SJ5000x Elite is a WiFi, sports camera made by SJCAM. It’s a fifth camera from SJ5000 series. What makes it different compared to other models is that it is the first one to implement Sony’s IMX078CQK 12 megapixels image sensor.
Other important hardware components are Novatek NTK96660 processor or chip and a 7 glass, wide angle lens. Besides that, it is powered by standard 900mah Li-Ion battery and can support maximum of 32GB of external memory (though in my tests it worked with 64GB cards as well).
Oh, I nearly forgot. It has a 2″ screen at the back.
Without any doubt, SJ5000x Elite looks great on a paper. It is actually the first SJCAM camera after SJ4000 that got me so excited. Let’s be honest, their previous models like SJ4000+, M10+ and even 5000X ( difference between 5000x vs 5000x elite) were a total flop.
I was quite harsh in my reviews on those models, and I still think those were heavily overpriced and over-hyped products that offered less bang for the buck compared to competitors.
Can 5000x Elite be a camera that will bring this Chinese brand back to life, or will it put one last nail in the coffin?
You are probably here because you want to find out how the camera performs and does it justify the cost? Or should you choose another brand instead?
No worries, I got you covered.
I’ve been using this camera for quite a while now and I am locked and loaded to tell you everything. We certainly have lots of things to cover here, so allow me to begin with most basic stuff, such as product overview and specs. Later on, I will test its video, photo and audio quality together with usability and support.
Note : | Buy 5000x Elite on GearBest| Buy it on Amazon |
SJCAM 5000x Elite specification
- Chipset
- Image sensor
- Lens
- Weight
- Size
- Screen
- Max image resolution
- Max Video resolution
- Video compression format
- Image format
- Memory
- Battery
- WiFi
- Connection
- Timer
- Photo time-lapse
- Video time-lapse
- Burst
- Webcam
- Car camera
- Remote controller
- External Mic
- Video Stabilization
- Sj5000x Elite
- NTK96660
- Sony IMX078
- 7 glass
170º - Weight : 68 grams / 2.39 ounce
- Size : 59.27*41.13*29.28mm
- 2" LCD
- 12 megapixels
- Video Resolutions : 4K (3840 x 2160) 24fps
2K(2560 x 1440)30fps
1080P (1920 x 1080) 30,60fps - H.264
- Image format : JPEG
- 32GB
- 900mAh
- USB, HDMI
- 3s/5s/10s/20s
- 3s/5s/10s/30s
5000x Elite unboxing
Two previously released models SJ4000+ and M10+ had quite high quality packing. However, for some unknown reason, SJ5000X Elite arrives in a pretty simple-looking cardboard box that looks nowhere as cool as those prior to it. It’s obvious that two predecessors models had much better protection.
Now, I can only guess why the Elite packing is designed and made to look like this. First is obviously to decrease the production cost and the other might be the visibility.
With this kind of “opened” packing design, camera is better visible on the shelves of a brick and mortar stores.
Awkward thing is that on a box there is no “Elite” sign, it only says 5000X, so one’s might confuse it with that model. Accessories are not organized well either, everything is just stuffed into a box.
Not a huge deal, since you will not record your movies with a box, but I thought to cover product packing as protection as well. Like with all cameras after the M10, this one has a safety code which you can scratch and enter on their official site to see verify the authenticity of your cam.
Accessories
There is a huge list of gadgets that come with the camera.
- 1x camera
- 1x waterproof housing (30m waterproof)
- 3x bandage
- 2x 3m self adhesive tape
- 1x USB cable
- 3x switch mount
- 1x bracket for mounting on a 1/4″ screw
- 1x flat base
- 1x curved base
- 1x J shaped mount
- 1x bicycle mount
- 1x cleaning cloth
- 1x base mount
- 1x spare back door (not waterproof)
- 1x manual
- 2x SJCAM stickers
- 1x lens cap (for protecting lens)
As you see, camera comes with a lots of additional accessories. Gear is pretty much the same as any other Chinese camera. The only thing they included compared to earlier model is a lens cap. This is a nice additional protector for your 5000x Elite lens. I know its probably the cheapest of all, but its quite handy. Some other cameras that included lens cap in a box were Firefly 6S and Git 1.
There is no wall charger included, so you will have to buy one separately. Camera can be charged by plugging supplied USB cable into a PC or a power-bank.
Manual that arrives with Elite, is literary copy/pasted from all previous models with only few technical things changed. It does not provide much information on settings and features. That’s why I recommend you to take a look at our own SJ4000 manual. Because of the similarities in most of the options, it will help you understand technicalities.
Besides these standard mounts and accessories, there are also few pieces of additional gear that can be bought separately on manufacturers website or through plenty other online shops. Good news is that camera is compatible with all standard SJCAM accessories. And if you want to see which additional accessories I recommend, you can read this SJ4000 accessories list.
Design and built quality
Design-wise Elite is similar to any other SJCAM camera. What makes it slightly different compared to most of the manufacturer’s models is a 2″ LCD display at the back. I found display of this size just about right for previewing videos and photos that I captured and also for live-view recording. It helps a lot especially with video and photo composition.
On the side, there are three buttons. Two up and down arrows, used for menu navigation and also zooming in and out. (digital zoom, not optical). Third button is a WiFi and a gyro shortcut. When you press it, camera’s WiFi will be enabled. However if you hold it for over 2 seconds, it will turn gyro video stabilization on or off. Stabilization can be switched from on to off even when you are recording.
What bugged me about the buttons is that they are so tiny and to close to each other. Even though my hands nor fingers aren’t huge, I found it a bit cumbersome to navigate through the menu while pressing them. In my previous review of M10+ model I said that that one can be operated with one hand, well this one certainly can not. I always had to use the other hand to hold the camera firmly.
Other side of the camera has 2 ports (USB and HDMI) and one slot for memory card.
Additionally, it has 2 led indicators at front. Those two, alongside the one of the top and one of the bank blink blue when the camera is recording. The other one at the back will be red while the camera is charging. When it turns of you will now that the 5000x Elite is fully charged.
What I really did not like was the battery cover. I still can’t believe that it is made so flimsy and hard to open and close. That would be okay if this was their first model that had this very same issue, but as the matter a fact, if I am not mistaken, this is their 6th camera with exact same issue.
On the bright side, camera is available in 7 different colors, so if you are picky about coloring, I am sure you will find one to match your preference. I got the black one because its neutral and looks more serious compared to pink or yellow.
Camera is made out of plastic and has patterned edges. It’s built in the same way like most of the cameras from the brand. Even though its light-weight, I really had no feeling that I am holding a well crafted product. If you need something quite compact and better built, you might take a look at Dazzne P3 or Git 1 or Git 2.
Weight and size.
The total weight of SJCAM SJ5000X Elite camera is XYZ grams with and without the battery. It has absolutely the same size as its predecessors. Dimensions of 5000X Elite are 59.27*41.13*29.28mm.
Video quality
Even though on few forums I’ve seen people complaining about video color looking unnatural, I can tell you that personally I am satisfied with the way Sony’s sensor handles colors. Perhaps those people were referring to earlier software versions.
Images below are extracted video frames in 1920 x 1080 resolution.
I had some complains about sharpness with the previous model – SJCAM M10+, but 5000x Elite creates quite sharp video.
Video samples
If you would like to download video samples and preview them on your own PC (which is highly recommended), you can download original files on this link.
Here is a video uploaded on YouTube.
Image quality
The biggest novelty of 5000X Elite is that has Sony’s IMX078 image sensor. This means that the camera captures still images in true 12 megapixels. For the similar price range, their predecessors M10+ and SJ4000+ had only 4mp photo resolution.
Even though initial firmware that I used 1.22 had problems with bleached out colors, I was quite satisfied with the results after the upgrade to latest software version. Colors are quite natural looking in my opinion.
Camera handles the details quite when, and you will see in the next few samples.
Audio quality
Even before I received my 5000x Elite, there were rumors that the microphone quality is terrible. Once I received my unit and tested it through various firmare upgrades, I can confirm that the audio quality is really bad. Not only that the sound is muffled on the unit I got, but it is also quite low.
The reason I’ve been prolonging the review of this model (It took me 3 months to write it down) is because I was really hoping that sound can be boosted in software upgrade. However, despite SJCAM clamming otherwise, I do believe that it’s a poor quality hardware inside which causes sound to be this bad.
The quality of the sound can be compared to some other cameras when they are in a waterproof housing.
When the camera is in a waterproof housing you can’t hear sound at all, especially due to low-level microphone which SJCAM 5000X Elite uses.
Note : Manufacturer confirmed that first few batches of the 5000X Elite have sound issue, so I can’t really talk about other “batches”, from what I have here, if sound matters to you, avoid 5000X Elite by all means necessary.
Modes
SJCAM 5000X Elite camera operates in 3 main modes :
- Video / Photo
- Video Lapse
- Slow rec
- Photo Lapse
- Burst Mode
- Long Exposure
- Underwater
- TV-Out
- Motion Detection
- Car Mode
- Playback
- Settings
Settings
This mode has multiple sub-modes. There are 6 main sub-modes. My overall impression is that SJCAM over-killed the camera with so many options that will rather confuse than help.
Below, I will try to explain each of these, so bear with me.
I warn you that this is extremely dull part of the article. Especially because most of these features haven’t changed in years. They are the same in most of Chinese cameras. There are few new options that this camera has, and I paid special attention to them.
I was bored to death writing it, but it helps newbies and action camera owners, so it had to be done. You can skip it if you wish, unfortunately I couldn’t.
Video/Photo
Returns you to a video mode where you can record movies or capture still images.
TV Out
For previewing videos and photos on your PC, you need to enable this option and get an HDMI cable like this one. Plug the narrower end of the cable into camera HDMI port and wider one into your TV (make sure your TV supports HDMI, very old TV’s do not have this port).
Video and Photo Lapse
I really like that camera has both video and photo time lapse features. If you are a beginner and do not like to use video editing software, choose video-lapse and camera will create right out of the box ready video, that you can upload on YouTube right away.
For those advanced users who like color-correction and other stuff, use photo lapse, and camera will create bunch of photographs (1 photo represents 1 frame of a video). Import those into your editing software and everything else it up to you.
Intervals are a bit different for some reason.
- 1/2/5/10/30/60 seconds – Video Lapse
- 2/5/10/20 seconds – Photo Lapse
Just to explain, if you choose 2 seconds, this means that camera captures image every other second. So if you leave your camera for a 100 minutes to record, you will have 1200 photos ( 6000 seconds /2 = 3000 photos. Each photo is 1 video frame, so if you want your video in 30fps, you will have time lapse video length or 3000/30 = 100 seconds).
Playback
There are two options to preview the videos and photos. Except exporting and previewing on your computer, you can either view them from App, camera itself or on your TV.
Be aware that if you are using 64GB memory card (camera officially supports 32gb, but I used Sony 64GB Class 10), you will not be able to preview videos.
Setup
The most extensive sub-menu is the Setup which contains insane amount of options that you can adjust.
Resolution
- “4k” – 24 fps – 2860 x 2160 – interpolated, not true UHD 4K.
- 2k – 30 fps – 2560 x 1440
- 1080p -30/60fps – 1920 x 1080
- 720p – 30/60/120 fps – 1280 x 720
- VGA – 240 fps – 640 x 480
Loop recording
- Off/3/5/10 minutes
FOV
FOV, or field of view is very interesting feature. Since some people do not like the wide-angle lens, since it creates distortion, you can choose the angle you like the most. Be aware that camera scales the video image, which means that the video might not be as sharp. Similar to situation with a gyro sensor.
- 170°
- 140°
- 110°
- 70°
- off (default)
WDR
WDR or wide dynamic range is an option used in situations where you have a lots of contrasts.
Gyro sensor
Even though most people believe that a gyro is software part that stabilizes the video, it is actually a tiny chip (hardware) which eliminates shakiness from the videos. Stabilization of this kind is similar to digital stabilization. This option does excellent job in stabilizing when camera is moved up and down, but does not work when you move it from one side to another. However this is without any doubt huge advantage of this camera.
It is advised that you turn gyro off when taking photographs, because it will reduce image sharpness. WiFi button located on the camera’s side is at the same time a shortcut for turning video stabilization on or off. If you hold it for 2 seconds you will turn on/off gyro. Great thing is that this shortcut allows you to switch through gyro on and off while recording.
Motion detection
Until this day I do not understand why this feature is in an action camera. In theory, when turned on, camera will start recording when detects a motion. But for any sort of serious home surveillance, do yourself a favor and get a proper home-surveillance camera.
Audio and volume
If by any chance you wish to turn the sound off for your videos you can do that. Additionally you can set up audio levels from 1-8, one being the lowest and eight the highest.
- on/off audio
- volume – 1-10 levels
Slow motion
One very interesting option is called slow motion. This feature will create out of box slowed down video, without you having to edit it further. Quite handy for people who are unfamiliar with video editing software, but need slow motion scenes.
Video file format
Camera gives you the option to choose between two formats. Quite honestly, I did not quite get what’s the point of this, but I am sure there is one. I use MOV format.
- MP4
- MOV
Image size
Under the image size, you can navigate through different photo resolutions. Of course, it’s highly recommended to use highest one, unless you want to save a bit more space on your memory card, in that case you can use lower resolution and sacrifice image quality.
- 12 mp
- 10mp
- 8mp
- 5mp
- 3mp
- 2mhd
- 1.3mp
- vga 640×480
Quality
- Fine
- Medium
- Standard
I use standard.
Sharpness
- Strong
- Normal
- Soft
I set mine to normal.
White Balance
- Auto
- Daylight
- Cloudy
- Tungsten
- Fluorescent
It really depends on light, environment and the effect you wish to achieve. In a bright sunny day, I found that daylight has the most vivid colors. For most of my video samples I used auto white balance. There is no general rule when it comes to this one.
Color
This feature is one of my favorite. It allows you to have photos and videos in black and white and sepia. Warm color adds slightly more vibrancy, but nothing significant.
- Normal
- Black and White
- Retro (sepia)
- Warm
- Cool
ISO
If you do not want to bother with how much light goes into the sensor, just leave ISO to off. It’s not an option you will use quite a lot, as camera is pretty good on detecting this parameter automatically.
- Auto
- 100
- 200
- 400
- 800
- 1600
EV
EV, or exposure value determines how bright or dark your video or photo will be. I mostly kept mine at 0.0, but I encourage you to experiment with this option, as it really depends on a situation and light conditions.
RAW
Besides standard JPEG image format, SJCAM 5000X Elite can export images as RAW. I talked about RAW in my Gitup GIT2 review. Please check the “RAW” paragraph out, as it clarifies what is RAW, who should use it and what are its benefits.
Burst mode
When you enable the burst mode, camera will capture up to 10 photos on a single shutter click. Useful for sports photography and fast-moving objects.
- 3/5/10/off
Dash cam
I always encourage people whose main interest is to capture a traffic with an action camera, mostly because action cameras are not made for that purpose. However if you want to record traffic from time to time with camera attached to a car charger, enabling this option will turn the camera off, when you turn your car off, and vice-versa. Use it in combination with loop recording.
Other options
Below is a brief overview on other options, that are pretty self-explanatory, but I covered them as well.
- License no set – if you wish to have a custom name on datestamp, for instance pevly.com in right corner, etc.
- date/time – set date/time
- auto power off – activate if you want camera to turn off after selected period of inactivity – good for saving up the battery
- keypad tone – turn the keypad tone on or off
- light set – (off – turns all LED indicators off, 1 turns on only top indicator, 2 turns front ant top, 3 turns all indicators on)
- screen savers -set the screen to turn off after inactivity – good for battery saving
- frequency – refresh rate for your screen
- Logo watermark – show SJCAM logo on your videos and photos or turn it off
- Language – select the menu language (17 different languages available)
- WiFi SSID – camera WiFi name
- WiFi Password – WiFi password, default is : 12345678
- Delete – enters delete mode so you can remove images or videos you do not like
- Format – formats the memory card, erases everything.
- Default settings – returns all options on default
- Version – shows firmware/software version
Buttons and functions
Here is an overview of buttons and their functions on 5000X Elite camera.
- Shutter/OK button (Press to record video and to confirm options inside the menu)
- Recording indicator – flashes blue while you record
- Wifi/Gyro shortcut – press to activate WiFi or hold for 2-3 seconds to turn gyro on or off.
- Up arrow – navigation through the menu and zooming in (8X digital zoom)
- Down arrow – navigation through the menu and zooming out.
- Power/Mode button – press to turn camera on, hold to turn it off. Short click switches from photo, video and settings.
- Lens
- Recording indicator
- Recording indicator
- LCD Screen
- Memory card slot
- USB port (charging, file transfer)
- HDMI out (Previewing footage on your TV with HDMI cable)
Other technical stuff
Due to many questions that regularly occur on all SJCAM reviews, I created two paragraphs that will respond to ones most commonly asked. Once again, if your problem is quite specific, it is the best to reach out to manufacturer directly.
How to update the firmware?
- Make sure your camera is at least 50% charged.
- Download latest firmware from manufacturers site. Firmware>SJ5000 Series>SJ5000X Elite (Note make sure to read instructions on their site carefully, as some firmware updates have different upgrade procedures and require different steps.
- Unzip the folder.
- Format the memory card inside your camera.
- Attach a camera to your PC via USB and choose Mass Storage.
- Copy the .bin file from the folder you previously downloaded and unzipped to the memory card.
- Turn off the camera.
- Unplug the USB cable.
- Turn ON the camera.
- Blue light will flash for around 20 seconds. Do not interrupt this process. Camera will restart when the process is done.
- Once the camera has turned on itself, format the memory card to delete .bin file.
- Go to Settings>Version to see if the firmware corresponds to the one you downloaded (For example if you downloaded 2.2 firmware and you see 2.2 version inside the camera, the upgrade was successful.
Frequently Asked Questions – 5000x Elite
- Can the 5000x Elite record when connected to a power bank? – Yes.
- Can the 5000x Elite record when connected to a power bank without the battery? – Yes.
- Does it support AV-Out? – Yes. (For FPV related questions, please check this video, I am not an expert in aerial photography so for those questions, go to RCgroups forum and ask experienced users.)
- How can I watch videos/photos on TV? – Buy HDMI cable like this, plug it into the camera, set TV Mode > ON, plug into HDMI port of your TV.
- Can it record videos while being connected to a TV? – Yes it can.
- Will I hear audio on my TV while recording in TV mode? – No you will not hear output audio on TV, but you will hear camera internal sounds on TV.
- Should I buy SJCAM 5000x Elite or Gitup 2? – I have not done side by side comparison yet, so I do not know. Please check comparison page, my article will be there when I publish it.
- Does 5000X work as a web camera? – For me it does not work on Windows 10, not sure about operating systems.
- Does SJCAM 5000X Elite support external microphone? – No it does not support external microphone.
Where to buy SJCAM SJ5000x Elite?
Here are few links where you can buy this camera.
Summary
There you have it. First of all, I’d like to apologize to all the readers who have restlessly emailed me and ask “when 5000x elite review will be done”. It’s taken me longer than usual, mostly because tons of software updates SJCAM did. I waited until they had a stable software. I hope that this review of mine helped you decide if SJCAM SJ5000X Elite is good enough camera for you.
At the end, let’s summarize the things I personally liked, but also the ones I did not.
SJCAM 5000X Elite is certainly way better camera compared to M10+ and SJ4000+ I recently reviewed. It provides better bang for the buck. Positive thing is that SJCAM finally started using serious image sensor components in their models.
New Sony’s sensor might not be that good in low-light, but it creates quite sharp 12 megapixels images. Colors on both video and photo are quite natural for my taste. Accessories that arrive with the camera are quite standard for all SJCAM models. Nothing new when it comes to equipment.
New features like slow motion, long-exposure and underwater mode are things I really like. My overall opinion is that video stabilization has to be better optimized and I expect that to happen in the next firmware update.
Sound is huge problem with 5000X Elite. Not only that it’s quite low, but you will barely be able to hear anything (at least that was a case with my camera) until you set up volume level at 10. Even then, the sound is inferior compared to some most cameras I tested, especially Gitup Git 2 or Xiaomi’s YI. Additionally, unlike some of it’s competitors, it does not support external microphone. As already mentioned, you can barely hear a person speaking
User navigation is a bit confusing, there are tons of options and setups. It took me a while to get used to new menu design, especially since it has been modified with each software update. Good news, is that camera works quite fast and there were no issues with it’s performance.
While the design is quite standard, I believe it’s high time that SJCAM starts making higher-quality and better-built cameras. Camera is light-weight, but feels quite fragile, even though I did not have problems breaking anything while using it in different conditions.
Finally, only if sound is not in your priority list, there is a point in getting 5000X Elite by SJCAM. If the microphone inside was better, this would have been quite decent camera for the money, but with sound level being terrible, it will be a deal breaker for many people.
Thank you for taking time to read this article. If you find it helpful, I’d appreciate if you could share it on Facebook or Twitter. For any sort of question, feel free to leave a comment below, I’ll do my best to reply asap.
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Hi Pevly. Your review has been extremely helpful. I intend to get the sj5000x elite ..this would be my first action cam. Video and Picture quality are on top on my list . So would you recommend the x elite over the 5000?
Haven’t tested SJ5000 so I can’t help you on that one.
Hi Pavle. Thanks for your response. Since you have tested the 4000 series , would you then recommend the X Elite over the 4000 series? Is the X Elite superior to the 4000 series in respect to video and picture quality and features?
Hi , what is much better SJ5000x elite or SJ6 Legend? Thanks!
Hi, Rose… as always, it depends entirely on what options you need for your purposes. For MY purposes, I find myself using SJ6 Legend Air and Xiaomi 4K Mini the most; also ThiEYE t5e… but most of those we mentioned here are good for 90% of usual (1080) recording and photos. You can’t go wrong with SJ5000X Elite.
Enjoy!
Hello,
I bought a sj5000+ yesterday. Today I saw there is a sj5000x available. Can you tell me if I should send the sj5000+ back and buy for the same amount of money the sj5000x
What do you guys think?
Haven’t reviewed nor tested 5000+, but if it works well for you I do not see why would you do that.
the elite is far better than the SJ5000+!
Nice review, thanks ! So where are the Pros/Cons ? Where are the 0-100% ratings like you usually do ? This review is interesting, but without the Pros, Cons and Ratings it loses a lot of interest to me… Thanks anyway for your great work.
Pros and cons can be added but since a few more people write for the website, I decided to give up on the ratings, since it’s impossible to have personal opinion ratings for many people.
good review!
I found the gyro stabilizer not so good – but I will try the new firmware and see if it’s changed.
greets, RCSchim
@RCSchim, can you also comment on the sound / microphone quality after the update in addition to your comments on the gyro ?
Cheers
Is this better tha Xiaomi Yi? Torn between getting which of the two.
Hi Pavle. Thank you very much for your reviews! I’m looking to buy an action camera for my coming holiday and was wondering if you could give me an expert advice since I’m new to this.
I’m looking for a camera in the 80-120(euro) price range with LCD screen, wifi, full HD photos and videos, and suitable for diving (30-40m). I was looking at the SJ4000, but I feel that it’s a bit dated now and there are better options out there.
Could you suggest the best option given these features?
Thank you!
Alberto
hey pevly, do you have any reviews regarding the latest firmware 1.4 for elite?
Excellent review. Also interested in your updated opinion of 1.4 firmware updates.
thank you
HI,
How does this compare against the Newly Launched M20? Should i Buy the New M20 or stick to the J5000x elite? Or go for a Sj J5000+?
Size is not much a problem, im looking for the best Image quality and underwater shooting. Not much of a video guy, im more into taking Still photos. Mainly buying this as a travel and underwater camera to click pics during my holidays.
Neither me or my associates have reviewed the M20, so I can’t tell you anything about it.
you talked about the 1st batch having sound problems, but you implied that all batches have the sound problem, is your review on a 1st batch camera or a latter batch camera.
Manufacturer said that only the first batch has an issue, but plenty of users until today have a low-sound issue, so summary, audio pretty much sucks.
Hi,
Is there any wifi remote, that goes with 5000x elite?
I know there is the app, but that’s not helpful 20m below the surface.
Thanks
Jonny
No there isn’t.
Hello Pavle,
I recently bought this camera, my first action cam, but I’m not new to camcorders.
Your comments were really helpful to compensate for lack of manual and detailed infos.
I still have a major problem though.
Usually when I make videos, I copy them on USB or HDD for TV viewing. I use a Sony Full HD TV with USB input. In the same way I can bring HDD or key to a friend’s house and watch holiday videos etc.
I can see MOV videos made with iPhone 6 at 1080p, and MP4 videos made with Panasonic camera, also 1080p. But I can’t see any ***** video made with this SJCAM!!
The OSD on the TV make it look like the file is ‘broken’.
I tried changing micro SD card but result is same.
I tried decreasing resolution and bitrate to 1080 30p but it does nothing.
What the hell is this format that camera is using, that TV cannot play?
Is this explained somewhere? I cannot find anything!
How to solve this problem? This is a really bad thing that makes me throw away the camera. Thank you.
Of course I also switched MOV and MP4, result is same. Not playable.
Hello!
Thank you for nice rewiew. I decided to buy sj5000+ elite. I will do this now.
Dado
I bought it today, and I will make gyro-test next weekend. I’m interested how it works.
Did you do a gyro-test? If so, what are your conclusions – is there any improvement? Does it now compare favourably with other camera’s such as the Git2?
Thanks.
“I was quite harsh in my reviews on those models, and I still think those were heavily overpriced and over-hyped products that offered less bang for the buck compared to competitors.” Links please
To begin with, these https://pevly.com/best-action-cameras/
Cannot upload videos or photos from SJ 5000X elite to my iMac. Message keeps coming up “No Photos” Any suggestions? Thank You.
Check your image settings bro, maybe your taking RAW pictures instead of JPEG. RAW pictures need additional editing software installed in your MAC before it is detected. Hope it helps.
Hy mate, could I know what additional editing software I need to install to my MAC to detect the RAW Sjcam files? Thanks
Hi Pavle,
Any idea if they fixed the audio issue already?
If not: Any suggestions for another low-budget sports camera? I am a little confused with all the camera’s available at the moment!
Thank you!
Hi Pavle,
Great review, i want to make choice between Eken H8R and SJCam 5000x Elite. Request your suggestion.
Also is it true that doubling of frames in 4K mode in Eken H8R has been fixed after latet update and now it records in real 4K?
Awaiting ypur reply friend. Thanks!
What is the latest opinion of the effectiveness of the gyro stabilisation – does the current firmware make any improvement? I’m trying to decide between this and Git2, most reviews of which mention its superior stabilisation.
Thanks.
Hi,
After going over your review (thanks for this btw) I noticed you had samples at 2880×2160.
When you talk about video setting and options this aspect ratio isn’t listed?
Can you please show/tell us what settings you had to get 2880×2160 (4:3)
many thanks
Regarding the audio I use the camera sound only for making notes. If taking footage where sound is important I use a separate sound recorder and microphone and use a clap board to make the synchro easier. This is the only way to get professional quality sound if you are using an action cam no matter what the make and even with an external mic. These sound recorders can be bought cheaply on Amazon or Gearbest etc. As regards a mic I got this for an amazing £15 !
BOYA BY-M1 3.5 mm Lavalier Microphone for Smartphone and Canon/Nikon Camera
It has a really long lead which comes in handy often.
Hi Pevly,
Very good review! Today I i ordered one at Bangood.
I’m looking for a proper lens cap.
Can you / someone tell me what is the diameter of the lens (complete with the plastic holder)?
Thanks!
Jonic.
Thanks for this excellent and informative site. I’ve been trying to decide on my first action camera and have learned so much from your articles, fantastically detailed and I love the fact that you make the original videos and photos available on Dropbox so we aren’t misled by Youtube’s compression.
I’m curious as to how you know that this camera is the Elite model when the packaging doesn’t say so. There are user reviews on Amazon UK showing the packaging and it looks different to yours and clearly says SJ5000X ELITE. Both the Elite and non-Elite have the same output resolution but of course on the non-Elite the 12MP photos must be interpolated, and you photos don’t look sharp when viewing them “actual size” on my display, they look upscaled, which would suggest you have the non-Elite model. But maybe I just have unrealistic expectations for how sharp the images should be from such cameras?
Anyway thanks again and keep up the good work.
This was an early release model, so perhaps they upgraded the packaging. SJCAM sometimes does things that confuse people. This is certainly an Elite. I’m not sure if you’re mixing it with 5000X, but this article clearly shows the difference between Elite, 5000X and X1000.
Which 128 gb card the cam will support?
Concerning the web cam, I found in other comments some issues and solutions with sj4000, maybe you have the same issue with 5000x elite ?
Q:my cam sometimes doesn’t recognize the pc and shows only ‘charging’ icon
A: Go to device manager>look for the usb composite device with exclamation mark(unknown)>right click>uninstall>unplug then replug yung camera again. Worked for me.
A: my issue seems to be caused by broken cable, changed it and works ok now
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWfRYl3a47U)
I can’t see the original video files on the Dropbox link you gave above,should they still be there?
They are, try this link instead and let me know if it works.
Ok,thanks for that I can see them now.For some reason earlier my browser wasn’t showing the icon that says which ones are movies,now it is.(And I missed the download option as well!).
It looks good in those,hopefully a worthy companion to my current SJ4000.
I don’t know how closely you’ve been following the firmware updates,but apparently the poor audio quality was solved with 1.4.6 but back again with 1.4.7.I think they’re on 1.4.8 now but haven’t heard if it’s been fixed with that one.
I can confirm that with firmware 1.4.8 dated 9 Nov 2016 the sound seems to be pretty good apart (as you’d expect) when the camera is in the waterproof housing when it is faint and muffled. But when it’s not in the waterproof housing, the sound is good. We used it on bus tours while on holiday and the tour guide’s commentary over the bus’s PA was recorded clearly and intelligibly.
By the way, you say that long-pressing the Wifi button turns on and off the gyro stabilisation. This does not work on firmware 1.4.8 – instead you get a display of the SSID and password that are currently configured. You have to delve into the menus to turn stabilisation on/off.
One thing that you don’t mention and neither does the manual is that if you long-press the shutter release, a message “DP Bright Adjust” is displayed, followed by “DP: NG / Please power off” (I’m guessing that “NG” means “no good”). I’m not sure what function the long-press is performing. Any suggestions?
Thanks for the input Martin.
As for the DP Bright Adjust, I really do not know. I did not notice that on my camera. You can try to get an answer from their support page.
hi Pevly,
Much detailed review. Thanks for it.
One thing, the sample photos shown are bit circular/concave, they doesn’t look flat, like the images we take using mobiles or digi-cams, we can’t take such flat/straight images thorough sjcam?
If yes, Sample of such would be helpful.
Almost all action cameras have wide-angle 140-180 degree lens in order to capture entire first person view footage. This kind of lens creates barbell-roll or fish eye distortion. You can Google it to find out more how it works.
I bought some time ago this cam and I’m not very happy with it, if you intend to use it to film your ski lines i’d say look for something else. Battery goes off after 4-5 minutes max, even though temperatures are not that low (i ski in Spain, about this time of the year you get 10ºC midday in the mountain). I still having been able to watch a single picture/recording on the camera screen (and considering the battery life you wouldn’t dare to waste battery time on checking the videos…) and the wifi connection with the app on the phone is really weak… I don’t know if you guys have any other feedback but I’m really disappointed with it
Hey Pevly,
I stumbled across your website recently in trying to decide a right action camera for a helmet mount while a ride my scooter. The SJCam 5000 (Elite) is on sale at the moment but I found out in performs poorly in low-light situations, as do most of the other cameras on your reviews: M10+, Elephone Pro, Git2, Firefly 8s.
Can you help point me the right direction for something that’s good (like discerning plate numbers at least) at night?
Thank you for your time! I really like your website!
Hi Omer, most of the action cameras are just not made to be good at low-light. The higher MP sensor, the bigger problem with a low light it has. Plenty of people including myself are quite pleased with GIT1 low light performance. You can read full review here https://pevly.com/gitup-git-1-pro-action-camera-review/ and also do watch some youtube videos for low-light comparisons some users made.
If you need a camera to record a traffic, you might need a dash camera (car camera) not an action camera.
I bought the sj5000x elite from sjcam online shop. If you are looking for support you wont find it with this company. I have sent several messages to sjcam, eight days later still no response. They wont even respond to a paypal sponsored message. Still have no acknowledgement of the cash I have spent or tracking advice, as promised. Or the promised of answering my email within 24hrs.
A waste of time if you are after service
Does it have depth effect?
Hi, Ram!
Your question is maybe not sufficiently precise. Were you thinking about Depth Of Field (optical feature related to the camera’s field of view), or did you mean the water depth and changes in color perception?
If you meant DOF, there are no variable elements in this action camera, i.e., the wide-angle lens always retains its big depth of focus / sharpness by default.
If you meant the water depth influence on the color rendering, then yes, the available light frequencies change with the depth of water. So it’s an “effect” too. Google “light frequencies in water” or similar to learn more.
Best Wishes, and Good Light!
Hi Pevly:
Hope I’m posting in the right place,
Your post it’s a must on this no info sjcam users manuals.
I bought this camera yesteraday and have some specifically questions for you. If could answer me to my e-mail, will be nice. I find some things a little stranges:
I try it on many fw 1,54 ( that came with the cam) and going down to 1,47 ( maybe 4 or 5 differents fw) and all do the same bugs ( or may be it’s like this, that’s what I want to check with you.
1) If I left the shutter long pressed (like in all the standard cameras it serve as focus), I get an error
first : DP Bright Ajust… Please Wait…
after DP: NG.. Please Power Off, and the camera jam there.
2) the photo resolution every time I turn on the cam switch to 12 MP byself as I set it at 8 MP many times. samething with the date.
3) when I switch the gyro sensor on and off it change the FOV a lot alone. but changing the fov angle dont change nothing from 70 – 170 degrees no change at all.
4) it’s very strange that:
when the distortion correction (DC) is on, you couldn’t use the zoom neither the fov function. the zoom only work when DC && FOV are off.
and the FOV only works if distortion correction is off.
I’m not a pro, it’s a reason that’s like that? I think gyro, zoom, FOV and DC could be independent of each other. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
I intend to use this cam exclusive for underwater on coral reef and I would like my shots without any fish eye. and the flexibility to choose the right fov quickly before the fish gone …. lol. have you a setup to suggest me?
Hi, Gustavo… Seems you have a lot of problems with the camera! I’ll try to offer some advice, although it is improbable that I’d be able to reproduce the situation on the camera. But reading your comment, I think you should visit the SJCAM Support, download the latest firmware, and carefully install it first. And then, as they say, “if nothing seems to help, read the Instructions!”…
The action cam is nothing nearly similar to standard cameras, and the Instructions are there to explain the difference between short-press, long-press etc. For instance, you can’t really focus an action camera by long-press, or by a half-press, since all it has is a single switch that starts an internal routine which then reads the light, determines the exposure, and makes the photo (or starts/stops the video). The focusing is not made as with “standard” cameras, as the action cams do not have any movable parts. All the action is purely electronic and happens with fixed, immovable hardware. Ditto the FOV change, DC, or EIS; nothing in the hardware moves at all. The lack of moving parts is what makes it an “action camera” – no things to get out of alignment during rough usage.
The problems in Setup could be related to defaults; some settings remain when set, some revert to default values every time the camera is switched on/off. Make sure when you change things in Setup always to confirm the choice – again, it helps to read the Instructions carefully.
The distortion correction happens on smaller sensor surface, as the camera needs space to keep the frame in correct ratio and not with concave margins, so this is normal. The same goes for the EIS (electronic image stabilisation, or the “gyro”) – it needs space to move the image around in the rythm of the shakes – so switching this on will not use the whole sensor surface for recording. A certain marginal space will be used for stabilizing area.
The zoom, being digital, uses certain sensor areas (there is no optical zoom, remember?), so the FOV will be fixed if gyro stabilization is on. This is normal, too.
Grand total, go through the Manual slowly and carefully, and familiarize youself well with all the cam functions and modes – also, forget the similarities to standard cameras (whatever those might mean to you) – Action cameras are something very different!
As to the intended images and videos on a coral reef… I presume you’ll be having excellent visibility in not very deep water, so you could prefer to switch on the highest resolution and DC, together with gyro function that would work with it. Swimming stabilizes the camera enough if you’re careful with how you move, but if you want an old-style stabilizating trick for diving / snorkeling / swimming with the camera, improvise a hydroplane surface (a wing under the camera that has two vertical handles, and use the cam as a kiddie airplane toy. Once upon a time that was the only way we had for underwater cameras! A piece of acrylic plate of, say, 30 x 10 centimeters should be enough to enable the camera to “glide” and counteract all jerky movement.
If you still encounter problems after going through all the above procedures, please contact [email protected] for further assistance.
Dive Safely and enjoy the Good Light!
thank you very much Fil for all yours tips. Do you have any decent manual to read? the manuals that come with the cam are really useless. I have tryed with almost 5 differents fw versions. and I have the confirmation from the sjcam support that ALL SJ cam have a software conflict with all that to be fixed in futures fw. here what they write to me: “There is software conflict among Gyro sensor, Zoom option, FOV and Distortion Correction.”
I will be more that happy if you could give me a serious owner manual to learn the cam. I ask it to the canadian distribuitor and to the sjcam support team and here the answer:
“the Chinese English manuals are definitely lacking details and unfortunately SJCAM has not released anything else. Here’s a link to SJCAM website, some manuals may have been updated since the initial printing but we’re not 100% certain… ”
then if you have any user manual please share with me. 🙂