The action camera market couldn't be more vibrant in 2020. Obviously, there aren't a lot of outdoor activities, but that doesn't stop people from having adventures, streaming from home and document their lives on these all-weather miniature cameras.
Until recently, almost all mid-range and low-end cameras were just precise "homages" to the style and functionality of the expensive GoPro cameras that sparked the craze. But now things have moved on and new action camera makers are finding their voice. Right at the front of this mid-range development is the AKASO Brave 6 Plus action camera.
The AKASO Brave 6 Plus is a modern and complete mid-range action camera. It shoots in resolutions up to 4K at 30 frames per second and Full HD and standard HD at a variety of useful frame rates. The camera features Wi-Fi connectivity, up to 20MP stills, a dedicated driving mode to use as a car DVR, slow and fast motion modes, and a live recording mode. buckle for safety. It comes with a full pack of accessories to secure it to you and your vehicles, including an all-weather waterproof and dustproof case for extreme environments and a really nice little dual USB charger with two batteries.
Color rendering is actually really pleasant. Many of these cameras have a very nasty plastic tone in photos, but it really does look quite nice. As for the optics, I wasn't expecting much, but the lens is actually quite good. There is a bit of chromatic aberration (red and blue lines on the vertical edges) when shooting in light, as you'd expect on anything other than very high-end coated lenses. The effect is really minimal and not noticeable in videos. At this price, the quality of the lens is good.
Obviously, the high-resolution sensor helps fix minor flaws in the optics, the 4K shot is of very good quality, and the videos you get are crisp and clear. But shooting in 4K means large files. Therefore, even if you get higher quality images at this resolution, you should take this into account when buying SD cards.
Bigger is better, and you should definitely use high-quality SD cards where you can, as the data rate for 4K is a big wad of bits. Get the fastest and most powerful cards possible to avoid dropouts or corruption. I used cheap cards in testing and the camera sometimes had trouble getting the images to disk. It's not the camera's fault, it's mine. This is a known issue with all cameras, so keep it in mind.
The included accessories are great, although you have to download the detailed manual (from a QR code link) for instructions. I would have preferred it to be a hard copy, but I guess printed manuals are expensive. In the PDF manual is a link to an instructional video that tells you how to put everything together. (This is for a slightly older version of the camera but still works for mounts etc.)
In addition to mounts to hang it on your clothes, there are helmet mounts, tripod mounts and adapters for selfie sticks, etc. For my money, one of the best accessories in the pack is the remote control, which triggers photos or videos with two buttons on a wrist-mounted gimbal. Not only is it a godsend when you can't touch the camera (like when it's on a helmet or on the other end of a surfboard), it's also really handy to eliminate the camera shake in general terms when the camera is on a tripod. Plus, there are metal ties and cables to prevent the camera from getting lost if a mount comes loose when you're high up or moving quickly.
One of my favorite features and one that takes this camera to a whole new level is the Wi-Fi connectivity. You can use it to take selfies when the camera is out of range while looking through the viewfinder on your phone screen. This is good for nature photography where you want to use the camera only when there are birds on your bird table, for example. Simply press the shutter button on the phone screen to take photos or videos.
Also worth mentioning is the feature set overflowing with voice activation, where you can talk to your camera as if it were a smart speaker to turn it on and off hands-free. This is very neat but obviously doable only in calm situations.
This link, Demo Shots and Videos, will take you to a Google folder with raw footage and stills so you can see the actual quality. YouTube compresses videos horribly, and you don't get a real flavor.
The AKASO Brave 6 Plus is a sturdy and good quality action camera with a generous stack of accessories to have fun filming your adventurous life experiences. The price of the kit as listed is $119.99, which I think is good value for what you get. My review here only scratches the surface of this camera, and as a photographer, I appreciate how they have provided a camera that is easy to use and easy to use, yet contains hidden depths to explore. /P>
Also see our AKASO V50 Pro action camera review.
This is a sponsored post and was made possible by AKASO. The actual content and opinions are the sole views of the author who maintains editorial independence even when an article is sponsored.
