- SJCAM’s new SJ30 budget action cam records 8K video, but only at 20fps
- There are plenty of upgrades over its mediocre predecessor
- It costs from $265 / £199
Interested in trying an action camera? SJCAM has just announced the SJ30, an affordable adventure-centric camera with a unique dual-lens design.
Following on from 2024’s SJ20, the predictably named SJ30 offers 8K video recording (but only at 20fps), 4K/30fps, plus a host of other features that should appeal to novice mixed-media content creators.
The IPX8-rated body of the SJ30 is waterproof to 17 ft / 5 m, which increases to 98 ft / 30 m with the camera mounted in an optional waterproof case. It’s right up there with some of the best action cameras on the market.
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It also has a claimed battery life of seven hours – not a bad performance if it’s able to live up to that number in the field. The caveat to this spec is that it’s when the SJ30 is paired with the optional power handle, which can deliver an additional 4,200mAh of juice. When used for body only, the maximum stated battery life drops to 150 minutes, recording 4K clips under lab test conditions. This battery performance is in line with its most obvious competitor, the budget-friendly Akaso Brave 8 Lite, which costs about the same.
The camera has a 2.51-inch touchscreen, which is capable of flipping through 180 degrees for taking selfies and should come in handy for everyday vlogging needs. This is an upgrade from the SJ20’s 2.29-inch rear main touchscreen, which was not articulated. Instead, on the previous model, users had to rely on a 1.3-inch front display with limited capacity. There’s no denying that the larger rear LCD offers an advantage in both size and resolution, but I wonder what impact the articulation might have on the body’s stiffness and its resistance to harder impacts while engaging in activities like mountain biking.
That said, the press release notes the camera’s suitability to work ‘under extreme conditions’ over a temperature range of -20°C to 60°C. So on paper at least the SJ30 still looks to take a beating, or at least some mild frostbite or sunstroke.
However, the header is designed with a double lens. The rationale behind this is that one lens sits in front of a 1/2.0-inch sensor and the other, a marginally larger 1/1.8-inch chip equipped with an f/1.8-equivalent aperture. The latter is called a ‘Starlight’ sensor and the former, a ‘Daylight’ sensor, allowing quality images in all types of lighting.
Why it couldn’t just have a single 1/1.8-inch sensor and the brighter lens, I’m not sure. If the larger aperture had been paired with the smaller sensor, I would have understood this to allow more light collection while keeping weight and cost down, but surely having two pairings is still more expensive?
Regardless, the night camera actually has a smaller aperture than the SJ20, which could be opened up to f/1.3. In that review, we weren’t too impressed with low-light image quality, so it will be interesting to see if a new processor has allowed for superior noise control.
Good value?
The SJ30 also makes use of a six-axis gyroscope and upgraded stabilization algorithms, as part of the upgraded SteadyMotion 2.0 system. I hope this provides an improvement over the system used on the previous model, which didn’t do too much to help with camera shake in video footage. Another gyro-based feature is the 45-degree horizon lock, which keeps footage level while driving over rough terrain.
Although the SJ30 allows 8K video recording, this is only at 20 fps, an odd frame rate limitation that can cause problems if you’re hoping to fit clips into the timeline of another video at conventional 24 fps or 30 fps frame rates.
There’s no mention in the initial press material of image resolution, although the SJ20 shot 20MP stills, so I’d be surprised in a camera at this level if this has dropped for the next generation. This falls below the DJI Osmo Action 4, which shoots 4K up to 120fps and 1080p up to 240fps, and which is two generations old, is available for around the same price.
For improved audio quality, the newer camera includes a removable wind screen and supports the SJCAM M4 wireless microphone, although we’ll have to test this independently to see if its performance is up there with the best wireless microphones. An interesting little feature is the magnetic quick-release mounting system for audio accessories, although only time and a proper test will tell how this works by riding along a bumpy trail.
When you think of action cameras, SJCam might not be the first brand that comes to mind, but that hasn’t stopped them from having lofty ambitions. The most attractive element of its action camera range is price, and the SJ30 remains in form, now available for $264 / £195 (Australian pricing TBC). More information can be found on the SJCAM website.
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