Yi 4K review - 4K action camera

First impression of the Yi 4K

Testing the Yi 4K was a small highlight of 2016 (year of release). The camera promises a lot and directly attacks the market leader “GoPro”. At a price of around € 150, this action cam is definitely a bargain and, despite its low price, clearly sets itself apart from conventional "China Action Cams".

What's in the box

The Action Cam is delivered in a minimalist cardboard box. This offers just enough space for the actual camera, the battery, a user manual and a charging cable. As you can see, the scope of delivery is very minimalist and is far removed from the scope of delivery, which is usually lavish for China Action Cams.

 A waterproof housing or even brackets must be purchased separately. Yi Technology offers, among other things, original accessories, but now there are also cheaper accessories from third-party suppliers. In our test, however, an inexpensive, waterproof case could not convince. Unfortunately, the accuracy of fit with this housing was somewhat imprecise, which is why the pushbutton did not come into contact with the control button. Especially with a recently released camera, you should get the original accessories, or wait for a wider and higher quality range.

Design and workmanship

The design is very appealing. The camera is available in white, black and pink. The shape of the housing (65 x 42 x 30 mm) differs from both a GoPro Action Cam and conventional China Cams. The 7-layer lens with a 155 ° wide angle and an aperture of F / 2.8 is located on the front. The lens can be changed and is also compatible with various filters. Next to the lens there is a multi-colored LED indicating that a recording is in progress or the battery level.

Above is the control button, which is also equipped with an indicator LED. The speaker output and microphone inputs are also located there. Unfortunately, the camera has only a few connection options. An HMDI connection is completely missing, which is why you can only use a micro USB socket. This is located behind a tightly closing cap on the left side of the housing.

The micro SD card slot is located inside the battery compartment. This is compatible with various SDHC and SDXC cards. The manufacturer specifies the maximum memory size as 16 - 128GB. The battery compartment closes well and tightly, as well as being easy to open. The tripod thread, which is also located on the underside of the housing, is interesting. The 2.19 inch display is on the back. Overall, the workmanship is successful and the design is also convincing.

Display and touch screen

The Yi 4K has a 2.19 inch LCD display with a resolution of 640 x 360 pixels. The point density is 330 PPI and the maximum luminance is specified as 250 cd / m². What makes this display so special, however, is the integrated touchscreen. This enables operation similar to a smartphone or tablet. The display was able to prove itself in the practical test. The color representation is good, but the display is difficult to read in direct sunlight. The viewing angle stability is convincing. For example, if you look at the side of the display, the display remains legible. The color falsification is kept within limits.

The touchscreen works accurately. Inputs are recognized and executed cleanly. In addition to normal touch input, the touch screen also recognizes various gestures, such as wiping motions. Inserted in a waterproof housing, control via the touchscreen is of course no longer possible!

Hardware

With the combination of an Ambarella A9SE image processor and a Sony IMX377 image sensor, the Yi 4K has cutting-edge and powerful hardware. The A9SE image processor has a total of two cores and clocks with a maximum of 800 MHz. Video recordings are compressed on the hardware level with the h.264 standard. The output format is mp4. The Sony IMX377 image sensor has a resolution of 12 megapixels and uses Exmor R technology.

user interface

"International Version" VS "China Version"

If you want to buy the new Yi Action Cam, you should definitely purchase the "International" version. Especially with the first sales, the relevant China online shops, which are intended for the Chinese market, sold the variant in which the Chinese language cannot be changed. Even afterwards, for example with a firmware update, the language cannot be changed, which has already been confirmed by Yi Technology. In order to avoid errors, Yi Technologie has issued a sales ban on many dealers, which is why the Action Cam is currently only available sporadically.

user interface

The user interface is clearly arranged and despite our Chinese test copy, we were able to operate the camera without any errors after only a few hours.

Home screen

The live image output is also available on the start screen. Above below below the output we can see the remaining recording time, the recording mode, the battery level and whether there is an active WLAN connection. Below we can switch to the quick selection with touch inputs, we can call up the gallery and also switch to the extensive settings. If the display is not used for a longer period of time, a key lock is activated automatically. This can be deactivated again with a swiping movement across the display.

shooting

Overall, the YI Action Cam offers 10 recording modes. Here is an overview:

• Photo mode
• Photo Timer (Delayed Recording)
• Burst mode (multiple recording)
• video mode
• Time-Lapse Video (Time Lapse Recording)
• Slow Motion (slow motion recording)
• Time-lapse photo (time-lapse shot with photos)
• Loop Record (If the SD card is full, recordings will be deleted)
• Video and Photo (In addition to a video are stored in photos)

A live function is to appear soon, with which you can stream videos directly via the Yi 4K.

Settings

The settings menu is divided into two categories. There is a sub-item for each recording mode and the "General Settings". Here is an overview of the conventional settings:

video settings

• Resolution (4K @ 25 | 4K Ultra @ 25 | 5K @ 25 | 1440 @ 25 / 50 | 1080 @ 25 / 50 / 100 | 1080 Ultra @ 25 / 50 / 100 | 960 @ 50 / 100 | 720 @ 200 | 720 Ultra @50 / 100 | 480 @ 200)
• Metering Mode (measurement for exposure) Average | Center | commercial
• Auto Low Light (Improved shots in low light conditions)
• White Balance (Automatic | Native | Tungsten | Daylight | Cloudy)
• ISO (Automatic | 400 | 1600 | 6400)
• Exposure (+ 2 to -2 in 0.5 steps)
• Image Stabilization (On / Off)
• Timestamp (Off | Date | Time | Date & Time)

Photo mode

• Resolution (12MP | 8MP | 7 MP W | 7 MP M | 5MP)
• Shutter (2s | 5s | 10s | 20s | 30s)
• Metering Mode (Average | Center | Spot)
• White Balance (Automatic | Native | Tungsten | Daylight | Cloudy)
• ISO (Automatic | 100 | 200 | 400 | 800)
• Exposure (+ 2 to -2 in 0.5 steps)
• Timestamp (Off | Date | Time | Date & Time)

General Settings

• Lens correction ("anti-fisheye effect")
• WiFi (On / Off | SSID and PW | 2.4G / 5G)
• SD Card (Available Memory | Format)
• Shooting mode
• Bluetooth (to pair a remote control)
• Display Brightness (High | Medium | Low)
• Sounds (Loud | Quiet | Off)
• LED
• Enclosure mode (better operability in the case)
• Video mode (PAL | NTSC)
• Advanced settings (screen lock | automatic switch-off | rotate display | A / V out USB | date & time)
• Device information (firmware | serial number)
• Factory settings (Settings | WiFi | Bluetooth)
• About

Yi 4K "Yi Action" App

The "Yi Action" app can be downloaded from the Google PlayStore and the Apple AppStore. The app is partly translated into English, but partly also into German. All action cams from Yi Technology can be connected via the Yi Action App. On the one hand, the app is used to remotely control the camera, and on the other hand, the app is a community platform. Users can exchange ideas and they can even share the recordings they have made.

To establish a connection between the Yi 4K and the app, the camera's WiFi must be active. Illustrated and German instructions guide you through the individual steps that are necessary for coupling. Once you have successfully connected the camera to your smartphone or tablet, saved recordings can be transferred, you can make all camera settings via the app and you get a live image output.

 Firmware updates are also imported via the Yi Action App. If an update exists, you will be notified via the app and can install it fully automatically and with just one click. Alternatively, updates can also be downloaded from the manufacturer's website.

Recording quality and sound

The Sony IMX377 image sensor used has a resolution of 12 megapixels and, in combination with the Ambarella A9SE image processor, enables native 4K video recordings at a maximum of 30 images per second.

The 4K video recordings recorded in the course of the test impress with their richness of detail, natural colors and pleasant sharpness when viewed from close up as well as from a distance. The recorded sound hardly differs from conventional action cams. Although the camera produces a clean sound recording without a waterproof housing, with an additional waterproof housing the recorded sound is barely audible.

With a resolution of 1080p, you can choose between 30, 60 and even 120 frames per second. In addition, an image stabilizer can be activated, which balances the image using a gyroscope. Of course, such a stabilizer cannot replace a gimbal, but if you want to make stable recordings temporarily, the image stabilizer is a nice additional feature.

At resolutions below 4K, the video quality difference to conventional "China Action Cams" is significantly lower, which shows a direct comparison with the much cheaper SJCAM M20.

Battery

Another highlight of the Yi 4K is the lush battery with a capacity of 1400 mAh. With a resolution of 4K, the maximum recording time is around 105 minutes, which puts the new Yi Action Cam in the shade. In the test, we were able to confirm the capacity through re-measurements. With a resolution of 1080p, we even achieved recording times of around 130 minutes! It takes about 2 1/2 hours to fully charge the battery.