Pushing Boundaries with Yi’s Action Camera & 4K Capture

Yi 4K + Action Camera Complete Review

Max Wales

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

The Big brand Yi technologies recently launched its most advanced and feature rich action camera: YI 4K+. It is definitely one of the most wonderful additions to latest action camera market and buyers can now have a great choice to invest money. This Yi 4K+ camera processing is supported by classic Ambarella H2 SoC that ensures crisp details at 4K resolution with 60 fps frame rate. The great news is that Yi 4K+ is the very first camera in market that is designed with Ambarella processor. This camera has also found many improvements over all action camera predecessors; Let us have a detailed review of Yi 4K+ action cam below in terms of audio quality, accessories, design and many more.

Specification

Pros and Cons

Design and Usability

Yi 4K is designed with eye catching body structure; it appears sleek, small and tiny. However, the device is not waterproof itself so you need to add protective housing to take it under water. Manufacturers have designed this camera with impressive style where controls are made much easier with added 2.2 inch retina touch screen. On the front side of this device, you will find ultra wide lens that offer fish eye look to make your recordings more efficient. The top portion of camera contain internal mic and you will also find one additional lone control button over there. There is a USB-C port on one side of camera, it is used for charging and one can also use it for direct data transfer between other handheld devices. USB-C also provides easy connectivity to external microphones with impressive audio quality. You will also be able to enjoy enhanced control with 2.2 inch LCD touch screen that is available on rear portion of Yi 4K action camera. The bottom portion is reserved for MicroSD card and battery compartment. Further, the tripod connectivity is also supported with standard ¼ inch thread that is found at bottom of the camera.

In the Box

The box contains few essential accessories inside. You will get handheld gimbal, waterproof case and user manual for easy to start guidelines. It also contains one battery unit that can support your recording for long hours. The best part to know about its waterproof case is that users can control their device easily even after covering camera with protective casing.

Video Quality

Video quality of Yi 4K+ action camera is one of the most interesting thing to be discussed, it ensures stunning details with 4k stabilized videos and the best part is this the only budget friendly camera that offers 4K resolution with 60fps frame rating. The audio performance is also appreciable with its ability to connect external mic with the help of USB-C. Yi 4K is well known for its clear and loud sound system; it can easily gather deep sounds from environment or forest etc. This device offers various resolution settings with added frame rate variation options. You can enjoy 4K, 2.7K and 1440P resolution levels with frame rate settings of 60, 50, 30 and 25 fps. In case of 1080p resolution level, you can also enjoy better frame rate settings with added 120 and 100fps option. The difference lies in 720p and 480p resolution level as this camera cannot support high frame rates on low resolution settings; you can just switch to 200 and 240fps.

Image Quality

This time you can also save images in JPG format ensuring high quality and easy sharing. As JPG is one of the most useful and widely used image file format so Yi ensures you perfect content delivery for every still. Users can also save their last five minutes with loop recording feature at still modes; the other supported operation is burst mode that ensures crisp details for all shots. Yi 4K is designed with 12MP resolution and it can provide wide angle view with its full wide angle FOV. Further, this device offers fisheye correction feature and time lapse recording option.

Electronic Image Stabilization

Here is an interesting thing to note about Yi 4K action cam. You might be searching so long for a action camera unit that can offer image stabilization at 4K but such devices were missing in market from so long. Finally, Yi 4K is here to offer you impressive electronic image stabilization service even at 4K when device is tuned to 30fps frame rate. The results are even better at 2.7K so you can choose any of the modes. With this advanced stabilization support, now it is much easier to record videos on tough rocky roads; it is definitely going to be the best choice for surfboard recording needs.

Battery and Storage

Yi 4K action camera performed well on its battery test; it delivered top quality at 4K resolution level even when frame rate was set to 60fps. This camera can easily run up to 73 minutes with 4k settings. In case if you want to enjoy longer recording time then you may need to connect your device via USM-C. The most interesting thing to know about Yi is that it can also grab power from external sources during recording hours. In case if you are satisfied with low resolution results then you can even enjoy higher recording time. the 1080P and 2.7K settings can serve you up to 2 hours with ease whereas when 4k recording was tested at 30fps then it also served up to 109 minutes. Few users have reported overheating issues with this device.

If we talk about storage capacity of Yi 4K then it is extendable up to 128GB; in order to get best results one must go ahead with class 10 MicroSD card whereas for 4K recordings we prefer U3.

Connectivity

Yi 4K is designed with built in Wi-Fi abilities so that users can make direct connections with smartphones. The dedicated Yi action app works perfectly on Android as well as iOS platform and allows users to transfer their videos and photos from camera to smartphone directly. When you are recording footage at tough locations then this remote application can assist in enhanced controlling. You can also move to Bluetooth based controls to catch selfies using dedicated stick. The most impressive feature of Yi 4k is its ability to serve fours step process: Connect – Discover – Edit and Share. Just get involved into adventure and share all details with your friends online.

Features coming soon

The future firmware update of Yi 4K+ action camera is supposed to bring so many interesting features into this tiny device. It will be extending support towards live streaming facility and raw images will be soon processed. The most interesting addition will be voice command support that will make control actions much easier during adventurous sports recording needs. This device will be offering impressive high performance service while consuming very low power and all ultra HD videos will deliver crisper details with elegant color distributions.

Conclusion

Yi 4K+ is first action camera device to support 60fps frame rate at 4K resolution level and it further provides 8MP support to every still while ensuring crisp and deep details. There are several interesting features inside this tiny action cam including USB-C external mic connectivity and many more. However, you may also find few troubles like it cannot go underwater without protective housing. It not even extends support to live streaming and RAW files cannot be processed. But, even after so many downsides, its amazing video quality makes it standout against all competitors. You must order your new action camera soon.

Max Wales

Max Wales is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Max Wales

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