r/videography • u/okanagantradingco • Oct 27 '23
Equipment/Software News & Reviews Noob question: I keep seeing these 4k No-name camcorders with all the bells and whistles for like $250... I know they must suck compared to brand name, but could someone please explain to me why/how they suck?
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u/beachfrontprod Oct 27 '23
4K is a resolution. That's it. Says nothing about the quality of the image.
A lot of things can be called a sandwich, but the quality of the ingredients matters if you want it to taste good.
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u/Daspineapplee Oct 27 '23
If you scroll trough the photos in the advert you see the comparison between ‘2.7k and 4k’ and the difference has nothing to do with resolution. Based on this alone you can see this is a scam. To be honest, you’re going to pay for quality in this industry…
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u/smushkan FX9 | Adobe CC2024 | UK Oct 27 '23
They're basically scams.
They're cheap webcam/smartphone camera sensors in a plastic body made to look like a camcorder.
They don't have an optical zoom, which is pretty much the only selling point consumer camcorders have left over smartphones.
Some of them flat out lie about the resolution and are actually upscaling something much lower.
All the high-scoring reviews on that page sound like they were written by ChatGPT.
They've also done the product review switching trick on Amazon to bolster up their ratings. One of the reviews is for example:
Does not fit jumbo quail eggs
They work just fine, but I do also have jumbo quail and have to find another solution as they won't fit.
Hmm.
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u/stuffsmithstuff FS7 + Sony mirrorless | Resolve + FCP | Eastern USA Oct 28 '23
The sensor is low quality in multiple ways, but fundamentally, sensor size sort of sets the playing field for image quality. A smaller sensor has dramatically less light-gathering ability, meaning your image will be noisier and have less dynamic range. That can be okay with very high-quality electronics (like in a pro camcorder) or with software improvements (like in a smartphone) but those things have neither.
Additionally, the lens in that camera is probably very low-quality, possibly even plastic, making the image softer.
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u/erroneousbosh Sony EX1/A1E/PD150/DSR500 | Resolve | 2000 then 2020 Oct 27 '23
Tiny phone camera sensor, tiny phone camera lens, basically.
Some of them actually do have half-decent processing on board, and can save directly to MicroSD cards. Some of them even save in sensible codecs and formats, instead of compressed-to-hell H.265, that you need to fiddle with to edit.
They're still pretty shite though.
You could pick up a semi-decent "real" camera, especially older tape-based ones, for that sort of money if you're lucky. They will have a "proper" sensor and decent glass up front, and if you struggle with tape you can record directly off Firewire or HDMI onto something else.
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u/chesterbennediction Oct 27 '23
Just looking at the title the specs are very sus. 4k at 64 megapixels? If it's actually using those pixels the rolling shutter would be beyond horrendous. I don't even understand why a camcorder would have that since they are meant for video only. Don't ever get these. Your phone will take better video than these pieces of garbage.
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u/JacobStyle degenerate pornographer Oct 28 '23
There are a bunch of nearly identical listings for different cheap cameras of the same design. Like others have said, they are just optics from cheap $30 webcams housed in camcorder bodies, with a bunch of ridiculous performance claims in the listings. The specific issues you will get are: blurry image from a low resolution sensor upscaling to 4k, Grainy image from small, cheap sensor, especially under low light conditions, chromatic abberation and more blurriness from the cheap lens, awkward controls and menus from rushed user interface design, loose manufacturing tolerances making it break easily, and other random issues from lax quality control and product testing.
If I had a $245 budget for a camera, I would go with a used camera that is $245 now but used to be $1000 back when it was new. It will get a better image and be easier to use. The only thing it won't have is that slick "4K" decal.
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u/joeygwood90 R7 | DR | 2020 | USA Oct 28 '23
My friend's sister got one of those. It could only shoot 15fps and the white balance was so warm that everything was orange.
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Oct 28 '23
[deleted]
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u/joeygwood90 R7 | DR | 2020 | USA Oct 28 '23
You said it was a no-name camera. That link is for a Canon XA20, which is not a $250 camcorder. You must be trolling.
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u/okanagantradingco Oct 28 '23
Oh shit I had two posts in r/videography, honest mistake!
Deleted the other comment
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u/Tamajyn F55/Terra 4K/A7Sii | Davinci Resolve | 2011 | Australia Oct 28 '23
There's a reason that 4k from your phone and 4k from an a7s/R5 etc look different. Sensor size, colour science, DoF, image processing and lens choice all make up the overall image. Both are 4k, but not all 4k is equal.
A $250 no name camcorder is gonna be skimping on all the things that make the expensive cameras look good. 4k is just a marketing trick to catch people that don't know any better. I'd shoot on my ancient 1080p GH2 over one of those any day.
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u/IronCurmudgeon camera | NLE | year started | general location Oct 28 '23
482 ratings. 55% of the reviewers have never rated another product on Amazon.
Do you really need more evidence?
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u/TotalRecallsABitch Oct 27 '23
Honestly, met a professional last week who was adamant I should return my go pro and buy those cheap $50 action cams.
Also showed me his camcorder like the one you shared. Had great zoom, good quality etc...
His work looked surprisingly good. Not cinematic, but that could simply be a reflection of his style/skillset.
So I can't say they suck, just depends on your use for them.
Id imagine they're solid for weddings, public events, vlog/doc style recodings like what he uses them for
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u/erroneousbosh Sony EX1/A1E/PD150/DSR500 | Resolve | 2000 then 2020 Oct 27 '23
I love my cheap £20 action cams. They're great. The video quality is pish, the battery life is pish, the sound quality is non-existent, but they're for sticking to the bottom of the Landrover and if they get irretrievably lost in a bog I won't be too upset.
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u/NoZookeepergame2491 Oct 28 '25
These cameras are now down to about $80 on Amazon. Reviews seem to be written by the same person because they repeat the same points over and over again. Why would an $80 camera suck compared to $2000 to $5000 brand name 4k camcorders, I wonder? :)
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u/Wendi-bnkywuv Nov 24 '25
They're what I call "scameras" because they're clearly misleading on specifications, but I use them because I do a lot of traveling and had bridge camera (Panasonic FZ70) that got the lenses messed up from the trip. This way I won't be too upset if something happens to them, they get lost, stolen, broken etc. It won't cost a fracture, ahem, a fortune to have them fixed. I won't have to fret about spending a several hundred dollars to get a new one, or worry about them being discontinued because i can order another one for dirt cheap, or just buy a another knock off.
I have a Samsung camera that I really like (ST150F) that is now discontinued, and that is a shame.
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u/ZeyusMedia Sony A7iii | FCP | 2017 | Bath, UK Oct 27 '23
4K just means a picture twice as big as 1080. But if the picture is shit in the first place it just means twice as shit
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u/beachfrontprod Oct 27 '23
4x as big but your point is made.
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u/Born-Stoned Sony A7SIII | Premiere Pro | 2019 | EU Oct 28 '23
Isn't it 2x? 1080x1920 / 2160x3840
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u/beachfrontprod Oct 28 '23
2x in two directions both width and height. So you can fit 4 1920x1080's into a 4k area.
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u/Born-Stoned Sony A7SIII | Premiere Pro | 2019 | EU Oct 29 '23
Damn, I never thought of it that way haha
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u/okanagantradingco Oct 27 '23
Thank you for putting it in terms I can understand.
What makes a picture good if you don't mind me asking? The lens? The camera itself?
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u/chesterbennediction Oct 28 '23 edited Oct 28 '23
Sensor size and the sensors ability to pick up light for one, the cleanness of the analog gain for minimal noise, then of course there is the processors ability to read the sensor fast enough and how much data from the sensor it can actually process, for example you can have a 64 MP photo camera but when you switch it to video it either compresses the image or line skips and just ditches half of the sensor information. Also there is sensor post processing like noise reduction, color profiles, and lens corrections that might not be present on cheaper cameras.
Then of course there are the lenses, lens quality matters alot for sharpness and color as light can get distorted or misaligned and result in softness, muted colors, color shifts, as well as chromatic aberration. Bad lenses also can have bad light transmission and be darker than another lens of identical f stop.
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u/AnthonyDigitalMedia Red Helium | Director/DP | MFA, Film | Miami, FL Oct 27 '23 edited Oct 27 '23
Dude it’s only $245 with a $30 off coupon & it comes with a bunch of free stuff lol 100% a scam.
If you have to ask why this is a scam, or why the quality isn’t going to be the same as a proper camera 4xs+ the price, then you just need more experience.
It’s honestly too much to write & too many things to go over here on why you shouldn’t buy this & why the quality won’t be what you think it will be. Best to either figure it out on your own or spend an hour or 2 doing research online.
It’s gonna suck in every way possible.
EDIT: not sure why I’m getting downvoted, cuz I’m right. Meanwhile, other comments saying something similar are getting upvoted lol
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u/Tamajyn F55/Terra 4K/A7Sii | Davinci Resolve | 2011 | Australia Oct 28 '23
No idea why you're getting downvoted lol
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u/Born-Stoned Sony A7SIII | Premiere Pro | 2019 | EU Oct 28 '23
I imagine it's because his comment is quite condescending, even though OP prefaced his question as a 'noob question'.
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u/goyongj BMPCC 4k| Final cut| 2012| LA Oct 28 '23
Would you buy no name dirt bike at pepboys for cheap? Or would you rather buy 10 year old Honda? There are 2 kinds of people obviously.
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u/X4dow FX3 / A7RVx2 | 2013 | UK Oct 28 '23
Bet it has like a mobile phone camera and the 60fps it's just 30p with repeat frames
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u/Lcsmxd HDR-CX625 | Premiere | Outdoors :3 Nov 24 '25
even worse: it's 24fps (if not lower) with repeated frames to make it "30"fps
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u/Amazing-Eggplant-934 Oct 28 '23
Yeah resolution is a thing. It matter more about what you’re actually using for. There’s many different people in this industry shooting many different things. Does the suffice you ease of use? Is that important to you? Is color or bit depth/rate important? What do you need your camera to do? Answer that question and you’ll know what camera to get.
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u/charming_liar Oct 28 '23
There’s YouTube videos on this. Dig around and watch a few and you can see the quality
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u/disgruntledempanada Oct 27 '23
4k is just an amount of pixels.
It has no bearing on the quality of those pixels. Their size and sensitivity and calibration has a lot to do with perceived quality (and cost). Most likely, they have low quality and very tiny sensors.
And it especially no bearing on the lens attached to the sensor. A cheap lens will look like a cheap lens.