• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Pevly

Ultimate resource for cheap, on-budget action cameras

  • Home
  • Reviews
    • Action Cameras
      • Eken
      • SJCAM
      • ThiEYE
      • Xiaomi
      • GitUp
      • See All
    • 3D Printing
      • Anet
      • AnyCubic
      • Geeetech
      • Tevo
      • See All
    • Drones
      • DJI
      • UPair
      • Xiaomi
      • See All
    • Software as a Service
      • Jungle Scout
      • See All
    • Robotic Vacuums
      • Xiaomi
      • See All
    • Cryptocurrency
      • Coinbase
      • See All
  • Guides
  • Accessories
You are here: Home / Compare / Xiaomi Yi vs SJCAM SJ4000 – Which camera is better?

Xiaomi Yi vs SJCAM SJ4000 – Which camera is better?

By Zach on December 15, 2024

Prev Slide3 of 15Next Slide
Use your ← → (arrow) keys to see next slide

Photography test

If I could chose one feature in which Xiaomi YI absolutely beats SJ4000, its the photography. Images with Xiaomi YI are fantastic. They are made in true 16 megapixels. Colors look natural.This is where Sony sensor comes to the fore.

Even though SJ4000 advertises 12 megapixels photo, in the reality the sensor that camera has can only produce photos in 3.5 megapixels. Images taken with SJ4000 look bleached out and dull when it comes to color. Also they will quickly blur when you zoom them, as they are only 3.5 megapixels.

As far as I concerned, when it comes to still images, Xiaomi Yi is an absolute winner.

But do not just take my word for it. Take a look at photo samples taken side by side and judge yourself.

Side by side image sample comparison of SJCAM SJ4000 WiFi vs Xiaomi YI
Side by side image sample comparison of SJCAM SJ4000 WiFi vs Xiaomi YI

Obviously, when it comes to blue color, or the sky color, SJ4000 has brighter, and in my personal taste better way to display it. However, when comparing green and most of other colors, YI sensor produces more colorful and natural looking images.

However, when you switch SJCAM  SJ4000 Auto White Balance to cloudy, there is not much difference in colors. And I will be honest, I expected YI to preform far better ant totally outperform SJ4000. But once I set white balance manually, here are the results. Not bad at all, right?

Image samples, when SJ4000 White Balance is set manually to cloudy versus Xiaomi YI default white balance (WB in Xiaomi YI can not be changed manually)
Image samples, when SJ4000 White Balance is set manually to cloudy versus Xiaomi YI default white balance (WB in Xiaomi YI can not be changed manually)

And that is the biggest problem. Plenty of online reviewers, when comparing cameras side by side, simply turn on camera take few videos or photo samples, but they do not give a damn to try to learn how to use the product, how to get most out of it. So, as you see in the example above, with simple white balance change, I managed to get nearly as good image from 3.5 megapixels sensor and make it a decent opponent to 16 Megapixel one.

But again, do not take just my word. Here is a link where you can download these exact photos, original files to compare on your own PC. Zoom them out, play with them and if a photo is important feature for you, decide which one is better. Once you download images, those with name starting YDXJ2119 are for Xiaomi YI, and files starting with 2015_0613 for SJ4000.

Just one more thing, SJ4000 produces slightly sharper photos in a long distance. Which mean that objects far a way look slightly sharper. Yi however has far more megapixels, so image will look okay, even when you zoom  them in.

Prev Slide3 of 15Next Slide
Use your ← → (arrow) keys to see next slide

Related Posts

  • SJ4000 vs M10 Button and navigation differencesSJCAM SJ4000 vs M10 Cube – Comparison
  • compare different sj5000 models wifi, non wifi and sj5000 plusCompare SJ5000 Novatek 96655 vs SJ5000 WiFi vs SJ5000 Plus
  • picture of man underwaterNikon’s Waterproof Camera Options: Choosing The Best Model for You
  • SJCAM M20 VS AEE MD10

Primary Sidebar

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

What is an Action Camera?

https://youtu.be/88vKmx6hidI

Recent Post

  • History and evolution of action cameras
  • Worldcam mirror double dashcam
  • little girl using the best 3d pensBest 3D Pens For Printing – Top 5 Picks To Consider
  • AKASO V50 Elite
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact

Action Cam Basics

  • History of sports cameras
  • First GoPro camera
  • Protect and store cameras
  • Underwater usage

Action Camera Guides

  • Best Action Cameras
  • Action Cam Buying Guide
  • Latest Action Cameras
  • Accessories for your camera

3D Printing

  • Anet A8 Printer
  • Anet A6 Printer
  • Improve your Anet A8
  • Compare All Anet printers

© Copyright 2025 Pevly.com · Sitemap · Privacy· Disclaimer· Contribute·