ELE Explorer K RexSO Action Camera Review: Better 4K EIS at a lower price?

ELE Explorer K REXSO Action Camera Review

Almost exactly two years ago (has it been that long?) I reviewed ELE's first major action camera, the ELE Explorer. I really enjoyed using it, and even more so enjoyed using it's big brother, the ELE Explorer Pro several months later. I felt the Explorer Pro actually rivaled the very popular GitUp2 camera, surprisingly!
Fast forward to 2018. My ELE Pro stopped working after a few hard landings (my fault, not the cameras) and I don't use the ELE Explorer anymore, as its been outdated for some time. However, ELE (Elephone, such an interesting name), has since come out with a brand new action camera, the ELE REXSO Explorer K. Key feature that got me excited? 4K 30FPS footage, STABILIZED! Alright, let's see how this new, budget-priced camera works. And, how does it compare to the other brand-new 4K stabilized camera that I just reviewed, the ThiEye T5 Edge?

Specifications:

These are straight from the Elephone website. REXSO is a new "sub-brand" of ELE. A little while back, I thought ELE renamed itself as MGCool (or a sub-brand), however recently it seems to be back to ELE again. It's hard to keep track of all these different brands!

General

Model: Explorer K
Chipset: HiSilicon HI3559 (seems to be a new one, haven't seen it widely used in other action cameras)
Sensor: Panasonic MN34120 (notice this the same as the popular GitUp 2 image sensor)

Display

Screen size: 2.0inch LCD
Screen resolution: Resolution 320*240

Power

Battery Type: Lithium battery
Battery Capacity (mAh): 1200mAH
Charge way: USB2.0
Working Time: About 90 min at 1080P 30FPS
Charging Time: 2 hours

Primary Info

Wide Angle: 170 degree
Camera Pixel: 16M/12M/8M/5M
Lens Diameter: 18MM

Video/Image/Audio

Decode Format: H.265/H.264
Video format: MP4
Video Resolution: 4K@30fps/2K@60fps/1080P@60fps/1080P@30fps/720P@120fps
Microphone: Double Mics

Functions

WIFI: YES
WiFi Distance: 10M- 15M
Waterproof: YES
Water Resistant: 30M
Night vision : support
Anti-shake: Six-ais Electronic image stabilization (And this works on not just the 1080p, but also the 4K!)
Aerial Photography: support

Dimension and Weight

Product weight: 64.5g
Product size: 59*41*21.3mm

Package

1 x Waterproof case
1 x Bicycle Bracket
1 x Back clip
1 x fixed base
1 x clip
1 X Switch Support 1
1 X Switch Support 2
1 X Switch Support 3
1 x J-shaped Mount
1 X commutator
2 X Helmet pedestal
2 x bandage
4 x ribbon 2 x 3M Adhesive Tape
1 x wire cable
1 x USB Cable
1 x Cleaning Cloth
1 x User manual

Storage

Max External Card Supported: 128G
Class Rating Requirements:at least a U3(90MB/s) microSDXC memory card 32GB-64GB

Language

English, France,Espanol,Deutsch, Portugues, Italiano, Chinese,Traditional Chinese, Japan, Russian,Korea, Polski, Vietnam

Performance:
I have taken the ELE REXSO Explorer K out on a variety of recent outdoor trips, hiking, offroading, rock hounding, snorkeling, and more. Conditions ranged from quite sunny to a little overcast. The photos and video you will see below is untouched - stock settings, EIS typically on, no post-processing of the colors or contrast. 

The camera menu is pretty easy to navigate. There isn't a ton of settings, unlike the ThiEye T5 Edge, and it appears EIS is on by default (which doesn't bother me, but I couldn't find a way to turn it off if I wanted to). I never encountered any issues with the camera freezing or crashing on me, unlike the T5 Edge (happened once with it). I did end up splitting my 4K quadcopter footage into loop segments, making it easier to edit (rather than one big, slow file). The video footage on 4K with EIS is quite sharp and detailed, comparable to other popular 4K cameras. It actually looks better, more natural, than the Thi Eye T5 Edge. Additionally, the EIS is better that the T5 Edge. I'm quite pleased with the 4K footage on the Explorer K and will likely keep using it for some time. 

I also tried out the time-lapse mode -- with adjustable video/second. Looked just fine! Finally, I did extensive comparison of the 1080p footage to other popular cameras - the T5 Edge, T5E, and Firefly 8S. I don't know what it is with both the T5 Edge and the REXSO Explorer K, but the 1080p footage is not impressive at all. Both the T5E and the Firefly 8S surpass them in terms of 1080p detail and quality. It seems some of the more affordable 4K EIS cameras sacrifice 1080p video quality in their quest for better 4K EIS options. 

Photos are crisp and detailed on the Explorer K, no complaints there. Colors came out fairly natural as well. There is an older ELE app available for remote control of ELE cameras, but I'm not sure if this particular subbrand, REXSO, works with it.

Lastly, people tend to ask about audio quality - even though 99% of the time I use these action cameras in their waterproof cases. The REXSO Explorer K has very poor audio, near impossible to hear yourself on it.

Don't get the wrong impression - the REXSO is definitely a better 4K EIS camera than the other budget alternative, the T5 EDGE. It is easy to use, is at an excellent price point, and has great 4K footage.

Sample Footage:

Conclusion:

ELE has another winner on their hands with the REXSO Explorer K action camera. It seems to be better off than its nearest budget 4K competitor, the ThiEye T5 Edge, not just in terms of 4K EIS footage, but also in terms of a very affordable price. It's not a camera to rely on for 1080p footage or for audio recording, but otherwise it's an excellent, affordable action camera for 4K footage, and demonstrates just how far these cameras have come in a few short years. 

Buy ELE  Explorer K REXSO action camera online: http://bit.ly/2DteDsr

Best BUDGET 4K Action Camera 2017? ThiEye T5E Review

 ThiEye T5E

For budget action cameras, 4K video resolution has traditionally been out of reach. For the < $150 range, most cameras really only do 1080p, and occasionally offer subpar 4K (often either unusably low FPS rates, and/or “fake” 4K resolution with interpolation tricks). The closest bet so far for a “affordable” action camera is the Yi 4K, which I absolutely love, priced around $200. After that, you are looking at $400 for the GoPro Hero 5 Black, which is certainly not a bargain.

Enter the ThiEye T5E (https://tinyurl.com/thieyecam). Not only does this camera feature true 4K resolution at 30fps, it also comes in at a stunningly low price, a little over $100. When I first heard about the camera, I was fairly skeptical, given the poor track record of bargain cameras offering high-quality 4K footage. Thanks to Gearbest, I was hooked up with a review sample of the ThiEye T5E and put it through its paces. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised with its performance and I think you will be too!

Features

Not only can the ThiEye T5E shoot 4k at 30FPS, it also offers 1080p at 60 fps AND 120 FPS, in addition to several other resolutions. It offers a viewing LCD on the back, WiFi connectivity with a dedicated app for remote control, and 12MP photos. The image sensor is the IMX117, a powerful sensor that is the same as the latest SJCam (7) model and is capable of true 4K. Here is a complete list of the specification for ThiEye T5E:

Specification

General	Brand: ThiEYE Model: T5e Type: Sports Camera Type of Camera: 4K Chipset Name: Ambarella Chipset: Ambarella A12LS75 Sensor: CMOS Sensor size (inch): 1/2.3 Function: WiFi,Time Lapse,Waterproof Application: Extreme Sports,Underwater,Ski
Storage	Max External Card Supported: SDHC 64G (not included)
Display	Screen: With Screen Screen size: 2.0inch Screen type: TFT Screen resolution: 320x240
Power	Battery Type: External Battery Capacity (mAh): 1100mAh Charge way: USB charge by PC Working Time: 80min at 4K / 30fps, 100min at 1080P Standby time: 4h Charging Time: 2h
Primary Info.	Wide Angle: 170 degree wide angle Camera Pixel : 12MP Lens Diameter: 2.8mm
Video/Image/Audio	Video format: MP4 Video Resolution: 1080P (100fps),1080P(30fps), 1080P(60fps),1440P (30fps),1440P (60fps),4K (30fps),720P(200fps) Video Frame Rate: 100fps,200fps,30FPS,60FPS Image Format : JPEG Audio System: Monophony Exposure Compensation: +2EV,-2EV White Balance Mode: Auto,Cloudy,Daylight,Incandescent Microphone: Built-in
Functions	WIFI: Yes WiFi Function: Image Transmission,Remote Control,Sync and Sharing Albums WiFi Distance : 10m Waterproof: Yes Waterproof Rating : IP68 ( 60m, with waterproof case ) Loop-cycle Recording : Yes Loop-cycle Recording Time: 1min,2min,3min,5min Night vision : No Remote Control: Yes Camera Timer: Yes Time lapse: Yes Auto Focusing: Yes Anti-shake: Yes Aerial Photography: Yes Interface Type: HDMI,USB 2.0 Language: Arabic,Dutch,French,German, Indonesian,Italian,Japanese,Korean,Polski,Portuguese, Russian,Simplified Chinese,Spanish,Swedish,Traditional Chinese
Dimension/Weight	Product weight: 0.0580 kg Package weight: 0.4210 kg Product size (L x W x H): 6.00 x 4.00 x 3.00 cm / 2.36 x 1.57 x 1.18 inches Package size (L x W x H): 17.00 x 11.00 x 6.00 cm / 6.69 x 4.33 x 2.36 inches
Package Contents	Package Contents: 1 x T5e Action Camera, 1 x Multi-language User Manual, 1 x Wiper, 2 x 1100mAh Battery, 1 x USB Cable, 1 x Pack of Accessories, 1 x Waterproof Case

Accessories

ThiEye T5E comes with considerably less accoessires than many other action cameras. Just the basics, including a few adhesive pads, charging cable, microfiber cloth, mount bracket, and instruction manuel. Fortunately, it also comes with two nice goodies: a solid waterproof case, and not just one but two action camera batteries! This is the first action camera I’ve reviewed that offers a backup battery. It’s worth noting the batteries are not cross compatible with other action cameras such as the GitUp2 or SJCam (ThiEye T5E’s batteries are a little too large). Of note, the Yi 4K action camera DOES NOT come with its own waterproof case (strangely).

Performance

ThiEye T5E adventured with me on a variety of recent hiking, drone flying, and outdoor trips. Overall, it performed excellently, and helped me get superb footage under different conditions. The audio quality (something I don’t typically worry about as I almost always replace it with music) is also quite good., when recording outside of the case. I recorded at several different resolutions and found them all to look great, especially the 4K. In fact, in head to head comparisons between the ThiEye T5E and the Yi 4K camera, I seriously couldn’t see a major difference, certainly not one to justify the significant price difference. In some tests, the ThiEye T5E images looked a little bit sharper than the Yi 4k.This really impressed me, and speaks volumes of how nice this budget 4K camera is. I notice much image quality loss, even with uploading to YouTube. You’ll notice in my video review that it’s set to 1080p; I took all the 4K footage and rendered it down to 1080p for editing purposes, but you can certainly keep it at 4k if you wish.

A couple of critques I did note: On my very first trip with ThiEye T5E, I encountered a SD card formatting error, requiring me to reformat when I returned home. That was frustrating, but after reformatting the microSD, I haven’t had any issues.

The gyro stabilization is definitely less intense than the SJCam S6 Legend or GitUp2. I wouldn’t rely on ThiEye T5E as your primary drone camera if you are flying with a non-gimbal drone like the Hubsan H501s. On land, it does a decent job though. Just like the Yi 4k camera, the EIS gyro feature is only available at 1080p, 60 fps; not at 4K.

The menu on the ThiEye T5E is a weak point-it’s usable but otherwise uninspired and clunky. While several action cameras have recently offered innovative menu designs (Yi 4K, SJCam M20+, etc), the ThiEye T5E menu is a throwback to older, less easy to navigate menus. It’s simply listed under settings, with multiple “frames” to scroll through, requiring a lot of clicking to edit settings. It gets the job done, but isn’t fun to navigate through it.

Photos looked very sharp and crisp, capturing both dark and light environments well. Additionally, the WiFi dedicated app worked great. I didn’t have crashes or problems operating it on my Android smartphone. I was able to remotely operate the camera with ease and review playback videos without an issue.

Video Review

4K Test

Audio for on/off recording is nicely audible even through the case. The camera boots up fairly fast, and I didn’t have issues with lost footage (thinking I was recording when I really wasn’t due to audio errors). The camera itself features a solid build, with a nice locking switch for the battery. The waterproof case and other accessories have nice design and feel high-quality. Overall, the accessories are solid, and the video quality is excellent.

Conclusion

ThiEye T5E action camera is a relatively unknown camera on the action camera scene, but I think you are going to see a LOT about it soon. Once word gets out about how nice it is, for such an affordable price, you can bet you’ll see it in YouTube videos frequently. It reminds me of the excitement around the GitUp2, still a solid camera, from a newcomer on the camera scene, that absolutely took off once everyone found it. ThiEye T5E’s high quality true 4K footage, plus perfect price point, almost guarantees it will be a success. This isn’t the only ThiEye model, expect to see more innovative cameras from these folks soon! Let me know if you have any questions about the ThiEye T5E camera, either through my YouTube review, or below. You can buy ThiEye T5E through Gearbest here: https://tinyurl.com/thieyecam
Other action cameras: http://bit.ly/2m6Ao4e