoPro wannabes, this camera comes with nothing in the way of frills or accessories. Clearly Yi believe that the inherent quality of the product means that they don't need to bundle a mounting harness for your pet dolphin or raccoon, or anything else for that matter - no waterproof casing, no handlebar mount, no selfie stick adapter. NOTHING, other than a six inch microUSB cable. Part of me wants to dock one star for that as even the GoPro units come with a housing and basic mounts, but you are saving a Benjamin and half over the black version, for similar or slightly better video quality (more on that later), so I'm going to let it ride for now.

If you've never held an action cam before, the small size of such a unit will probably surprise you. These are unto Micro 4/3 cameras as those are to DSLRs, or possibly even more than that. This Yi 4K unit is a mere 2 1/2" x 1 5/8" x 1 1/8" including the lens bulge on the front. It features a standard 1/4" tripod mount socket on the bottom, a small speaker grille and dual microphone pin sized pickups either side of the power/shutter button. The battery and microSDXC ports are behind a well damped and well sealed door on the bottom, and the only other salient points are the 2 1/4" (diagonal) touchscreen on the rear, and the microUSB port on one side.

To get started, you will need to peel the lens protection film off, insert the battery (do NOT try and peel the little plastic tab off the bottom of the battery, that is designed to make it easier to remove the battery at charging time - it is a REALLY snug fit), and press the power button on top. A short musical chime and a single LED flash on top confirms that the unit is powering up, and within two seconds you are greeted with the welcome screen. A moment of turning the camera this way and that will lead you to realize there are no control buttons - this unit has a touch screen for control of all settings and functions. A few taps on the screen will whisk you through the very brief "how to" and you will be left with the default "ready" screen.

Insert a card, as I did, and you may get an error message telling you that there is a card error. You should probably power the camera off, BEFORE inserting a card, as I'm sure they probably tell you in the manual, but then who does that?

By default, the unit is set to record 4K@30fps, with stabilization disabled (stabilization only available at 1080p and below). Unstabilized video looks pretty good, mainly because the camera is light and it isn't difficult to hold your hand fairly steady. Stabilization does make a noticeable difference, especially at higher resolutions, but you will probably be using more juice to do so (tests to follow). My blank 4GB card told me it could record a little over 7.5mins of 4k@30 video, so the likely 64GB card ceiling will offer around 2 hours recording time, which is probably more than the battery can handle.

All in all, first impressions are extremely favorable, and should make this the best value 4K choice for most action cam aficionados.

(Update 1)
My camera came with v1.07 firmware. By going to the yitechnology dot com site, and heading to support I was able to find the firmware file to update it to v1.09. Firstly, check on the battery cover whether the tiny serial number starts z16v13L or z16v12L to select the right version. Then, simply connect the camera to your computer with the included cable, save the file as firmware.bin, directly to the root directory of the camera's card, disconnect the camera, and power camera on. You will be asked if you want to update firmware, and after confirming, the unit will take about thirty second to apply the update and then reboot.

(Update 2 - 7.14.16)
Puchased two 128GB cards from a certain local well known photographic store, but had very different results with each of them:
PNY Elite 128GB MicroSDXC Card with Adapter -UHS-I, U1, up to 85MB/Sec (P-SDU128U185EL-GE)
Inserted this card and powered up with camera set to 1080p@30fps. After a very brief SD card error message, was able to check settings and see it show up as 119.2GB of formatted space. This equates to 9hrs 8mins and 54secs of recording time of 1080p@30fps, or 4hrs 38mins and 57secs of 4K@30fps.

HOWEVER - if powering on the camera in 4K@30fps, the camera will come up with an SD card error, and take 20 seconds to sort itself out. I did a brief test recording and there does not appear to be any frame dropout, so this card may cope with that frame rate (See below for more info).

SanDisk Ultra 128GB microSDXC UHS-I Card with Adapter, Black, Standard Packaging (SDSQUNC-128G-GN6MA)
Prior to testing, I would have put my money on the Sandisk card working right out of the box, and it being the PNY which needed fiddling with, but, surprisingly, the opposite was almost true. I have yet to be able to get the camera to recognize the above Sandisk at all. The PNY is recognized after a brief wait, but whilst it might be possibly to custom format the Sandisk in order for it to be recognized, out of the box the Yi 4K will not play nice with this card. (More info below).

A note on 4K recording.
One of the things I had looked for when picking an action cam was one which lived up to the specs it advertised. There are a lot of sub $100 4K cams around which purport to record 4k@30fps (well 29.97fps actually, but let's not get too geeky), but many of them will do that frame rate at 1080p and not at 4K. This one does appear to do so, possibly.... VLC (my media player of choice) shows the file properties as being the full resolution of 3840x2160 at 29.97fps, but that could just be what the camera has stamped on the title of the file. I will need to look a little closer at this as when I ask VLC to play the Yi's 4K video at full screen on my BenQ 4K display, it has black bars down the sides, and does not fill the screen. This bears further investigation over the coming week.

>>> Further 128Gb card testing:
Having sorted out a minor technical gremlin with my USB3 Card reader (it does help if, *ahem*, you plug it into a USB3 port), I was able to benchmark all three 128Gb cards I now have available. In addition to the two cards listed above, I now have the following:
SanDisk Extreme PLUS Micro SDXC UHS-1 Card with Adapter (SDSQXWG-128G-GN6MA)
This card was recognized immediately, and without an SD card error, the first time I inserted it in the Yi 4K. It is one of the approved cards recommended by Yi on their website, so it would appear that their testing has some substance, and if you want hassle free results, you should go with their list of tested and approved hardware. I have the Elite-X version of the PNY card on order (not on the approved list of cards, but more in line with the Sandisk Extreme Plus for speed), which should be here in a couple of weeks, and will update this review once I have it on hand.

Benchmarks of the three cards are shown in the accompanying images, below, and whilst all three of them have sequential write speeds that are close to or above the 30MBytes per second necessary for high quality 4K recording, the Extreme Plus justifies its price by being almost three times that fast for twice the price of the other two cards.

FOR THE MOMENT - If you want to avoid issues, refer to the list of approved cards at Yi's site.

Update 3
Have just received a Samsung 64GB PRO Class 10 Micro SDXC Card (MB-MG64EA/AM) (the previous generation to what is sold currently). This is a U3 speed card, and works in the camera without error. I also updated the camera to 1.0.12 firmware and have found that the PNY Elite card which was previously 'quirky' is now recognized without an error message when powering up! I have recorded 20 mins of 4K30 and 4K30 Ultra footage, without issue. The Sandisk Ultra card, however, is still not recognized and must now be assumed to be incompatible. Kudos to Yi Technology for their diligence in continued testing and development.

<<<

>>> Accessories:
I have just finished reviewing a third party dual battery plus charger bundle:
EforTek AZ16-1 Replacement Battery(2 Packs) and Dual USB Charger for AZ16-1 and Xiaomi YI New 4K Action Camera (YI-90003) from YI Technology
Overall impressions are highly favorable after just a few days of usage. The price of the bundle is made worth it by the pair of batteries alone, if you can put up with the minor quirks of the charger.

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Tim Byers

My first action camera is, to be honest, unbelievable.

Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2016

Style: Camera OnlyColor: Night BlackVerified Purchase

The media could not be loaded.

After many hours of youtube reviews my choices were down to the SJCAM SJ5000X, it's newer sibling the SJ6 Legend, and this guy. The main reasons these were my finalists were a) they all had image stabilization, and b) they all had good picture quality. I was particularly interested in how they would do underwater since I'm planning a snorkeling trip in the spring. 4k resolution and the high end specs were not as important to me since I'd mainly be watching the results on my 1080p TV. All of these cameras seemed to have great pictures for the price.
What ultimately tipped the balance in favor of the YI 4k II was a number of factors:
- Touchscreen: I'm sure I could have gotten used to the menu buttons on the SJ5000X but the YI's interface looked great. Yes, there's even a waterproof case that supports the touchscreen. I'm anxious to try it but even if it's not great the main button will work for record/pause and power.
- External microphone support. I can't say that I'm for sure going to use this feature but it's nice to know it's there if I need it.
- Battery life. The YI 4k II sports a 1400maH battery, to which I added two more and a multi-port charger. This should give me plenty of recording time.

Out of the box this thing is fantastic. I couldn't be more pleased. The camera comes on almost instantaneously. The touch menu is laid out well and the screen is responsive. There are tons of options for different recording modes and camera settings, many of which, as an amateur, I will probably not access. Still, it's good to have them. The picture quality is tremendous in the mixed light of my kitchen with the low sun shooting through the windows. The sound from the internal mic is better than I expected. A quick trip in the car showed that most of the road noise and my noisy van was filtered out. I paired it with a 64gb sd card and will probably pick up a spare before my trip. 128gb is supported but I wasn't willing to spend the money. The smart phone app seems pretty good although I had a touch of trouble getting the wifi to connect some of the time. Once it's up though you can watch the live video or review the saved clips.

All in all I would heartily recommend this to anyone wanting an action camera. I'm so glad I spent a little more than the others for this one.

3 people found this helpful

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Ricky

Good action cam but community is limited

Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2016

Style: Camera OnlyColor: White PearlVerified Purchase

The Yi 4k cam has the potential to be GoPros competition. It has all the specs of the GoPro Hero5 but at half the price. Does 4k30fps, 2.7K60fps and so on. It's very similar to the GoPro Hero 5 and has a better sensor then the GoPro Hero 4 black. You will need a fast memory card for 4k video recording. I used 1440 to record to keep file size down and I'm still about to convert it to 1080 so low light videos looks really good.

Quality was really good and low light quality was really good especially with manual EV adustment and ISO adjustment. It allowed me to get photos from near low light conditions. Dark room with just the TV in and I was able to pick up details in the camera. It is a little bit noises but if you wanted some footage of low light then this camera is good for that. But the ability to shoot in higher resolution then to shrink it down from 4k or 2.7k to a 1080 resolution, video quality looks really nice.

So all this good talk about the Camera so why the 3 stars.
-when recording in 1440 resolution, video would last a minute or two then cut out and the camera was very warm. Too warm for me and I know recording in high resolution will produce heat but this seems very high. I have use my iPhone to record a 40 mins 4k video and that got warm but the camera was way warmer then that which isn't normal.
-even with a fast the SanDisk Extreme, 4k video cut out every minute so I have no idea what it did that. Completely reset device and still did it.
-community of users seems small so I have a feeling Yi isn't working too hard on their app. Right now there's only Facebook sharing or Facebook live for iOS app. No way to even save the videos onto my device to share with other social media platform in HD. You need to use the app to pull the video and then you need to hit share it but not completely go through with sharing it and it will save a low resolution video onto your device.
-would love to see more social media sharing options for HD or even 1440 resolution besides Facebook.

I do hope to see improvements but as of right now, the app is what I think is draining the ratings for me.

I will return this device and pick up another one and see how it is and report back.

5 people found this helpful

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Sean

Still One of the Best Action Cams You Can Buy

Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2018

Verified Purchase

This camera has been out for a couple of years but now it comes in at a better price point. Had to get it and for the price I got a selfie stick with remote. Turned mine into a little monopod with some tripod legs. The image quality is excellent. It's just as good if not better than a GoPro or Sony. Really good options like distortion correction image stabilization etc. The video on this looks great. The audio is good but could have been louder. There is no stabilization in 4k you have to drop to 2.5k but it still looks great. Many reviewers stated in the past that you had to drop to 1080p for IS. They were wrong. Build quality is not as plasticky as some people eluded to. Maybe the white feels better. The selfie stick is nice. Made well it's not cheapo. The LCD screen is nice as well. Touchscreen works smoothly and is responsive. The overall image quality of this camera is up there. I can't say enough how good the image quality is. And this camera has been out for several years and no other camera at this price comes close. This is one of the good ones and it has real 4k with IS. The battery lasts longer than most action cams. Really good camera that records footage you can actually use. 1080p 60fps looks great too.

There are a lot of " budget " action cams that claim to do 4k but its interpolated and looks like 1080p and their 1080p 60fps looks like 720p or less. Really pleased that 1080p 60fps looks the way its suppose to on this camera. Clear sharp and in 1080p you can use distortion correction and image stabilization and low light. Picked up a metal protective case. Great camera.

And you dropped the price to $136 shortly after I bought it for $149 ... You play that game now instead of pulling the trigger on another one I'm going to wait to see if it drops more. If it doesn't oh well I'm in no rush and if it goes up I'm not buying it. Next time if you're going to do a sale stick to a low price and don't play used car salesman. 🙄

And sure enough I waited and it's only been a couple of weeks you drop the price to $116 w a waterproof case? 🙄 Just make it $99 w a case and call it a day and watch them fly off shelves.

60 people found this helpful

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Gary M.

Nice camera but no loop recording as stated....

Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2019

Style: Camera OnlyColor: Night BlackVerified Purchase

The YI 4K is a very nice action camera. Video is excellent in night and day and the battery lasts a reasonably long time. The only problem I have is that even though it says it has video loop, it DOES NOT. When in loop mode the camera will stop recording with the message "not enough space on SD card". I have contacted YI tech support several times and all I get back is a run around about the recommended memory cards and make sure they are formatted. I even sent the the picture shown with the message. If your looking for a regular action camera this would be good. However, if you looking for looping DO NOT but this camera.... I would have given 4 stars but since tech support wont fix this issue I have to go with three.

I also noticed that while loop recording a folder is created for each day the camera is recording. When a new folder is created a new recording session and folder is started eventually filling the memory card unit full prompting you to free up memory space or simply format the card. Loop recording is continuous recording overwriting the oldest file. If a new folder is created then the oldest file cannot be over written. So with the camera operating this way is basically working in video mode. On the YI site it states "The YI Action Camera has a 1/4 screw and can be used as a dash camera using the loop video mode. Turn on loop video mode to cyclically record video. Press pause to record the segment of video." If I have to keep erasing my video card to continue loop recording, then it is NOT loop or cyclically recording video but simply working in standard video mode. YI says the card has to be formatted FAT 32 but when formatted FAT32 the camera prompts you that the card needs to be formatted before using.

One person found this helpful

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MadPainter

awesome, affordable option to other action cameras

Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2016

Style: Camera OnlyColor: Night BlackVerified Purchase

I've had my Yi 4k Action Camera for about a week and have had a chance to use it on a recent backpacking trip in the Colorado Rockies. Although it's lacking a couple of features that I wish it had, overall I think it's a very capable action camera. Rather than going into all the specs, which are available elsewhere on the internet and on the Yi website, I'll share my impressions after using it to record video in the back country. So far I have used the camera only for video recording and have not yet used it for photography, other than time lapse sequences, which turned out great.

Pros
- Great form factor with one button on top that operates on/off and stop/start recording. The touch screen on the back is responsive and the menu is simple, intuitive and complete.
- Very intuitive touch screen menu. I had the camera up and running in just a few minutes.
- Remote control app - very little lag time between video and phone, able to control all important camera functions.
- Image stabilization does a pretty good job and certainly looks better than not using it. Makes hand holding the camera without a gimbal possible. This reduces the amount of gear I have to take with me into the back country and helps keep my backpack weight low.
- Battery life is good. I was able to record off and on for most of the day, shutting the camera off when not in use. This gave me about 2 hours of footage before having to replace the battery.
- Includes a 1/4-20 (tripod screw size) mount on the bottom of the camera. This makes it possible to mount the camera to a tripod without a case.
- Price. The Yi 4k Action Camera offers most of the features and great user interface as its closest competitor, GoPro Hero 5, but at 40% lower cost.
- Yi is regularly updating its features and offering improvements to the functionality of the camera via firmware updates. I feel like they are constantly trying to make this the best action camera in the market.
- Recharging the battery is possible through the phone's usb port using a portable battery. Operation of the camera is also possible using the external battery. This is a great feature for using the camera while on the trail and away from AC power sources. I can use one external battery to charge my cell phone and the Yi camera.
- The case (purchased separately) is compatible with the GoPro suite of accessories.

Cons
- No audio input. This is unfortunate. To be fair, most of the time I will be recording audio using a microphone plugged into a separate audio recorder. And this is truly the only way to record excellent audio with action and other consumer and prosumer cameras. However, juggling camera, audio recorder, sometimes cell phone app, and other hiking gear can be difficult while on the trail. I sometimes found myself wishing that I could bypass the separate audio recorder and simply plug my lav mic directly into the Yi camera. Perhaps Yi will fix this with a firmware update, but so far you cannot plug a mic into the camera.
- Remote Control App - (1) Comes bundled with the Yi Social Sharing app. This should be a separate app. (2) Should provide ability to record separate audio from inside the app. If you want better quality audio, you have to record it separately. Usually I record audio through a field recorder. While hiking, however, I want to minimize weight so I use the Rec Forge II app on my phone. This means that I have to jump back and forth between the Yi camera app and the RecForge app to record both video and audio. Having both video and audio recording inside the Yi app would be ideal.
- No RAW photos. As of the date of this review, it is not available. I have heard that RAW photo capability will be added in the future with a firmware update.
- Image stabilization algorithm can make edges of frame jump and distort when moving the camera too quickly.
- Dynamic range is limited. Can't handle bright sky and partial shade in the same frame. This is perhaps not really a fault of the Yi camera since many small action cameras have this problem...especially when compared to my full frame dslr.
- No custom white balance.
- Does not come with any extra accessories that are necessary to use it safely in the outdoors. For example, the waterproof case, various mounts, extra batteries, separate charger, and so on must be purchased separately. These accessories are not that expensive, but including a waterproof case and a few mounting options would be a nice gesture.
- There is no in-depth camera manual. There is a cursory quick start guide built into the camera, but no written manual arrived with the camera. I still have not been able to find anything other than the quick start guide and a series of FAQs online. Fortunately, the controls and menu are very intuitive so I could figure out most things. But it would be helpful to have info on certain settings such as "Yi Color," "Native White Balance," and others.

10 people found this helpful

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T. Tozawa

Excellent 4K quality (Sony sensor) at an affordable price

Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2016

Style: Camera OnlyColor: Night BlackVerified Purchase

I came up on the original Yi after playing around with my brother's GoPro and started looking at action cams. Since the original Yi was a lot cheaper and had rave reviews I gave it a try. I was definitely not disappointed with the performance of the original Yi, so when I was looking into cheap 4K options, I came up on the newer Yi 4K and knew I had to give it a try. There are already a bunch of reviews on here and on YouTube so I'll keep it as short and simple with my opinions.

4K quality is awesome, and if you're able to take advantage of it by having a 4K monitor and having a PC capable of editing 4K video, it'll leave a smile on your face. Even if you only shoot at 1080p, the Yi 4K has image stabilization which works extremely well (please be aware that this is not available in 4K mode) and it's up to you if it's worth the extra price over the original Yi. Personally, I use a gyro stabilizer and use it in 4K mode and the overall quality always impresses.

The added screen is a godsend in framing up shots without the use of a smartphone app (which you can still do if you'd like) and having it be touch screen makes adjusting settings and viewing quick and easy. I was a bit wary on the user interface of the touch screen since a lot of cheaper offerings are not intuitive. However, touch controls are extremely responsive with easy swiping to scroll just like on smartphones.

One feature I particularly liked was in the time-lapse mode where you can set a timer and choose how long you want your finished time-lapse video to be (you can manually do it as well). It was a nice touch to set it up in this way where you didn't need to calculate the actual time you needed to capture.

Battery life is extremely good and I have averaged about 1h and 45m on a single charge which is impressive. You can capture plenty of footage without worrying too much about battery life.

If you intend to use 4K, microSD cards rated at U3 are highly recommended due to the large amount of data. However, I did try my PNY 128GB U1 microSD cards and they've worked well. Mind you, I haven't really tested high detail, fast moving shots so I can't comment on how well it'll hold up to that kind of large amount of data yet. If you want peace of mind, definitely get U3 rated cards. The 128GB showed that I was able to capture just over 4 hours of 4K video so a cheaper 64GB should offer up to 2 hours and be plenty for a day's worth.

All in all, Yi has definitely pushed the bar in providing awesome products that compete with the GoPro monopoly of action cams. It features solid hardware in the Sony sensor and Ambarella processor and the quality at this price point is impressive. if you're looking for an alternative to the GoPro, this is definitely an action cam you'll want to check out.

2 people found this helpful

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