We unbox the Yi Sports camera!
Everybody knows that Xiaomi sells all sorts of things in China. From phones, air purifiers to TVs, Xiaomi has its finger in a lot of electronic products. Around a month ago the company announced their entry into the action cam segment that’s long been dominated by GoPro: the Yi Sports Camera. Like everything else that Xiaomi sells, the Yi Sports Camera sports a strong featureset at a ridiculously low price: HD and full HD shooting at 60 FPS (and 120 FPS on 720) Wi-Fi connectivity and a 16-megapixel Sony-made BSI sensor, shooting at 155 degree FOV for just RMB 399, or roughly Php 2803. Today we’ll be unboxing the camera and compare it to GoPro’s offering.
Packaging and contents:
The Yi Sports Camera comes in Xiaomi’s distinctive dark brown cardboard packaging. The packaging, which is also used in their Mi 3 and Redmi 1S phones, is sturdy and can probably take a beating which is ideal since you don’t want your camera getting smooshed during transit.
Once you open the box up, you’ll see the camera, in all its lemon/light blue glory.
The camera ships with a 1010mAh battery, USB cable and a user manual but since the Yi Sports Camera is a China-only product for now, the user manual is in Mandarin.
Initial Impressions: a great camera for people who need a no-frills device
When you first lay your eyes on the Yi Sports Camera, you’ll see that it bears some resemblance to GoPros. Its general dimensions is pretty close to a GoPro to the point that it looks like it’ll fit inside a GoPro case.
Obviously that’s not the case, as the lens arrangement of the Yi Sports Camera is different from a GoPro. You’ll also immediately notice that there’s no LED display anywhere just LED lights around the power button and other parts of the camera that tells you if the WiFi is on or if the unit is recording.
This is a big omission because you’ll be forced to use the downloadable app that comes with the Yi Sports Camera to change shooting modes and anything else that you want changed. Outside of starting or stopping recording and taking photos, you’re utterly reliant on the mobile app (and ultimately, your phone) to operate the camera.
There’s also no expansion port on the back of the Yi Sports Camera, which means that accessories like LCD displays are out of the question, things that expand on the GoPro’s usability and flexibility. It’s not hard to see that while the Yi Sports Camera has GoPro-like qualities, it’s not a direct competitor to it. We feel that its meant for normal people who want to document their trips and shenanigans with a small, easy to carry camcorder.
While our review unit did not come with a case (it was purchased in China without one) there is an option to buy it through Xiaomi along with different mounts. One nice thing about the device is that it uses the standard thread pitch for most cameras and GoPros, so you can use it with your monopod, tripod or selfie pod without any additional mounts.
That feeling is further reinforced when we discovered that the Yi Sports Camera lacks recording capabilities above full HD. That’s made up by the wealth of shooting modes under full HD, as well as the high frame rate of the camera (60 FPS for both HD and full HD) and the capability to select either 16:9 or 4:3 aspect ratio.
While the original app to control the Yi Sports Camera is in Mandarin, we found an English equivalent of the app in the MIUI forums. After downloading and installing the APK, we ran it and it guided us throughout the entire pairing process. Once we paired our phone with the Yi Sports Camera, we were able to control all of its features and functions.
The big issue for the Yi Sports camera is availability – our device was bought in China, and Xiaomi Philippines isn’t offering this camera officially (they’re only selling the Mi 3, Mi Power Bank and the Redmi 1S) so you’ll be paying a lot more than its converted price if you’re getting it from a store that sells parallel-import devices.
That’s it for this unboxing, we’ll be using this in the next few days so stay tuned.
