There are plenty of cheap action cameras, ones that shot 4k that are often just up scaled 1440p or even 1080p footage. So you get what you pay for. And there is this here, the Xiaomi Mijia 4k action camera that shoots native 4k and sells for around $90. The Mijia 4k shoots 4k and 30 fps and a very high (for action cams) 60 Mbps on the superfine quality setting. The 4k image quality for the price is decent, not perfect with some minor grain to the image and the F2.8 aperture and Sony IMX317 sensor is poor in low light situations. And there is EIS to stabilise footage reducing shakes and movements, but it doesn’t work on 4k footage. At least you get it when shooting in 1080p 60 fps and 30FPS. The camera is tiny, well made with an outer metal frame and 2.4″ touchscreen. It’s easy to use and comes with an English ROM. Below’s my review of the Xiaomi Mijia 4k action camera, overall for the video quality, build and price it’s a nice alternative for those that aren’t looking to shell out $500 for the GoPro Hero5 or 6. At the moment you can pick one up for $89.99 here with coupon GBMIJIATN
Pros:
- Cheap sells for $100 or even less
- Good video quality for the price
- 4k 30 fps @ 60 Mbit/s
- Great build quality
- Tiny size & lightweight
- Up to 2 hours battery life
- Can be run remotely via the app
- Decent EIS on 1080p footage
- 2.4″ inch touchscreen
- Bug fixes via firmware updates
- Wireless G/N & BT 4.1
- 3-Axis gimbal in the works (Coming soon)
Cons:
- Doesn’t come with a case or lens cap (has to be bought separately)
- No EIS on 4k video or No mic input
- Bad in low light
- Some noticeable grain in video
- Very poor slow motion video
- Loudspeaker distorts at max volume
- Screen is hard to see in direct sunlight
There is also a dedicated 3-axis gimbal coming soon for this mini 4k camera. It will solve the shakiness in video in some situations where you can use the gimbal, but it’s not suited to mountain biking or the like.