Xiaomi Yi Review

Review Xiaomi Yi Cam

Before getting started, thanks to Riccardo Concu for this review.

Hello, I leave you here my impressions about this camera from the Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi. Let’s go step by step and we start with the resolution:

VIDEO

2k: 2304×1296 30/24 fps FullHD: 1920×1080 60/48/30/24 fps HD: 1280×960 120/60/50/48 fps WVGA: 848×480 240fps

PHOTO

16Mp, 13Mp, 12Mp, 8Mp, 5Mp

SENSOR

Sony Exmor R BSI CMOS

LENS ANGLE

150º

CONECTION

WiFi, Bluetooth, Cable (Micro HDMI or USB)

BATERY

1010 mAh

The shape of the camera is very compact, with similar measurements to the GoPro, and like this it’s possible to connect with the cell phone/tablet for configuration or to download videos. It doesn’t have display, but there is a little red led that will tell us if we are in photo or video mode; when the led is on we are in recording mode, if not we will be in photo mode.

While the battery level will be indicated by the color of the power button (blue = more than 50%, purple = 50 to 15 %, red = less than 15%).

The pack, as it is usual for Xiaomi, is very simple and it just includes the camera, a battery and the micro usb cord. We will have to buy an underwater housing as an extra (I will give my personal advice about this subject at the end of this review).

WHAT I LIKED THE MOST

It’s very compact and it records very well, quite better than GoPro clones (Sjxxxx, ie). It’s very easy to use and it gets switched on fast. And also it seems that it has a high quality construction, the touch of the materials stands out. The sensor is 16Mpx, but this is not the fundamental information, in my honest opinion, the most important thing is the final quality of the image (so inside as outside of the water). In fact, it is capable to perform very well with very dirty water also (to show this I will leave you some videos from last Sunday, with an average visibility of 4 mts). But the best is, without any doubt, its quality-price ratio; it can be found in the Chinese stores for less than 70 euro!!!!

WEAK POINTS

The biggest weak point (also the same as other similar cams) that I have found is the duration of the original battery, barely one hour. The best choice, in my opinion, is to also order a battery pack (in this case the battery is 2400mA) which also is going to include a waterproof cover and some extra accessories. The total price, camera+battery pack, shouldn’t be more than 100 euro.

Another weak point could be its 150º lens angle (the image is seen far away and the fish seems smaller), anyway it has an option to avoid the spherical distortion of the image, that will reduce this effect.

CONCLUDING

For me, it has been a big surprise. I bought it during the Black Friday because I wanted something compact, but I felt in love with it. Very compact, very easy to use, with the battery pack you can record all the fishing day without any problem and an impressive quality-price ratio.

We leave here some videos to show how it behaves underwater.

Again, thanks a lot to Riccardo. And if you have any question or comment, we open a thread in the forum.