Foreword: EKEN H9S - Budget Action Cam
In terms of price, the H9 action cams are currently among the cheapest action cams on the market. The standard model H9 is available from € 25. The H9R model with an additional remote control starts at around € 35. Finally, there is now the H9S model, which costs around 45 € depending on the provider. The assessment is based on this pricing. The EKEN H9 models with a much more expensive GoPro HERO6 or YI 4K + to compare would be wrong!
Scope of delivery, design and workmanship
The scope of delivery of the EKEN H9S is impressive. Despite the low price, the Action Cam comes with a waterproof housing, numerous brackets, a remote control, two batteries with charger and even a tripod. A scope of delivery that is quite impressive and from which other manufacturers could cut a slice. The processing quality of the accessories is not objectionable.
In terms of design, the EKEN H9S is based on the typical "SJ4000 design" that is already known from numerous other China Action Cams. The housing of the camera is made entirely of plastic. The front is adorned with a large EKEN print and the words "4K Ultra HD". Because the EKEN Action Cams are relatively well known, numerous knock-offs of the Action Cam are already in circulation. You should make sure that the EKEN lettering is actually present in order to avoid a possible fake! Further features of the front are a power or mode button with an adjacent status LED. Of course, there is also the lens with a 170 ° wide angle on the front.
On the one hand, the connections are located on the housing frame. These amount to a MicroUSB socket, a MicroHDMI socket and a MicroSD memory card slot. The connections are exposed and are therefore not protected from dust or water! On the opposite side there are two more control buttons that are used to scroll within the menu. The battery compartment is typically placed on the underside of the frame. It is not possible to connect a tripod to the Action Cam. The top is made up of the record button and another status LED.
The back of the case graces the 2 inch display. This is a conventional LCD without touch function, which would not have been expected in view of the price. The resolution of the display is 320 x 240 pixels. The processing quality of the EKEN H9S is far from objectionable and corresponds to the price of the camera.
Hardware
EKEN H9, H9R and now also the H9S rely on identical hardware equipment. The image processor is called "SPCA6350A". Theoretically, this SoC can encode videos in H.1080 at a maximum resolution of 60p and 264 frames per second. Pictures are taken with a maximum of 24 megapixel resolution. How does the EKEN H9S manage to record videos in “4K”? The processor cannot encode videos in 4K with the H.264 codec for reasons of performance. Instead, individual images are recorded, which are then combined to form a video using the MJPEG video codec.
In addition, the processor also offers the so-called "Super Resolution" function, which is nothing more than interpolation. The native image is resized to the desired size as artificial. The image sensor used shows that the promised 4K function is only implemented interpolated. This is an OmniVision OV4689, which only has a native resolution of 4 megapixels, i.e. 2688 × 1520 pixels (2.7K). As you can see, the EKEN H9S is also a "4K cheat camera". A native 4K video resolution would not have been expected in view of the price. Another hardware feature is a 2.4 GHz WiFi module that enables operation via app and remote.
Commissioning and user interface
All you have to do to use the Action Cam is insert the battery and a microSD memory card. Different memory card models of the type SDHC and SDCX with a maximum size of 64GB were recognized without any problems. An overview of the operation and the individual functions of the EKEN H9S can be found in the illustrated and so far well-written operating instructions.
If you switch on the Action Cam, you will first be greeted by an EKEN logo and the following start screen. The start screen includes the live image output and provides additional information on the selected recording mode, the resolution, the elapsed and remaining recording time and the battery level. The recording mode can be changed using the mode button. After pressing it several times, you can also access the settings. The gallery offers the possibility to play or display video recordings and photos taken directly via the action cam. Here is an overview of all recording modes and setting options.
shooting
The EKEN H9S offers a total of 4 recording modes. Here is an overview:
- video mode
- Photo mode
- Burst mode (multiple recording)
- Time-lapse photo (time-lapse shot with photos)
Settings
The setting options of the EKEN H9S are very limited. The following settings can be made.
- Video Resolution - 4K @ 25 | 2.7K @ 30 | 1080p @ 60p / 30p | 720 @ 120p
- Looping Video - On / Off (only up to 1080p)
- Date Stamp - Off / Date / Date and Time
- Exposure - + 2 to -2 in 0.3 steps
- Image Resolution - 12MP | 8MP | 5MP | 4MP
- Burst Photo - 3 Images
- Time-Lapse - 2s | 3s | 5s | 10s | 20s | 30s | 60s
- Continuous Lapse - On / Off
- Refresh Rate - 50Hz | 60Hz | automobile
- Language
- Date and Time
- Sound - Shutter | Start-Up | Beep | volume
- 180 ° turning
- Auto LCD Off | 1min | 3min | 5min
- Power Saving Mode - Off | 1min | 3min | 5min
- format
- Reset to default
- Version
It is important that there is no possibility to configure the WiFi. That means you can not specify an SSID! Even a password protection is omitted, so that theoretically anyone with active WiFi and proximity to the camera could connect to this.
Ez iCam and firmware
The EKEN H9S can be controlled remotely either via the supplied remote, or you can use the so-called "Ez iCam", which is offered free of charge in the respective stores for both Apple and Android mobile devices.
By and large, the app is junk. The connection between the app and the mobile device succeeds without any problems, but the stability of the app is a catastrophe. Crashes of both the app and the action cam are not uncommon. The setting options also leave a lot to be desired. The freely selectable resolution is limited to 1080p. The only positive thing is the low transmission delay. If the app runs stably for more than a minute, the image is hardly transmitted with a delay. It is not clear to what extent the crashes are related to the app or the firmware. In any case, the app was running at the time Test of EKEN H9R without crashes, but also offered the same functionality. You are looking for innovations, even after the app has been on the market for over a year, in vain!
The firmware version is also incomprehensible. The Action Cam identifies itself as EKEN H9R and has the latest EKEN H9R firmware installed. The mere fact that the cameras do not differ externally or in terms of hardware suggests that they are two identical models. Regarding the firmware, it remains to be said that it is anything but optimized. Unexpected crashes weren't exactly uncommon during the test. It often happened that the camera was simply “frozen” and only a hard reset by removing the battery could help. There is clearly a need for optimization here!
recording quality
Video quality of EKEN H9S
Assuming that the Action Cam should not cost more than 45 €, the video quality is still acceptable. With a resolution of 4K the Action Cam actually reaches 25 single frames without using a frame twice. The same applies to 1080p at 60 pictures-per-second. Striking is the strong image noise, which manifests itself predominantly in the 4K recording mode. At the same time, the Action Cam tends to be oversaturated in bright light. In poorer lighting conditions the artifact formation increases noticeably. Shots are becoming increasingly blurred and colors fade. There is no electronic image stabilization! The recording quality of the microphone is mostly tinny. Inserted in a watertight case, the sound is captured only slightly.
Photo quality of EKEN H9S
The said to the video quality is synonymous transferable to the image quality. To criticize is in turn the dynamic range, the sometimes abundant failing artifact formation and the increasing blurring in low light conditions. In view of the price but was also not expected in terms of photo quality.
Battery
The manufacturer gives the capacity of the battery as 1050 mAh. In the test, with active 4K recording mode and standard settings, ie automatic switch-off of the display and deactivated WiFi, an average runtime of 85 minutes was achieved. In 1080p @ 60 recording mode, the recording time was an average of 60 minutes. A complete charge of a battery takes about 2½ hours.
As you can see, the duration of the EKEN H9S does not differ from other, so-called "SJ4000 clones". Despite the rather atypical battery format of the supplied EKEN batteries, alternative standard batteries are compatible with the Action Cam.
EKEN H9S
Price
Extensive scope of delivery
connection options
Good workmanship
Acceptable recording quality
Remote control
Exposed connections
Few setting options
Marginal and faulty app
Faulty firmware
Take the 2016 released EKEN H9R, rename it EKEN H9S and you have a new 2017 budget action cam. That's exactly what EKEN has fabricated here. The EKEN H9R and H9S are two identical Action Cam models that are not the least different.
Although the EKEN H9S has no innovations compared to the previous year's model and was probably released purely from marketing tactics, this Action Cam continues to offer a barely top-top price / performance ratio. In contrast to more expensive action cams must of course be compromised in terms of functionality and recording quality, but only because of the extensive scope of delivery, the EKEN H9S or H9R is worth a look.
