I am currently having a hard choice between the 170 an 90. I'll use mostly for cycling but the 170 distortion REALLY bugs me. Low light exposure doesn't seem to differ so much between, as do the colours/colour temperature/white balance. I have many years experience as a photographic retoucher, so slight variances in colour are extremely noticeable. Pausing the video @5:00 (showing the 90) & 5:18 (showing the 170) really shows the difference at it's fullest extent; The 90 degrees version seeming to suffer a green/yellow colour cast. This not only seems to apply in low light, but in general day lighting conditions too. @5:49, though subtle, the left 170 image has more reds in the green grass and trees, giving an impression towards a deeper depth of colour. This in turn gives me the impression of perhaps more accurate colour reproduction on the 170. Again @6:01 on the stairs, the wood on the left (170) is more red then the right, which is more blue green (90) and so on. The apparent subtle differences in colour remain consistent between the two versions. One theory could perhaps be that less image/light/colour is entering the sensor on the 90 and so the colour balance is being interpreted, measured or metered differently, even though in theory every other aspect of the hardware is identical. BUT STILL the distortion really bugs me!!
Hi Chris, I can only admire the depth of analysis you are sharing here. For someone like me, with inexperienced eye it is still quite hard to notice differences of such type. And you managed to figured that out despite the additional compression applied by youtube's conversion. I may say that I also prefer the 170 degree camera color reproduction. In the last weeks there have been some emails exchanged by me and the FireFly team, and there seems to be an idea of bringing a fisheye correction feature in the firmware. Also - there are software solutions that offer such a feature (like adobe premiere). Overall - having the fisheye effect makes people easily understand it is an action camera, and likely that feeling helps us not to pay too much attention to other sort of imperfections like movements, shakes and vibrations. On the other side, you may also have a look at the Xiaomi Mijia actioncam - it has a feature to correct the distortion. Not removed entirely, but is significantly reduced. Disadvantage there is that you need to order accessories and mounts separately.
Thank you ever so much for your quick, yet very thorough reply. I am glad that my analytic eye is appreciated. I really admire the hard work that you put into your videos and I can't tell you how much dedicated folk like you, help people like me to understand this crowded world of tech! I am new to "action cameras" but my research has narrowed my choices down to Sjcam/ThiEYE & FireFly. Sjcam looks pretty but is the most expensive and has the least return for the money out of the three. ThiEYE seems to have the best mic/audio, but (forum) rumour has it firmware updates are not so frequent. For me the Firefly seems to have won the battle, the sticking point really is which version (170 or 90) to settle with. I have also noticed that FireFly seems to have representatives who are very active in various forums, listening and responding to their users. The fact that you have informed me the FireFly team are still developing ideas for this camera is very reassuring. That said I would imagine an onboard fisheye correction feature to be quite resource intensive on the camera. As you have said in your previous video/s, this correction procedure can't compare with video editing software post production anyway. So for that reason the Mijia is not quite so advantageous, especially considering the requirement for additional accessories too! Decisions, decisions... But mostly it comes down to this: My stated primary use = cycling = action. The wider FOV is perhaps better suited for this purpose and to echo your previous comment: *_"if you are going to use it for bike/ground stuff - take the wide angle. You can shoot at narrow angle with your smartphone anyway"_* I can not emphasise how useful this advice has been. Thank-you.
Wow, awesome that you have shared about your research. And you absolutely are on the right way! Looks like you discovered tons of information that most of the people do not come close to. For SJCAM ... I believe today was a pretty bad day for my attitude towards them, but I prefer to wait a few days before making any judgement. Still, if my finding is right there will be another good reason to stay away from the sj7. And on top of that its frame is not that good for attaching to bike. The ThiEye is in fact a great camera! I love it - menus are not that tidy, but build quality is lovely. I have crashed it with a drone twice (10-20 meters height) and it survived. Only damage was slight dislocation of the front panel, which was easily fixable. And - after reading your last comment I am now pretty sure you will be most happy with the FireFly 8s. Indeed - out of the three brands, Firefly had the best by far communication. They even comment over here from time to time, which is admirable! I know how much time it costs me to respond to people, and perhaps they have to monitor hundreds of channels. That was unbelievable to see and there aren't many companies doing it. They also disclosed future camera plans - there will be a firefly 8 (no "s"), which will have a bit older chipset (target is better price), there will be another 8SE (maybe) with omnivision optics, and at a later stage something based on newer Ambarella chipset. Which really makes a purchase of the firefly 8s a very reasonable purchase - even if you decide to sell it later on, you would be able to get most of the money paid - it will still be a 4K camera with wonderful characteristics. And via the firmware updates it can only become better. As for them - looks like they will keep updating it as long as it sells good. There aren't too many other cams that offer better features-per-buck ratio :-) Unless people are fans of touch screens... But for action camera I always think of mud, and having real buttons gives me better confidence. Maybe getting old... :D Once you make a decision, if any of the codes is not working - please let me know - there will likely be a way to get a good discount from gearbest.
OK it's confession time. I recently acquired a ThiEYE T5e AND a FireFly 8s (170). I managed to jump on a very special GearBest black Friday deal, each cam costing just £45 delivered! I am yet to do any serious testing on them, after seeing how much fisheye distortion is present. I had the intention of selling one and perhaps making a little profit, or both if i decided the 8s (90) was better. I am really curious to know how SJcam have upset you so? I researched some more on 'in camera' fish eye correction and this is something I understand has already been implemented on previous cameras, not surprisingly GoPro has it, but I also discovered some footage from a friend's sj5000x that also has this feature and the quality is truly stunning!! ua-cam.com/video/sonTBSZosz4/v-deo.html (fast forward to the stream 5:00) After seeing how well this feature can work, I would be very, very interested to know about the progression FireFly are making with their distortion correction feature. I hope it comes. What do you think, will it become a reality for the not too distant future? Where is the best place for me to make posts, so that FireFly will see? Hopefully I can put some pressure on them to influence the firmware feature :)
As far as I know they are actively working on some new models, and likely that's their focus at the moment. I will certainly ask my contact there about any ETAs (if there is no update from my side within a week, would you please write something here, as sometimes the notifications disappear of they are too many?). I think you did a veeery good choice! I bought another firefly 8s 90 degree for about the same price :D And also a lovely electric scooter :D Black friday is an excellent opportunity for channels with modest budget like mine. As for SJCAM... I will soon publish something. Still not the right time to disclose, because it is fair to see their official statement first.
I bought the 8SE 90° version, updated firmware to U105. I have modded its len's so its seeing IR light now, its a good camera for what I need it for which is filming at night out on location in total darkness using IR lights. I have on order the SJ9 strike on order.
Hi, thanks so much finally made the decision to buy the 8s instead of Thieye t5e, Okasa v50 an sj7 star. And now I had to choose the viewing angle!!! Thanks to your video I have chosen 170 degrees. Thanks for the great and detailed comparison.
Hey Wackid, I am sure you will be happy with your choice. 170 degrees is awesome and even if you need some day to crop to a narrow angle, there are ways to do that via software. Enjoy your new toy! ;-)
Wouldn't be almost the same thing if we use the 170 degree FOV model and just configure it to record in 90 degree? or enabling some sort of cropping / distortion correction?
Thanks for the comparison, I ended up with the 170 degree version. I can always crop it in camera with some loss of resolution. Looking at that gimble, the Smooth Q is only around 40 dollars more, would that be a better choice? (unsolicited crit: the music is really obnoxious and intrusive. Dont they have some smooth jazz or something else thats easier on the ears?
There was a period where I was a super-great fan of that 90-degree angle of view. Especially attached to a drone it looks stunning! Sometimes people prefer to watch action camera-like footage - it the picture is too dynamic, you may want to increase the action effect and that's where you may look for distortions and fish-eye kind of picture. So it is more or less a matter of personal choice. Both options are awesome, and they have the same firmware and features. Excellent cameras in my opinion! Maybe the best of 2017.
That's right...that fish-eye look instantaneously gives the feel of action going on in the scene. so i think it's up to what you aim for in the final edit....thanks
Give a suggestion to you that you understand more about it. To use in drone, which one do you indicate to me, the 8se 170 ° or 8se and 90 ° ?? I have Eken h9r more when I shoot with the drone at a height of about 100 meters the image looks like a globe, then I want to change because I did not like it
Right - it is often a personal preference, so if you don't like the "bowl" effect - getting something with "non-distortion" angle is a good idea. And the 90-degree version of the Firefly 8S / 8SE is a perfect choice.
In this particular video there are a lot of artifacts because of the compression. But it is true - with the wide angle lens you can see more distortions at the edges when movements occur. |On the other side, with the 90-degree version you have to use a monopod to keep it further from your face.
I like a lot the wide angle feeling of action cameras and I will definitely choose a wide-angle lens in such a case :-) The 90-degree is nice, but you can get the same angle with your smartphone :D It is good if you shoot aerial photography, but for landline activity I do like a lot wide angle. Please note - it is personal opinion, and your perception may be totally different.
Also it seems, confirmed by your video that the 8S tends to overexpose in full sun, the landscape shots would be better at -1 EV correction. I have the Vimble C and noticed the same weight issue. Coin works...
I really cannot tell the difference between 90 and 170 TBH lol! Great video by the way. Also, I am not sure why they call it a 4K camera when its 1080p
This is personal choice. Some people like the fisheye effect of the wider angle lens, and some - don't. You can have non-distorted picture from your smartphone :-)
Tech4All Thanks.. i have already ordered 90fov one. Lets see how it goes. I am just concerned if lesser fov would be an issue. All other aspects wont change much i guess.
Also videos of 90fov has more shakes.. that is also a concern. Why is the 90 one sold at higher price? Other than no fish eye effect, does it have any other benefits?
It has a more expensive lens, and because of that the price is higher. That's its main benefit. All the rest is the same. Oh, and because of the larger bump for the lens, the waterproof case is slightly different.
Hello I am interested in the 8s 90 but someone has spotted a bug ,when taking a time lapse the total video cant be more then 1,5 minutes (the camera turns off) .Is this true? I want to make music videos 3-4 minutes long with time lapses , and I cant find any timelapse more then 1 minute long
Hmm, I have made time lapse for as long as the battery goes down. Maybe it was just the battery going too exhausted and the camera switching off by itself?
Hey Honest Customer, I prefer watching and recording at 30FPS, because most of my cameras are configured to shoot at this frame rate. Overall I prefer 24fps, but these cams have no such setting. If you'd like some 60fps raw samples I may offer some. There is a newer release of the camera - the 8Se - you can check it here: ua-cam.com/video/qbMru4q67HQ/v-deo.html
If I mounted this on my bicycle pointed backward, in 170 degree mode, do you think it would capture the license plate of the next person to hit me in enough detail that the police could read it? I've been hit from behind 5 times now, 4 of them were hit and runs.
Right now I'd go for the wide angle lens. An year ago I was quite a fan of the non-distortion version because I was shooting a lot with a drone. I think the wide-angle is suitable for more action-based scenes like biking.
Yes, the quality is about the same. Because the wider lens has greater angle, it passes more light through, so it offers slightly better low-light footage.
What kind of footage are you going to shoot the most? What is your priority - better price, more accessories? ANy brand preferences? Overall - I'd go for the FireFly 8s from the three mentioned.
if one has 90 degrees FOV and the other 170, the difference should be very big. However in the videos you shot, the FOV seems the same. Am I not understanding something here?
Hi George - yeah- that is mostly the intention of the video - showing you the difference between both. As mentioned - I am using the same shooting modes. The 170-degree angle adds more visible items in the picture but adds distortions. And indeed - the 90-degree version doesn't cut that much from the picture.
Nice Man well explained. Hey i am mountaineer i usually go trekking himalayas, so could you please suggest me which one should i buy 170 or 90 degree this would be my 1st action camara and how about battery?
I will recommend sticking to wide-angle lens if you are going to mostly film actions and hiking. It adds more dynamics to the footage. You most likely have a smartphone - which well covers narrower angle non-distorted footage. |As for battery - having a spare one is not bad, but you can also use a power bank and charge it while not in use.
Yes, that is right. You may check for it in TomTop - they are giving huge discounts on that. I bought mine for 99 USD, and the week after that there was a sale for 89. Not sure if it is still valid :\
hello I'd like to thank you so much for your great work that truly affects my selection but I have some inquiry about its capability to keep working while charging and how it acted in night condition with you?
Hi Wael, Most welcome - pleasure is all mine. Yes, you can charge the camera while it is working (every camera that supports car mode should be able to) - so you are all set there. As for night conditions... I have an old Sj4000. It has a 4mp sensor. Meaning that the light has to reach these megapixels within the range. The firefly sensor is having more megapixels, which means that the same amount of light (almost) has to be distributed among more pixels. So it is slightly worse than the good old SJ4000, at least in terms of details. On the other side, the ambarella chipset does good postprocessing, and it has much less noise. I cannot say it is great for night shooting, but no action camera is :-) So it is comparably alright. I am about to upload a video from a cave that is entirely dark, and you will see that the camera performs not worse than a smartphone camera (I have a sample versus the oneplus 3). As for comparing both versions - the 170 degree angle is wider and allows more light inside the sensor, thus no surprise that it gives a bit better and lighter picture.
I used to recommend a lot the 90-degree - awesome for drone photography. But... if you are going to use it for bike/ground stuff - take the wide angle. You can shoot at narrow angle with your smartphone anyway :-)
Hello Huruhara, Yes, if I mention EIS, it is about the Gyro. Most of the camera have a combination - the Gyro + some electronically based improvements of the picture for better results.
UA-cam vids are compressed , on your pc tbh.. which one had better video quality and the right colors and less issues? There is a huge price drop right now
Yeah, especially on that video the compression was quite bad :-( Much worse than the actual videos are. If you would like some raw samples, please let me know and I will upload some. Both cameras have the same hardware, just a different angle position of the lens. Smaller angle = less light in the sensor. Less light = slightly worse picture. Firmware on both is absolutely the same, which confirms my words about the hardware. There was a period where I preferred the 90-degree version, because it looked better for aerial photography. But right now, I'll likely go for the wide angle. Just think of what you prefer - straight lines and less in your image, or wider angle and a bit of fisheye (with can be corrected via software).
There was no filter applied on that video. We comment the compression in youtube which worsens the quality. Action cameras videos here ususally go without any filters applied, so that people can watch genuinely raw performance.
Здравей, хвала за труда който си положил. Занимавам се с разни активности на открито....кайт бъги и треил бягане. Досега имам камера Drift ghost-S, но специално за треил бягането търся нещо със стабилизатор....изгледах доста и твоите видея ме навиха да си взема Firefly 8S...въпроса е 90 или 170....и двете ли имат стабилизатор или само 90?
Здрасти и много благодаря за топлите думи! Сега прегледах канала ти - много готски хобита :-) Съвсем откровено, никога не съм смятал стабилизацията на камерите за достатъчно добра. Дори сега в рекламите на новото GoPro нещата са снимани с гимбал, макар да твърдят обратното. От всички камери, досега най-добро впечатление ми направи стабилизацията на xiaomi mijia. Просто работи страхотно. Но... там с аксесоарите е греда малко. Иначе при FireFly стабилизация има и при двата модела, като работи абсолтно идентично. Компенсацията е добра, и ако не с прекалено сериозни вибрациите - горе-долу е ок. Ако успееш да откриеш вариант да ползваш gimbal - в момента smooth q е на ниска цена, и макар да не пише, че може да стабилизира камери, го може. Просто държача се завърта на 90 градуса.
Angga Yanuar that is a pretty tough choice. You need to decide whether fisheye is what you like or not. The firefly non distortion gives a more cinematic feeling, while the sj7 is with the wide angle lens and it gives the nice actioncam feeling. The second pillar of the decision is the price :)
I got the 8S 90 version. It is out of focus. 7S is a lot sharper and has more settings not available on the 8S (flip video / low contrast / raw / video time lapse 1 sec minimum instead of 0.5). Also 8S does not show EV correction, settings icons on LCD are illegible in bright sun. 8S has way better gyro, but with an out of focus lens it is useless.
Likely you beliee it is out of focus because I am too close to it. Recommendation is not to shoot things that are closer than a meter. And in that video I am usually quite close to it. That's why you see me blurred. And likely we could recommend using the camera for almost everything else, but for vlogs.
tech4all no I shot a city skyline from a bridge over a canal and shot buildings and street signs out of focus . 7s no issues definitely I did not buy it for selfie vlogs
Yeah they are quite similar. I believe there is a difference with low light though - the wide angle lens performs better. Not too much better, but it is slightly more detailed.
:D I used to be a huge fan of the 90-degree last summer and made a lot of recordings with it. If you are intending to attach it to a drone it will provide phenomenal footage :-)
Ah :-) Liking or disliking is up to you. Maybe youtube has now more statistics that want to collect. Have a wonderful evening and I am glad you enjoyed it. Hope to see you around more often and if any questions appear make sure to ask :-)
I want to do UA-cam videos but I don't want to invest a lot of money because I cannot afford it. I was thinking for days to buy an action camera instead of an ordinary one because of my budget. I have a tripod and I need a camera in a stationary place I am not into sports. So I hate fisheye effect. I don't want the disortion. And I don't care so much for the audio quality of the action camera because I will record the videos with my laptop and professional microphones. (The types of video that I want to make are covers of songs because my husband is singer.) I wondering if you can suggest me the right solution, because I am afraid to choose and I don't want to buy the wrong camera. I care only for the video quality (and I don't want the fisheye effect). Can you suggest me an action camera? (Because you have tried so many) You can suggest me even an ordinary camera if there is any good in such low price but I don't think so. (Sorry about my English I am from Greece and I don't use English regularly.) Thanks for the help and the time you spend for me. :)
Kalimera! I am so much looking forward to go back to Greece in June :-) Now - for the camera - it is always tough to recommend something, and maybe I may surprise you with what I'll say: for the kind of purpose you have - maybe getting a second hand camera is a good idea. There are plenty of them and there are many photographers that can recommend god ones (I am unfortunately quite far away from them). Last one I used was Panasonic TZ series many years ago... Action cameras are mostly for actions and for placing them at angles where a regular large camera won't fit. Therefore they have some (sometimes many) limitations. If you still insist on getting an Action Camera - maybe the only solution which is good is the Non-Distortion version of the Firefly. But I don't believe it is better than a cheap camera recording Full HD. Could you tell me what kind of light will be used primarily? And whether you need 4K or Full HD is good enough? Do you have a kind of footage that you want to target - just point to a video that you believe your new camera needs to shoot like. This will help me to narrow down ideas.
tech4all Thanks for the response :) . I don't care about 4k at all. I only need a good camera with no blurry image, 1080p is enough for me. I just need a smooth experience. I have already a tripod that I am using with an adapter in order to fit my smartphone as a "camera". If I had a good smartphone maybe I wouldn't try find something else but I have a xiaomi redmi note 3 pro (nice spects for every day use but it does not have the best camera). An action camera with good light conditions and not over exposure I think it might work and do the work. Ordinary cameras are a little bit expensive and for sure will be crap the around 100€ ones. :) Yeah I could try find something from second hand but for now I haven't find anything interesting (only some very old ones that doesn't deserve it). Your response made my day. :D I am looking videos for days trying to find a solution for good image quality and low budget but I don't want to waste my money in the wrong product. So I am glad for your help. You know better for sure.
I could invest some money but I don't wanna invest more that 200€. Tight budget. :P (Oh and I want to remind that I don't care about the microphone of the camera, I will record the songs with professional microphones from computer. :)
The 90-degree Firefly is then a good option. Or look around for lower priced other types of cameras. You didn't mention - what kind of resolution will you shoot at? 4K or 1080p?
Now I see the bigger part of the response :-) The camera of the Redmi note 3 pro is not that bad! In fact I am not sure it is worse than the Firefly. Well - for sure its sensor is perhaps smaller, and non-branded, but I don't think it will be a huge upgrade. I mean - maybe postponing the investment and getting something decent will pay off in time and give you the "wow" effect you are looking for. I can easily tell you that the Firefly is awesome, but I feel it may not be the right choice for filming music videos. I know it is above your budget (just a bit) - but should be way better than the smartphone and the Firefly - check out the Panasonic TZ70.
I am currently having a hard choice between the 170 an 90. I'll use mostly for cycling but the 170 distortion REALLY bugs me.
Low light exposure doesn't seem to differ so much between, as do the colours/colour temperature/white balance. I have many years experience as a photographic retoucher, so slight variances in colour are extremely noticeable. Pausing the video @5:00 (showing the 90) & 5:18 (showing the 170) really shows the difference at it's fullest extent; The 90 degrees version seeming to suffer a green/yellow colour cast. This not only seems to apply in low light, but in general day lighting conditions too. @5:49, though subtle, the left 170 image has more reds in the green grass and trees, giving an impression towards a deeper depth of colour. This in turn gives me the impression of perhaps more accurate colour reproduction on the 170. Again @6:01 on the stairs, the wood on the left (170) is more red then the right, which is more blue green (90) and so on. The apparent subtle differences in colour remain consistent between the two versions. One theory could perhaps be that less image/light/colour is entering the sensor on the 90 and so the colour balance is being interpreted, measured or metered differently, even though in theory every other aspect of the hardware is identical.
BUT STILL the distortion really bugs me!!
Hi Chris, I can only admire the depth of analysis you are sharing here. For someone like me, with inexperienced eye it is still quite hard to notice differences of such type. And you managed to figured that out despite the additional compression applied by youtube's conversion.
I may say that I also prefer the 170 degree camera color reproduction. In the last weeks there have been some emails exchanged by me and the FireFly team, and there seems to be an idea of bringing a fisheye correction feature in the firmware. Also - there are software solutions that offer such a feature (like adobe premiere).
Overall - having the fisheye effect makes people easily understand it is an action camera, and likely that feeling helps us not to pay too much attention to other sort of imperfections like movements, shakes and vibrations.
On the other side, you may also have a look at the Xiaomi Mijia actioncam - it has a feature to correct the distortion. Not removed entirely, but is significantly reduced. Disadvantage there is that you need to order accessories and mounts separately.
Thank you ever so much for your quick, yet very thorough reply. I am glad that my analytic eye is appreciated. I really admire the hard work that you put into your videos and I can't tell you how much dedicated folk like you, help people like me to understand this crowded world of tech! I am new to "action cameras" but my research has narrowed my choices down to Sjcam/ThiEYE & FireFly.
Sjcam looks pretty but is the most expensive and has the least return for the money out of the three.
ThiEYE seems to have the best mic/audio, but (forum) rumour has it firmware updates are not so frequent.
For me the Firefly seems to have won the battle, the sticking point really is which version (170 or 90) to settle with.
I have also noticed that FireFly seems to have representatives who are very active in various forums, listening and responding to their users. The fact that you have informed me the FireFly team are still developing ideas for this camera is very reassuring. That said I would imagine an onboard fisheye correction feature to be quite resource intensive on the camera. As you have said in your previous video/s, this correction procedure can't compare with video editing software post production anyway. So for that reason the Mijia is not quite so advantageous, especially considering the requirement for additional accessories too! Decisions, decisions...
But mostly it comes down to this: My stated primary use = cycling = action. The wider FOV is perhaps better suited for this purpose and to echo your previous comment:
*_"if you are going to use it for bike/ground stuff - take the wide angle. You can shoot at narrow angle with your smartphone anyway"_*
I can not emphasise how useful this advice has been. Thank-you.
Wow, awesome that you have shared about your research. And you absolutely are on the right way! Looks like you discovered tons of information that most of the people do not come close to.
For SJCAM ... I believe today was a pretty bad day for my attitude towards them, but I prefer to wait a few days before making any judgement. Still, if my finding is right there will be another good reason to stay away from the sj7. And on top of that its frame is not that good for attaching to bike.
The ThiEye is in fact a great camera! I love it - menus are not that tidy, but build quality is lovely. I have crashed it with a drone twice (10-20 meters height) and it survived. Only damage was slight dislocation of the front panel, which was easily fixable.
And - after reading your last comment I am now pretty sure you will be most happy with the FireFly 8s.
Indeed - out of the three brands, Firefly had the best by far communication. They even comment over here from time to time, which is admirable! I know how much time it costs me to respond to people, and perhaps they have to monitor hundreds of channels. That was unbelievable to see and there aren't many companies doing it.
They also disclosed future camera plans - there will be a firefly 8 (no "s"), which will have a bit older chipset (target is better price), there will be another 8SE (maybe) with omnivision optics, and at a later stage something based on newer Ambarella chipset. Which really makes a purchase of the firefly 8s a very reasonable purchase - even if you decide to sell it later on, you would be able to get most of the money paid - it will still be a 4K camera with wonderful characteristics. And via the firmware updates it can only become better. As for them - looks like they will keep updating it as long as it sells good. There aren't too many other cams that offer better features-per-buck ratio :-) Unless people are fans of touch screens... But for action camera I always think of mud, and having real buttons gives me better confidence. Maybe getting old... :D
Once you make a decision, if any of the codes is not working - please let me know - there will likely be a way to get a good discount from gearbest.
OK it's confession time. I recently acquired a ThiEYE T5e AND a FireFly 8s (170). I managed to jump on a very special GearBest black Friday deal, each cam costing just £45 delivered! I am yet to do any serious testing on them, after seeing how much fisheye distortion is present. I had the intention of selling one and perhaps making a little profit, or both if i decided the 8s (90) was better.
I am really curious to know how SJcam have upset you so? I researched some more on 'in camera' fish eye correction and this is something I understand has already been implemented on previous cameras, not surprisingly GoPro has it, but I also discovered some footage from a friend's sj5000x that also has this feature and the quality is truly stunning!! ua-cam.com/video/sonTBSZosz4/v-deo.html (fast forward to the stream 5:00)
After seeing how well this feature can work, I would be very, very interested to know about the progression FireFly are making with their distortion correction feature. I hope it comes. What do you think, will it become a reality for the not too distant future? Where is the best place for me to make posts, so that FireFly will see? Hopefully I can put some pressure on them to influence the firmware feature :)
As far as I know they are actively working on some new models, and likely that's their focus at the moment. I will certainly ask my contact there about any ETAs (if there is no update from my side within a week, would you please write something here, as sometimes the notifications disappear of they are too many?).
I think you did a veeery good choice! I bought another firefly 8s 90 degree for about the same price :D And also a lovely electric scooter :D Black friday is an excellent opportunity for channels with modest budget like mine.
As for SJCAM... I will soon publish something. Still not the right time to disclose, because it is fair to see their official statement first.
I bought the 8SE 90° version, updated firmware to U105. I have modded its len's so its seeing IR light now, its a good camera for what I need it for which is filming at night out on location in total darkness using IR lights. I have on order the SJ9 strike on order.
which one is best for drone shooting for cenimatic views
The most affordable one - DJI Spark. Then Mavic Air, Mavic Pro/Zoom - each one of these is great.
No, 90 or 170 degrees of firefly cameras, which one is best for drone shooting
@@SAGDroneTechnologies The 90-degree edition looks more cinematic.
Probably the best review to date, thanks.
Thanks mate! I miss these good times about action cameras...
Hi, thanks so much finally made the decision to buy the 8s instead of Thieye t5e, Okasa v50 an sj7 star. And now I had to choose the viewing angle!!!
Thanks to your video I have chosen 170 degrees. Thanks for the great and detailed comparison.
Hey Wackid, I am sure you will be happy with your choice. 170 degrees is awesome and even if you need some day to crop to a narrow angle, there are ways to do that via software.
Enjoy your new toy! ;-)
there's now a firefly 8se w/touchscreen&external mic
There is one. Currently working on its review :-)
how do I connect this wifi action cam to my cellphone. I've scanned the barcode but it can't connect.
Better get in touch with Hawkeye's support. Usually - you connect to the Wi-Fi of the camera and then the app should show it.
Can we take pics with no fisheye in 170 version?
No, there is no such setting. No cropping supported either.
But you can take a post-production software and fix the fisheye if that is too annoying.
Nice comparison. Thanks for the video :)
Nice video man, very helpful !!!
Wouldn't be almost the same thing if we use the 170 degree FOV model and just configure it to record in 90 degree? or enabling some sort of cropping / distortion correction?
It will be different - software adjustments are never as good as hardware; But yeah - it is an option. Generally I prefer wide-angle actioncams.
for motovlog which is dope?
The wider - the better! 😎
Thank you so much, great review!!!
Good demo video. The 90 degree FOV looks much cleaner. Maybe you can do underwater tests in future.
It is a good idea :-) Hopefully next month there will be a good chance to do it :D
Thanks for the comparison, I ended up with the 170 degree version. I can always crop it in camera with some loss of resolution. Looking at that gimble, the Smooth Q is only around 40 dollars more, would that be a better choice? (unsolicited crit: the music is really obnoxious and intrusive. Dont they have some smooth jazz or something else thats easier on the ears?
Yep, you can do it! but you lose more than some quality
Is it just me or the 90 degree one looks better? With less lens distortion it seems that the footage looks more usable.
There was a period where I was a super-great fan of that 90-degree angle of view. Especially attached to a drone it looks stunning!
Sometimes people prefer to watch action camera-like footage - it the picture is too dynamic, you may want to increase the action effect and that's where you may look for distortions and fish-eye kind of picture. So it is more or less a matter of personal choice. Both options are awesome, and they have the same firmware and features. Excellent cameras in my opinion! Maybe the best of 2017.
That's right...that fish-eye look instantaneously gives the feel of action going on in the scene. so i think it's up to what you aim for in the final edit....thanks
Give a suggestion to you that you understand more about it. To use in drone, which one do you indicate to me, the 8se 170 ° or 8se and 90 ° ?? I have Eken h9r more when I shoot with the drone at a height of about 100 meters the image looks like a globe, then I want to change because I did not like it
Right - it is often a personal preference, so if you don't like the "bowl" effect - getting something with "non-distortion" angle is a good idea. And the 90-degree version of the Firefly 8S / 8SE is a perfect choice.
Oh, by the way - there are some softwares that can improve the distortions, but ... it is never that perfect as we want it to be.
Ok, Thankyou
I think 90 degree is better for vlogging because the video in 170 degree cam seemed to be distorted whenever there was a movement
In this particular video there are a lot of artifacts because of the compression. But it is true - with the wide angle lens you can see more distortions at the edges when movements occur.
|On the other side, with the 90-degree version you have to use a monopod to keep it further from your face.
ND Filter might help for blown out lights
Have you tried any particular brand with the Firefly cameras?
nice test but next time please render in a higher data rate.
Thanks Martin. Yup - point taken - I also noticed that the rendering has destroyed a lot of the quality.
I have a question about this camera. when the camera is recording video in video recording mode can he take photos at the same time ?
Hi Ertan - this model does not support such a feature.
thanks.
Firefly 8se 90°degree or Yi 4k?
This is a tough choice. Both of them 😎😇👍
I am still confused .....will you plz suggest me best for my cycling??
I like a lot the wide angle feeling of action cameras and I will definitely choose a wide-angle lens in such a case :-)
The 90-degree is nice, but you can get the same angle with your smartphone :D It is good if you shoot aerial photography, but for landline activity I do like a lot wide angle. Please note - it is personal opinion, and your perception may be totally different.
Also it seems, confirmed by your video that the 8S tends to overexpose in full sun, the landscape shots would be better at -1 EV correction. I have the Vimble C and noticed the same weight issue. Coin works...
can it output live view on hdmi out?
Yes, that feature is supported.
Which is better to be mounted on a drone?
Certainly the 90-degree version looks more cinematic and is quite similar to DJI camera's specs (I mean here the Spark and mavics mostly).
I really cannot tell the difference between 90 and 170 TBH lol! Great video by the way. Also, I am not sure why they call it a 4K camera when its 1080p
It is a 4K one.
Hello friend, I am writing from Russia through a translator. What are the best settings for everyday use for 170?
I mostly use the Auto settings and shoot primarily in 1080p 30fps.
@@TechMishka why not 60 fps?
why not 60 fps?
I have to get firefly 8se but confused between 90 and 170fov lens.
I will be using for motovlogs, travel vlogs, trek trips. Thanks.
This is personal choice. Some people like the fisheye effect of the wider angle lens, and some - don't.
You can have non-distorted picture from your smartphone :-)
Tech4All Thanks.. i have already ordered 90fov one. Lets see how it goes.
I am just concerned if lesser fov would be an issue.
All other aspects wont change much i guess.
Also videos of 90fov has more shakes.. that is also a concern.
Why is the 90 one sold at higher price?
Other than no fish eye effect, does it have any other benefits?
It has a more expensive lens, and because of that the price is higher. That's its main benefit. All the rest is the same.
Oh, and because of the larger bump for the lens, the waterproof case is slightly different.
The 90FOV is in fact good enough, do not worry about it.
Hello I am interested in the 8s 90 but someone has spotted a bug ,when taking a time lapse the total video cant be more then 1,5 minutes (the camera turns off) .Is this true? I want to make music videos 3-4 minutes long with time lapses , and I cant find any timelapse more then 1 minute long
Hmm, I have made time lapse for as long as the battery goes down. Maybe it was just the battery going too exhausted and the camera switching off by itself?
Be sure to use an SD card with properly fast speeds.
Yeah, check this website out: www.cnfpv.com/portal.php?mod=view&aid=49
Why are they ran at 30fps? Other reviews on this Camera they have it set at 1080 60fps??
Hey Honest Customer, I prefer watching and recording at 30FPS, because most of my cameras are configured to shoot at this frame rate. Overall I prefer 24fps, but these cams have no such setting.
If you'd like some 60fps raw samples I may offer some. There is a newer release of the camera - the 8Se - you can check it here: ua-cam.com/video/qbMru4q67HQ/v-deo.html
If I mounted this on my bicycle pointed backward, in 170 degree mode, do you think it would capture the license plate of the next person to hit me in enough detail that the police could read it? I've been hit from behind 5 times now, 4 of them were hit and runs.
I hope you are fine after these hits!
Yes - the camera will record the plate numbers and they will be well readable.
Hello what battery fits in the 90 degree version ?
anything on ebay?
You will need to buy a firefly 8s battery - model is S009R . goo.gl/LvLpvL
thank you
why most of videos used this music background? what is the title to that song pls. reply
The track is by Alan Walker - Fade. There is a newer version of it called "Faded". :-)
Sir i am confused between these 2 lenses.......can u suggest me any one lense so i can do vlogs and for bike riding........ Plz reply
Right now I'd go for the wide angle lens. An year ago I was quite a fan of the non-distortion version because I was shooting a lot with a drone.
I think the wide-angle is suitable for more action-based scenes like biking.
When you put the 170 degree camera on 90 in the settings, is the quality the same as the 90? Great video btw
Yes, the quality is about the same. Because the wider lens has greater angle, it passes more light through, so it offers slightly better low-light footage.
@@TechMishka Cool man thank you.
I noticed that you made a 7:50 video that wasted a lot of time, when all you HAD to of done was record about 30 seconds of video with each lens.
Yeah, one of my first videos. But for 30 seconds most people won't notice the differences in both daytime and night time.
Hi which action cam should i buy? The sj6 legend or the sj7 star or the firefly 8s?
What kind of footage are you going to shoot the most? What is your priority - better price, more accessories? ANy brand preferences?
Overall - I'd go for the FireFly 8s from the three mentioned.
Nice job.
if one has 90 degrees FOV and the other 170, the difference should be very big. However in the videos you shot, the FOV seems the same. Am I not understanding something here?
Hi George - yeah- that is mostly the intention of the video - showing you the difference between both. As mentioned - I am using the same shooting modes. The 170-degree angle adds more visible items in the picture but adds distortions.
And indeed - the 90-degree version doesn't cut that much from the picture.
What drone do you use?
It is the good old Bayangtoys X16 with Walkera G2D Gimbal.
What do you recommend for vlogging?
The 90 or 170 version?
You will find it easier with the 170-degree version.
Nice Man well explained.
Hey i am mountaineer i usually go trekking himalayas, so could you please suggest me which one should i buy 170 or 90 degree
this would be my 1st action camara and how about battery?
I will recommend sticking to wide-angle lens if you are going to mostly film actions and hiking. It adds more dynamics to the footage. You most likely have a smartphone - which well covers narrower angle non-distorted footage.
|As for battery - having a spare one is not bad, but you can also use a power bank and charge it while not in use.
@@TechMishka Thank you very much i really appreciate...
Which is the Gimbal that you used for Firefly 8S?
Thanks for the reply. It looks similar to zhiyun smooth q but expensive than it
Yes, that is right.
You may check for it in TomTop - they are giving huge discounts on that. I bought mine for 99 USD, and the week after that there was a sale for 89. Not sure if it is still valid :\
hello I'd like to thank you so much for your great work that truly affects my selection but I have some inquiry about its capability to keep working while charging and how it acted in night condition with you?
Hi Wael,
Most welcome - pleasure is all mine.
Yes, you can charge the camera while it is working (every camera that supports car mode should be able to) - so you are all set there.
As for night conditions... I have an old Sj4000. It has a 4mp sensor. Meaning that the light has to reach these megapixels within the range. The firefly sensor is having more megapixels, which means that the same amount of light (almost) has to be distributed among more pixels. So it is slightly worse than the good old SJ4000, at least in terms of details. On the other side, the ambarella chipset does good postprocessing, and it has much less noise. I cannot say it is great for night shooting, but no action camera is :-) So it is comparably alright.
I am about to upload a video from a cave that is entirely dark, and you will see that the camera performs not worse than a smartphone camera (I have a sample versus the oneplus 3).
As for comparing both versions - the 170 degree angle is wider and allows more light inside the sensor, thus no surprise that it gives a bit better and lighter picture.
but generally would you prefer the 170 or the 90 version?
I used to recommend a lot the 90-degree - awesome for drone photography.
But... if you are going to use it for bike/ground stuff - take the wide angle. You can shoot at narrow angle with your smartphone anyway :-)
Excellent excellent comparison... i just want a clarification over 1 thing, does the term EIS you use here refers to the gyro stabilization? thanks.
Hello Huruhara,
Yes, if I mention EIS, it is about the Gyro. Most of the camera have a combination - the Gyro + some electronically based improvements of the picture for better results.
the stabilization in this camera is amazing IMO...mount it on a gimbal and it's gonna be perfect for most projects i presume...
UA-cam vids are compressed ,
on your pc tbh.. which one had better video quality and the right colors and less issues?
There is a huge price drop right now
Yeah, especially on that video the compression was quite bad :-( Much worse than the actual videos are. If you would like some raw samples, please let me know and I will upload some.
Both cameras have the same hardware, just a different angle position of the lens. Smaller angle = less light in the sensor. Less light = slightly worse picture. Firmware on both is absolutely the same, which confirms my words about the hardware.
There was a period where I preferred the 90-degree version, because it looked better for aerial photography. But right now, I'll likely go for the wide angle. Just think of what you prefer - straight lines and less in your image, or wider angle and a bit of fisheye (with can be corrected via software).
Upload videos without editing or any filter for 90 n 170
There was no filter applied on that video. We comment the compression in youtube which worsens the quality.
Action cameras videos here ususally go without any filters applied, so that people can watch genuinely raw performance.
Здравей, хвала за труда който си положил. Занимавам се с разни активности на открито....кайт бъги и треил бягане. Досега имам камера Drift ghost-S, но специално за треил бягането търся нещо със стабилизатор....изгледах доста и твоите видея ме навиха да си взема Firefly 8S...въпроса е 90 или 170....и двете ли имат стабилизатор или само 90?
Здрасти и много благодаря за топлите думи!
Сега прегледах канала ти - много готски хобита :-)
Съвсем откровено, никога не съм смятал стабилизацията на камерите за достатъчно добра. Дори сега в рекламите на новото GoPro нещата са снимани с гимбал, макар да твърдят обратното.
От всички камери, досега най-добро впечатление ми направи стабилизацията на xiaomi mijia. Просто работи страхотно. Но... там с аксесоарите е греда малко.
Иначе при FireFly стабилизация има и при двата модела, като работи абсолтно идентично. Компенсацията е добра, и ако не с прекалено сериозни вибрациите - горе-долу е ок.
Ако успееш да откриеш вариант да ползваш gimbal - в момента smooth q е на ниска цена, и макар да не пише, че може да стабилизира камери, го може. Просто държача се завърта на 90 градуса.
Firefly 8s FOV 90 compare with sjcam sj7 star which one do you prefer? Because im in dilema to choose both of it. Thanks mate
Angga Yanuar that is a pretty tough choice. You need to decide whether fisheye is what you like or not. The firefly non distortion gives a more cinematic feeling, while the sj7 is with the wide angle lens and it gives the nice actioncam feeling.
The second pillar of the decision is the price :)
I got the 8S 90 version. It is out of focus. 7S is a lot sharper and has more settings not available on the 8S (flip video / low contrast / raw / video time lapse 1 sec minimum instead of 0.5). Also 8S does not show EV correction, settings icons on LCD are illegible in bright sun. 8S has way better gyro, but with an out of focus lens it is useless.
Likely you beliee it is out of focus because I am too close to it. Recommendation is not to shoot things that are closer than a meter. And in that video I am usually quite close to it. That's why you see me blurred. And likely we could recommend using the camera for almost everything else, but for vlogs.
tech4all no I shot a city skyline from a bridge over a canal and shot buildings and street signs out of focus . 7s no issues definitely I did not buy it for selfie vlogs
Great video, a very big thanks for low light comparison.
I see no difference between those two versions of cameras only lens degree :)
Yeah they are quite similar.
I believe there is a difference with low light though - the wide angle lens performs better. Not too much better, but it is slightly more detailed.
Hi, good job with all your 8S reviews, do you know if its possible to charge it with a regular mobile charger? Like a 2.1a. Many thanks.
Yes, any kind of mobile charger works. I have used old Samsung at 0.7A, and the one from Oneplus 3 working at 2A.
Thanks, man.
After seeing this video I bought the 90 degree version... I don't like bowed trees and correction afterwards ;-)
:D I used to be a huge fan of the 90-degree last summer and made a lot of recordings with it. If you are intending to attach it to a drone it will provide phenomenal footage :-)
Because the deslikes?
What do you mean by that, Leandro?
What do you mean by that , leandro?
tech4all
I'm asked why I have not liked the video, I do not understand! because this video is perfect
Ah :-) Liking or disliking is up to you. Maybe youtube has now more statistics that want to collect.
Have a wonderful evening and I am glad you enjoyed it. Hope to see you around more often and if any questions appear make sure to ask :-)
tech4all I'am brazilians Xd
over exposed ? why
You mean the footage is overexposed?
I want to do UA-cam videos but I don't want to invest a lot of money because I cannot afford it. I was thinking for days to buy an action camera instead of an ordinary one because of my budget. I have a tripod and I need a camera in a stationary place I am not into sports. So I hate fisheye effect. I don't want the disortion. And I don't care so much for the audio quality of the action camera because I will record the videos with my laptop and professional microphones. (The types of video that I want to make are covers of songs because my husband is singer.) I wondering if you can suggest me the right solution, because I am afraid to choose and I don't want to buy the wrong camera. I care only for the video quality (and I don't want the fisheye effect). Can you suggest me an action camera? (Because you have tried so many) You can suggest me even an ordinary camera if there is any good in such low price but I don't think so. (Sorry about my English I am from Greece and I don't use English regularly.) Thanks for the help and the time you spend for me. :)
Kalimera! I am so much looking forward to go back to Greece in June :-)
Now - for the camera - it is always tough to recommend something, and maybe I may surprise you with what I'll say: for the kind of purpose you have - maybe getting a second hand camera is a good idea. There are plenty of them and there are many photographers that can recommend god ones (I am unfortunately quite far away from them). Last one I used was Panasonic TZ series many years ago...
Action cameras are mostly for actions and for placing them at angles where a regular large camera won't fit. Therefore they have some (sometimes many) limitations.
If you still insist on getting an Action Camera - maybe the only solution which is good is the Non-Distortion version of the Firefly. But I don't believe it is better than a cheap camera recording Full HD.
Could you tell me what kind of light will be used primarily? And whether you need 4K or Full HD is good enough? Do you have a kind of footage that you want to target - just point to a video that you believe your new camera needs to shoot like. This will help me to narrow down ideas.
tech4all Thanks for the response :) . I don't care about 4k at all. I only need a good camera with no blurry image, 1080p is enough for me. I just need a smooth experience. I have already a tripod that I am using with an adapter in order to fit my smartphone as a "camera". If I had a good smartphone maybe I wouldn't try find something else but I have a xiaomi redmi note 3 pro (nice spects for every day use but it does not have the best camera). An action camera with good light conditions and not over exposure I think it might work and do the work. Ordinary cameras are a little bit expensive and for sure will be crap the around 100€ ones. :) Yeah I could try find something from second hand but for now I haven't find anything interesting (only some very old ones that doesn't deserve it). Your response made my day. :D I am looking videos for days trying to find a solution for good image quality and low budget but I don't want to waste my money in the wrong product. So I am glad for your help. You know better for sure.
I could invest some money but I don't wanna invest more that 200€. Tight budget. :P (Oh and I want to remind that I don't care about the microphone of the camera, I will record the songs with professional microphones from computer. :)
The 90-degree Firefly is then a good option. Or look around for lower priced other types of cameras. You didn't mention - what kind of resolution will you shoot at? 4K or 1080p?
Now I see the bigger part of the response :-)
The camera of the Redmi note 3 pro is not that bad! In fact I am not sure it is worse than the Firefly. Well - for sure its sensor is perhaps smaller, and non-branded, but I don't think it will be a huge upgrade. I mean - maybe postponing the investment and getting something decent will pay off in time and give you the "wow" effect you are looking for. I can easily tell you that the Firefly is awesome, but I feel it may not be the right choice for filming music videos.
I know it is above your budget (just a bit) - but should be way better than the smartphone and the Firefly - check out the Panasonic TZ70.
Great job again my brother. Its a like for me. And thank you for your support on my channel as well. Have a great weekend bro.
dac intră apa la ea sa dus .Detin aceasta camera si cu carcasa a intrat apa ie caracasa si nu mai funcționează.
Oh... sorry to hear that..
I've made some footage of with 90° version !
Please come seeing!!
Cool videos! Keep it up :-)
Maybe when you're just talking you could put the camera on a TRIPOD, or a rock, or anything, so you don't make people seasick. Just an idea.
True that! 👍😉 But the point is to test the stabilization capabilities - so that people see how good is it for vlogging.
I dont like colors and light in forest .... :(
You gotta be Greek, right?
Tsoum7 - a bit north from Greece :)