YI Action Camera (US Edition) White

This review is from the perspective of a professional photographer, looking for a personal use camera. I already own a Canon S100 pocket camera which shoots RAW. I purchased to Yi for use as a wide angle camera and for rugged use on vacations (beach, sports, etc) where i didn't want to risk the much more expensive S100. I won’t repeat the already detailed and well written reviews available, I just want to add a few personal notes from my perspective using this camera.The inexpensive action camera market is getting crowded these days, but it turns out that if you’re looking for one that can take good PHOTOS, the market still has relatively few good choices. Most inexpensive action cameras offer “12mp still photos”, however when you dig deeper, they are using a 4mp sensor and up-scaling the image. Not the end of the world if you just want the occasional beach selfie, but a deal breaker if you’re like me and planning on using the camera for photos just as much as videos.So after taking approx. 5,000 photos in a single month over a series of vacations and events, here’s my take on the Yi Action Camera, when used as a CAMERA:===== THE GOOD =====For the price, I’m very happy with it. It takes true 16mp images with a decent Sony sensor. As expected, the camera can be very heavy handed with the in camera sharpening and noise reduction, but overall the image quality is quite good for a cheap point-n-shoot. The lack of back LCD is not a problem for me, I can either pair it with my smartphone, OR in most cases just “guess” the shot and shoot by instinct. After a few thousands photos, this becomes very easy and reliable.I’m very impressed with the camera’s exposure metering. Very rarely does the sun cause significant problems with the exposure metering (and given the 155 degree wide angle lens, the sun is usually in the shot). In the cases where the camera does choose to underexpose more for the sun and sky, it only does so at the minimum, leaving plenty of shadow detail present to be brought out in post processing later. I have found that in my experience, cases of overexposure almost never happen, it’s either spot on or under.One the camera is finally booted up (see the bad below), the remote is very simple to operate, and works well. Just be careful you don’t accidently switch the camera to video mode. Make it part of your routine to check this OFTEN, because it happens quite easily if you leave the camera on. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you purchase the remote for the camera. I purchased it separately from a different site, but you can get it here on Amazon bundled with the selfie stick for a good value (works out to be about $5 extra from the selfie stick if you were to buy the remote like I did separately). It would have been easier to just get the bundle.===== THE BAD =====Startup time on the camera is VERY VERY SLOW. It takes a full 14-18 seconds to turn on and be ready for photos. Plenty of missed photo opportunities here. My solution has been to buy a couple extra batteries and just leave the camera on.Actual shooting speed is “approx.” one image every 2 seconds. (Sometimes as low as 1.4 seconds, but 2 seconds is a good rule of thumb). You need to listen carefully to the camera beeps. It beeps once EVERY time you press the remote shutter button, but that doesn’t mean it’s actually taking an image. It beeps again when it’s taken the image and is READY for the next. “BEEP…. BEEP”. Mashing the shutter button in between will produce lots of beeps, but only one image.I would have preferred to have a few more burst or time-lapse image options available for use. There’s only a single massive burst mode option that takes time to write and recharge. I’d like a 3-shot or 5-shot burst that could be used to “capture the moment” but would also be ready to use again in less than 30 seconds.Color on the camera is good IF the exposure is spot on, however underexposed images which need to be increased +2 stops in post processing tend to be heavy on the red and magenta channels, at great expense to the other colors. It takes a little bit of fiddling to get the color half-ways balanced in these cases, since you’re obviously working with a heavily compressed JPG file, not RAW.Dusk and Low-Light performance is very poor. EXIF data reveals that even in pre-dusk middling light, the camera quickly drops down to 1/60, 1/40 or even 1/15 of a second BEFORE choosing to max out the ISO. If shooting in dusky conditions, hold VERY still, take at least 3-5 images, and hope for the best. PERSONALLY I would have preferred a sharp, noisy image over a smooth blurry one, but that’s not the case with this camera. It simply doesn’t do dusk light well, or darkness at all.Shutter speed doesn’t go below 1/15, so if you were thinking about mounting the camera on a tripod and taking a cool wide angle night panoramic, that will only work if there are a decent amount of ambient light sources (like a well lit city street). Full moon nature shots will just come out black.===== THE BOTTOM LINE =====I’m happy with the camera, I’d buy one again. For the price point, nothing can beat it on PHOTO quality. Really, you have to more than double the price to even get into the same league. With that said, the camera does have its drawbacks which I outlined above, but nothing that is a deal breaker for me. For the price point its in, gets an easy 5 stars from me.

I was really excited for this camera. The professional reviews are good. However, you must connect the camera to your phone through the "Yi Action" app to adjust ALL settings and to use ANY of the features, and the app won't connect AT ALL, so you can't do anything.Go to the app store and read the reviews. They're all the same. "Won't connect to camera." It does say "this app was designed for an older version of Android" and the latest version was released 9 months ago, so that's probably why the initial reviews were good.Also, what's up with these invasive app permissions? It needs to know my identity, device ID and call information, access my phone's storage and camera (hello, it's a separate camera with it's own SD card)? Seriously?!Just got it today and will be sending it back tomorrow. GARBAGE.Think twice about buying a product that REQUIRES a separate app just to work at all.

Great fully featured camera. Camera sensor is great as far as action cameras go, I read somewhere that it's comparable to a GoPro Hero 4 Black. Better features than the GoPro Hero (Both of them). I have used this with the waterproof housing and bluetooth selfie stick.My major complaint is that it's very very difficult to see the lights on the camera when you're outdoors. This caused several problems where I wasn't sure if it was actually on picture mode or video mode, or whether it was actually taking a video or not. This leads to lots of downtime where you're fiddling with the device. I haven't owned a gopro, so I can't tell you if buying a GoPro would solve this issue, although I'm willing to bet the little display on a gopro is much easier to see outside in the sun. That being said, if you have a bit of patience, you're getting much more out of the cost of this device. It frequently goes on sale and there are coupon codes on Amazon sometimes!

Overall very pleased with the camera. Pretty robust and works well with GoPro accessories and mounts.Good:PricePretty good picture. Don't expect any ultra high definition or 4K quality video, but I was actually pretty impressed with the quality. For $80, it definitely fulfills what I was looking for.Surprisingly sound. I had the waterproof case on it for all of the times I was shooting and you can clearly hear conversations, birds, waterfalls and what not. Very impressed.App: very intuitive, useful and simple to use. You can change the settings and get the camera setup for whatever you need it for. For example if you know you will be wanting to shoot lots of video or a time lapse and won't have your phone around, you can save the startup settings.Memory: I bought a 60GB microSD for this and it worked out great. I shot close to 8 hours of 1080/60fps and still had plenty of room on the card. You can see the video you've shot on the app, but if you can get it onto a computer it's really simple to play the videos and what not.Bad:Wish the batter was a tad better. I could get about an hour of 1080/60fps before the battery would give out. Would have loved a bit longer, but it was ok. I did buy the extra battery pack for like $15 which worked out great.Overall I would definitely recommend this camera. It comes up a little short in a few areas, but for anyone looking for a good camera for under $100 and one with all the accessories you could want under $175, this is your answer.

YI is a powersouse camera,best cam available in this price range,period. I had ordered cheap cameras which promise 4k, they were all horrible. This YI was money well spent.i recieved a proper packed piece, the seller is good. Although this camera does not have a screen,it isn't required,the app is phenomenal. If you want a cheap action cam and you care more about picture quality rather than accessories,buy the YI,you won't regret it. It even beats gopro. All other cheap cameras on amazon are fakes,even sj4000,they have a cheap sensor,bad chipset,bad rom,and a bad app. Don't spend money on those cameras,they promise 4k,but the actual resolution is like a webcam. YI is true High definition. Although the only drawback is,it gets a littile hot,but its not a big issue. Although,YI doesn't come with accessories, i use the accessories that came with my cheap 4k camera. You can do the same,since accessories for YI are a little expensive,buy another cheap camera which comes with a waterproof case and other mounts,you will be able to use most of them with YI.By the way dont worry if it says xiaoyi not xiaomi,it is not duplicate. Yi technology or xiaoyi which makes the yi camera was a part of xiaomi then split up.Im writing this because even i thought it was duplicate when the box said xiaoyi not xiaomi.Read this

I purchased this item with high hopes and a was dissapointed from the off the battery life was poor for time laps and in general I paurchased a screen for the back and that made the issue worse after a trip abroad and the item was kept protected at all times I could not connect to the wifi at all the machine would not turn on so in the bin it went - I could have had a faulted device so Im not knocking the camera for what I payed for I will however upgrade my choice in future purchases

I already have Same camera with black color. Its model no is lower than black model. But its features are same. As with these cameras the camera heating problem is persistent and standard operating per charge is 90 min. But with this price i think its best value for money one can get.

Good camera overall, good sensor, good natural colours. However, there are still problems with focus (set very close at factory), even after years of knowing this issue. You will need to adjust it manually.

GREAT TRANSACION. THANK YOU.