12.10.2015

What you get is a small camera – about 58 x 40 x 25mm, not allowing for the protrusion of the lens – together with a waterproof case, a variety of other mounts and clips, two 900mAh batteries (1 fitted, one spare), a USB cable, and an instruction booklet of which 10 pages are in English. You have to supply your own micro-SD card, up to 32GB max, but these are inexpensive.The camera is designed to capture sports or other activity so it is auto focus with a wide angle lens, primarily intended for video rather than still images though there is a photo mode. It is wi-fi enabled so you can control it with a smartphone app,provided you have an Android or iOS device.I didn’t do any diving with the camera but I used it mounted to a bike and tried out its various functions.TechnologyFirst, a quick look at the specs. The camera captures video at up to 1080p (1920x1080) at 30 FPS. If you want 60 FPS you have to go down to 720p (1280x720). Video format is H.264 in a MOV file. Photos are up to 14MP. Recording time is up to 3 hours according to the spec (which seems to assume use of the spare battery). The camera has its own LCD screen, and you can also connect via USB or wifi. There is a micro HDMI output port for connecting to a TV or other screen.It is worth exploring the settings menu as not everything is documented in the booklet. For example you can set a Capture Mode where it will take a picture every few seconds, from 3 to 20. This could be useful for a security camera where constant video is unnecessary. You can also control what is called “Cyclic Record”: by default it will take videos of a maximum 3 minutes in length, but auto-start another video when a recording finishes. You can change this to 5 or 10 minutes, or turn it off. There is a Motion Detection feature, and image settings for sharpness, white balance, colour, ISO, Exposure and anti-shaking. You can set the output to NSTC or PAL.You can record video while charging by setting “car mode”.UsabilityProducts like this tend to fall down on usability; this one is not too bad but certainly could be better. There are several buttons:Front button labelled power/mode. Press once to turn on. Press again to switch mode between video, photo, playback and settings. Press and hold to turn off.Top button labelled OK. Press to start/stop a recording, select a menu option etc.Side buttons for up/down. Press to cycle through menu options, fast forward/back during playback. Short tap on up button to activate wi-fi.When you attach it to a PC via USB you get a popup on the camera screen offering to connect as mass storage or as a PC camera. File transfer was reasonably speedy (USB 2.0).Deleting a file on the camera is not intuitive; you have to select the image or video in playback, then go to settings, choose Delete and then Delete Current. It would be easy to delete the wrong thing by mistake.The appThere is an app called FinalCam; I tried the Android version using a Sony smartphone. You can connect to the camera, and take photos or videos using the app. The app always shows what the camera sees. You can access various image quality settings and download images and videos from the camera to the phone.In some circumstances the app and wi-fi capability could be amazingly useful. Maybe you could attach the camera to a pole and get a look at a gutter blockage, or use it in some other inaccessible spot.The app is not great though and getting the wifi working seems a bit temperamental. My tip is to connect the camera to the phone’s wifi *first*, and only then run the app. Trying to connect once the app is running seems problematic.I tried using the SJCam app as an alternative and it seemed to work; I could connect OK though I did not try extensive tests. Note that despite the similarity between DBPower and SJCam products the companies are not connected as far as I can tell; I emailed SJCam about this and was told that all SJCam products have the SJCam logo, which this does not.Overall a handy feature.AttachmentsThe camera itself has no mount points, but you can put the camera either in the waterproof case, or clip it into an open frame. The waterproof case has a GoPro-style mount point, while the frame would screw onto a tripod; there is also an adaptor that screw in here to convert it to the GoPro type mount. There are a lot of clips and mounts supplied including 2 adhesive pads, a handlebar/pole mount, cable ties, mini belts and Velcro strips. You could attach it to most things with a bit of ingenuity. Some accessories are optional (ie not in the box), including a suction mount for a car windscreen, and a car charger.One point to note: if you use the waterproof case, you will not get much in the way of sound, since the mic will be inside the case. That doesn’t matter for diving, but the camera itself does not seem particularly robust, so you want the added protection of the waterproof case in other scenarios too, making the audio issue an annoyance.QualityThe attraction of this device is the value for money it offers versus better known brands. The compromise is that the quality is not as good and although everything I tried worked OK, I’m not sure about the longevity of certain parts. The little slider that attaches the battery cover seems fiddly and delicate, for example.Considering the price I think the image and video quality is OK. Photos are poor compared to my high-end smartphone, but that is to be expected. You can get some improvement by fiddling with the settings. Audio quality is very basic but again, good enough to add some atmosphere.OverallConsidering the price this is a good buy and a lot of fun.The colour instruction booklet is genuinely useful though not as detailed or comprehensive as I would like.Disclosure: The product was supplied to me by the vendor for review.

24.7.2016

I have been a GoPro Hero 4 owner for a couple of years and I have been testing some cheaper alternatives for a while as there are some situations where I don’t want to use such an expensive action camera.This camera arrives with a huge selection of accessories along with the actual camera, an extra battery, a handy hint guide, and some really useful instructions. Even though the instructions and handy hints are very useful they are by no means comprehensive so you are going to have to delve in to the menus and have a play to test out all of the options and settings. However, this is no bad thing, the menus are clear and easy to understand and having a play around is the best way to get used to the camera.The camera itself arrives in a water proof case that has an easy to open catch,I have tested the case in shallow water as well as under a shower and it worked perfectly. If you are planning to go deep sea diving then you may well want something much more expensive, but I think that this swill work for most people’s casual needs.With the case off the buttons on the camera have have a good solid click in use so you know when you have clicked them. The USB port, HDMI port and Micro SD card slot are on the side with the battery being behind a small door on the base. It is all fairly standard stuff, but it works well and gives you all the connection options you need.On the back the screen is very responsive with no delay when using live view and it is plenty bright enough for normal use.The camera body is a fairly standard size and is made of a comfy material that has a textured finish which aids grip.The menu is very comprehensive giving you access to the usual quality, iso and exposure settings along with some less expected functions like, anti-shake, cyclic recording, motion detect and HDR.Functions such as car mode and cyclic recording mean that this could be used as a dash cam. Using the motion detect means you could set this up as a security camera and the fact that this camera can be charged whilst still being used would help with both this and dash cam us.The Wifi is quick to set up needing only a single button push to turn it on, the suggested final cam app works well enough but I have also found that an app called zsanycam also works well.One of the most useful modes for me is the Timelapse mode as this allows you to set the photo capture to various intervals such as 1, 2, 5,10, 30 and even greater intervals. Doing this allows you to create time lapses, particularly if you connect up a usb power bank as this will extend the battery life beyond the two and a half hours I got using the internal battery. When you are done you are left with a video file that you can load in to the free GoPro studio program and this will help you edit and out put the video time lapse.There is also a capture mode setting that also lets you set different intervals for capture and the camera will capture a photo at 3, 5, 10 and 20 second intervals. When you are done you will have lots of photos that can be imported into the GoPro app and you can then process out a time lapse movie file.This was my main reason for getting this camera as is cost less than a quarter of my GoPro and that means I am much happier to leave it unattended for hours when doing time lapses. The resulting images are not quite as good as that of the GoPro, there is a little more flair and the corners are not quite as sharp, but to be honest this is a trade-off that I am happy to make.When it comes to video quality this is not my main reason for buying this camera and others have reviewed it in detail, but I am happy enough with it. The 1080 at 30fps is very usable and will be good enough for my needs. To be honest this camera is so much cheaper than the GoPro 4 black that I am surprised at just how reasonable the footage is. With a bit of tweaking of the white balance and some good bright light I was impressed with my test footage.The included accessories are all welcome and include useful things like a handle bar mount, a tripod mount, some straps and sticky pads and some useful angle brackets. All of these are the usual GoPro compatible shiny plastic variety and they work well enough, but to make them more effective and to stop the slipping when tightened rough up any surfaces that will be tightened together with a bit of sand paper.I have uploaded lots of pictures that should show some of the accessories, menu options, a quick test time lapse video and some sample video footage.Over all I am very happy with this camera, whilst it is not quite up there with the GoPro cameras of this world it is fine for my needs. I wouldn’t mind having the option of 4k, but then the camera would be more expensive and I would not want to leave it unattended or would always be worrying about it getting damaged when being used on a bike or car.Please note that I received a promotional discount code and was asked to leave a review. This has not affected my opinion and my reviews will always be impartial and based on my experiences with the product.

13.3.2016

It's early days for me, but this is it so far:This is a budget cam (about £150 to £300 cheaper than a GoPro), and I can understand it not having things that cost more, but not havings things that cost nothing extra I cannot excuse.Examples:I have read that the image quality is not great in poor light. This is not something that bothers me, but this would cost more money to resolve, so I understand and accept it.Many have complained that the flap to access the battery is poor. Yep, it really is. It looks like there is enough surface area on the casing to make it larger, without it protruding, and that would pretty much resolve it, and I cannot see that it would have cost more to do that on day one.Many have complained that the manual is poor.Yep, it really is. The Amazon spec. list is better than the manual. Writing a decent manual would not have added to the cost. I often had to write instruction guides, it's not difficult. Whoever did this one should be unemployed.1. The images in the manual are too small to be of use.2. It is full of spelling mistakes (I have only read the English version).3. It uses acronyms without ever explaining them.4. It does not actually fully address the functions of the equipment.They cannot justify their claim that this is a manual.This would be excusable if there was a comprehensive downloadable manual from their website. As far as I can see, there is not.Their website is also poor. There is no mention in the manual of using their website for further information. A massive missed opportunity to introduce you to their accessories (there should be a cycle helmet with built in camera mount!) and what is actually a very broad range of other products. There is no FAQ's section, (Not strictly true, there is a FAQ's for their batteries (possibly on the USA site?), maybe they make more money on batteries?). Although I believe that they are cop-outs, there is no 'ask the community' section, but maybe they are too small. I could not find this model on the UK website, which baffles me as I bought it via Amazon UK. I could not find firmware upgrades for this model. I could find links for downloads for other models, along with downloads for items that seemed to be unspecified. Their website is also littered with spelling mistakes. Yes making a website costs money, but actually putting relevant information on the site does not add to the cost. Again, whoever is employed to maintain the website is either overworked, under-resourced, or should also be unemployed.I have found that opening it all up, putting it together and then making a video is not a problem. I have been happy with the images that I have recorded. I have found taking the memory card from the camera and opening it on a PC, for viewing, editing, transferring and saving to be fine.I do have questions though.1. Are there firmware upgrades?2. I found that after battery #1 dies during an activity, and you replace it with battery #2, the date/time stamp is lost. Is this normal? If it has no way of saving the date/time stamp, because it would cost more, then just so.3. Exactly what is each bracketing accessory designed for?4. Why can I not access the settings when it is linked to the PC for charging?5. They claim that 'B. You can also switch it on/off trough the LCD screen display'. Their typo, not mine. Suggests a touchscreen to me, but no, I don't think so. If you can navigate the screen to do this, then I do not get it. What is that all about?I am sure that I will have other queries later, and, mostly, I will resolve them, at some point. I would have given this 3 and a half stars, but that was not an option. I think that this is a good value (possibly amazing value) product that has been let down (terribly let down) by a slapdash company. If you know these types of products due to your day-to-day activities, you will be fine. If this type of product is new to you, and you are starting from square one, you will be frustrated. Of course, that is not to say that GoPro are any better where DB Power fail, I do not know.Having said all of the above - if you find any spelling or grammar mistakes in this then 1. Sorry & 2. I have not been paid to write this. ;-)

13.9.2016

I received this sample for my personal reviewI have had a few action cams before but this one is SO impressive! It's very simple to use; you can connect your phone up to it through it's built in WiFi or use it on it's own. There is an app that you can download if you want to which shows you videos and pictures that you have taken. Using the WiFi would give you instant live videos that show up on your phone for a bigger picture. However, what I love is that there is a very handy screen on the camera itself which shows both picture display and menu settings, WiFi, battery etc - many other (more expensive) action cams don't have this.It takes a micro SD card which doesn't come included so make sure you have one of these ready!It came with a massive bundle of different mounts, clips, stickers, straps and even a spare battery! All these things are perfect for someone starting out - the different mounts allow you to put the camera at different angles to suit you or are better sizes to attach to tripods or hand grips. The spare battery is going to be perfect when I'm out and about on holiday or adventuring as once one goes dead you can just pop in the second fully charged one! (Not even my digital camera comes with a spare battery) You don't need a screw driver to open it up, there is a simple latch which just clips to one side for easy and quick switches. To charge the battery is easy; whilst it's in the camera you can plug the whole device in using the wire provided and joining it up to a USB port like your laptop or a solar charger! I just use an old iphone end and plug it straight into my wall socket. Once it's fully charged the red lights turns to blue! It doesn't take long either, I put mine on charge for an hour and a half and it was done in that time.There are instructions that come included for both setting up the camera and using it which makes life simple. It tells you how to connect to the wifi if you don't know, how to use the app, how to open the waterproof case and various other things - everything is really straightforward anyway. When using the waterproof case there is still a clear picture and obviously, no water gets in. It is easy to access the camera from inside if you don't want to use the case and easy to place back in. The case is also good for mounting the camera onto hand grips or tripods etc.The picture quality is superb - I'm amazed by it! The wide angle shows a huge landscape of what's around you and can get everything that you want in. The difference from moving between light and dark areas is quick to adjust so you don't have to hold it there for a while whilst it sorts out the light balance. The detail is incredible and shows so much for such a little camera, it's now going to be replacing my old action cam as it's just perfect in every way and suits my way of filming so much better.I would give this over a five star if I could - it's making me question whether I even need to buy a more expensive model or not! I've attached a video to show the overall view of what you get and the quality of the camera itself. I hope it helps you figure out if this camera is all you're looking for!!!

11.10.2015

This was supplied to me by the manufacturer for review purposes.I used to have a so-called HD micro video camera. Well, I had it for all of two hours before it broke. It was cheap, nasty rubbish. This, on the other hand, is a purring Rolls Royce compared to that rust bucket. But it's more than a simple video camera; this has the lot. However, before we get to that....It's available in the ubiquitous black and comes with a multitude of accessories for attaching it to your bicycle, a helmet, a belt or whatever else you can think of. Also in the box is a waterproof shell, though I'm not about to try that out, a USB lead for charging, plastic ties, cleaning cloth, three straps, sticky pads and a wire security lead.Controls are minimal with an on/off/menu button on the front, an `OK' button on the top and two up/down buttons on the side. It takes a micro SD card (not included), and you'll need one as there's no internal memory, and comes with a 170° wide angle lens. You get a spare 3.7 volt Li-on battery with this but the base is a bit fiddly to access. If you have large hands, you'll need someone with slightly more dexterous fingers to change it.This is an improvement over DBPower's previous 'Go Pro' rival, this now has a 14MP sensor but loses the zoom function. The screen is slightly larger but the unit itself isn't. The menu is still quite in depth. You can change the resolution, use it for motion detection; use the self timer, alter image size, select different white balance and ISO (100, 200, 400 and Auto); it has exposure compensation, anti-shake, time lapse recording face detection, quick review, alter sharpness, and three tones selection (colour, sepia or black & white).With an 8GB card, at top resolution it can manage about 1650 shots and ten times that on the lowest but this is mainly something to be used for taking unobtrusive video. With that same card, it was showing about an hour of recording time (battery life permitting), which seems reasonable. On reviewing a few photos, I noticed a very slight fish-eye effect but it's not really obtrusive, and you're not expecting DSLR or CSC quality with this. The battery has to be charged via the included USB lead.Considering the size of the thing, it's a mere 2¼x1½x1, it's not surprising to learn that the buttons are a bit awkward to use and the `menu' button needs a few presses before you get to the options screen and it can be turned off accidentally this way. Notwithstanding that, as mentioned above, it's a fun thing to use for `what-we-did-on-our-holidays' instead of a stills camera. Providing you download the appropriate software, the Wi-Fi means you can send off your videos or photos as soon as you've finished to your PC or whatever. It's also aesthetically pleasing, even in its waterproof housing, and well made.

12.10.2016

I bought this camera when it was £50 on Amazon about 2 months ago, to use on my motorbike to record bad driving/near misses by other road users and I'm very impressed with it. I use it on 1080p and you can set it to record in 3, 5 or 10 minute segments (it divides up my 40 minute commute into 4 video segments with no obvious gaps all with date and time stamp), so when the micro-SD card is full (after about 7 hours with a 32 Gb card) it automatically starts to record over the oldest recordings first - an excellent feature. Having also used it in the sea and swimming pool on holiday, I reckon the picture quality is superb. I have to say the audio isn't so good, as it's generally always in it's waterproof case,

28.12.2016

I was pleasantly surprised with the DBPOWER EX5000. I'm a cyclist and purchased an action camera so I would have some kind of evidence in the event of an accident or road rage incident. After getting it out of the box I had a quick look at the instruction manual and realised that it's written in poor English, it is however still easy to understand.I initially tried the camera mounted to my bicycle handlebars and was very dissapointed with the footage I got. After fiddling with the camera I changed the resolution to 1080p and turned on the 'anti-shake' mode. The footage was marginally better but I still wasn't very impressed. I decided to use one of the included mounts to attach the camera to my helmet and that certainly did the trick.

2.3.2016

Just found this very useful explanatory video - different model but great demo[...]Still getting to grips with itManual is rubbishHave tabled the modes for reference - not sure yet what they all mean but there are 37 of themSetup1/10-1 Resolution 1080P 1920x1080 720P 1280x720 WVGA 848x480 VGA 640x4801/10-2 Cyclic Recording Off 3 mins 5 mins 10 mins1/10-3 HDR Off On1/10-4 Motion Detection Off On2/10-1 Time-Lapse Record Off 1 sec 5 sec 10 sec 30 sec 1 min2/10-2 Record Audio Off On2/10-3 Date Stamp Off On2/10-4 Capture Mode Single 2s timer 5s timer 10s timer3/10-1 Sequence Off On3/10-2 Resolution 14M 4320x3240 12M 4032x3024 10M 3648x2736 8M 3264x24485M 2592x1944 3M 2048x1536 2MHD 1920x1080 VGA

2.10.2015

Now that my daughter is a little older, I felt that I am now able tostart doing more sporty activities again. The next year for me is goingto be fairly action packed year, involving plenty of bouldering andclimbing, biking, skating, sky diving and activities such as go ape. Thefact that these cameras come with so many attachments for each differentpossible activity or purpose, and that it is indeed so small andlightweight makes it perfect for the activities I have planned!!From the beginning this camera was clearly made with the userability inmind. So say it is easy to use is an understatement making it not onlygreat for experienced users but also for absolute beginners (I had neveractually handled an action camera before)These cameras,

8.10.2015

To start I thought I knew what to expect as I have the older version of this camera the JS4000 but boy was I wrong.For starters the box, man this blows my mind. It comes with all of the mounts you could possibly think off, it’s amazing how this set includes everything but the kitchen sink and thats the sd card but for this price you can’t go wrong.In my opinion the competitors could learn a few things from this… TAKE NOT GOPRO.The accessories include:High quality 3M sticky pads for helmets bike mountsVelcro straps and and tripod mounts and tons moreThe waterproof housing is awesome, it resists water up to 30M and i have tested it in water and its awesome,

9.11.2016

I have waited to write a review on this until I put it through its paces and let me tell you, I have not been disappointed.I originally ordered this for a trip to Indonesia but have since found so many uses for it. I enjoy being outside, whether this is hiking, mountain biking or even simple things like walking the dogs, this camera had joined me on all of these adventures.The quality on this camera is excellent and it takes decent still photos too. While in Indonesia this camera was really put through its paces. It went through dense jungle, got battered in the sea, covered in sand at the beach and even man handled by monkeys and lived to tell the tale.Records well in 720 or 1080 (which I'd recommend).

10.1.2016

I originally wanted to buy a gopro hero 4 silver but it was quite expensive and didn't come with any accessories so i would have had spend more money. However the dbpower ex5000 comes with many accessories and is a cheap budget cam. This camera is good i have been using it for roughly two weeks. Its a nice small camera that can be used especially if you travel a lot as it easily fits into your pocket. The camera settings is easy to navigate. It comes with lots of accessories and the camera is cheap, perfect for a gopro alternative. the waterproof casing looks durable but the buttons on the sides are stiff so you have to push quite hard to actually press it,

26.9.2016

I purchased the EX5000 to use as a camera on my road bike. Primarily I wanted to have something to mount and capture any "incidents" whilst riding on the busy UK roads - just in case I need any video evidence, but also as a bit of fun recording some cycling action. The package I received was of very high quality and included all the accessories that you would need to get started as well as the camera itself and instructions. I found the setup and menu's etc to be very intuitive for basic recording needs - in other words you can get this thing recording video and stills almost straight out of the box - just a 32MB [max] MicroSD card needed.

18.12.2015

-----------------Please note: Amazon restrict the file size of videos uploaded. This means the example footage in my review video isn't as high a quality as you actually get.-----------------Kindly provided to me for review this is a great little camera with a lot of features for a very reasonable price.The camera itself is tiny and records to a microSD card which isn't included. What is included is a huge array of accessories such as a protective case, additional battery, and tripod mount to name but a few.There are loads of options to dig through and experiment with and I was pleased to see a timelapse mode.

30.9.2015

This is a Go Pro type camera with a 14MP fish-eye lens (uncorrected), which is higher resolution than the early cameras and in principle sufficient to shoot a commercial billboard. It is supplied with a reasonable range of starter accessories, all compatible with the Go Pro and independent suppliers. It's relatively easy to get accessories now, and whatever you want to attach it to, there is probably one out there for it.The controls are standard for this type of camera. To remove the Micro SD card or connect to USB or HDMI, you need to take it out of the waterproof casing, but all of the controls can be operated through the waterproof casing with a bit of pressure.The stand out feature on this particular one is the Wifi.

dbpower EX5000 WIFI - Reviews

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