An Action Camera is one of the few missing elements among my travel gears. For this reason, recently I started to evaluate and compare some of them in order the identify the one to buy, the one to take with me on all my future trips. Analysing the online market, YI showed up to be the best brand in terms of quality/price. This is the Yi Discovery review, the entry-level camera of Yi Technologies.
YI Discovery Review
Why this review? Is not better to get directly a GoPro? Among the most famous brands of action camera, as said before, Yi Technologies is the one that can offer the cameras with the best quality/price factor. Their high-end camera is sold on Amazon with a prize that goes from 220€ up to 270€, half of the price of a GoPro Hero 6.
In this case, I bought the Yi Discovery for only 40€.
This new Yi Discovery is entering the market with a more than aggressive price, that’s why I decided to test it out to understand its value or its limits. In this case, the line between a good low price camera and a crap low-cost rebranded camera it’s really thin.
Materials 2,5/5
The body of the Yi Discover is all made of plastic, a soft plastic that with the time (even few weeks) will keep all the bumps and the signs. From the other side, the camera has a nice touchscreen display, that’s working more than fine.
Construction 4/5
Even if the materials are cheap the construction of the camera is really good. It’s always really solid, even after some major drop. The buttons have a solid feeling along with the nice touchscreen in the back.
Photos 3/5
Photos are one of the weak points of this camera, the quality in good light is barely acceptable, the slow shutter will generate some blurred photos if your hands are not perfectly stable. Low light photos are not usable because of the high noise and the low details. But we are still talking of a 40€ camera, the wide-angle lens is still bright and with the good light and a tripod you will be still able to take some enjoyable picture.
Videos 4/5
Videos in 720p(90 fps) or 1080p (60 fps) are fluid and enjoyable, the quality and the details with good light are more than good, really fluid and with balanced colours (the 4k is not really usable). The audio is the main problem because is not at the same level of the video quality. Of course, the videos are not stabilized.
Interface/App 4,5/5
I love the YI App, it has a really fresh and easy to use design and the configuration of single or multiple cameras it really takes 1 minute. The app is working perfectly both on iOS and on Android with the possibility of a remote control with live view (a bit of lag).
Price 4,5/5
The price of this Yi Discovery is stable under 50€, one of the lowest in its category. Especially if you take in consideration the touch screen and the video quality. Of course, at this price materials are an expected sacrifice.
Conclusions 4/5
Is it worth to buy a camera of 40€?
Well, it depends on the use that you want to do with it. In most of the cases, if you want to use the photos and the videos for a personal use, or social media use their quality can be good and more than acceptable. But if you’re taking your social media seriously or you run some website or you just need the photos videos for professional uses I would go with a higher end camera.
The Yi Discovery is perfect for beginners that are trying to get into the world of the sport or adventure photography.
