SJCam S6 Legend: New Action Camera from SJ

One of my favorite action camera companies that offers many affordable GoPro alternatives is SJ. They introduced me to their first el cheapo action camera, the wonderful SJ4000, which I've used in many videos since then. I've also enjoyed using their SJ Cam M20+, which offers good video stabilization, on a recent trip to Alaska. Now, SJ is back with yet another affordable action camera, this time offering a few more premier features, the S6 Legend.

The S6 Legend offers a few unique features: Mild or Heavy video stabilization, 4K video recording at 25 fps (sharp, but it's interpolated), touch screen controls, and a full-fledged camera app for smartphones (something GitUp is still lacking). Here's the run down on the S6 Legend specifications straight from SJCam:

Specifications
Chipset		Novatek NT96660
Image Sensor	Type	1/2.33” CMOS 16.37 MP (Panasonic MN34120PA)
	Effective Pixels	Approx. 16.36 Mega Pixels (4660 *3512)
	Output Pixels	Approx. 16.36 Mega Pixels (4660 *3512)
Lens	Focal Length	Lens f= 3mm
	F No.	F= 2.5
	F.O.V(D)	166°(H=120°  V=89°)
LCD Display		2.0 inch 240*(RGB)*320 dots wide delta color TFT LCD
Touch Screen		Support
Remote Control		Support
Viewfinder	Optical Viewfinder	No
Focusing	Type	Fixed
Exposure	Control	Programmed AE
	Compensation	±2EV (0.33 EV steps)
	ISO Equivalent	Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600,
LED	Modes	No
White Balance		Auto / Cloudy / Daylight / Incandescent
Shooting	Still Image	Modes: Single Image up to 16M
	FHD 1080P	4K( 4:3 ): 2880×2160 24ps 2K:  2560×1440  30FPS 1080P: 1920×1080  60fps 1080P: 1920×1080  30fps 720P: 1280x720P   120fps 720P: 1280x720P   60fps 720P: 1280x720P   30fps VGA: 640×480  240fps
	EIS	Support
Audio		Mic and Speaker (Mono) Equipped
External Microphone		Support
Storage	Media	Internal memory: no internal memory External memory: supporting SDIO v3.0,SD,SDHC,SDXC and UHS-1 speed
	File Format	Photo : JPEG Audio : AAC Video : H.264
	Image Size 12Mp	16M（4608×3456 4:3） 14M（4320×3240 4:3） 12M （4032×3024 4:3） 10M （3648×2736 4:3） 8M（3264×2448 4:3） 5M（2595×1944 4:3） 3M（2048×1536 4:3） 2M （1600×1200 4:3） 1M （1280×960 4:3） VGA （640×480 4:3）
Video Output
Time Lapse Function		Video: OFF / 1 Seconds / 2 Seconds / 5 Seconds / 10 Seconds / 30 Seconds / 60 Seconds
Photo Functions		Self Timer ：OFF / 1 Seconds / 2 Seconds / 5 Seconds / 10 Seconds / 30 Seconds / 60 Seconds Continuous Shooting(Burst Rate) ：OFF / 3 P/s / 5 P/s / 10 P/s Auto Shooting ：OFF / 3 Seconds / 5 Seconds / 10 Seconds / 30 Seconds / 60 Seconds
Others Function		Motion Detection：Off / Low / Medium / High Dual Files ：On / OFF Loop Record ：OFF / 2 Min. / 3 Min. / 5 Min. Sharpness ：Strong / Noraml / Soft White Balance ：Auto / Daylight / Cloudy/ Tungsten / Fluorescent / EV Value：-2.0 / -1.7 / -1.3 / -1.0 / -0.7 / -0.3 / 0.0 / +0.3 / +0.7 / +1.0 / +1.3 / +1.7 / +2.0
Language		English | French | German | Spanish | Italian | Portuguese | Simplified Chinese | Japanese | Traditional Chinese | Russian|Korean| Romanian | Polish | Czech | Slovak | Hungarian | Danish
Interface		USB 2.0 : Recharging/File Transfer
Power Source		Li-ion rechargeable Battery 1050mAH
Accessories		Car power adaptor, Mount, USB Cable, HDMI Cable, AV Cable
Dimensions (W*H*D)		L: 59mm,  W: 41mm,  H:21mm(with lens part will be 29mm)

Note the image sensor is MN34120PA  (capable of 16MP photos, produced by Panasonic, and is the same as used in the SJ5000+) and the chipset is the Novatek 96660 (good chipset, also found in GitUp2 action camera). There's also 120fps at 720p, and 2k at 30 fps. Finally, there is also support for a Mic-in, allowing you to use an external microphone! Battery size seems a little bit larger than the ones used in SJ4000 and GitUp2.

Accessories included with the SJ6 Legend include the usual array of chargers and mounts. All are compatible with GoPro mounts and they fit in quite nicely. The waterproof case features a solid design, with a tighter locking mechanisms than I have seen on many other action camera cases. I wore the SJ6 Legend on my headmount and on my GoPro stabilizer grip without any problems or slippage. There is also a SJCam app, which I used on Android, and it connected up to the SJ6 Legend easily, without crashes or other errors.

Video quality is good for the SJCam S6 Legend and comparable to other similarly priced action cameras. You can see in my indepth comparison video how it adds up against the GitUp2, SJ Cam M20+, and Firefly 7S. To summarize, it has wonderful gyro stability (basically just as good as GitU2, which is high praise!), but photo quality and video vividness seems to be a little behind the M20+ and Firefly 7S. It does absolutely demolish the Firefly 7S in terms of video stability, using either mild or heavy gyro options (good job SJ!). You'll notice the colors seem a little more depressed and less saturated than the M20+, although a little quick contrast and saturation editing seemed to fix this. Additionally (and this is true for most electronic image stabilization systems), the video sharpness does drop off with gyro usage, but not too noticeably. Turning up the bitrate under camera options did seem to improve detail considerably. Overall, the video quality is good and will look just fine on YouTube. Audio quality is decent, and there is options for FPV/video out, which would make this a solid FPV camera as well (haven't tried this feature yet).

The touch-screen menu is fairly intuitive and works quite well. It's also possible to browse the menu without using the touch screen interface, which is a huge plus while using the waterproof case. The playback and the recommended SJCam app both function well, allowing for remote control of the camera and viewing the footage on the fly. I wish the audio alerts to on/off recording were a little more clear, as I did have a couple of missed moments due to the inaudible beeps. There is a lot of video and photo options in the menu, allowing for photography and videography fans to go wild adjusting the EV, ISO, white balance, etc, as well as a few preset options like underwater mode.

Sample photos:

Overall, I am pleased with SJ's latest camera. The S6 Legend offers excellent touch-screen controls with great gyro-stabilized video. I wish the 4K was true, and not interpolated, and that the image quality was just a little more sharp. Otherwise, it's a great camera and another solid addition to the SJ line of cameras.

Buy S6 Legend online: http://bit.ly/2mOOKYi
Review sample provided by Gearbest

Author : iWalton

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