The Best Action Cameras
Today's cameras have a lot to brag about – especially action cameras. While we use our smartphones for most of our pictures and videos, action cameras are designed to withstand the elements (including water) as you run, bike, swim, or even fly, and most do all this in glorious high-def resolution. Here, we've assembled a list of the best.
What to Look For
The best action cameras must have a combination of these three things: solid stabilization specs, a clear image, and portability. Our favorite pick was the GoPro Hero 8 because of its top-notch image stability. Snowboarding down a mountain never looked smoother, and it handles bumpy bike trails with ease. If you’re on a budget but don’t want to sacrifice image quality, consider the Akaso EK7000. It’s 4K and sports a decent framerate of 30fps. Below you’ll find our favorite action cameras, ranked for their portability, value, and overall specs.
GoPro Hero 8 Black
A camera ready adventure
If you were to make a Venn diagram that includes professional athletes, career videographers, and amateur adventurers, the one place they’d all overlap is in the GoPro line of action cameras. Thanks to a combination of world-class marketing and industry-disrupting technology, GoPro took the action camera market by storm and has retained its reign against a swarm of competitors.
The company’s latest Hero camera builds upon the success of its previous iterations, and the result is the best overall action camera money can buy. Why? Well, look to its core features, like its stabilization specs (HyperSmooth 2.0), its mounting abilities, and its built-in digital lenses, and you already have a solid action camera. But then, factor in its ability to be custom modded with lighting apparatus, microphones, and other add-ons, and you can see why professionals love it. Speaking of professionals, this action camera doesn’t just excel in terms of video resolution; its inclusion of three high-fidelity microphones produces a mighty impressive audio-recording setup.
Pros:
- The TimeWarp 2.0 works well and captures blur-free images.
- The top-class stabilization helped us record steady footage, even if our hands were a bit shaky. This makes it ideal for extreme sports like skateboarding and motor cross.
- The bundle includes batteries and an SD card, so you’ve got everything you need to get started.
Cons:
- The battery life is a bit underwhelming, but thankfully, it comes with an extra set.
GoPro Hero 7
Heroes never die
Often, what’s most popular is not necessarily what’s best. Other times, though, a trend is more than justified. GoPro’s action cameras fall into the latter description neatly. Their action cameras really are the best of the best. Simply put, if you’re looking for a tiny camera that can record 4K video with magnificent image-stabilization abilities and take a beating without being worse for the wear, the GoPro Hero 7 is one of the best options out there.
This one features everything that folks love about GoPro action cameras, including a photo timer, intuitive touch screen, and waterproofing up to a depth of 33 feet. You can even command the Hero 7 to take photos and videos by using voice commands. Are you surprised? Probably not. Still, quite a nifty feature.
Pros:
- The Hero 7 has better battery performance than the Hero 8.
- We found that the voice commands work surprisingly well. Simple commands like “GoPro, take a video” or “GoPro take a photo” help streamline the creative process.
- The sound quality is clear and crisp, especially for the size of this device.
Cons:
- This camera is not the greatest in low-light conditions.
Akaso EK7000
Get the best of both worlds
When it comes to cutting-edge technology, you don’t always need to buy the most expensive product to get something that works well. In fact, with how rapidly certain technologies are developing, even a budget-range purchase can deliver mind-blowing performance. Fortunately for you, this happens to be especially true when it comes to action cameras.
For a fraction of the price of its more expensive brethren, the Akaso EK7000 offers the same basic features you’d want from an action camera: waterproofing, 4K Ultra HD video with a 30fps frame rate, a mountable design, and a slew of digital features that’ll allow you to capture adventures while on-the-go. Thanks to its affordability, we find this one to be an excellent option for shoestring backpackers who’d like to save some cash for the adventures that lay ahead.
Pros:
- For the price, we were impressed by the battery life, and we were happy to see it included two rechargeable 1050mAh batteries.
- This camera takes breathtakingly beautiful underwater images.
- We love that this camera comes with mounting gear, so that’s one less thing to buy.
Cons:
- Performance declines in low-light settings, so this is best suited for outdoor shoots.
DJI Osmo Action
Jaw-dropping colors
Those who have a bone to pick with GoPro products for whatever reason would be wise to look to DJI. The company’s Osmo Action camera presents an excellent competitor to GoPro’s Hero line. Similarly priced and with nearly identical features, the Osmo has won a camp of loyal followers who prefer the subtle differences in the video quality the Osmo can produce. Some of the most adored differences are the vivacity of its colors, its near-optimal light balance, and its dual screens, which are large and easy to see in varied lighting contexts. But most of all, where it truly stands out and surpasses the GoPro Hero 8 is in its HDR capabilities. Compare HDR footage from the two, and you’ll have no doubt that DJI holds the torch, so if HDR is your priority, look no further.
Pros:
- The 2x Optical zoom remains steady, even in shaky situations.
- The dual-screen is perfect for when you want to frame yourself for shots.
- We like the intuitive user interface; it’s great for beginners and veterans alike.
Cons:
- Sometimes the voice recognition can be spotty.
Frequently Asked Questions
I know very little about videography. Is it hard to use an action camera?
No. As a rule of thumb, action cameras are basically as intuitive as the digital camera you’ve had tucked in the corner of one of your drawers for over a decade. If you’re eager to deep-dive into the camera’s more nuanced abilities, this might take a bit of know-how, but even these are fairly simple if you watch some Youtube tutorials and learn the lingo. These cameras are designed for the everyday consumer, not just for videographers, so they’re easy to use.
Will an action camera work well for normal photo- and video-taking? Or should I get a different camera for that?
The answer to this depends on what your day-to-day life looks like. If you’re a traveler who may be abroad for months at a time, you probably could use an action camera all the time. Thanks to the durability and tiny size of action cameras, they’re actually a traveler’s dream. And they take high-res photos and videos, too, so image quality is certainly not a concern.
Aside from travelers, though, it’s probably a better idea to buy a separate camera for more use-specific applications. If you love shooting landscapes, for example, you’re definitely going to want a DLSR with a high-quality lens. And portraits will require a totally different setup. All of this is to say that action cameras are probably better left to action unless you’re a traveler, in which case the convenience of these devices lends them well to your purposes.
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