What if the action camera is not a GoPro? What if this is one of hundreds of cheaper and easily accessible fakes that flooded the market as the popularity of wide-angle optics mounted anywhere? An example is the SooCoo S60. This is a waterproof high-definition action camera , the price of which does not exceed a quarter of the cost of GoPro. It is equipped with a good set of fasteners and a remote control that can be worn on the wrist.
SooCoo S60: Feature Overview
This wide-angle action camera is also called sports, and it may even be tempting to call it a car recorder, given the current popularity of such devices. It is similar to GoPro, with the only exception that it does not look so beautiful and has several design flaws that sin the cheaper versions of successful products.
S60 at a price of 99 US dollars - this is not the cheapest such device on the market. You can buy super-budget action cameras on Amazon for only $ 40, but you should not expect from them the presence of Wi-Fi remote control, reliable waterproofing or frames worthy of participation in Red Bull advertising.
The SooCoo S60 is different from other GoPro simulations in that it comes with a wrist-mounted remote control that allows you to start and stop recording via a Wi-Fi connection. The device is waterproof up to 60 m, and the manufacturer even claims that the remote control continues to work at this depth. But who will check it?
Another feature that highlights the SooCoo S60 is that user reviews say there is no need for an external waterproof case - even GoPro doesn't. Just make sure that the battery compartment and ports are closed using the supplied seal. The absence of an additional housing makes the device significantly more compact than many sports cameras on the market.
What's in the box?
The kit, in addition to the camera itself, includes:
- remote control,
- set of fasteners
- lens cleaning cloth
- standard USB cable for charging the battery,
- instruction manual in broken language.
For installation are provided:
- helmet mount (fastens with a nylon strap and suction cups),
- attachment for mounting on a tripod,
- fastening on a wheel of a bicycle,
- 3M glues,
- 90 ° tilt accessories for all mounts.
SooCoo S60: build and design overview
The camera is made of heavy hard plastic, although there is a metal plate on its front panel and the lens is also metal (judging by the weight, they are probably made of stainless steel). In the upper part of the device, in the usual place for releasing the shutter, there is a switch and a button for starting and stopping recording.
The back panel of the case is made mainly of bright orange rubberized plastic, which is held in place by a heavy plastic staple. The battery and memory card are hidden under it. The rear panel also has a rather tiny LCD screen (convenient for cropping the subject) and six rubberized “clicking” buttons for interacting with the menu system.
On the front panel, on two sides of the lens, there are two fairly powerful LEDs that are activated using the button on the back. There is a screw on one side of the camera that provides water resistance to the micro-HDMI and micro-USB ports. Below is a universal mount, which, unlike the GoPro, is located directly on the camera itself. And that is the problem. The plastic from which it is made is more fragile than it should. According to user reviews, the bike mount often breaks during riding. Probably this happens due to the constriction of the screw. Some complain that after a short use, the helmet mount connector collapsed just when it was disconnected. The reason is too cheap plastic.
Mounting devices bend rather strongly when squeezed and stick out at a strange angle directly from the camera itself. It can be assumed that if the device falls from even a moderate height, there is a high probability that the mounts will be broken and the camera can no longer be mounted at all (without the help of superglue, of course).
The design of the SooCoo S60 user reviews do not consider quality. Although the case is made of durable plastic, the mounts and fixtures are much less reliable. The removable rubberized plastic back cover is shaky, and although the all-in-one design provides compactness, there is virtually no protection on the back.
Picture
The quality of the pictures is not worth mentioning, but it is probably enough for a photo for memory. Of course, an ultra-wide angle lens is prone to space deformation. The frame rate seems stable, with a slight decrease when shooting in low light conditions. The lens provides a fairly broad perspective that will capture most of what is in front of the camera, regardless of whether it is mounted on a mountain bike or used as a car recorder. In favorable conditions, the video looks grainy, but good enough, which can not be said when there is not enough light.
Under certain conditions, the camera simulates fog. This occurs mainly when it is directed at the sun or a bright white cloud. At the same time, colors and details are blurred, clarity is reduced, and the result is unsuccessful frames. A homemade hood can help in this situation.
Using
S60 allows you to shoot 1080p video at 30 fps and take photos up to 12 megapixels. It can be used both as a webcam, and a USB drive, and even use the SooCoo application to connect your smartphone. The battery life is due to the 1050-mAh lithium-ion battery, and it pleasantly surprises, allowing you to shoot for almost two hours (with frequent turning it on and off, this time may decrease).
Communication with the smartphone allows you to preview images from the camera, although with a delay of several seconds. You can start recording, take photos, change settings, and even download videos and photos directly to your iPhone or Android.
SooCoo S60 is an inexpensive all-weather tool for shooting high-definition video, and under favorable conditions, the user will be very pleased with the footage. The camera comes with a decent selection of mounts for mounting on helmets, panels, handlebars and tripods. Easy access to removable batteries and memory means you can stock up on lithium-ion batteries and microSD cards if necessary.
Several useful features are hidden in the S60 menu. They include loop recording, which automatically breaks the footage into clips for 2, 5 and 10 minutes. It is worth noting that before creating a new file, the S60 records videos for 30 minutes, so you should not count on recording hourly lengths.
There is a shooting mode when motion is detected, standard adjustment of white balance and exposure during video recording. For photographing the available custom parameters a little more, there is even the possibility of single-frame shooting.
Model flaws
Unfortunately, the camera is not without flaws. In addition to some problems with the build quality and duration of the SooCoo S60, user reviews call the poor location of the LEDs. Their proximity to the lens is the reason for casting an unsightly shadow. In completely dark conditions, they give a V-shaped ray of light, which, although it does not spoil the picture, it constantly reminds us that the manufacturer could think longer about their location.
Finally, the SooCoo S60 user manual is said by owners to be confusing and unhelpful. There are very few illustrations, and the language with which it is written is very difficult to understand. At the same time, it is not indicated anywhere which memory cards or their maximum size are supported, there are many links to missing images. Owners recommend a site where you can fill in the gaps in the manual SooCoo S60 - w3bsit3-dns.com.
Is it worth buying?
If the user is ready to put up with the risk of not quite acceptable shooting quality and slightly dubious assembly, he is able to figure everything out without resorting to the help of a guide, then the S60 will suit him. This will save $ 300.
But if you need guaranteed high quality video and you need a reliable and durable action camera, then GoPro or one of its analogues has no alternative. It’s just impossible to rely on the S60 in the same way, but it doesn’t really matter when it is used occasionally.
Verdict
The SooCoo S60 is a “sport action camcorder,” as Chinese sites call it, an inexpensive all-weather high-definition video capture tool under favorable conditions. It is not as high quality as the $ 400 GoPro, but will cost a quarter of its price.