DIYP reviews the YI 4K action camera (YI 4K vs. GoPro Hero4 black edition)
Sep 16, 2016
Udi Tirosh
Udi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.
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We got our hands on a YI 4K and thought we’d put it against the current crown holder: the Gopro Hero 4 Black edition.
I was expecting great things from the YI, as it is getting quite popular review, but I was quite blown away with what you can get for $250. I mean, the YI 4K is half the price of the GoPro, which you would think will put it with the knockoffs bin. But no. It actually scored much higher than the HEro 4 on our tests.
Of course, different people care about different things, so score may vary a bit for you, but all and all, I think it was a very clear cut, and if you judge value for money, it really is a no brainer ( see our comparisson table below)
Hardware
On paper, the cameras share quite a bit, both can do 4K video at 30FPS, and both can increase FPS at the account of resolution. Now, the YI 4K does use a slightly newer chip, the A9SE vs the older A9 on the GoPro and I think this is why the YI does not warm as much when shooting 4K.The YI also uses a slightly newer sensor.
Stills
I am not a fan of the stills on either, and I think the main usage for it is for timelapse movies. The Yi 4K, though, does not suffer from this annoying fisheye distortion. This is also true for video. This is definitely nicer.
Video quality – default
The fact that you can shoot reasonable 4K video with a device that is smaller than the TI calculator that I had as a kid is a miracle for me. For that only, I stand in awe.
Both cameras show very similar video quality on the default profile. This is nice considering that the YI 4K is only $250. The YI 4K is definitely not in the same class as those cheapo gopro knock offs.
Here is some raw footage for you to play with: https://bit.ly/2cT9M2C
Video quality – flat profile
The YI exposes for shadows, which means that it will lose some highlights. if you care about this, the GoPro is better on flat profile. Though I am not really happy with either of the cameras flat profiles.
Here is some raw footage for you to play with: https://bit.ly/2ct78W4
Operation
There is no way around this, operating a camera with a full control LCD control system (YI 4K), is way (WAY!) better than this two buttons thing that GoPro uses. I never press the right button, alway somehow leave the WiFi on and generally hates it. Not to mention that you can actually see what you are shooting. This is a huge advantage for the YI 4K. Just like the battery, you can invest another $80 for an LCD back. but even then it is not as nice as the YI built-in LCD.
The only thing you need to remember is that you lose access to the LCD once the YI 4K is in the case. If you want to change anything you can only use the app. I know I said that the GoPro 2 buttons thing is crap, but when placed in a case, it is better than nothing.
Then the YI has a built in tripod mount. I find this extremely refreshing after struggling with so many GoPro mounting cases.
Slow Motion
OK, if you wanna shoot 720 and get killer 240 slo-mo both cameras do it well. The YI does allow you to interpret the movie as a slow motion movie without having to bring it into premiere and time map it. While the results are similar, the fact that you don’t need editing software may be a big things for the less tech savvy.
Low Light
Non excel at low light. Really. If you are shooting at a dark place, either bring some lights or use a different camera. We did an “extreme” test at dusk. meh.
Battery life
Oh my! YI definitely stuck it in Gopro’s eye. not only it comes with an LCD it still lets you have about 2 hours runs. This is about twice the time from the GoPro. I mean you can always get the GoPro battery pack for $40 more. But then it will be even more expensive + you would need a different back door.
Connectivity
3MBPS on the YI 4K vs. 1.5MBPS on the GoPro hero4 black. + this annoying rubber cap on the go pro is replaced with a cap that won’t get lost on the YI.
Conclusion
If we compare the two cameras, it is a clear cut (at least for me). The YI 4K has more features than the Gorpo, more battery life and almost identical video (slightly lower dynamic range on flat profile). You would have to shall out about $40 for a YI case, but still, you’d be $200 richer than if you bought the GoPro.
Here are the links if you wanna get one (I did) :YI 4K ($250), YI 4K case ($40), YI 4K Battery ($18)
Udi Tirosh
Udi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.
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20 responses to “DIYP reviews the YI 4K action camera (YI 4K vs. GoPro Hero4 black edition)”
Thanks Udi, great review!
I’ve been tempted to get the YI since I first heard about it, but I just can’t justify the purchase right now… xD But it is on the list, whereas the GoPro Hero 4 Black, despite me liking the features quite a lot when it was released, could never get into the list due to it’s price.
The only thing I think you might have missed on the comparison is something I always hear people pointing about the Hero 4: HDMI out, and the fact that you can adapt a microphone input there. There are in fact lots of microphones in the market made specifically for GoPro. Not sure how many people actually use those, but important difference for those who do I guess.
I’m not sure if this information is right, but as far as I heard about it, the micro USB port on the Yi is power only… can’t do data, can’t be hacked into a mic input.
Another thing to look forward to: seems the YI is coming up with a one handed gimbal system for it: http://www.yitechnology.com/yigimbal/index.html
They’ve announced it a while ago, but no date and price just yet.
If the price is right, it could be a great add for the Yi. GoPro is still the champion of accessories, and there are plenty of gimbals out there for it too, but I guess Yi is doing pretty well releasing several accessories from start for a camera that is in it’s second generation, the first targeting the high end line.
GoPro still has the bigger and better community, you’ll find gimbals, cages, mics, mounts for everything under the sun, buoys, VR solutions, lighting solutions, hacks and whatnot. An entire world of 3rd party solutions to be found, plus lots of people who already played with it to death putting it in all sorts of situations.
The Yi is just at it’s beginning. It already has a good number of official accessories, but it doesn’t scratch the surface of GoPro stuff. I never heard of a community of people that are using it, and I don’t think Yi will ever reach the community size and marketing power of GoPro. But you know, this is still a single point in deciding whether it’s the camera for you or not.
To be honest, I was getting kinda bummed that GoPro lost the race in tech specs and price in this generation…. competition is good, but I was getting kinda afraid of a premature GoPro downfall. But now that they are coming out with this Karma thing, perhaps I don’t have much to worry about. xD
I quite agree that the fact there is no HDMI connector (although there were one one the first version) is quite a disappoinment. But the screen and the electronic stabilizer are really features.
There is already a midrange priced gimbal (<350$) for gopro and Yi that has the same design for quite some time: the Zhiyun Rider M and using it with the Yi allows to make really smooth videos
I’ve always wondered what people use the HDMI output for on action cameras. Is it to see what the camera sees while you’re recording? Or purely for playback?
Personally I’ve never really had much of a need for HDMI output. The standard definition AV output has always been more than enough for FPV for me, and for playing back the footage, I just transfer the memory cards to a tablet or my desktop.
Assume local playback on a TV, perhaps?
Yeah, I can speculate, too, but was after real reasons from people upset that the Yi 4K can’t do it. :)
I feel for Gopro as well.
It’s sad how they moved from industry leaders to industry chasers. (On CES four years ago, I was there when the entire floor shouted “GoPro, GoPro”)
Even if Karma will be stellar, it has DJI and 3RD already controlling the market. They didn’t even make a go with the gimbal market. And even if the Hero5 is stellar, I am not sure it will have enough value at an attractive enough price point to fend off YI (and maybe DJI as well).
The audio port is a good call. GoPro should probably get another point for that :)
And the community is another big thing, but that will change pretty rapidly if the 5 has a different form, factor and all is up for grabs.
DJI, 3RD and Yuneec. Although I know a couple of people who’ve ditched their Typhoon Hs in favour of Phantom 4s.
It’ll be interesting to see how Yi’s entry into the drone world holds up, too. Hopefully they’ll have one at Photokina we can check out next week.
To be fair you are comparing a relatively new camera against a two year old model. Camera tech evolves very rapidly and the Yi has a chipset that wasn’t available two years ago. When the Hero5 comes out there will likely be no comparison, Yi will merely have a new target to aim for. Sure, it will still be a good value at $250 but it probably won’t match a Hero5. (If it does, GoPro is in deep sh*t.)
Hi Rick, this is true. the YI is 2 years younger.
But when I compare two camera, it is not a comparisson in vacuum. It’s comparing the two leading 4K cameras in the market.
If the Hero5 will have significantly other features, it will no longer fit in this comparisson.
The question that I am answering here is which 4K action camera is better?
I’m curious as to whether the YI 4K can be hacked like its little 1080 brother. If so GoPro had better watch out.
Yes and no. They’ve kind of gone one better with the Yi 4K. They’ve actually legitimised “hacking” the camera by creating an Open API. It’s still in the early stages, and they seem to be adding features with each new firmware update, but essentially it allows app developers to talk directly with the camera to override and automate certain things.
It’s not likely to be as easy to use for most people as the startup scripts in the original Yi (unless they’re programmers), but it does mean that new “hacks” released by people will be a little more polished, and actually supported by Yi.
https://github.com/YITechnology/YIOpenAPI
that would be amazing wont it? I mean the API thing is nice, but it will most likely not give you access to the internal registers that control video quality :) so I say bring on the hacks.
It can’t be synced for 3D so it’s garbage for me. I wonder when the Chinese idiots will realize this market need and do something about it.
I hear the Yi is getting new firmware soon. No 24fps at 4K for example.
Did you test the stabilisation on the Yi? It has real gyro sensors, so it knows it’s moving and by how much and in what direction, rather than having to guess that from the image itself alone. Reports have suggested it’s not that good though, which is a shame.
Hero 5 is out now though, but still more expensive. Yi doesn’t include the waterproof case, so costs add up a bit more if you need that.
It’s from Yi Technologies and is called the Yiaomi Yi 4K. I see it referenced as Xiaomi Yi but it’s not from Xiaomi directly like the first Yi camera was.
How about GoPro 5? Yi 2 still better or not?
If I understand right, the hero 4 and hero 5 use the same camera chip. So there is no difference in video quality between the two.
As for the other features, that really depends on what you need
I did some adjustments to the sample footage you provided, where can I send the files to?
you can send them here: editor@diyphotography.net or put them on youtube and send a link
Does YI 4k or 4k+ have night lapse mode as gopro hero 4? I like shooting star trails
Check out my Xiaomi Yi 4k cinematic video sample https://youtu.be/HNUm5LEGIYE