Hands-on with SJCAM SJ5000+

This is my first time experienced with action camera, I did not previously own any action camera such as GoPro etc.

As per this review, I am not gonna compare quality of this cam vs other as there is already a bunch of test out there already.

There is seven colour (Red/Black/Silver/White/Yellow/Gold/Red/Blue) available. I get the Gold one as the only option from my seller is Black or Gold.

My first impression of this camera is it was fun, lightweight and easy to use for travelling. What I like about this camera is it come with a waterproof case and a lot of accessories which I don't think I be able use it all at this moment. But it missed the usb power adapter, which will be nice addition or at least a car charger.


Firmware
As per my research I found out there is actually three version of SJ5000+ so before update any firmware please check which model you owned.

1. SJ5000+ with 1.5" Display
2. SJ5000+ with 1.54" Display come with firmware 2.8 and below
3. SJ5000+ with 1.54" Display come with firmware 3.3 and above. (latest model which i used in this review)

Get latest firmware from SJCAMHD

Android and IOS app
I use LinkInEyes apps which as per suggested by the seller where I get the SJCAM from, I read the review of official app from SJCam there is a lot of negative feedback like app crash and hang issue. So it was good news SJ5000+ owner, while SJ4000 are out off luck as the app does not support this cam. With LinkInEyes I can change picture/video resolution and can take photo/video remotely. It is useful if you gonna take selfie.
There is only one drawback using this app, as there is few second lag within the app and actual footage from SJ5000+ cam, as for the official app, I din't  have a chance to test it yet.
I hope they will keep updating their official apps with more stable version .

Features
There is a lot feature which can be found on their 1.54" OSD, I found their OSD menu is few page long, so sometime you will feel annoyed just to change some simple setting. This is understood as there are limited button available on this cam which is power/mode, capture/record, wifi and up/down button.
Luckily there is shortcut wifi button which can be enabled with ease. Recommended to change wifi password as soon as you get your device, you don't want anyone else connect to your action cam without you knowing it.
There is a lot of setting you can play around like metering, ISO,white balance, exposure, photo and video quality and more.
You can set this camera to dashcam mode, in which the camera will auto start recording once you plug in your cigarette usb power.

Bugs 
If you set video to 120fps in video mode, when move to camera mode you will not be able to take any photo, as it will keep displaying  High Framerate! message.
In the meantime the workaround is to set video to 60fps and below before you use camera mode.

Micro SD Card used in this review: Samsung Evo+ 64gb (mb-mc64b) can use directly without formatting and any problem so far. But as per manual SJ5000+ only support 32gb, I just try my luck and it seem this Micro SD Card work out of the box. I tested with this sd card and I managed to filled up 56gb without any problem so far, the content can be read and copy without any problem.

Suggested accessories: Selfie stick Kingma BMGP183, Accessories Bag, extra battery and charger, power bank(i found this handy), suction cup with tripod adapter (if you gonna use it as dashcam)

Pro

• A lot of accecories
• Come with waterproof case
• Lower price compare to GoPro
• A lot of setting for video and photo

Cons

• Let's talk about some problem I found,  this cam will tend to get too hot after a prolonged use which I read, it also happened with SJ4000 series. I not sure what effect it will caused to the in long term usage.
• The stabilization of this cam are bad as I can see my video shake a lot, I hope they will have some sort of image stabilization in future update.
• The waterproof casing are easy to get scratch too. So be careful, I accidentally scratch the back of the waterproof casing during first few day usage. 
• This camera will power on automatically when usb cable or charger are plugin, although this is not a serious problem, it was annoying if you just wanna charge the camera, you need to turn it off manually after plugin the usb charger, I hope there is a way to disabled it in future firmware.
• The other downside is, the video taken in dark are pretty bad and sometime is useless, however if video taken in dark with some light, are still viewable, although not that good compare to daytime video. 

Conclusion

It was a good companion for travelling and as your action camera, the selfie stick is a must in my opinion, I planning to get a body strap soon. The video quality so far is acceptable compare to the cost of this cam. (I not sure about GoPro).

More tip and tricks from other website

• Micro SD card compatibility and more info about this action camera, known issue and etc

This review is based on SJ5000+ 1.54" display with firmware 3.3.3 
Few free to share your opinion and tips about SJ5000+ by commenting below.