Sony - X1000 HD Action Camcorder - White

I went to BB with all intention of buying a GoPro Black unaware of the Sony 4k unit. The salesman asked me if I knew anything about the new Sony 4k cam and of course I didn't. All my 4k equipment is Sony btw too, so i was interested. He showed me a local video taken on a mtnbike, on one side a GoPro Black and on the other side the Sony 4k. It was incredible in the difference between the them! The Sony had true to life colors compared to the GoPro Black which btw seemed washed out. The Sony 4k camera was also superior in image stabilization too. Info note here: image stabilization isn't available in 4k. No complaints here though. The 1080 image on my 4k tv is beautiful. I haven't shot any 4k yet either only because I want to be able to view it on my other devices and not just the tv. Ok, now for a bit of a downside story, as I got involved with this cam i found out it can do a GPS overlay into the video. This was awesome news with mtnbiking in mind! Well sadly the software isn't ready for primetime for Mac users. I tried to no avail to process the video with the gps overlay enabled, at 83% I get the (no program memory available) statement every time I try. Btw I run 16GB of ram so plenty to do the job. I broke out my old laptop with 8GB ram, windows based, and although it was slow, it did process the file. I am currently waiting for a callback from a level 2 tech from Sony. Will update my review if there is new info to be shared. This is the only reason that my review doesn't show a 5 star rating. The Mac did fine on processing the video file with no gps overlay selected. I had 14GB of ram free at all times during processing, when enabling gps overlay that number would fall to 15mb to 45mb free!! wow! So I think it's a programming issue imo. But the bottom line here is what an awesome picture this thing can do! Thanks to Kevin the salesman at BB for introducing me to this cam. This review pertains to the Sony FDR-X1000V 4k Action Cam

The reason for getting an action camera is to record an activity, pure and simple. Compared to GoPro Black (my son has one), this camera has better image quality and more stable video. The battery seems to last longer too. I bought this expecting the image to be better because I'm familiar with Carl Zeiss lenses and this camera has a glass Zeiss lens where the GoPro is plastic. I don't know if only the lens is responsible for the increased clarity in the images or if it is something internal to the camera, but whatever the reason, the quality of the image is noticeably better. You do have to be a little smarter with a Sony than a GoPro if you want to customize recording style, however. There are a lot more settings that you can change and have to toggle through multiple menus to get to. Luckily, the default settings are exactly what I wanted - record in 1080p with image stabilization on and wind noise reduction on. After playing with multiple settings and doing several test recordings, I ended up right back to the factory defaults. It is pretty easy to change to the 4K video setting though, and I think I would probably leave everything else the same. (I just chose 1080p because needed a lot of recording time on one memory card.) One of the key factors for me is the design. I have attached this to the top of my motorcycle helmet and the wind resistance on the freeway is unnoticeable due to its skinny but long style. I have heard that the flat/wide face and short length of the GoPro causes more wind resistance. (I also like that the Sony has wind noise reduction specifically for activities like this.) I'm sure Sony will be coming out with more mounting options, but at least they have the basics covered so far. It was smart of them to include a standard tripod thread right on the camera which gives you a lot of options at your local camera store, but not enough Sony specific OEM options yet.

The Sony FDR-X1000V is an all around excellent action cam. Image quality is sharp and detailed, colors are vibrant with pop, white balance seems to be overall pretty good (and can be adjusted to your liking in the app),low light performance is best in class, image stabilization works well, GPS overlay is great for videos that represent a journey, such as motorsports. Splash proof durability is better than GoPro without a case. TripPod type adapters available via 3rd party to adapt to other mount systems, so you are NOT limited to Sony. All action cam batteries leave a bit to be desired, but Sony is better than most. Bonus if you have an Sony RX1000 and share the batteries. The Play Memories App, when paired to the camera offers a wealth of settings and is far easier to navigate than the side LCD. Use the LCD for quick access to WiFi and turning off the camera, pair your phone and use the app for all the advanced settings and configuration. It will save you a lot of the prev/next/enter shuffle.

I'd love to be able to comment on the video quality of this camera, since based on the several comparison's I read and watched today, it appears to be great, but I wouldn't know. The BestBuy purchase page for this camera recommended a SanDisk Pixtor 95mbps SD card in the "Build a Package", so that's what I purchased. Yeah no. The camera wont' let me set any resolution higher than 1080p 60fps with that SD card, then says it's recording to the card but nothing gets saved to the card. So I dug around on the Sony website and found the compatibility chart for SD cards for this camera, and it's absurd. The only compatible SD card on the entire planet Earth that it lists as compatible, is the Sony SR-64UXA 95mbps SD card . Not even any of the other Sony SD cards are listed as compatible. Sorry, but that's absurd. Couple that bundle of ludicrous frustration with the most convoluted menu and user interface known to mankind, (GoPro's interface and menus are leaps and bounds better than the X1000V's train wreck) and I'm having serious buyers remorse, and I haven't even taken a video with the dang thing yet.

The camera is sturdy and I personally like the menu as opposed to the GoPro equivalent. I went with Sony because I had previously gone with them before and I heard bad things about GoPro's 4k camera from a friend. I also like that Sony records stereo as opposed to mono sound. The only thing is I can't review on the quality of the camera yet because I was not aware that you have to have at least a 64GB U3 (I thought it just had to be U3 but size matters) memory card for it to be able to record xav-c which is required to do any video in 4k. Memory cards don't really give you that type of info so it's been a trial and error with the cards thus far so i wanted to post a review so others don't have the same issue.

I coach girls softball and I use the camera to record the games. The wide angle gives me a great view of the field, and the 4k resolution lets me zoom in during post-edit for great close-ups to verify umpire calls or just for the highlights. I would give it 5 starts, but at 4k and 1080 the battery is only good for about 30-40 minutes. I have to set a timer to remember to replace the battery (make sure you have a good supply batteries). The battery that comes with the camera is only 1240mAh. Replace this right away with Wasabi Power 1600mAh batteries, or DOT-01 1800mAh batteries. A 128Gb chip holds about 5 hours of 1080 video at 120fps. Download the play memories app to your phone and use the Camera's WiFi to get a live feed from the camera to make sure you are capturing what you want. You can use a GoPro accessory kit to mount the camera to any GoPro mount (bike, helmet, pole, etc.)

I have the GoPro 2, and used it quite a lot. I bought a GoPro4, but it continued to have the menu lock up. Then I couldn't get out of it at all. So I returned it. I took a chance and bought the Sony, figuring that everything I had ever bought with the Sony label seemed to be great, so this should be as well. I am very pleased with how this Sony has such a perfect shape for using in relation to the human hand. I love that it's splash-proof as it comes out of the box. But when it is inserted in the waterproof case that it also comes with, then it's good below the water surface too! The menu system makes good sense. I have not read the manual yet, but was able to figure out all of the standard settings just by playing with it. The quality os the video is amazing! So... I'm done with GoPro!

really awesome 4k video quality for such a small video camera like this, the picture quality is top notch the color is almost true, and "IN MY OPINION", the detail and clarity of the video are noticeable better than the gopro hero4 black (ive compared their both videos side by side). thats might have something to do with the high bitrate recording mode that this camera capable of (100mbps) Unlike gopro which i believe only capable of recording in 60mbps in 4k resolution. make sure you get class 10 uhs3 micro sd card with atleast 64gb space if you are planning to shoot video in full 4k resolution otherwise it might just not gonna work. one thing that i dont really like from the camera is the design! but overall, its a great action cam!