Yi 4K Action Cam
If you are after an action camera but don’t want a GoPro, then the Yi 4K Action Camera is a good alternative with a nice design, touchscreen and plenty of features.
Design
The Yi 4K is a small action cam that certainly doesn’t look or feel cheap. Our review model came in ‘Night Black’, but it’s also available in Pearl White and Rose Gold.
We’ve seen numerous Chinese products over the years that have been baffling to use. That’s not the case here though, as the instruction manual is helpful and intuitive to use with the software menus. We found these easy to navigate thanks to the 2.19in (640x360) touchscreen, which is covered by Gorilla Glass for extra protection.
There’s just one button on the top of the camera, which you’ll use to take photos or start/stop video recording. On the bottom is a standard tripod mount and is where you’ll access the battery. It’s slightly annoying that the battery must be removed to access the microSD card slot, but this is a minor quibble.
It’s worth noting that you don’t get any accessories in the box, just the camera, which is a shame. It’s also not waterproof, so you’ll need to purchase a case.
Performance
As we mentioned earlier, the touchscreen means it’s quick and easy to switch between the different shooting modes and adjust settings such as the resolution – this uses a 12Mp Sony IMX377 Image Sensor.
Although the Yi camera is easy to operate, it’s not completely user-friendly. It has Bluetooth and dual-band Wi-Fi, but when it comes to the accompanying app things fall down a bit. For example, we had issues simply setting it up with a smartphone, and the app is unnecessarily complicated to use.
One of the reasons you may want an action camera is so that you can get a fisheye view and the Yi 4K provides exactly this. If, however, you don’t want any distortion, you can straighten your image digitally. The wide-angle lens has a 155-degree view and the camera offers a fixed aperture of f/2.8.
The headline shooting mode is 4K (3840x2160), which is limited to 30fps but can record continuously for longer than any other at a whopping 120 minutes – you’ll need a reasonably large memory card to facilitate this and a fully charged battery (1400mAh). Of course, you don’t have to shoot in 4K and there are good reasons not to, including the amount of storage space it takes up. The Yi 4K can also shoot in 2.5K, 1440p, 1080p, all the way down to 480p at 240fps. The highest resolution that supports 60fps is 1920x1440.
Aside from all the different resolutions and framerates, you can choose shooting modes including timer, burst, time lapse and slow motion. You can also take still images as low as 5Mp, although most will use 12Mp (4000x3000).
We’re pleased with the test footage from the camera which exhibits excellent levels of detail, even without using the higher resolutions on offer and still images are nice and sharp. However, there are few things missing that may be a deal-breaker for some. It can’t, for example, shoot in 24fps, which provides a cinematic feel and the field of view is fixed, so you can’t swap between wide, medium and narrow as you can with a GoPro.
Verdict
The Yi 4K Action Camera is an accomplished device with a good design, handy touchscreen and provides excellent quality photos and video. However, it doesn’t come with any accessories in the box and is missing features such as 24fps and different field of view modes.