AKASOBrave 7 LE Action Camera, 40M Waterproof Underwater Camera EIS 2.0 Native 4K 20MP Touch Screen WiFi Sports Camera Remote Control Vlog CameraGlobal Recycled StandardGlobal Recycled StandardGlobal Recycled Standard

I'd considered getting an action camera for a number of years, but had always talked myself out of it. I couldn't justify spending Go Pro prices in case I lost it or misplaced it - I'm a nightmare for losing thinkings.I finally took the plunge and went for AKASO Brave 7 LE Action Camera based on reviews and the price point. I wasn't worried about amazing quality but wanted something to record my paddleboard adventures, so that I could share them with my wife - she's not as mobile due to long term illness, but this would mean she could still get the enjoyment of the river or sea paddles.After using the camera for the past year, the video quality has been great and the built in microphone has been acceptable. I've used the camera both with and without the case and the camera has functioned fine - if anything on really hot days the camera has felt slightly hotter when in the case. The remote is a nice touch and really handy for starting and ending recordings. There are numerous accessories that come with the camera to suit different sports. The dual batteries are a nice touch as well and I've found the battery life is adequate.The only thing that I'd say is a must and highly recommend is to get a camera float - I learnt the hard way. I had an issue where the mount failed and my camera sunk to the bottom and I couldn't find it. However, Akaso's customer service was exceptional and exceeded my expectations - after speaking with them they offered to replace the camera , and they sent me a replacement out, so can't fault them in any way.

The first thing you'll notice is that this camera is a lot heavier than some of the other Akaso cameras. It feels robust with its body made of hard plastic and offers weather sealed joints so it can be used in the wet without issue.Both the battery compartment and the USB compartments have a rubber seal which presses into the compartment to ensure no water gets into important parts of the camera.The displays are made from plastic which will no doubt help to stop any screen breaks. The touch screen is smooth and responsive and it's navigation menu is very simple to use.The front facing screen helps to see where it's being pointed while vlogging.Next to the battery compartment there is a 1/4"metal thread for tripods.The buttons feel very strong and are made from a rubbery plastic.Image quality is quite impressive for this price point and the 4k30 is very good as is all of the other resolutions such as 2.7k and 1080p. Just note that every other resolution has a choice of 30fps or 60fps apart from 4k which is limited to 30fps. There is also 1080p120 for slow mo footage.The 20mb max photo quality is reasonable and would be more than good enough for posting on social media. You do get the ability to set custom iso, EV and light metering. Sadly, you're unable to set a custom iso in video mode, but you can set the angle for both video and photo which allows super wide/wide/medium/narrow.Image stabilization is quite impressive, but obviously not to the standards of DJi or GoPro, however you shouldn't have any major issues when cycling or jogging, in fact you'll get very good results.The audio is acceptable, however there is a bug whereby turning off all system sounds will mute audio recording. The work around is to disable all sounds apart from the bootup sound, then you'll be able to capture audio in your recording. If you like to leave system sounds on then obviously you won't need to do this work around.Overall it's a very impressive little camera and it's a nice companion to my DJi Action 2.

Update after more than a year of useThe camera may be old but, after a year of use, I decided to update the review because I actually grew very fond of it.The camera offers an amazing value for money and a rich set of features. The other positive reviews cover the gist. It is very reliable and well made. I never had any issue with it and it survived a couple of hard falls at speed on tarmac. During daylight, the video is clear even at the low resolutions and the colours bright and pleasant. Lots of settings to play with and get the desired results whether it's video, photos or slow mo etc.The killer feature for me were the two batteries and the dual charger. That would give me more than two full hours of solid video recording, which matters to me.It also comes with an extensive set of mounts and adapters covering very different uses. It's also easy to attache it on some gopro mounts which was useful for me as I had a set of 3d printed custom mounts and the transition was seamless.For the record, I had two complains: One was solved after a bit of experimentation and it was that I would often stop the camera unknowingly by touching the screen. I figured out that when you have lock enabled AND start the recording with the button instead works perfectly as it will only stop the recording by pressing the button. The second was that it would lose the date/time when left without batteries an issue. This may be solved by their support, in which case I will update.Finally, the communications I had with the company regarding had been top quality indicative of a top notch support.