Customer Ratings & Reviews

The video is good but I do not understand how to take photos . I cannot tell when the camera is fully charged . Sometimes it records and sometimes it doesn't . The instructions are hard to follow.

Bought the camera and I am happy with it except the battery has NO LIFE. Battery is dated 09-2017 so it's OLD and probably no good. I bought the camera two months ago. I would have just bought a new battery for it but can't find one that matches it anywhere on the web. VIVITAR if you are reading this and want a better rating and keep a customer you need to make this right. Two new replacement batteries that are not out of date would be nice.

Bough this camera before a trip to capture some pictures of the family in the water. If you are running the screen a lot it east into the battery life, but you can tweak the settings to reduce the time the screen stays on and that helps. Works with standard GoPro accessories so it mated up with accessories purchased at another retailer with no problem. Video and picture quality is very good.

The camera and/or the battery does not work and Best Buy or Vivitar will not stand behind it. It is just a bad purchase.

Is a great camera, is tiny, and cheaper, battery is not longer, but charge quick!!!

I tried to give this one a chance, the 4K was appealing, so was the phone control. It has so many issues, though -- it won't keep a connection to your phone for more than a few minutes, I couldn't record videos for more than 6 seconds for whatever reason, the battery life was terrible, the list goes on. I exchanged for a GoPro HERO Black and I am not looking back. The quality difference is DRAMATIC.

Don't buy into the people saying the battery doesn't last on this thing, or the picture quality is horrible, or its hard to use. All that is nonsense. For the $40 I paid for this I did not expect $500 GoPro quality and neither should you. Having said that this is still a great camera for someone like me just getting into using action cameras. It has a few different modes including dash cam mode which may just push me to buy another one of these. Also it has wifi(which will drain your battery FAST if you have it on in BFE) which is nice to use at home if need be. I honestly don't use the 4k on this as it eats up too much memory, but the 1080 is just fine and is quite nice for the price I paid($40). FYI recording at 1080 with wifi off got over 2hrs of recording in, and still had battery to spare. Only reason it got 4 stars is that it does seem a little cheaply made, so not sure it would handle being dropped from any height, but once again for the price expectations need to be tempered. Overall this is a good little action camera that you wont break the bank on. Last thing it doesn't say anywhere on the outside packaging, but this camera only supports up to a 32gb micro sd card. Hope this helps someone.

This is my second review as my first review that was approved wasn't posted. Followed instructions to the T. especially for battery charging. The camera only recorded one loop in the auto mode. Second use, after recharging again after only 3 minutes recorded in auto mode, the camera froze. I removed the battery and started recording using the wireless control and recorded approximately 5 minutes of 1080P video as the battery discharged quickly. Recharged the battery and set it to record in 4k and after several minutes of recording using the android app the app stopped working after getting a dead battery notification in the app and the connection was lost. The camera LCD was on but froze again. The battery indicator reflected half battery life remaining thus I left the camera in the frozen state with LCD on and it remained on for another 35 -45 minutes or so. The camera was very hot to touch. At this point, I had written my first review and continued with attempts to get the best out of the camera and recharged the battery again. Upon powering on the LCD welcome screen letters were not complete. I used the wristband remote until the camera or the remote experienced problems. I removed and replaced the battery again and was able to record approximately 15 minutes of 4k video using the app to control the camera settings. I could not determine which component was the problem or are they both defective. Video quality - 4K is horrible but then it's not really 4K it's upscaled to 4K. 1080P is subpar even compared to cable tv's 1080i playing on my Samsung KS8000 4K TV. I recorded similar video with my Samsung Note 4 in HD and if was far superior to the camera's 4k video. Wifi - Wifi connected easily and quickly however when my app froze and lost the wifi connection after getting a dead battery notification on the phone app although the camera's LCD remained on and the battery indicator showed half battery life remaining. I couldn't determine what the issue was as mentioned above the camera froze again. Apps and software- The camera didn't work long enough to determine the apps capability. The software is very basic and was unable to transfer files after the camera froze 3 times. So what is the problem Camera or software? My thought is the camera as the first videos downloaded/transferred smoothly and efficiently. I should have trusted the reviews about the battery and I should have given more consideration to the knowledgeable Best Buy representative who stated he didn't know anything about the camera as they were just received shortly before Christmas and the store didn't have them on display. My closing comments on my first review is more than likely the reason it was not posted after being approved. Thus I will refrain from giving details about Best Buy only products which are in general made to good quality standards.

When I got this camera, the battery was totally dead. I had to charge it up over night, and by the next morning the camera was functioning normally. However there were some problems. The camera would get into a strange state sometimes where the orange light would come on very faint, and nothing else. If I removed the battery for about a minute, then put it back, the camera would return to normal function. Sometimes when you attach, or disconnect the USB cable, the camera would get into the strange state where the orange light is faintly lite. I noticed that the date set into the camera was 2016. The remote battery was also totally dead too. My theory is that these cameras were made way back in 2016, and sat in a where house for some time before being delivered to Best Buy. I'm thinking I'll get a new battery, and a new battery for the remote, and things will be OK. The video is fairly good, and I like the many features. The video get's a bit noisy in dark light levels. But then I remember this is a 4K camera for $40.00. It's a good camera for a kid. The waterproof case is definitely a plus. For doing simple recording, thisw camera works well. Don't expect great performance in dim light levels. Again $40.00 camera. For the price, this camera works. A message to Vivitar. Don't put the batteries in these products until they are ready to ship. The self discharge will drain the batteries down, and render them useless if you leave them sitting in a where House for any length of time.

The salesperson did everything possible to warn me away from buying this thinking I wanted 4K quality from a cheap Hero alternative that was easy to use. NOPE. I needed a super affordable cam for filming indoors practice sessions. I didn't need high-res graphics, and sound wasn't an issue for my needs. It is not an easy thing to use. No way. But it was manageable and it works. I had it up and running well for my needs within about 10 minutes after finishing its charge. I like this. Not sure I love it, but close. The remote watch and the ability to edit the footage on my phone is great. Altogether, it does precisely what I wanted. And, it makes a super affordable practical 'throw-away' alternative to a GoPro.

I must say this camera is decent for the price. It has good quality video and picture capabilities. The only problem is it's next to no audio when you listen to it through the device itself you have to plug it into a computer with speakers. Also which is an awful quality or lack thereof is the battery it stays charged for only maybe 15 minutes of video time and you have to plug it in to charge 4 hours in order for it to get a complete charge. It's also difficult to find replacement for backup batteries for this online as of yet. But I would still recommend it for the picture quality and the price like I stated the only downfall is the battery and the devices audio.

For that price you cannot expect an actual "GREAT QUALITY". Quality is fine. But there is a very important point: I ran the camera at 30fps and in 5 minutes the battery was half gone. I don't know if its just the battery that is not good or if it simply does not perform well. Vivitar has to find a solution for this recurrent issue (I read many reviews) An "Action Camera" is supposed to last long to capture all of the action, not just the first 10 minutes.

I've used this camera for just over a year now, and I still love it! It records good quality photos and videos. The buttons are fairly easy to navigate through. The remote wristband hasn't worked as well as I figured it would. But I have the app on my phone for remote recording. I use this camera for sporting events and hiking. I would recommend this for anyone looking to save a little money over the more popular action cameras.

I bought this camera because of features compared to price and thought would be good value. Had reasonable expectations and did not expect GoPro results. Used with my drone and video was average to good. Acceptable. Love all the attachments and ability to use also as dashcam. But battery life was a deal breaker. Contacted support and they act like I don't know how to charge a battery and then the same return to them and pay song and dance. Very disappointed with customer service. I did use and recharge a few more cycles and battery life improved but still not great. Went from 5 minutes to 20 minutes. Seeing similar cameras available online that have better battery life and include a second battery sealed the deal for me. Returned.

I repeat DO NOT BUY! Even though this camera is on sale for $50, it's for a reason. The quality on this camera is horrible. I was filming with it and it was one of the worst videos I have ever seen. Don't get me wrong, for $50 it came with a decent amount of accessories and it's a camera. I get it. However, you will be very disappointed with how long the battery lasts and how the videos show up when you review them over. There is no way to control the aperture of the lens, nor can you really tell a difference of quality when switching from 720 all the way to 4k. I was reading reviews of this camera and thought, "maybe this is actually a decent camera, plus it's on sale". Just save your money and listen to the reviews. IT IS NOT WORTH IT. I ended up returning it 4 hours later. I had to scrap the video I shot and start over with another camera.

I was not very pleased with it to be honest . I guess yuh get what you are paying for

I got the camera because it was a good price for what I wanted to do. I wanted to attach it to the bottom of my drone and get some aerial shots in 1080p so I already went into this without having high expectations for the 4k recording ability. Now my main problems with this camera is the battery. The battery on this camera is a hit or miss and I think it may have something to do with the firmware or how it records to the SD card. I recorded in my car using an insignia GoPro accessory kit and selected the Car option on the camera at 1080p which flips the recording upside-down for you. It recorded a solid 45 minutes and had some battery left to spare. Then the next day after a night of charging it, I ended up doing the same thing again but this time the battery only lasted about 15 minutes. I figured buying another battery could be in order but I did more testing. While at work I charged the camera up and recorded again on my way home. I noticed the screen shut off but the red light was still blinking letting me know that it was still recording. I would assume that there could be an issue where in some cases the screen stays on while recording at times which will most likely drain the battery even quicker. I think there should be an option to keep the screen on or shut it off while recording using the button function at the top level of the UI. The other thing that I have run into was the way the videos are stored on the SD card like I mentioned in the above. Firmware update could resolve this. When I plugged the camera in to view what I had recorded, I noticed that there were a ton of captures. It seems as though it records a bunch of separate 20-40MB recordings rather than one continuous recording. I was baffled by this a lot and was still skeptical about the way it recorded so I went ahead and recorded some more just to confirm. This past weekend I recorded myself doing a couple upgrades to a car and in the 30 minutes that I was out there the camera battery lasted 15 minutes on a full charge (charged the battery for 2 hours) and the recording light stopped blinking. I thought that it was a fluke so I powered the camera up once again and then it immediately shut down. I plugged the camera into my laptop to review the recordings to see where it stopped at and again I was greeted to about 5-6 new separate recordings to look through for that one recording. So, as for a solid review on this, for the price, pretty reasonable for something that records in upscale 4k. That alone makes it a good deal when it is on sale. Build quality, I cannot say that I wouldn't get mad if it were to break while I was doing something extreme but I would not buy another one for a replacement. Comes with a good amount of attachments and it is also a good thing to know that I can interchange some of the GoPro accessories to it and not have problems. File management, pretty annoying and I stress again that a firmware update can resolve this. Even cheaper action cams receive firmware updates via social networks. Just keep the recordings in 1 solid file instead of multiples for a single recording over 5 minutes long. Video is good and sound is good although I am a little iffy on the waterproof enclosure it comes with because when I had the camera mounted in my car, it sat right above the car speaker and you could hear the music crystal clear. I would hold off on going diving with the camera. It is a good camera for anyone in the beginning stages of trying to get into action cameras. For the avid film enthusiast or professional, eeehhhhhhh you may need to lower your expectations quite a bit.

Purchased this camera for vacation trip with the intent to use while zip lining. Basically you get what you pay for. The battery lasted maybe 15 minutes from a full charge and I wasn't able to get any footage at all. The wi-fi took multiple attempts to connect. Will be returned and purchasing a GoPro.

For the price I got it at ($50) it works fine. Camera has occasionally restarted while in use, but otherwise works fine and is easy enough to use.

We bought 3 of these on sale for ~$36 each. They turned out to be a surprisingly good buy. We put one in each car and use the last one to record what happens behind our boat while underway. The camera's CAR Mode is really cool. In CAR Mode (little car icon) the camera records in an endless loop cranking out 498MB files seamlessly and sequentially ordered as .MOV files. Perfect for Mac and most other platforms. The files it generates every 480MB are uncompressed .mov files. We shoot in 1080P. The camera offers 4k although we haven't used it because our editing and viewing resources are not compatible with 4k yet. I will buy more as soon as they go on sale but will look for other alternatives if not. It appears software is out there just waiting for someone to manufacturer hardware that will run their software. The software on the camera may not be as polished as a GoPro or something from Apple, however, these Vivitar cameras have all the capabilities we need in our endeavors without the GoPro price tag. We have a Hero 4 Silver on a 3 axis gimbal and love the setup for the velvety smooth videos but it doesn't have CAR mode (endless loop recording). We have to remember to turn it on and off and if we forget the battery goes dead because there is no juice pack connected to the GoPro because it's on a stabilizing 3 axis gimbal and the cable might hinder smooth response from the gimbals highly accurate gimbal motors. The Vivitar does (there's that software I was talking about) for less money than a GoPro. As long as the Vivitar camera in CAR Mode has battery power it will continue to gather the last 3 hours of video it was pointed at. We have ours plugged into an external battery pack so it runs continuously until I unplug the battery pack. At that point the camera shuts down until the next time I plug in the "juice pack" at which point the camera boots itself into CAR mode and begins recording without any user input. Cool! Power ON it's recording. Power off it shuts down. Nice. I'm sold especially at sale prices! CAR Mode rocks!