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EKEN V50 Pro and EKEN H6s - Sports cameras with cheap 4K resolution

EKEN V50 Pro and EKEN H6s - Sports cameras with cheap 4K resolution

We tested sports cameras with real 100K resolution for under $ 4.

EKEN V50 Pro and EKEN H6s - Sports cameras with cheap 4K resolution


 

Introductory

For many years, I longed for a regular sports or, as they say, action camera. That pretty much meant I wanted a GoPro. Somehow I never managed to save money on it for a simple reason, I just regretted spending a month and a half on a camera.

Fortunately, for 2-3 years now, usable fasteners have appeared among the products of Chinese manufacturers. First the FHD, i.e. 1920 x 1080 pixels, later also the 4K resolution, plus at a very friendly price, for roughly $ 150. Yes, but it turned out that we had to be very careful about what we buy, because the manufacturers have already inscribed 4K on everything, if it was true, if not. And buyers refused to buy anything but a 4K camera. I also wrote a lot on the subject, trying to provide enlightening articles so that my readers would not be overwhelmed. I’ve always mentioned that if someone sees a 100K camera for under $ 4, it almost certainly won’t be and shouldn’t be bought.

EKEN V50 Pro 5

Then in the second half of last year, the miracle happened, they presented an action camera that had at least a real 4K resolution on paper, but the price was half that of the pieces available until then. Shortly afterwards, another piece arrived, albeit at a slightly higher price, but with better abilities, and a miracle of miracles, it didn’t cost $ 100 either.

Like many of us, I was obviously starting to feel curious about the possibility of bringing such a structure out of half price. After some pondering, I made up for myself earlier this year and ordered both. As with all “Tried” articles, we are now looking for the answer to whether it is worth spending on these 4K cameras or rather neglecting them.


 

Wrapping

I haven’t mentioned the name of the manufacturer so far, but now it’s time to unveil that as well as the type of cameras. The manufacturer is EKEN, and the two cameras are V50 Pro and H6s. The former is cheaper, the latter is more expensive.

EKEN V50 Pro 8

The measurable difference in price is not visible on the packaging. We get a high-quality, showy box, with the accessories at the bottom in the opaque part, and the camera in the plexiglass box at the top. That’s what I used to say this is what a package should look like, which we also want to sell in an offline store.

At the bottom of the box, by the way, we get not only pictures, but also a fairly accurate technical description, so we are guaranteed not to buy sacks.

EKEN V50 Pro 7


 

External

Let's start with what matches the two solutions! The dimensions are the same, the buttons and the optical are in the same place. When viewed from the front, the right side became the connector and memory card slot. There are two connectors, one HDMI and one USB, the former can be used to send the image directly to a monitor or TV, and the latter is required for charging and computer connection.

EKEN V50 Pro 3

The buttons for control are on the top, front, and left. With these three buttons you can control everything, make settings in the menu, select whether to work in camera or camcorder mode, and use them to start and stop recording. At the top we also find three more tiny holes, this is the speaker grille, and on the left is a tiny hole, here is the microphone. The back cover is occupied almost entirely by the HD 2-inch display. One more thing is left, there is a door on the bottom that can be opened after pulling, behind which we find the battery.

In terms of appearance, we find two very important differences between the cheaper V50 Pro and the more expensive H6s. One is that while the cover of the V50 Pro is plastic, under which we find a metal frame, the EKEN H6s are made with a completely metal housing. This is an advantage also because of the durability, but not only because, but because the metal has better thermal conductivity, the metal housing keeps the electronics cooler.

EKEN V50 H6s 1

The second important difference is that while in the case of the EKEN V50 Pro there are only two indicator LEDs to the left next to the optics, the H6s has a small OLED display that shows the battery charge on the fly and the mode in which the camera. This is convenient, but also good for uptime, because the small display consumes much less than the back panel, so you don’t have to look at it if you want to be sure what resolution the recording is going at.


 

Interior and operation

There is a single, but even more significant difference in the hardware of the cameras, we leave this at the end of the paragraph.

I mentioned in the introduction how many “fake” 4K cameras there are on the market. Some of these are easy to do because the manufacturer specifies the type of image sensor and chipset, and we can check to see if you really know what to expect from it. Other manufacturers, on the other hand, not only lie the 4K mark on their product, but don’t even specify the specification. In this case, you need to quickly scroll further and look for another structure in the web store.

Ambarella A12S75 2

However, EKEN does not skimp on information. No wonder, since you have to be downright proud of what kind of hardware has been packed into these cheap cameras.

The central chip of the cameras is the Ambarella A12S75, which serves in many upper-middle class solutions. The manufacturer’s name sounds good in the industry, they produce quality stuff. The Ambarella A12S75 is a SoC, or System on Chip, specifically developed for cameras. This means that essentially all of the hardware is compressed into a chip, as in the case of telephones. The muscle in the system is an ARM Cortex-A9 processor that ticks at 792 MHz. There is next to it a memory subsystem, video and image processing circuitry, and of course various sensors and interfaces.

In addition to the SoC, the Sony IMX258 sensor works. This unit converts the light incident on the optics into a processable signal stream. Operation is simple, we have a lot of sensors, the more the better. These can even be called pixels, because in a good case each sensor corresponds to one pixel in the image, in an even better case the number of pixels in the sensor is much higher than in the image, but let's not go into that now.

Sony Exmor

The point is this. Sony’s chip is relatively large, which is good because more light falls on it, less sensitive to poor light conditions. The large size numerically means a diagonal of 5,867 millimeters. The chip has an effective pixel resolution of 4224 x 3144. In contrast, desktop 4K displays or 4K televisions have a resolution of 3840 x 2160, meaning that Sony’s 13,28 effective megapixel chip far exceeds the requirements.

What does all this mean? It means that if both the chipset and the sensor are capable of 4K recording, all you need is a fast memory card and the cinema can spin!

EKEN V50 H6s 2

A few words about other abilities:

The optics are wide-angle, 170 degrees, and videos are recorded in MP4 format. The battery capacity is 1050 mAh, which is enough for an active operating time of 70-90 minutes after three hours of charging. The camera has a wifi interface, the use of which later. The maximum capacity of the memory card that can be used is 64 GB, if possible use a UHS3 card, the speed of which must be able to record 4K recordings.

EKEN V50 Pro and EKEN H6s - Cheap sports cameras with 4K resolution 1,

That difference remains only. This is nothing more than vibration reduction, and even a solution led to EIS, which can be translated into electronic image stabilization in Hungarian. I'm not going into how this works now, the point is that although both cameras are hardware-capable, only the more expensive ones got the feature. This is a very important difference between the two recorders, but why and how it affects usage will be covered a little later.


 

Accessories

It is important to say a few words about this, because we don't just get the usual soles and fasteners. The price includes some extras, such as a tripod!

EKEN V50 Pro H6s accessories 7

  • Grip or tripod - the camera comes with a small tripod that allows you to stop the recorder. The legs can be folded and used as a grip, making shooting more comfortable than gripping the camera.

EKEN V50 Pro H6s accessories 6

  • Frame - The camera comes with a waterproof case so you can mount it anywhere. But what if we don’t want to put it in a case because we want to use the built-in microphone? For this, we get a frame with a snap-on tab similar to a waterproof case, which surrounds the camera, and at the bottom we find a standard mounting point, with which we can screw it up to a large tripod or tripod.

EKEN V50 Pro H6s accessories 5

  • The camera also comes with a remote control, usually available for extra money. We can secure this to our hands with the wrist strap already mentioned above. There are only two buttons on it, with one you can take a photo, with the other you can start or stop video recording.

EKEN V50 Pro H6s accessories 2

  • Security "locked" fastener. We usually put the slide-in clip on the pendulum of the waterproof case, with which we can put the camera in the helmet rail, for example. This fastener snaps in nicely as we slide it into place, and can be removed by pushing the two ends of the snap-in rod out of the rail. In the case of the EKEN Alfawise V50 Pro, a security solution made of a softer silicone-like material (orange insert shown in the pictures) has been inserted between the two push-in sides. By folding this up, we can only slide the camera holder out of the rail, which means that the camera will not fall out by accident.

EKEN V50 Pro H6s accessories 4


 

Use

After switching on, if you have a memory card inserted, you can start recording your first video immediately. It is in front of the power button, long press turns on the camera. Then press once to switch to photo mode, press twice to enter the menu. It is important that the menu also speaks Hungarian, so it will not be a problem for those who do not speak any other foreign language. The steps in the menu items are done with the front panel buttons, while you can enter the given point and select values ​​there with the top button. You can go back from the rear with the smaller button on the right.

EKEN V50 Pro 1

The software is pretty silly. It is easy to use, but we do not have many settings. Neither contrast nor white balance, everything is done by the auto-adjusting software, unfortunately sometimes a little slow. For this reason, it may take a few moments for the light conditions to return to the scorching sunlight before the light conditions are restored.

From the menu, you can select the video resolution, which can range from 4K to 30 FPS to 1080p to 60 FPS. No 720p, I didn't miss it either, but 1080p 50 FPS could still have come in handy sometimes. The FOV, ie the camera angle, cannot be adjusted either, we can see it 170 degrees wide with it. I would have been happy if you could take it down if necessary.

EKEN V50 Pro H6s accessories 1

There is also wifi in the camera. This will be good for two things, one is the phone app and the other is the remote control. Unfortunately, in terms of remote control, wifi is the worse solution, Bluetooth would have been better because it can handle less power. In terms of usage, of course, there is no problem with the wifi connection either, but it should be noted that the switched on wifi on the camera significantly reduces the available battery life. Regardless, remote control is a great gift, as with a remote control attached to our wrist, we can start and stop recording with the camera away from us. In my case, that is, when making motorcycle videos, this is really beneficial because it is not very safe to press the buttons on the camera while driving.

 

EKEN H6s menu 1EKEN H6s menu 2
EKEN H6s menu 3EKEN H6s menu 4

 

I mentioned vibration reduction above, this is only available on the EKEN H6s in 4K / 25 FPS, 2,7K / 30 FPS, 1080p / 60 FPS and 1080p / 30 FPS modes. In terms of capabilities, it is important to highlight the Time Laps mode, in which we can make very cozy videos. The camera takes a photo at the set resolution at the intervals we specify, which is then stitched into a movie by the software. In this way, we can take spectacular, accelerated shots of clouds, sunsets, or any other subject we choose.


 

Reviews

Of course, I tested both cameras, made video and photos with them. The latter doesn’t make much sense because of the wide viewing angle, nasty barrel photos are taken. The quality is not bad, it can also be used for distant things, but do not want to capture anything up close.

EKEN V50 H6s 5

The cheaper camera does not have vibration damping, so I used it smoothly on a tour in Buda Castle, while the EKEN H6s with vibration damping got on my bike and my helmet. I promised above that I would return to this vibration damping thing. The point is, anyone who is active in sports, skiing, running, kayaking, or even motorcycling, like me, will need vibration damping to take nice smooth running shots. If you prefer hiking, you want to record your vacation, it will be without vibration damping. That is, it is worth choosing the more expensive solution for the former and the cheaper solution for the latter.

The first test video was made with the EKEN V50 Pro. An easy walk in the castle, a view of the city, and even a tiny wet rehearsal just to make it happen.

The second test was done with the EKEN H6s camera. I also edited two videos here, first placing a non-vibration-damped and a vibration-damped recording side by side in 4K resolution. It is worth watching in full screen, alternating right and left, you will see the difference.

The third video is a helmet camera city motorcycle with the EKEN H6s, this time in Zalaegerszeg.

Finally, the test images should follow. The first three in the castle were made with the EKEN V50 Pro, the second three in Zalaegerszeg with the EKEN H6s.

test photo 1ktest photo 2ktest photo 3k

 

EKEN H6s test picturesEKEN H6s test picturesEKEN H6s test pictures

 


 

Evaluation

Now that you have looked at the footage, you must have an opinion about the cameras. In me too.

Let’s start with the fact that unfortunately the cost reduction is being felt. The hardware is very good, but the software capabilities leave something to be desired. There are few adjustment options, and the V50 Pro lacks vibration damping when you are really active, such as in sports.

EKEN V50 H6s 6

The quality of the pictures and videos is good for the price, in fact, I would rather say good. I’m not saying I didn’t have a better camera in my hand, but it didn’t cost that much. Unfortunately, the software responds slowly to light changes, which can cause the image to burn out a bit in some places. Distortion is not worth examining because the 170-degree lens system makes it natural for the image to barrel. What is important, however, is that we do not see blur towards the corners or edges, or only very minimally, the image is sharp enough, the details do not blur.

EKEN V50 Pro 2

There is a very big red dot because of the accessories, which are not only good quality, but there are many. The tripod and remote control are optional accessories even on the more expensive models, so the fact that the price of the camera included these many mots is really a miracle.

Overall, I consider both cameras to be recommended for purchase. Of course, you have to take into account the price and the relationship between the service you receive for it, and I think that is very good. If you want better quality than this, look strongly above $ 100.

You can buy the cameras here:

Remember, use the EU Priority Line delivery for purchases so that your package arrives free of customs and VAT!

 

EKEN V50 Pro

Positives:

+ Reasonable price

+ Great accessories

+ Usable quality videos

+ Large, high-resolution rear display

+ Remote control

Negatives:

- Lack of vibration damping

- Silly software

 

EKEN H6s

Positives:

+ Reasonable price

+ Great accessories

+ Vibration-damped high-quality videos

+ All-metal housing

+ Front panel OLED display

+ Remote control

Negatives:

- Silly software

About the Author

s3nki

Owner of the HOC.hu website. He is the author of hundreds of articles and thousands of news. In addition to various online interfaces, he has written for Chip Magazine and also for the PC Guru. For a time, he ran his own PC shop, working for years as a store manager, service manager, system administrator in addition to journalism.