W8 Ultra HD 2″ Wi-Fi Sports Action Camera: Best and Cheapest Action Camera for Beginners

When I fell in love with traveling, my necessity to capture photos on water sports activities begun to rise. Luckily I found W8 Ultra HD 2″ Wi-Fi Sports Action Camera, the best and cheapest action camera that is perfect for beginners like me! It may sound OA but I will prove you here why.

What to expect:

• 2-inch LCD
• HDMI TV Out
• Ultra HD
• 30-Meter waterproof
• Rechargeable 900mAh Lithium battery usage
• 12.0 MP
• Wi-Fi

Specification:

• Ultra HD + Waterproof
• Video: 4K10, 1080p30 (H.264), 720p30
• Super Wide Angle Lens: 140 degree

What’s in the box:

• 1 x Wi-Fi Action Camera
• 1 x Waterproof Housing
• 1 x Handle Bar/Pole Mount
• 7 x Mount
• 2 x Clip
• 1 x Helmet Mounts
• 1 x Bandages
• 1 x Battery
• 1 x Lens Cloth
• 1 x Tethers
• 1 x Protective Backdoor
• 1 x USB Cable
• 1 x Charger
• 1 x User Manual v3.0

W8 Ultra HD 2″ Wi-Fi Sports Action Camera Review

shutter or select button

Ports for HDMI and Micro USB; Micro SD Slot

Up/Playback Button; Speaker; Down/Wi-Fi Button

Battery Door

Opened Battery Door

Design

W8 Ultra HD action cam’s design is really simple but doesn’t look cheap. The case makes the W8 Ultra HD Action Camera waterproof to SCUBA-grade depth of 30 meters (about 98 feet).

To make sure if the case is really waterproof and safe to use during underwater activities, we put a tissue inside the case and drowned it for 30 seconds.

Controls and Usability

The function of every button is kinda confusing at start so you really need to read the manual to know fully how it works. You will know how easy it is to navigate when you read the manual carefully.

WITH THE USE OF EZ iCam App

I installed this app on my iPhone 6s and I find it lagging when taking videos but the videos are not lag when you played it on your laptop/pc. Downloading of photos from the app to my phone is quite okay. But don’t expect too much about downloading the videos coz it takes forever before it happens. Much better to transfer them to your laptop or desktop via USB cable.

Video and Photo Quality

Video and photo in bright sun can look washed out or over exposed. I recommend to use it on 0 mode brightness during daytime and just increase it at night when taking videos. However, when taking photos at night and the subject doesn’t have good lighting on it increasing the exposure won’t help, it will look washed out your subject.

For taking video, I recommend to use the 1080p video setting more than 4k. The 4k setting is lagging.

Sample videos

A. UPLOADED in YOUTUBE

Villa Filomena Natural Spring Resort, Cavite

Ditumabo Mother Falls, Baler

A. UPLOADED IN FACEBOOK

SAMPLE PHOTOS

The following are purely raw photos.

A. Taken at Villa Filomena Natural Spring Resort on a sunny weather.

B. Taken at Liwliwa Beach San Felipe, Zambales on a gloomy weather.

C. Underwater shots

falls

swimming pool

More sample photos and videos posted on my Facebook Page.

Battery Life

With its 900mAh Lithium battery, W8 Ultra HD Action Camera can record 1 hour of 1080p/30 fps video. Using the Wi-Fi and the smartphone app will make the battery life much shorter.

According to the manual, charging time is 5 hours but on my experience, it only takes more than an hour and the red light will be gone indicating that is already fully charged.

STORAGE

Have your own memory card ready because this action cam doesn’t have internal memory. This is compatible with 8GB to 32GB capacity microSD, microSDHC, and microSDXC memory cards with a Class 10 speed rating. Branded memory card is recommended for maximum usability.

I’m using the Kingston 16GB Micro SDHC Memory Card Class 10.

Accessories

It has all the mount for your monopod, helmet and bicycle. Monopod and SD Card are not included so better to have these two first to maximize its usage.

I’m using the Yunteng YT-1288 Bluetooth Selfie Monopod.

Pros

• Lightweight
• Mounts are already included for monopod, helmet and bicycle.
• Waterproof and takes good quality photos underwater as long as the water is clear.
• Quality of video and photo is not bad for its price.

Cons

• Taking video is cut every 10 minutes but it will automatically restart video taking after.
• 4k video lags
• Taking video using EZ iCam App also lags
• The battery will only last upto 1 to 1.5 hours  of continuous video and photo taking.

VERDICT

You should get this one if you’re looking for your first action camera that is cheap, easy to use and gives decent quality photos and videos when traveling.

WHERE TO BUY

I bought this on sale price of 1,288 pesos at www.lazada.com.ph