My friend and partner, Mr. Rishabh Pathak, is delving into moto vlogging for his YouTube channel “Indian on Indian.” We embarked on a week-long quest to find an affordable yet high-quality action camera, but our efforts were in vain. However, just two days ago, Pathak received a surprising gift from his father. Upon unboxing it, he discovered an Akaso V50 Pro inside, much to his delight. Eager to test it out, we spent the next morning experimenting with its features and capturing some captivating footage. Impressed by its performance, I brought the camera home to further familiarize myself with it and craft this review.
Akaso V50 Pro:
AKASO has made a name for itself in the camera and drone market, primarily recognized for its distribution of action cameras while also offering drones like the AKASO A200 Drone and AKASO A21 Mini Quadcopter Drone. Although not as prominent in the drone sector, AKASO has garnered a solid reputation in the realm of action cameras. Renowned for their commitment to quality within an affordable range, AKASO’s drones, priced around $60 on platforms like Amazon.com, have received positive feedback. Similarly, their action cameras offer a compelling alternative to higher-priced competitors like GoPro, providing 4K footage and a comprehensive array of accessories at a fraction of the cost. The AKASO V50 Pro, for instance, stands out for its sturdy construction, user-friendly interface, excellent camera performance, and budget-friendly price point, typically available for just under $120. With an impressive assortment of accessories included, users can seamlessly mount the V50 Pro on helmets, car dashboards, and even drones. In essence, the AKASO V50 Pro exceeds expectations, offering a robust feature set that belies its affordable price tag.
Akaso v50 Pro Specifications:
Introducing the Akaso V50 Pro Action Camera, a compact and feature-packed device designed to rival top competitors like GoPro. With dimensions of 25 x 11.2 x 10.4 cm, it’s portable yet powerful. Its storage capability supports MicroSD cards up to 64GB, ensuring ample space for your adventures.
Equipped with a 2-inch LCD touchscreen display, navigating settings and capturing moments is intuitive and convenient. The camera boasts impressive photo resolution at 20 megapixels, saving images in JPEG format for high-quality snapshots.
When it comes to video, the Akaso V50 Pro doesn’t disappoint. It offers a range of resolutions and frame rates, including stunning 4K footage at 60 frames per second. Supported video formats include MOV with both H.264/AVC and H.265/HEVC codecs, ensuring compatibility and efficient compression.
Operation is versatile, with dedicated buttons, touchscreen controls, a wrist-strap RF remote, and app connectivity via Wi-Fi. The inclusion of internal and external microphone support enhances audio recording capabilities.
The camera’s mode features cater to various shooting styles, including burst photo, time-lapse photo, time-lapse video, slow-motion, and fast-motion movies. With built-in electronic image stabilization utilizing a 6-axis gyroscope, your footage remains steady even in dynamic environments.
Capture your adventures from different perspectives with super wide, wide, medium, and narrow view angles. Plus, the Akaso V50 Pro comes with an array of accessories, including a waterproof case, mounts, straps, and more, ensuring you’re ready for any situation.
In the box, you’ll find the Akaso V50 Pro Action Camera, along with essentials like battery charger, two 1100mAh batteries, remote control, mounts, tethers, USB cable, and a quick reference guide.
Overall, the Akaso V50 Pro offers impressive features and accessories at a competitive price point, making it a compelling choice for action camera enthusiasts seeking value for money.
Evaluation of the Akaso v50 Pro:
When considering an action camera, the market offers a plethora of options, but finding one with the desired features within a certain price range can be challenging. After dedicating an entire week to research, we’ve narrowed down our choices. The Akaso V50 Pro stands out with its essential feature: 4K resolution at 30fps, a standard requirement for any action camera. Moreover, it offers versatility with 1080p at 60fps and 30fps, as well as 720p at 120fps and 60fps. What’s more, the Akaso V50 Pro boasts built-in electronic image stabilization—a valuable addition. Aside from delving deep into technical specifications, let’s focus on four key highlights: adjustable view, a 2-inch touch screen display, impressive 20MP image quality, and included accessories such as waterproof housing.
Now, returning to the Akaso V50 Pro review, unboxing it again personally, the first thing that caught my eye was the premium appearance of the waterproof housing. Encased in a clear transparent box with a sleek black lever head, it exudes quality. The housing securely locks with a single black lever release, requiring just the right amount of force to open. Notably, the lens area is designed perfectly flat, facilitating easy cleaning when necessary. Additionally, the housing features a familiar GoPro-style mount at the bottom, enabling compatibility with a wide range of GoPro accessories if required.
Upon opening the housing, one will notice two rubber-like strips on the backside. These strips effectively secure the camera in place when the housing is closed, eliminating any potential wobble or rattling. This attention to detail ensures a snug fit and overall stability. Furthermore, the camera itself boasts a solid build, adorned with a sleek grey rubber-like finish that adds to its premium aesthetic.
The Akaso v50 Pro boasts a straightforward yet elegant design, featuring a micro HDMI port, Mini USB port, and a microSD card slot on the side. Two buttons, power/mode and shutter, are situated on the top along with a WiFi indicator. The bottom hosts a battery flap, keeping the design sleek and functional. Additionally, a LED indicator complements the 2″ display, enhancing its aesthetic appeal.
Moving on to usability and performance, the Akaso v50 Pro excels as a beginner-friendly action camera. Powering on the camera is as simple as pressing the red button, while the blue button initiates and stops recording effortlessly. Accessing settings and options is intuitive, requiring a tap on the right side of the screen. Users can choose from various viewing angles and resolutions seamlessly through on-screen options.
Navigating through the switch panel
Navigating through the switch panel, located at the bottom of the screen, grants access to essential features such as mic, speaker, and WiFi controls. Moreover, capturing images is convenient, as a tap at the center of the screen snaps a picture. While the camera display may lack responsiveness, the accompanying smartphone app compensates for any shortcomings, providing a seamless user experience.
In terms of performance and footage quality, the Akaso v50 Pro does not disappoint. Videos recorded at 4K resolution exhibit impressive clarity, with commendable exposure and dynamic range. Although there’s a slight tendency for oversharpening, the overall color reproduction and saturation remain pleasing. The image stabilization feature functions adequately, albeit not at par with industry-leading alternatives like GoPro. Nevertheless, the footage quality surpasses expectations, offering a compelling choice for action camera enthusiasts.
HyperSmooth:
Upon transitioning from reviewing 4K videos to those shot at 1080p resolution, I observed some notable differences. While the footage at 1080p remained functional, there was a discernible decrease in definition and tonal range. At times, it resembled the effects often seen in face-beautifying applications. Switching between 30fps and 60fps frame rates at 1080p yielded no discernible improvements, rendering the choice between them inconsequential.
However, my experience with videos at 720p resolution and 120fps was profoundly disappointing. Even when viewed on a lower-resolution display like the HP v185e, the footage failed to meet expectations. Thus, I strongly advise against utilizing this resolution, as the resulting videos would be virtually unusable. Conversely, both 1080p and 4K resolutions proved satisfactory, with the latter particularly impressive. Therefore, I present this Akaso v50 Pro review, detailing its pros and cons, along with my final verdict on the action camera. Stay tuned for more insights.
Final Thoughts on the Akaso V50 Pro:
I was thoroughly impressed by the Akaso v50 Pro. This pocket-sized action camera offers a fantastic combination of affordability and quality. Its solid build, intuitive user interface, and diverse settings make it a standout choice for both beginners and seasoned users. While the 720p resolution at 120fps left something to be desired, it’s not a dealbreaker considering the range of higher resolutions available that deliver exceptional footage. In my opinion, if you’re in the market for an action camera but can’t splurge on a GoPro or have budget constraints, the Akaso v50 Pro is an excellent alternative. It’s feature-packed, shoots in 4k, and comes with all the necessary accessories, all at a fraction of the cost of its competitors. I encourage you to share your thoughts and experiences in the comments, and be sure to subscribe and follow We Observed on social media for more content. Also, keep an eye out for upcoming videos shot with the Akaso v50 Pro on the Indian YouTube channel.
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