Yi Technology released a new action camera – YI Lite. After the major success with budget YI and higher-end YI 4K and YI 4K+, the company decided to offer a mid-range solution which will bridge the gap between lower-end and their more expensive models.
YI Lite Overview
YI Lite is basically an improved Xiaomi YI wrapped up in a YI 4K body with a touch screen and EIS (electronic image stabilization). The camera uses IMX206 image sensor which means it will capture 16 megapixels still photos.
Resolution of the photos will be better compared to YI4K or YI4K+, but Lite won’t be able to record in 4K resolution over 15fps. And as explained earlier in my Eken H9 review, anything lower than 24fps is just useless.
The processor in YI Lite is Hisilicon Hi3556.
So the most notable features of YI Lite are:
- 2″ touch-screen
- Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS)
- 4K resolution (only at 15 FPS)
- 16 megapixels still images
- WiFi and Bluetooth connections
YI Lite Technical Specification
- Chipset (Processor)
- Image sensor
- Lens
- F-Number (maximum aperture)
- Weight
- Size
- Screen
- Max image resolution
- Video resolution
- Video compression format
- Image format
- Memory Card
- Battery
- WiFi
- Connection
- Timer
- Photo time-lapse
- Video time-lapse
- Burst
- Car camera
- Remote controller support
- External Mic
- Voice command
- Video Stabilization
- HDMI Out
- Recommended Retail Price
- YI Lite
- Hisilicon Hi3556V100
Sony IMX206
16 Mexapixels 1/2.3" CMOS- 150° wide-angle lens, 6G, f=2.68mm
- F2.8
- 72g
- (L*W*H) 65 x 42 x 30 mm
2", 640*360
touch screen/br>- 16 MP megapixels (4920x3264)
4K: 3840 x 2160 - 15 FPS
1440p: 1920 x 1440 - 30/25 FPS
1080p: 1920 x 1080 - 60/50/30/25 FPS
720p: 1280 x 720 - 30/60/120 FPS- H.264
- Image format : JPEG
- up to 128GB
- 1200mAh
Broadcom BCM43455 Dual-band 5GHz /2.4GHz
Built-in (802.11 abgn)
Offers 50Mbps download speed- USB
- 3s / 5s / 10s /15s
- 3P/s,5P/s,10P/s,10P/2s,10P/3s,20P/2s,30P/3s,30P/6s
max 2.7K 30fps- 135$*
YI Lite dimension and weight
- Size：65mm x 30mm x 42mm
- Weight：72 g (camera + battery)
Design and build quality
In terms of design, the manufacturer released 3 color options:
- Black
- Yellow/Green
- Blue
Black version is quite identical to the YI 4K and 4K+, where as the greenish one is made to honor the YI, the predecessor who made the brand famous. The new addition is the blue colored camera. This is the first time that YI Technology released the camera in such color. Earlier they had white and rose. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw more color options in the upcoming weeks.
YI Lite body is made out of the plastic. On the bottom, there is a 1/4″ screw hole, so you can mount the camera to pretty much anything.
Touch-screen
If you remember my review of Xiaomi YI, I complained about the user interface and the lack of LCD screen. Even though a third-party manufacturer offered an external screen option for the YI’s oldest camera, it wasn’t nearly as user-friendly nor useful as first expected.
That is why the introduction of a 2″ touch-screen made out of Gorilla Glass is really a good feature. Compared to YI 4K and 4K+, the touch screen is slightly smaller (2.19″).
EIS Stabilization
Another notable feature is the Electronic Image Stabilization. The way the EIS works is that it crops the image slightly and uses software to stabilize the image. Opposed to the EIS, there is an optical stabilization, which so far is available only in Sony’s X3000.
The maximum resolution which supports the stabilization is 2K – 30fps.
Battery
This action camera uses 1200mah, removable lithium-ion battery. Below, you can see battery tests performed by the manufacturer with the screen and the WiFi turned ON.
- 4K (3840×2160) 15 fps 130min
- 1440p (1920×1440) 30 fps 130min
- 1080p (1920×1080) 60 fps 130min
The battery itself is slightly weaker compared to ones used in 4K and 4K+ models.
Accessories compatibility
As far as accessories are concerned, you will be able to use the same waterproof case for YI 4K or YI 4K+. Furthermore, the camera should be compatible with most GoPro like accessories. You can also read the article where we discussed best Xiaomi YI accessories, all of those can be used with Lite, except for the waterproof housing.
Retail Price
The price for the newly-released YI Lite should be around 130$. The official recommended retail price has not been released, but according to the listing on Amazon, it’s 135$.
Xiaomi YI vs YI Lite YI 4K vs YI 4K+ compared
The table below shows all 4 models of YI cameras compared.
- Chipset (Processor)
- Image sensor
- Lens
- F-Number (maximum aperture)
- Weight
- Size
- Screen
- Max image resolution
- Video resolution
- Video compression format
- Image format
- Memory Card
- Battery
- WiFi
- Connection
- Timer
- Photo time-lapse
- Video time-lapse
- Burst
- Car camera
- Remote controller support
- External Mic
- Voice command
- Video Stabilization
- HDMI Out
- Recommended Retail Price
- Xiaomi YI
- Ambarella A7LS
Sony IMX206
16 Mexapixels 1/2.3" CMOS- 155° wide-angle lens, 6G, f=2.68mm
- F2.8
- 76.6g
- (L*W*H) 60.4 x 21.2 x 42
- 16 MP megapixels (4920x3264)
2k: 2304 X 1296 - 25/30 FPS
1080p: 1920 x 1080 - 60/50/48/30/25/24 FPS
960p: 1280 x 960 - 120/100/60/50/48/FPS
720p: 1280 x 720 - 240/200/50/48/100 FPS
480p: 848 x 480 - 240/200 FPS- H.264
- Image format : JPEG
- up to 64GB
- 1010mAh
Broadcom 2.4GHz
Built-in (802.11 abgn)- USB
- 3s / 5s / 10s /15s
- 3p/s, 5p/s, 7p/s, 7p/2s
- 89-99$
- YI Lite
- Hisilicon Hi3556V100
Sony IMX206
16 Mexapixels 1/2.3" CMOS- 150° wide-angle lens, 6G, f=2.68mm
- F2.8
- 72g
- (L*W*H) 65 x 42 x 30 mm
2", 640*360
touch screen/br>- 16 MP megapixels (4920x3264)
4K: 3840 x 2160 - 15 FPS
1440p: 1920 x 1440 - 30/25 FPS
1080p: 1920 x 1080 - 60/50/30/25 FPS
720p: 1280 x 720 - 30/60/120 FPS- H.264
- Image format : JPEG
- up to 128GB
- 1200mAh
Broadcom BCM43455 Dual-band 5GHz /2.4GHz
Built-in (802.11 abgn)
Offers 50Mbps download speed- USB
- 3s / 5s / 10s /15s
- 3P/s,5P/s,10P/s,10P/2s,10P/3s,20P/2s,30P/3s,30P/6s
max 2.7K 30fps- 135$*
- YI 4K
- Ambarella A9SE
Sony IMX377
12 Mexapixels 1/2.3" CMOS- 155° wide-angle lens, 7G, f=2.68mm
- F2.8
- 96g
- (L*W*H) 65 x 42 x 30 mm
2.19", 640*360
touch screen, 330PPI
250cd/m2 brightness
30FPS, 160° FOV, 16:9- 12 MP megapixels (4000x3000)
4K: 3840 x 2160 - 60/50/30/24/25 FPS
2.5K: 2560 x 1920 - 30//25 FPS
1440p: 1920 x 1440 - 60/50/30/25 FPS
1080p: 1920 x 1080 - 120/100/60/50/30/25 FPS
960p: 1280 x 960 - 120/100/60/50
720p: 1280 x 720 - 240/200 FPS
480p: 848 x 480 - 240/200 FPS- H.264
- Image format : JPEG
- up to 128GB
- 1400mAh
Broadcom BCM43340 Dual-band 5GHz /2.4GHz
Built-in (802.11 abgn)
Offers 30Mbps download speed- USB
- 2s / 5s / 10s
- 1s/3s/10s/
- 249$
- YI 4K+
- Ambarella H2
Sony IMX377
12 Mexapixels 1/2.3" CMOS- 155° wide-angle lens, 7G, f=2.68mm
- F2.8
- 96g
- (L*W*H) 65 x 42 x 30 mm
2.19", 640*360
touch screen, 330PPI
250cd/m2 brightness
30FPS, 160° FOV, 16:9- 12 MP megapixels (4000x3000)
4K: 3840 x 2160 - 30/25 FPS
2.5K: 2560 x 1920 - 30//25 FPS
1440p: 1920 x 1440 - 60/50/30/25 FPS
1080p: 1920 x 1080 - 120/100/60/50/30/25 FPS
960p: 1280 x 960 - 120/100/60/50
720p: 1280 x 720 - 240/200 FPS
480p: 848 x 480 -240/200 FPS- H.264
- Image format : JPEG
- up to 128GB
- 1400mAh
Broadcom BCM43340 Dual-band 5GHz /2.4GHz
Built-in (802.11 abgn)
Offers 30Mbps download speed- USB Type-C
- 2s / 5s / 10s
- 1s/3s/10s/
- 339$
Which YI camera to buy?
If you read enough reviews or our action camera buying guide and you decided that YI Technology is your next action camera brand, here is my two cents on which model is the best.
Absolute newbies with a budget <100$ who do not mind the lack of screen and EIS, Xiaomi YI is the best option.
Those who consider electronic image stabilization and good user navigation a priority, but still don’t want to break the bank, newest YI Lite appears to be the perfect match.
Little more advanced users who have a mid-range budget should consider the YI 4K.
True action camera professionals, who want the best option should buy, the most advanced YI 4K+, which is at the time of writing this article, the only action camera which supports EIS in 4K. It also has a voice command and an external microphone, which the other models do not have.
Do you think that YI Lite is worth upgrading over basic YI? Do you own any of the YI cameras? If you do, let me know what is your experience with them. I hope that soon we’ll be able to review YI Lite and provide you with an honest and unbiased review.
Hawkeye Firefly 6S 4K action camera review
Action Camera 4k+ Review: EKEN Alfawise V50
Eken H9 Review – Best Beginners Action Camera for 2019?
SJ4000 vs SJ4000+ Plus Standard and Gyro difference
Think its great camera but yi 4k is better so should we stick to the 4k version instead of lite? The difference is about 50euros and 4k have better fps.Great review, keep up the good work 🙂
I said what I think in the summary of the article, if your budget and needs allow you, you should go for it.
I certainly hope that Xiaomi will at least address the poor sound quality in their newer 4K and 4K+. I never expected that these newer cameras would sound worse than the original Yi, which was at least usable after some tweaking in post. Because the price range of these cameras are similar to the GoPro Hero 4 Silver now, I expected them to be at least be comparable. These videos will demonstrate my comparative tests.
Voice test – https://youtu.be/c0jOPRDyAZY
Loud music venue test – https://youtu.be/NJhaDItr15E
You have any idea about the release date?
Or would you recommend other action cam at this price range? Since here you’re onyl comparing yi action cams.
Regards,
It’s supposed to be released, but apparently distribution is slowed down for some reason.
As for comparison against other cameras, we can only comment on that when we have YI Lite in hand to test. Until than, take a look at aour best action camera picks to find one which suits your budget
https://pevly.com/best-action-cameras/
Good luck.
Upon reading your wonderful review. i came to think whether an upgrade from the yi action camera to the new yi lite would be worth it? do you think that there is enough significant difference from the upgrade if i ever do so?
Bought one, Sent it back the same week and support was very very lackluster. Reason I sent the camera back is because there is no option to rotate the footage/recording 180′ when you have the camera mounted/hung upside down on a Garmin/GoPro out-in-front mount.
I have had two responses from my support query. Directed me to a option that does not exist on the android app and continued to do so in the second response even when i pointed out the option doesnt exist and i was running a Yi 4k and not the first generation Yi…..
I read in their forum that the Yi 4k’s currently dont support the 180’/rotate feature but they will monitor the situation and add it later on in a firmware update. and to quote the rep “Watch this space….” — If i had doubts about returning the camera before, this pretty much made my mind up about sending it back for refund.
They supposedly added the feature to the first generation Yi so why couldnt they do it with the 4k models???
Im Looking at offerings from SJcam currently but even SJCam arent perfect.
This cam doesnt support any (WiFi or Bluetooth) remote controles, right?
The review states the support clearly:
Broadcom BCM43455 Dual-band 5GHz /2.4GHz
Built-in (802.11 abgn)
Offers 50Mbps download speed