With an increasing popularity of cheap sports cameras together with 4K videos, it was logical to expect affordable action 4K cam to appear on the market to compete with bigger brands such as Sony and GoPro.
Hawkeye Firefly 6S is an alleged 4k video recording WiFi camera that can capture 12 megapixels still images and videos in wide variety of resolutions. More over, it has a gyro video stabilization and 1600 mAh battery. It is made by a CNFPV, an aerial photography and equipment manufacturer from Shenzhen in China.
6S is a successor of a Firefly 5S from the same Hawk-eye series. Physically there is no difference between two models. The only thing that 6S has is Gyro sensor stabilization and alleged 4k video recording compared to its predecessor.
Camera official retail price was originally around 140-150$, but it seems to be decreased and can be bought for little over 100$. With that price you certainly wonder does this all sounds too good to be truth?
Note : Firefly 6S seems to be on sale now on GB | Link to promotion |
This is where I step in to help.
I have been testing Hawkeye 6s for 3 weeks now on regular basis. In this article, I will try to provide you with an honest review and as much info as possible. The goal is to dive deep into its performance and show all of its pros and cons.
Finally, I will do extensive video, photography, sound and battery tests that will hopefully help you decide if a Firefly 6S is good enough to be your first or the next action cam.
Firefly 6S – Technical specification
Lets take a look at the official specifications. Please note that I have added a bit more information compared to official specs you can find online.
- Chipset
- Image Sensor
- Lens
- Weight
- Size
- Screen
- Max Image resolution
- Max Video resolution
- Video compression format
- Video format
- Image Format
- Memory
- Battery
- WiFi
- Connection
- Self-timer
- Photo time-lapse
- Video-time-lapse
- Burst
- Webcam
- Car Camera
- Video Stabilization
- External Microphone
- Av Output
- Fish-Eye remove
- Novatek 96660
- Sony IMX078cqk 12mp CMOS
- 140 degree wide angle
Focal Length 3.0 mm
Aperture 1.8 - 5.9 x 4.1 x 2.1 cm
2.32 x 1.61 x 0.83 inches - 0.65inch LCD (front)
- 12 megapixels
- 2880 x 2160- 24fps
2.5k - 30fps
1080p - 30/60 fps - H.264
- MP4
- JPEG
- 64GB
- 1600mah
- USB Mini 2, HDMI
- 0.5/3/5/10 seconds
- 11 fps
Packaging
Box in which camera is packed is no different than any other action cam. What is interesting that nowhere on the box will you see 6S or Firefly branding. As you can see in the image below, manufacturer pride themselves with 4K, WiFi, 30m waterproofs and large capacity battery. I will talk about all of those features in just a moment.
Let’s open the box
Once opened, besides tiny-shaped black action camera, box contains lots of accessories. Some of them are useful, some are not. Here is what you will get :
- 1x Firefly 6S camera
- 1x waterproof housing
- 1x 1600 mAh battery
- 1x clip
- 1x J shaped mount
- 1x lens cap
- 1x bracket
- 1x usb cable
- 1x bike/pole mount
- 2x adhesive base (flat and curved)
- 2x 3m adhesive tape
- 1x wire
- 3x plastic tie
- 1x cleaning cloth
- 3x bandage
- 1x manual
- 1x flat base mount
- 1x adapter
- 3x screws and adapter
Somewhere on the web I found information that some online stores send you a cable for FPV as a bonus, but I was unable to find which stores do that. Anyway, its quite cheap piece, so I guess unless you need cable for flying a drone, you will not worry much about it. Of course it can be bought separately for few bucks only.
The manual is brief, but quite good. It is probably one of the best manual for Chinese sports camera I read. It is written in a simple language and provided clear instructions about features. I like the amount of info it covers. It goes quite deep and explains each icon and symbol that appears on the screen. It is in English and Chinese.
One interesting thing about the manual is that it also has an instruction on how to “USB/AV cable” and “Remotely control camera to take photos and videos”. Even though its very nice of them to illustrate how to do this, it would be better if they explained how to do it and added more information. This way it made me feel confused and it seamed unfinished and incomplete. From what I was able to understand from those photos the last pages is for people who fly multi rotors (drones) and need FPV.
Furthermore image of accessories in the manual does not show all accessories that you get inside the box, which was a bit funny.
Beside all other standard gear that comes with every Chinese camera, I liked the lens cap. It was a nice silicone protector for the lens and quite handy little piece.
Camera comes with up to 30m waterproof housing. Please understand that I haven’t done any underwater tests with 6S due to the weather here. So if you are reading this and you used it underwater, please leave a comment and let us know your experience.
Design and built quality
Hawkeye 6S is a true mixture of 3 popular cameras : Xiaomi Yi, SJ4000 by SJCAM and Amk500s. As soon as I pulled it out of the box, similarities were obvious. On the front it looks quite similar to 5000s, its back reminds of YI, where as the side of the camera and rubberized edges are exactly the same as SJCAM’s most popular camera – SJ4000.
The advantage of Firefly 6S is that they combined best from three worlds and managed to bridge the gap between SJ4000 and YI by adding a tiny 0.65″ screen on the front side of the camera. It appears to be using the same or identical lens to Xiaomi’s camera, though I was unable to get such confirmation.
When it comes to built quality, it is better made and more compact compared to SJ4000, but not as firm as Xiaomi YI, not to mention Dazzne P3 or Git 1.
Camera is made out of plastic materials and its quite lightweight. Clean design with no silly branding and colors is something I found quite appealing. It is produced in two colors black and silver. I prefer if the ports for USB and HDMI as well as memory card had a cover. It would not only look way better, but also prevent dust from getting into the camera.
Memory card slot at the bottom is an interesting solution. However I noticed that when the camera is placed on the ground, the dirt and dust easily get into a slot, which requires some proper cleaning after that.
Buttons and ports
Here is an overview of all buttons, ports and slot that camera has with brief information about function of each.
- Shutter / OK button – for taking photos and videos and confirming options inside menu
- LED indicator
- Screen (3a – Mode, 3b – Resolution, 3c- amount of photos/videos left, 3d – battery, 3e- angle)
- Power On-Off / Mode – for turning off the camera and switch from photo and video modes
- Charging indicator
- Lens
- HDMI port
- USB/AV port
- Down navigational button
- WiFi / Up navigational button
- Battery compartment
- Memory card slot
Video quality
What I really like about this little action cam is the variety of resolutions you can use to record your videos :
- “4k” * – 24fps (2880 x 2160) – interpolated
- 2.5k – 30fps (2540 x 1440)
- 1080p – 30/60 fps
- 720p – 120 fps
- VGA 640 x 480 – 30 fps
I uploaded RAW video samples taken with this camera. You can download and preview them on your own PC. Here is the link to samples.
I recorded all my videos (except for samples) in 1080p 60 fps and 30 fps. For me those resolution fulfill my needs perfectly.
*Please read next paragraph if you are interested in 4K on this camera.
I should mention that while recording, there is no recording indicator at the back. There is no sound indicator either. That is why it is quite hard to know if you successfully started/stopped recording. You always need to take a look at a top LED surrounding shutter button to be 100% sure. Of course, after few days of practice I got used to it.
Here are few frames extracted from the video, but for best experience, download samples.
As you see, in low-light it works okay, but certainly not perfect. Objects in distance are a bit blurry, but compared to others I have, its quite average.
4K action camera?
First thing everyone wants to know – Can this camera really record in 4K at 24 frames per second?
No it can not. No, I am not joking. I am dead serious.
While camera can create movies in various resolutions, the 4K res that is listed in the menu is not actual 4k. I know, I caught you off-guard, but let me elaborate on it.
So called “4K” resolution that Firefly 6S has is 2880 x 2160. The actual resolution of UHD 4K is 3840 × 2160. This means that vertically the camera has same amount of pixels as any 4K video, but horizontally it has 960 pixels less. So it is not a true 4K. Bummer.
Also because Firefly managed somehow to trick some players such as QuickTime, if you are viewing video in QuickTime and check properties, it will say 3840 × 2160, but its not the actual resolution.
This is a common practice Chinese manufacturers do. A year ago, they all wanted to boost “image resolution”. So we had cameras like SJ4000, SooCoo C10, SJ4000+ claiming they can shoot 12 megapixels photos with 3-4 megapixel image sensor.
4K is a new trend, so they are playing the same song over again trying to trick people, which is unbelievable. Firefly is not the only one, there are literary tens of brands pushing “4k action cameras” right now as you read this article.
It is unacceptable and deceptive. If you need a 4K action camera, you can take a look at Sony FDR-X1000V/W or GoPro Hero 4 Black. Be aware that these cameras are several times more expensive. Just think twice if 4K is something you really need, or you just heard about it and want it, even though you have no idea what it does.
Unless you really know what 4K is and you really need it, you will be more than good with full HD videos at 1080p 30/60. My opinion is that 4K is overrated anyway, it will be soon replaced by something new, like 8K and so on. In reality on a normal monitor we all have at our home, you will not see a difference between 1080 and 2160 pixels.
I nearly forgot to tell you that some default video players such as Windows Media player might not be able to play “4K” videos from 6S due to resolution interpolation. You can use VLC player for Windows instead. Its great player that I use, and its free.
2.5k (2540 x 1440) is true resolution and it can record at 30 frames per second.
Gyro Stabilization
Gyro stabilization is a built in hardware part that stabilizes the video. It is quite unclear to me how it works, but it basically reduces the field of view (angle) and difference is certainly obvious when Gyro is on.
My Hawkeye 6S action cam arrived with 2.1 firmware*. After I tested it, I realized that when Gyro was on, camera video looked choppy and shaky. I then updated to 2.2 which was the newest firmware at the time. Video stabilization improved significantly after the update . It works quite similar to SJ4000+ Gyro.
**Please check update firmware paragraph if you would like to update your camera.
Photo quality
Firefly 6S has a 12 megapixels image sensor that allows camera to take 12mp still photos.
In terms of sharpness and colors, camera is above average Chinese cheap GoPro clone. 6S captures images in true 12 megapixels resolution. Even though official specification and even camera setup claim image size to be 16MP, this is incorrect.
I already mentioned that camera has Sony’s IMX078CQK image sensor. When you look at the sensors specs you will see that it is capable of shooting images in 12.40M-effective pixels (4072H×3044V).
So the actual photo resolution that Firefly 6S has is 12 megapixels.
“Why everyone else say its 16 mp?”
- They are not interested to dive deep into hardware that camera has.
- They copy/paste what manufacturers say.
- Camera sells better if its 16mp compared to 12mp.
“But when I take a look at my photo exif data it says resolution is 4608x 3456?”
Exactly. This means that photograph resolution that Firefly 6S shoots is interpolated. It is just up-scaled, rasterized to 16 megapixels size, but in reality its 12 megapixels image.
Same thing they did with a 4k video.
This does not mean the photos are bad. Quite opposite. I am satisfied with their sharpness. Colors are okay, but I would prefer if they were a bit more lively and vibrant. Besides colors, my biggest concern was the exposure struggle that camera has when facing a bright sunlight in a background. Something like this is fixable in firmware updates, and lets hope manufacturer will improve the way exposure is adjusted soon.
Next image is an example how camera handles exposure by overexposing sky most of the times. WDR was off, as recommended by manufacturer. The good thing is that the subject in this situation looks perfectly fine.
When facing direct sunlight 6S behaves quite well. Its lens gives interesting flare effect which I like, though its a personal preference.
A fellow reviewer of mine, also uploaded great samples over at Dashcam forum, if interested you can check it out here.
Firefly 6S Settings
Besides video and photo modes, there is also a settings mode. It allows you to browse through different options camera has and adjust them to fit your needs. Beside standard options such as format, data stamp, factory defaults, which are quite self-explanatory, I will not clarify you all features that camera has.
Timelapse
Camera allows you to shot video time-lapse, if you are into time-lapse photography.
- off
- 0.5/3/5/10/
Cycle recording
When enabled, cycling mode (also known as loop recording) will cut video in 5 minute segments. This means that if you record for 30 minutes, you will have 6 x 5minute videos. When memory card gets full with this feature turned on, it will automatically erase videos, overlapping one another, starting with earliest recorded.
Usually this option is used for people who use action cameras in their car, as a dashcam for recording traffic.
USB Power Up Auto-record
Turning this function will enable 6S to start recording as soon as the camera gets plugged into USB power source. This is something people who use cameras for aerial photography will find handy for their multi-rotors (drones).
Wide Dynamic Range (WDR)
WDR is a handy feature which should help camera distinguish more details in different low light/shadow situation, where subject of photograph can be in shadow and other in light.
In the manual, manufacturer suggests that WDR should be turned on only in dark or cloudy environment, as it might cause overexposure in a sunny day.
Burst
For sports photography and in situation where you want to capture something moving quite fast, you can use burst mode. After enabling it, your camera will take 11 photos on a single shutter click.
Continuous photo
Even though it might sound similar to burst, it is not. Difference between Continuous and burst mode, is that continuous photo takes 1 photo in a selected interval (3/5/10/30 seconds). This is used for time lapse photo mode, if you prefer creating your own time-lapse videos inside video editing software.
ISO
ISO controls the amount of light that goes through your sensor. The darker the environment, the higher ISO should be used. Sometimes higher ISO can bring more noise to your photo. In normal, daylight situation, you can set low ISO (100), where as at night you can boost it up to 1600.
If you do not want to be bothered with adjusting it manually, just select “auto” and camera will do pretty good job recognizing ISO level itself.
Sharpness
- High
- Medium
- Low
When recording a video, manufacturer suggest that we use medium sharpness. For close-up images, low is something you should enable. You should also use low sharpness at night, where as high can be used for normal daylight images.
Color
The reason why there is a color adjustment is simple. by allowing advanced users to chose from more neutral and vibrant colors of photos and videos, you give them more creative freedom for post-production.
If you are just a regular user, I recommend that you use vivid colors. Standard color give more bleached out effect, because its easier to boost more neutral colors inside the software.
Image below depicts differences when vivid or standard is selected.
In order to show you exactly how color-correction can boost your images, I quickly shoot this image in standard mode. My goal was to have more neutral looking colors. Then, in Photoshop CS6, I reduced exposure just slightly, boosted vibrant and saturation and auto-toned an image. Here is my result.
My conclusion is that even vivid colors are not as “vivid” as they should be. It would be great if somehow they added a bit more vibrancy in photos, similar to what I did in an image above.
Angle Adjustment / Remove fish-eye
Although it might seam obvious to people who have action camera already, 6S, like any other sports cam out there has a fixed focus wide-angle lens, which allows large field of view. At the same time this creates a barrel roll distortion (fish eye effect) which causes objects in the corners to look misshaped in some cases. This is not a defect, its just the way wide angle lenses work.
This can be irritating, especially to newbies, that is why its cool that there is an option to adjust from wide to narrow angle which will alleviate the distortion. There are two field of view adjustments :
- Large (wide angle)
- Medium (narrow angle)
At the same time, there is a separate option called “remove fish-eye“. It works absolutely the same, and in my opinion it is redundant.
I would like to explain how these angle adjustments work. They do not do magic. Camera simply crops the angle of view. This can cause your outputs, especially the photos to loose their quality. This is because cropped image is then rasterized and scaled to fit original image resolution.
My advice, if fish-eye really bothers you, go ahead and use this option. However if you got used to it after a while, just do not use it as it might cause slight quality drop in photos and videos. Personally I am not bothered with this at all.
WiFi and an App
Firefly 6S has a built in WiFi, which means you can use camera together with your mobile device and operate it remotely from the iOs or Android. First struggle I had is to find an official app, as by typing Firefly brought all sorts of results.
To save you the trouble, Android app can be found on this link, where as the iOs can be found here.
The Firefly app is quite buggy on Android where I tested it. It is identical to Dazzne App design-wise. While the interface is quite simple, the functionality is buggy. App is quite to use. When trying to preview video, there is huge lag, which makes it impossible to follow what you are recording on your phone.
Options inside the app are quite modest. You can only change photo and video resolution, turn cycling recording on or off, and format the camera. At the time of writing this review app is one of the weakest things, and certainly one of a buggiest camera app I used. It requires lots of work and updates make to be usable. Inside the app, you can chose photo resolution of maximum 12 mp, an you can not choose resolutions such as 2.5 or “4k”.
Overall, quite poorly made app. If one of the priorities of yours are controlling camera via the phone and transferring footage to your phone directly from the camera, you should look for some other action camera.
Firefly 6S battery
With 1600 mAh lithium-ion battery powering 6S and the fact there is no huge LCD I expected much better battery performance. In my tests in 1080p 60 frmes per second, I managed to get little over 80 minutes. Not bad comparing to some other cameras.
Here are full results of battery performance test :
- 2880 x 2160 x 24 fps – 71.24 min
- 2540 x 1440 x 30 fps – 78 min
- 1920 x 1080 x 60 fps – 83 min
- 1920 x 1080 x 30 fps – 88 min
Results made me think about how manufacturer optimized battery performance. It is unthinkable that Dazzne P3 with 2 inch screen at the back,turned on all the time and powered with weaker (at least on the paper) 1000 mAh battery gives 81 minutes of battery life.
Where as the 6S,with 1600 mAh battery and tiny LCD gives only 83.
In my opinion, either they are using really poor battery or the camera needs to be better optimized. According to the size of the battery I really doubt that capacity is fake. Seems legit to me. But appears not to be using its full potential.
Storage
Firefly 6S supports up to 64GB memory cards. I tested it with Sony 16 and 64GB microSDXC Class 10 and Samsung 16GB Evo and those cards worked just fine. There is no internal storage, so you will need a memory card in order to record and take photos.
I mentioned already that when updating firmware, action cam will not accept 64gb cards, so you will need smaller capacity ones such as 8,4,2 GB in order to update the software.
Firmware update
Before you start updating the firmware, you should know that it will only work if you have up to 16gb or less capacity memory card. I was trying to update mine on 64gb and it did not work. Manufacturer warns about this on their site.
- Make sure your battery is over 50%.
- Format memory card in your camera (Settings>Format>OK)
If you have a memory card reader :
- Pull the card out of the camera
- Put it into memory card reader
- Copy downloaded .bin file onto memory card.
- Pull out card from reader.
- Insert card into your camera.
- Turn the camera on and wait for it to upgrade.
- While upgrading camera will flash blue slower. As it gets to the end it will blink faster and faster.
- If you did everything correctly, 6s will restart itself. Before turning it OFF, make sure to format the card and delete .bin file otherwise the process will repeat all over again.
If you do not have memory card reader repeat these same steps with the card being into the camera.
Customer Support
As in all of my reviews, I like to test the waters when it comes to customer service manufacturer offers. I never really had serious issue with the 6S, but I got in touch with manufacturer asking about how 4K resolution works. I got honest reply that its interpolated. It was quite brief explanation, but satisfactory.
Than, I used another email address and pretended I have an issue with the camera. Guess what? They never replied back.
In my third email asking about a link to the iOs app, I got a very unprofessional reply :
type FIREFLY in app store
My experience with a customer support is poor. 2/3 emails got a reply. 2/3 actually solved my issue.
What bothered me the most is the way communication went. Obviously they showed no respect towards me as a customer, and there is no excuse for that. Sad thing is that 2/3 is not that bad. I had worse issues with Chinese manufacturers.
Summary
For little over 100$ Firefly 6S is quite a decent camera. It provides very sharp video and above average photo quality.
Colors on photo and video are natural-looking, though it would be good if they were a bit more vivid.
I like the way manual was made, and enjoyed having a lens cap as a protective piece for my lens. Accessories included with the camera are quite standard, but handy to have.
It is a huge plus that there is a video stabilization which works very well.
By looking at the packing it is obvious that main selling points for the camera were large-capacity battery and of course, 4K video.
Manufacturer failed to deliver what was promised on the packing:
- 4K video (not true 4k)
- 16 megapixels photos (actually 12 mp)
- Extended battery performance (nothing special)
My biggest disappointment was 4K. Camera is being advertised as a 4K, Ultra HD video recording device. In reality it does not record in true 4K resolution. Actual resolution is 960 pixels lower compared to real 4K. Even though some video players might recognize videos as 3840 × 2160, most of them will show 2880×2160. As a customer if on a package I see 4K, than I bloody expect to get 4K. Disrespectful, shameful and deceptive way of advertising.
Camera battery life is decent, but no better then other action cameras I tested. I expected “larger capacity” to deliver more recording time, especially because there is no large LCD to consume battery power.
With recording time of around 80 minutes, I really wondered if these guys know what a large capacity means.
One more disadvantage is a lack of LCD display, which might make things harder for beginners. I also think that for quad-copters, this is very good camera, as it has FPV function, and USB auto start-up recording. I have seen plenty of aerial photography guys posting videos, and seems to me they are satisfied with it.
In conclusion, 6S provides good value for the money, provided you can get it for around 110-120$.
Since this is their second camera, I will try to say this politely as I can.
Dear CPFPV, next time if you make fake promises about your products people can sue you. You are spitting on your brand by failing to deliver what you promised on the box.
You could have easily left out 4K and better battery performance as your sale-pitch and you would still have product worth buying. Now you have great camera that is a not good as it sounds. Its full of false promises. Its a a great-deceptive camera. People who want 4k videos are not stupid, they will realize that you are deceiving them. Next time they will not buy your product.
Where to buy Firefly 6S Hawkeye camera?
Here are few places where you can get this camera at quite affordable prices. Prices are different depending on the strore, as some have occasional promotions, so make sure to check all to find a best deal.
- Buy Firefly 6S camera on GearBest (currently cheapest price)
Your questions / 6S owners
I hope this article helped you decide if 6S is the right camera for you. I did my best to show you how it works and what are its pros and cons.
If you have any question about the camera, feel free to leave a comment. Be aware that camera has been released recently and it is possible that software will bring some improvements in future. When that happens, I will update the review.
Do you own Fiferly 6S? What is your opinion on it?
Let me know, I would love to hear back from you.
Firefly 6S
Video Quality - 82%
Photography Quaility - 78%
Price - 75%
Value for the money - 81%
User Experience - 75%
App - 40%
Customer Support - 65%
Built Quality - 70%
71%
Sneaky and tricky, but works well.
Firefly 6S is good camera with great video and photo quality. Colors of the outputs should be a bit more vivid. 4K video is interpolated and not true 4k resolution, big bummer. User navigation is smooth, but WiFi app is terrible and buggy. Battery life is average, and not "extended" as manufacturer advertised it.
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Great and detail review.
2.5k (2540 x 1440) should be 2560 x 1440.
Interesting find, thanks.
I have this little action cam and really like it.
I updated the firmware using a SanDisk Extreme 32GB microSDHC.
Worked without a glitch.
If you don’t like the app, use FinalCam on iOS. It’s a bit nicer to use.
Good to know that some memory cards can work with larger capacity. Mine did not, and failed to update until I had 16gb one. I am not an iOs user, but if you know any Android alternatives that work, let me know.
Finalcam and You meta will work with the 6s on Android – but they have the same limitations as to resolution and settings. I’ve noticed that you can’t even turn on wifi if you have the video set to 4k mode.
As well as the 6S i have a generic 4k24fps camera. Theanamorphic pixels is a problem with the generic 4k24fps camera as well (I complained on aliexpress about it not being as advertised and got half my money back) – the missing pixels being equivalent to a full hd screen. However it still has 3x resolution of fhd so downscales into crisp fhd details – plus gives a bit more wiggle space for defisheye or software stabilising (you can do one or the other on the 6s but not both).
The “4k” video doesn’t actually look too bad on a 4k tv – both raw and after editing. To be honest how many of us are sitting close enough to the TV to spot the interpolation?
I expect that the SJCAM SJ5000X Elite will also have the same 16:9 pixel aspect ratio as they at least mentioned it was interpolated.
Whilst neither of these cameras is up to the Hero4 – for the price of the Gopro you can have 4 or 5 cameras covering different angles and edit them into a more imersive vid than a single camera.
I bought my 6S from Gearbest and got the fpv output cable with it (not the remote control cable). I think Banggood.com has the remote control cable.
Great commend and lots of useful information shared, thank you Jason.
I meant Youmera but my phone had other ideas.
By the way, the 6S can use the same battery as the Hero3/3+ so you can grab some cheap batteries from the aftersales manufacturers. I got three 1600mAh batteries and a dual charger plus usb cord for £8.50 off Aliexpress – including delivery. So that’s now 4 batteries each giving 80 min – just over 5 hours record time. Plus by the time the last battery has died, if I plugged the charger into a portable power bank, the first two should be recharged.
I have two power banks each able to charge 4 batteries – 12 × 80 – Gonna need more memory cards.
Golden information Jason. I was wondering how much battery life can be get with other batteries, very interesting information, and if you have some other suggestions or ideas, feel free to share it here, I am sure it will be very useful info for others as well.
Hi all,
Thanks for this excellent review.
I bought this camera from gearbest.com.
First thing was that the battery was not working (it didn’t charge) – so I had to wait till they sent me a new replacement battery – all good so far (even if it is really disappointing when you receive a new cam and you cannot use it.)
Even more disappointing was my first snorkelling trip, the back of the waterproof housing seems to see waterproof, however the front, where lens is, is not waterproof at all (maybe it was just my housing which is not waterproof) however I need to deal now again with the customer service from gearbest.com which is not brilliant.
Do you have any experience how this camera works for underwater pictures? Are the results satisfying or not?
Thank you,
Cheers
A
What a bummer, hopefully you will get a replacement. They are slow in replying tickets, but I always got satisfactory result sooner or later.
As I said in an article, personally I haven’t done any underwater tests, as it is freezing out here. I hope someone else can let you know about how Firefly 6s works underwater.
Generally liked your review, (well enough to buy one)
Just an observation here, (really am not nit picking) you use the word “seams” a lot, I think the word you were looking for was “seems” (the word you kept using is for those lines on the back of ladies nylons!)
BTW I just did the firmware upgrade to V2.3 using a 32Gb Sandisk Extreme card, no problems
Thanks John, I corrected those errors. It is actually appreciated and helps me improve my English, so thanks for that. Will try to write it properly next time.
2.3 update already – at least they seem to be dedicated to improving the product.
I like the sound of higher bit rate – everyone focuses on resolution but a high bit rate on a lower resolution can look better than a lower bit rate on a high resolution.
The selectable exposure sounds good. EV compensation was one thing lacking that I do use.
Same thing goes with the light meter.
John, have you put them through their paces? Any good?
Off shift on Saturday so I’ll install it then.
Jason,
Not yet, planning to run it on my r/c model boat at the weekend, will get back with the results
cheers
V2.3 2k and 4k sound problem do you guys have that problem? It sound echo and laggy.
Hey.
I’m hoping to buy this camera from gearbest where they have an offer for 96 dollars. (And the offer will end very soon) However I am still thinking whether I should buy the firefly or sj4000+gyro. (Gyro stabilization is one of my main concerns). What are your opinions, I mean in terms of video quality which camera do you recommend?
Firefly 6S is better in my humble opinion.
Thank you! Great site by the way. keep up the good work!
Cheers Shehan, thanks so much, let me know if I can help you with something more and good luck with choosing your action cam.
Anyone got focus issues? Mine seems a little out.
As it’s pretty useless to me right now as a 4K recorder on a 280mm quadcopter as the form factor is too large compared to the mobius…my next question is how do you get into it to adjust the focus?
First of all make sure you have the latest firmware installed. Second, since that would require taking your camera apart, I recommend you to contact manufacturer. But unless you know what you are doing, I would not recommend it, even though it might be something similar like with YI.
Hello, I am considering my options for an action camera and is interested in Firefly 6S, Blackview Hero 1, SJCam SJ4000 or SJ5000+. I want a sharp image and video quality and it does not have to be 4k, 1080 is good enough. I don’t engage in much action either, I only want an action camera because it’s small and light weight. One that is easy to navigate between photo and video mode, suitable for beginner.
If you want sharp image quality, forget about SJ4000. Its good for beginners because of UI and price. 6S is easy to switch from video and photo mode, but does not have a screen at the back, which if you are tech-savvy shouldn’t be a problem. The other two I have not tested.
Is there a way to view the video metadata to show that the actual source resolution is 2880 x 2160? If quicktime shows 3840 x 2160 , which is not correct, how do you view the real resolution? thanks.
It is mentioned in the article, use VLC player.
How can I verify that this camera has a resolution of 2880 x 2160?
If quicktime is giving incorrect information, how can I view the video metadata accurately? thanks
Download Media-info which will show you the true resolution.
These cheap “4k” cameras use rectangular pixels in their videos but graphics cards and computers use square pixels. QuickTime reports how many pixels it uses to draw the frames not the original unscalled resolution.
VLC, MPlayer, Windows Media player report the original resolution . This is why you are told you have to use QuickTime so that it reports the false resolution.
Hello, can I use microSDXC with this camera? Excuse me if the question sounded silly, I’m a total beginner. Thanks
Yes, you absolutely can.
Hi great review by the way. I’m having trouble using the slow mo in 720 resolution 120fps when I select this option and playback my recording in vlc player it plays in real time, (normal speed)I’ve tried exporting to my Samsung s5 phone, tried firmware 2.2 and 2.3. Still the same problem. Am I doing something wrong do you think.?
Might be firmware that needs update, I do not recall if I had same problem, contact manufacturer and see what they have to say.
Same here. Have you gotten a reply or solution?
Same here, have you gotten a reply or solution. I just gotten my cam yesterday and its on firmware 2.3. Watching vid on Windows 10 media player. I’ve also noticed that the cam will shoot only 1 sec. if it’s too bright and it’ll recycle filming but the vids can’t play (VLC and Windows media won’t open-error opening file).
When you record digital video, it is recorded at a resolution and a frame rate. Most video playback software programs (VLC etc.) will see that resolution and frame rate and play back accordingly.
So, if you record at 720p/120fps, VLC will play back at 720p/120fps – so you will see normal speed.
To see your footage in slow-motion, you need to CONFORM the footage in a video editing program like Avid, Final Cut or Adobe Premiere.
First, you have to set the frame rate of your project (24/25/30fps) etc.
THEN, when you import your 120fps footage, the editing software will conform the footage to the selected frame rate.
A piece shot at 120fps will be 4 times slower at 30fps, 4.8 times slower at 25fps, and 5 times slower at 24fps.
In VLC, you CAN make vary the playback speed of any video.
Speed up: ] Key in keyboard
Speed down: [ Key in keyboard
Normal speed: = Key in keyboard
I hope that helps!
Hi , you have very good reviews to be honest and they really do help but i still can’t decide which action camera should be my first,I need one around 100$ i wanted to get the Amkov amk7000s but the Gyro is missing there which concerns me as i need the cam to do a lot of action videos so i really need your opinion/advice on what should i get?.
and i see that Gearbest has the lowest price rate but customers always receive damaged products, should i buy a cam from there?
Thanks a lot and keep going :).
I have never received a faulty product from GearBest, but their support and shipping are really slow, you get what you pay for. Since I am always try to reduce cost, I am used to it, some people are not. You can get faster shipping and service on Amazon but the price is usually higher for any camera.
Okay , Thanks for providing me with the answer for that
Now can you please give me your opinion on which Cam should i get ? i was going to buy the Amkov amk7000s/5000s but after i saw your review for the firefly 6s i noticed that the amk7000s/5000s is missing the Gyro video stabilizer which is important for shooting action shaky videos but the quality seems not enough on the 6s and needs more colors
Thanks again for the quick respond 🙂
Note: you sure see my email , you can answer me their if you want to
i think what he is trying to say is should he pay more for the video stabilizing.
There will be AMK7000s review in few weeks done by one of the contributors. Since I have not tested it, I can’t help you with that. If you are doing lots of action stabilization is a plus, logically.
Yeah , stabilization is very important to me since the videos will be loaded with actions.
Is there other budget cams with the video stabilization to compare to this one?
Git 2, 5000X Elite, SJ4000+ Gyro and M10+ all have built in gyro if that’s what you are asking. First two have not yet been reviewed, so I can not assist you on which one to get, you would have to decide yourself based on reviews here and online. Good luck.
That’s a great review ! Well detailed, thanks. I’d like to know if you or anyone reading this tried the Firefly with an external mic. I heard people telling that it doesn’t work. I’d like to vlog with this cam so an external mic is very important for me.
Thanks
Camera does not support external microphone.
Correct me if i’m wrong, i think the SJ’s doesn’t too ?
You are right, it doesn’t. For each review I mention specifically if the camera supports external mic either in article or specs table.
Hi Pevly,
At last month arrived my Firefly 6S. I like this cam, but don’t put on sale my older Blackview Hero1.
All they very good usable cams.
About Firefly, can you help me , how I can get audio out at usb port? Included A/V cable can only video output and external power input. Simple usb cable for SJ4000 with pins, not working.
Best regards.
Kapitany
Camera does not support external microphone.
Hi Pavle
I want get camera internal microphone audio at FPV.
Thank’s
Sorry, I do not have knowledge on that, you should ask at RCgroups and similar websites.
Great review, my question, if you can answer it, does the camera use the same cable as the gopro 3+ for the 2 and 3 axis gimbles for drones currently out there. I’m new at this and would like something that works but if for some reason, crash, accident you dont lose a $500.00 camera. You seem to have action camera specifications dialed in and would appreciate any and all of your suggestions. Sorry if the question is rediculous, as I said, I’m new at all of this.
I am not much into aerial photography and gimbals. From what I know this cable should be OK. Now if it’s the same one as GP I have no idea. Maybe you can ask on RCgroups forum.
Hi Pavle!
I have a question. I recently saw the Dazzne P3 at 100$ and i want you to help me. I dont know which to choose between the P3 and the Firefly 6s . Both cameras has the same price and both are great but i need to find which is better from you. I will use the camera most for skiing,here the both cameras win because they have gyro.
Please help me,and keep up the good work!
Look Eduard, I personally like Dazzne P3 more because of its built quality and LCD screen and better quality accessories.
Dazzne is more reputable compared to Firefly.
Dazzne P3 does not have Gyro stabilization, be aware of that.
If you know a bit of video editing, you can stabilize footage in post-production.
‘love your reviews-Very informative. Thanks, Pavle!
Very kind of you Mike, thanks.
Hi Pavle, Guys:))
New question with this cam with firmware 2.3.
Why it lost setting Fisheye off, Giro on after switch off?
Date and time not losted after battery removing!
I, read about at Rc Groups and testing. Problem is valid.
Have you any idea about?
Kapitany
Interesting question, with firmware 2.2 the problem is same.
Who have it, please test it for us.
Thank’s.
Cheers
Kapitany
Thanks for the reviews and comments. Very useful info. However, the issue being 4K not a true 4K assuming this is in the sense not a true 16:9 4K format? The 2880 x 2160 resolution is actually a 4:3 ratio but still will yield a 4K in terms of the PPI. Honestly, I prefer 4:3 ratio for photography purposes on drone .
In regards to the USB, will it work if I only want video output (not charging) to standard USB AV receiver without buying the cable for FPV?
Hi Pave!
Can you help for us about USB Power Banks for Sport, FPV cameras?
Whitch is worth it to order?
When they pluged, we need remove internal battery, or if it pluged charging internal battery, and add additional power to camera?
Maybe my question is at wrong place, sorry, but for me it important.
Sorry for my English, it so bad.
Thank’s your help.
Kapitany
I use this power bank, and it worked good so far. No need to remove anything unless you want to. It depends on the camera not the power source. This particular one is quite heavy, you have lighter versions as well, with less power.
Anyone found a way of making camera beep when starting / stopping recording ?
I found it to be very limiting when using clipped to ski helmet as seemed to stop recording at times and I could not tell if I was switching it back on or switching it off.
Great shame as the video from skiing were better than my gopro hero 3+
Unfortunately no. They haven’t updated the firmware in a while though. I am not sure if it can be added in next version, as it’s very annoying issue, especially when you have it on a helmet, as you said.
Hi Pavle, Guys:))
Today get new mail from Support, about “beep”, “audio from usb” and “new firmware”. It was was very short:((
Read:
Thanks for your ideas.
About beep sounds: there’r no buzzer inside.
About audio for fpv: we would study if 6S could output audio through USB port.
About new firmware, nothing.
Cheers.
Kapitany
Help please!
I just bought it and I charged my battery for about 5hours and it is still empty. What should I do?
Thanks for your help.
You might be dealing with a defective battery, charger or a camera. Since the camera is brand-new I recommend you to contact retailer and ask for a replacement or a refund.
Hi guys,
First of all thank you Pavle for the review!
Yesterday I got the 6s and tested it a Little Bit(the firmware Version is 2.3), what I found that while recording videos on 4K and also 2.5K I have some Problems with Sound (the Sound triple itself). I know that it can may an issue of the micro sd but I use the Samsung sdxc 64gb pro+ wich is up to 95mb/sec read and 90 mb/read Speeds aspecialy for 4k. I tried also to change micro sd to another one and got the same result. I run Windows 10 and tried to open the Video in VLC,quicktime,Windows Default Player and got the same result.Also the Video Quality is not good enogh from my Point of view even the 1080p 60fps,may be it can be a result of a bad setings or a bad recording conditions (tested it in my place in the evning(not the best time I know)). I am disappointed right now because I read a lot of reviews and saw also the video exapels that was pritty god. Can some one advice me some thing? may be some good settinings to set?
Thank you in advance.
This is a known issue and I think it can only be resolved via the firmware upgrade. I hope they’ll fix that in the new version.
Thanks. Can you advice me some good Settings to get a good Quality of record?
I mean, there is not much philosophy here. Just experiment, but you’ll be good with defaults as well.
Hi guys,
the problem with the sound is solved by the manufacturer ,
I got the firmware update from the manufacturer of version 2.3 with sound issues on 2.5k and 4k that was solved.
if some one need it ,that is the link:
http://www.filedropper.com/firefly6
The GoPro cameras Looping feature films constantly deleting every five minutes, if you film an event you want to save; you push the shutter button and it will save the last 5 minutes of film. Does the Firefly 6S work the same way?
Thanks,
Richard
Hey, I was curious about recording sizes per time for 1080p30fps. I assume it would be half of 1080p60fps. given the ratio from your sample, that comes to about 1.5mb per second. For each 64gb card, could you expect around 40 minutes of 1080p30fps capture? More or less? Are there action cams on chinese sites that allow for larger storage/slapping a SSD on the back lol?
Thank Pavle.
Hi Guys :))
See my samle video at night with Firefly 6s at night!
Maybe settings are not absulute good, but i think resolution is good.
This device is better than later GoPro 3 for this price.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm2E0zqH-NU7zSFXk1BnZIg
Best regard
Kapitany
Hello,
I want to buy affordable but good small (sport) camera for my video equipment. Therefore, I value quality from 1080p 60f video than anything else. I realized that Firefly 6S has best video quality rating from your reviews. However, I want to make sure if I am correct before I spend my money..
>> Does Firefly has best video quality out of all the camera you reviewed and will review? If no, what will be better alternative?
Thanks,
John
Hi, can I use gopro battery with this camera? I want to get some extra batteries an a duel charger for my firefly 6s but there isnt a firefly branded one. Will gopro hero 3 batteries and charger work?
Hi Christine, I am using Gopro battery and extra batteries I got from Ebay:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161139844720?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
These work fine with firefly. I use it for motorcycle traffic recording and have noticed high wind noise, but then it’s on top of helmet.
I’m looking at underwater usage and have just ordered from Gearbest 2 extra waterproof housings, I’ll see how well they work, and post here.
With this type of charger, the last segment on charger shown is from 75% charged to 100%, so it’s impossible to tell if battery is fully charged, but then nature of lithium chemistry is such that if you don’t need full capacity (have a few batteries handy) then it’s probably better to take the battery out once it reaches fourth segment marker.
Thank you for the very detailed review. It was such helpfull for me.
Decided to buy the camera even though i’m afraid about the app quality.
Nothing is perfect 😛
Hello Pevly,
I’m in search of a cheap action camera however I want to make the best decision.
I saw this Firefly 6s however I want to know if there are any other better alternatives to this camera?
I want something between 40-90$.
Can you give some advices?
You might want to take a look at Xiaomi YI or Git 2 (which with a coupon you can get for 104$ which is just little over your budget, but well worth the extra.
Hello from France.
I’ve just ordered a Firefly 6s. It’s my first action cam so I’ve got a few questions… Is the waterproof housing really waterproof, can it go under water? I’ve a doubt because when I ordered the camera, Gearbest offered a waterproof case for a special price.
In everyday use, should I leave the camera in the case to protect it from dirt, dust, etc…
What’s the best Android app to use?
Thanks for helping me.
Regards,
James
James, housing is certainly waterproof. Before going underwater, you can always do the leaking test.
As for storage, read this guide and for cleaning watch this video.
Thanks for your quick answer.
What free software do you recommend to edit the videos?
Regards,
James.
I use Adobe Premiere Pro, which is not free, but a simple Google search should show you few decent free software available.
Using vlc player on windows 10 camera set to 1080 x 60 causes buffering on playback whereas on 1080 x 30 it plays ok. but not so sharp. Card has transfer rate of 50Mb/sec.
What is the problem with 1080 x 60 playback?
Thanks
Gordon
Sorry got that wrong in previous post, will only play back properly if shot in VGA mode, but big drop in quality. Mew to this, what is the issue here?
Thanks
Gordon
Gordon, perhaps it’s a memory card issue or your PC. Try with different card or on another computer.
Hi, Since you seem to know your shit. Which one should i buy for my drone(under 100 dollars).
cheers
love your great reviews! this help me buy Firefly 6S. Thanks!
I just bought this camera intending to use it for motovlogging. I’d like to format the SD card in something other than FAT, to get rid of the file gap with the 4GB size limit. I have tried using my computer to format the card to both exFAT and NTFS, but every time I load the card into the camera and try to record something it crashes, plus the camera itself always formats the card to FAT32. Is there some other filesystem that I can use that has a higher file size limit?
Hey …Pavle ….im from india …..
just….readed ur review…and..im impress..with u……just a 1 question
i will start Youtube channel …
soon ….and ill be doing motovlogs ……is this camera …is good….i mean….best ..for..motovlogs…like..video quality …and..audio…..
Thank you …waiting for ur reply
… and …
I have Gopro stuff, I know the Gopro housings work with the firefly’s but how about the batteries, I have purchased some large capacity batteries such as (LIME FUEL) for my gopros and If sell it to get the firefly I’d like to keep it if possible.
There is 2 Firefly 6S versions, UHD and FHD, you have the FHD one, so it’s normal that it is not true 4k…
Hello Pavle!
I am looking for a action cam and your site has been a great source for information.
I am a bit stuck on which camera to buy, the SJCAM SJ4000 or the FireFIREFLY 6S. Both are roughly the same price but in the SJ4000 article, you wrote:
“SJ4000 is certainly the best action camera choice for under 100$.”
Now I realize that has changed so if you were buying a action camera for $100.00, which would you choose?
Have you considered a Git 2? Currently there is a coupon to get it for 104$,imho that’s the best bang for the buck currently.
Hi All,
i bought a firefly 6s camera yesterday. There was Firefly 6S UHD 4K in my package but i see banggood or ebay Firefly 6S FHD 4K too. I bought my camera at gearbest and it was cheaper than FHD ones. I dont understand why, because UHD is real 4k , while FHD is not.
There are differences on the package (UHF vs FHD). What does it mean exactly? Which type is the better?
Thanks guys!
Sorry if this was already asked, but there are a ton of comments to go through…
Does anyone find issues losing some footage when the files get broken into multiple files when recording for a long time, eg. more than 23 minutes? I find that I lose maybe 5 seconds and find it quite frustrating to have to manually adjust this angle with a GoPro angle when using a multicam clip in FCP. Any solutions or just something I have to continually work through when recording long clips?
Hi! I did the first review in the world of the new Hawkeye Firefly 7S: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ofm5PN4h5-Y
Have bought 7S and already have a problem, exposure cannot be set and is locked on +2.0, while the manual indicates decade of settings from -2.0 to +2.0 range, so image is just badly shabby.
Apart from that, battery time is less than a sigh of drama, customers’ support is still not the best point of Hawkeye, and the Android app is still the same waste of numeric time.
Don’t buy 🙁
Hellow Pavle. Your Site is Great, with a lot of good information.
I just received my FireFly 6S V 2.6 today, and all functions seem to be working correctly except for the Time Lapse Mode. I’m sure that it is me & not the Camera. How do I get into the Time Lapse mode in Photo mode and Video Mode? I just haven’t been able to get it to work properly. I’ve had no issues in the Burst Mode.
I obviously am doing something wrong.
Thank you for your kind help with this Time Lapse Mode.
I own a 6S cam for a week now, and it seems that on my model Gyro and Remove FishEye options remain off even after have been activated.
I put them On, exit the Settings menu, and when I open it again, Gyro and Remove FishEye are still Off.
Any advice from anybody here ?
Thanx by advance just in case B-)
It’s because they can’t work together. Try switching on one or another.
i need lcd for this cam!
How can i get it?
There’s no such thing for 6S.
Hi,
Do you know how many minutes of 1080/30 recording would fit on a 64Gb card? Also, can the camera record at 720 or lower resolutions?
Thanks
Andy
Hi Andy,
You can download available samples and see how much space it approximately takes and calculate yourself.
As far as the resolutions, in the firmware I tested it was able to record at 720p.
Hello! Thank you for your nice review. I would like to ask a question about angle of view.
I am into fpv drone flying and I was used to fly with a GoPro hero 3 silver edition set on medium angle (which from GoPro specs should be around 127′ while wide angle is about 170′). I never use wide angle because it’s just too large and it includes landing gears which is never nice to see.
Since I wanted to move to hero 4, I was also interest in giving a try to this Firefly 6s which would fit my gimbal but I am worried about the angle of you since you wrote that video quality gets lower in medium angle. This is never true for GoPro which, even in Narrow mode, the video quality is still full HD with completely acceptable sharpness and details (there are guides explaining this aspect in a more scientific way).
I was wondering if you can upload some samples at the narrowest field of view to compare it to the Large one. Also if you know the angle of the Smallest field of view.
Thank you so much.
Video is still in HD, but it gets stretched, GoPro works the same way. As for the new samples, I can’t since my camera was given-away and I do not have it anymore.
thank you for your review i was actually sold in to buy this camera but i can not use it because every sd card i used class 10 from 4-32gb i get the message card full!!!! my firmware is the 2.6 and i have formatted the card in fat32 several times but the problem persists. i tried to reinstall the firmware but is impossible to do it . ANY SUGGESTIONS PLEASE????
i boaght the cam from GEARBEST
thank you for your review i was actually sold in to buy this camera but i can not use it because every sd card i used class 10 from 4-32gb i get the message card full!!!! my firmware is the 2.6 and i have formatted the card in fat32 several times but the problem persists. i tried to reinstall the firmware but is impossible to do it . ANY SUGGESTIONS PLEASE????
i bought the cam from GEARBEST
Hi, IOANNIS!
from 1 of March 2017 released firmware 2.7. Maybe help you. I use 64GB and it’s working.
If I ignore the price, could you tell me which one would be better in terms of video and photo quality between firefly 6s and Yi action camera (2k version)?
Awesome article, just got mine for $66 with v2.8, will use it on an RC car which is being shipped. I’ve tested it in random aituations. I like it a lot.
I was wondering which type of focus do you guys like? It has average, spot and center in the latest firmware.
Cheers!
That would entirely depend upon the ambient you use it in, and further on what you’d like the cam to show. For “general situations”, maybe Average, but if you’ve got something to follow closely, then Center. There’s really no recipe to prefer! But, as with anything else, testing what you can on what you’ve got is good idea. Gives you valuable insight, even if it means stepping on some theories. 🙂
Enjoy your camera!