Sjcam SJ7 Star - Review 2022 - Chambliss Waregs

The Sjcam SJ7 Star ($199.99) delivers premium looks and features at a price that's half of the loftier-finish GoPro Hero5 Black. The svelte action camera is housed in an aluminum enclosure, which gives it a solid feel and a sleek look. Video quality is potent, with good dynamic range and crisp details. Only 4K footage isn't stabilized, as it is with our Editors' Choice low-cost action camera, likewise from Sjcam, the $160 SJ6 Legend.

Pattern

The SJ7 Star feature an attractive ii-tone design. Information technology's matte blackness plastic on the front, with the frame surrounding the camera featuring a natural aluminum cease. If you're not a fan of the look, you can also get information technology with a silver front to friction match the frame. It's small, at one.6 by 2.four past ane.2 inches (HWD), and low-cal, at ii.6 ounces. The aluminum frame certainly makes the camera feel solid, only information technology gets very hot when recording longer clips.

The torso isn't waterproof on its ain, but a 100-foot (30-meter) waterproof case is included. The instance has a standard GoPro mount, and includes a tripod adapter too equally a mounting cage with a standard tripod thread. This is in dissimilarity to the SJ6 Legend, which includes the same type of case, but likewise sports a tripod socket on its body.

There are iii control buttons, Settings and Power on the front end and Tape on the summit. They're supplemented with a touch interface that makes the photographic camera quite easy and intuitive to operate. Swipe left or correct to switch betwixt video and photo capture; swipe up from the bottom to access more avant-garde modes, like time-lapse, flare-up capture, and looping; and swipe down from the height to access Wi-Fi and playback options.

The LCD itself is 2 inches in size. It occupies nigh the entirety of the rear, with a bezel surrounding it. It doesn't accept the highest resolution, merely 230k dots, merely squeezed into the pocket-size frame it looks precipitous enough to my eye. Viewing angles are good, and the display is bright enough to see on a sunny day every bit long as the sun isn't hitting information technology straight. It'south actually just there to let you set options and frame a shot, and does a fine job for both.

The SJ7 ships with a big accessory bundle. In addition to the same cases, you get an assortment of articulating mounting arms, a handlebar mount, adhesives mounts, and a buckle mount.

Connectivity

Sjcam SJ7 Star : App The SJ7 uses an older style mini USB port for data transfer and charging. It seems a bit out of place, specially when you consider how the industry is already moving from micro USB to USB-C as a standard. Y'all only go about fifty minutes of 4K recording per charge, which is on the short side. The SJ6 netted 75 minutes and the Wimius L1 gets you 100 minutes.

At that place's also a micro HDMI connexion, so y'all can connect the camera to a Television set. Video is saved to microSD cards; the slot is exposed on the side, a typical design choice among low-cost activity cameras.

You can command the SJ7 remotely via Wi-Fi, and besides transfer video and images directly to a smartphone. You'll need to download the free Sjcam app, bachelor for Android and iOS, and connect your phone to the SJ7's Wi-Fi network. The camera doesn't show the network password on its main screen as others practice, but it'southward piece of cake to recall—12345678. You can change the password if yous want one that'south more secure.

Video Quality and Features

The SJ7 supports 4K capture at 30fps. Video is high quality, showing wider dynamic range and crisper detail than the SJ6. There are some reasons for this—the SJ7 records 4K natively, where the SJ6 uses interpolation to net its elevation resolution; and the SJ7 compresses footage at 60Mbps, improve than the 25Mbps used by the SJ6. Neither looks as good every bit the Sony FDR-X3000, which records optically stabilized 4K video at 100Mbps.

Y'all see more than details in the heaven in our driving test footage with the SJ7, where cameras with poorer dynamic range evidence a white sky rather than a bluish heaven with white clouds. Sound quality is besides quite strong, picking up voices clearly. An optional external USB microphone is available.

But while the overall quality of the 4K footage recorded by the SJ6 isn't quite as good as the SJ7, it does accept one big plus—digital stabilization. The SJ7 doesn't offer it when recording in 4K, and then handheld video is going to appear jittery unless you invest in a gimbal or other stabilization device. You lot'll demand to drop down to 1080p resolution to cyberspace smooth video past hand.

In improver to 4K at 30fps, you can record 25fps 4K footage in SuperView mode, which increases barrel distortion but captures more than information at the top and bottom of the frame. I'd accept preferred to see this at a 24fps charge per unit, but the 25fps PAL video standard is adequately close in look to the picture palace-standard 24fps capture rate.

Other options include 2.7K at 30fps, 2.5K at 60 or 30fps, 1440p at 60 or 30fps, 1080p and 960ps at 120, 60, or 30fps, and 720p at 240, 120, 60, or 30fps. SuperView is also available at 2.7K, at 30fps only, at 1080p at up to 60fps, and at 720p at up to 120fps. SuperView always features an ultra-wide field of view, typical of activeness camera design, but in all other modes yous can set the camera to a Wide, Medium, or Narrow field of view.

All the same paradigm quality is solid. You don't get the Raw capture option that's bachelor in the SJ6, simply the 16MP JPG output shows crisp details. It'due south on the noisy side, even under bright light, but that'south typical for an activity camera. Distant subjects don't bear witness every bit much detail; grassy reeds from our exam image don't appear as distinct as they do in existent life. Only the ultra-wide nature of the lens and their distance from it play a big part in that result. It's the nature of the beast.

Conclusions

The Sjcam SJ7 Star is a solid option for videographers who don't desire to spend $400 on a top-cease GoPro, just also don't want to requite up absolute video quality. At twice the price, the Hero5 Black has some advantages, including a blueprint that's waterproof without an external case and ProTune video that'south more versatile for color grading. You should also remember that the YI 4K+ is out there if yous accept a large budget and desire to shoot 4K at 60fps.

But at $200, the SJ7 Star is a adept performer and value. I would've liked to encounter digital stabilization at 4K, a feature included in the Sjcam SJ6 Legend, just it is bachelor at 1080p. We've named the SJ6 equally our Editors' Choice choice, despite the SJ7 recording video that'southward a bit amend in absolute quality. It's $40 less expensive, boast longer bombardment life and a tripod socket, and can shoot handheld 4K footage without the jittery expect you become sans stabilization.