Review: XBase SJ4000 sports camera is great value for money
The XBase SJ4000 Full Sports Camera is a lovely bit of kit. For just over $100 you get a high resolution, full video sports camera with a waterproof case and a variety of mounts – that’s just excellent value for money.
I loved the fact this camera seemed to come out of the box with everything I wanted to get using a sports camera – in contrast with some of its competitors which require a series of additional purchases to get to the same point. The unit itself and the various mounts will be very familiar to anyone who has used a GoPro camera – in fact the mounts appear to be interchangeable. Set up was a doddle, as was attaching the camera to bike or helmet. The review camera we received even came with cable ties although these weren’t listed on the retailer website so I can’t be certain they are standard inclusions.
The camera has a nice clear screen on the rear and records in 12-megapixel HD through a 170 degree wide-angle lens. Picture quality was good; albeit with the caveat that this is sports camera not a studio camera, but in that context there’s little to complain about. The SJ4000 camera doesn’t, perhaps, have quite the same selection of resolutions or frame rates as some of the higher-end cameras, the GoPro for example, but it comes with features that GoPro doesn’t have: stabilization, smile and face recognition, car mode, and a motion detection trigger.
The only real issue we had with the SJ4000 was that it would be nice to have seen a bit more battery life. About 3 hours seemed to be where we landed and I’d have liked more than that – although I recognise that would have been asking a lot because we get no more out of our GoPro.
At the end of the day this camera is small, light, effective and, above all, inexpensive. $103.99 is really is absolutely excellent value for money if you’re in the market for a sports camera, especially as this comes packaged with everything you’re likely to need.
We were lent a review copy of the camera by the lovely people at Expansys.
I understand there’s a new model now, the SJ5000 with 14MP and WiFi for much the same price as the SJ4000. Expansys aren’t showing it on their site but I’ve found a couple of other sites that do…DX.com, eBay…Trouble is, the cameras have different labels and I’m thinking they could be fakes. Hard to know what the brand is too…xBase, Amkov, or SJ Cam…are these all one and the same? I can’t find the manufacturer’s website.
Any suggestions on how to be certain I’m buying the real deal?
What I do is buy from someone with a history – either a general dealer with reviews (from people on Whirlpool for example) or an Ebay trader with a lot of positive feedback. It’s too easy to set yourself up as an apparently legitimate trader these days. It’s all risk assessment – how much money are you willing to pay for the safety of a reputable shop?