Olfi - 4K Gyro Stabilised camera for £120? Yes Please

Hi folks,

if you seen my post the other day then you know that I'm hunting out new action cams. Having a constant feeling of 'not quite worth the money' with GoPro I've looked elsewhere as I'm not into filling their share holders coffers anymore.

@handyandy kindly sent me a Drift Ghost-S to try out and whilst it's not 4K it's definitely good quality and easier to use than the Hero4 Black.

A friend pointed me towards Olfi. Brand new British developed 4K action cam. Three things made me leap out of my seat. Price is £149.99 or £119.99 if you pre-order before the end of the month. Sensor is a back lit Sony Exmor! Which would mean matching colour between cameras would be easier (my main cameras are Sony). and three the fact it's gyro stabilised! Something that GoPro will put in their next camera and add £100 to the price for. Oh and it also shoots in cinema frame rate of 24fps. Check out my Belter videos on my site if you want to see what that looks like. Way nicer than 25fps, 30fps, 50fps etc etc.

I've ordered one after poring over the specs and speaking to Olfi on the phone. I'll do a direct comparison for everyone with the Olfi, Hero4Black and Drift this week.

I was hesitant about posting this before I've used the camera myself but judging by the footage on the Olfi YT channel it's really bloody good. I also didn't want any folks here who might be looking for a camera to miss out on the pre order. Check out www.olfi.co.uk

It was this gyro clip that convinced me. Look at the line of the car door and how there's no rolling shutter (wobble/jelly effect) then check out the mountains in the final shot. No rolling shutter!

 

Just to add I'm not knocking GoPro they are very good cameras but knowing they make over 50% on each camera makes me wonder why £409 isn't £200/250.

 

I've just shot them an e-mail. They say the shipping date is the 29th of this month but I leave for Scotland on the 27th. Hopefully they can sort something out, I'd love to take one with me.

 

No external mic port on the Olfi.

Looks good if you don't need one of those though!

 

This is the only downside if you want to do some vlogging but to be honest it's not a massive put off for me as I would externally record audio anyway and sync it in post.

Chap said they would be posting a motocross edit tonight which is recorded with open back.

 

Yeah, I find it more convenient to use the mic port on the drift so you can more spontaneously record than carrying around external gear. Looks like a great package though.

I'm not sold on this form factor particularly though. As an angle cam, the gopro session seems like less faff, albeit less functionality.

I've not really any desire to film at 4k just yet. The price is very tempting though!

 

*edit*
Seen their Twitter page and they say the same. £115 for this kit is cracking value over a Hero 4. The only question is how will a Hero 5 up the ante (and cost!)

 

Hero 5 will have gyro stabilisation and shoot at higher frame rates in 4k and below for slow motion. That's about it. Guaranteed it will cost over £500.

They are releasing Karma which is their version of a drone that's their big push at the minute.

I had a long chat with Olfi and I hope they succeed as GoPro Hero4 Blacks don't cost as much to make as theirs. They just aren't trying to make over 60% on each unit.

 

BDTD I ordered one that evening, exceptional value for what was offered makes a GP (despite being the industry standard) seem as you say slightly overpriced

Do you have a delivery date?

 

Today! Sometime between 1501 and 1601. I did mention I was after one sharpish to use on a project for my site.

 

Never heard of this make let us know how you find it for your project BDTD

 

Just got home to this

 

Snap. Told them I'd like one sharpish for my Scotland trip next week. They also asked me to keep quiet about it... But as BDTD has already posted a pic .

 

Think i need to treat myself to one of these.

 

Dang it!
Ash, in a month I'm moving back to Bury so I hope you'll get another battery ordered for some long rides

 

When you spoke over the phone did they mention any expected dates for their iOS / Droid App?

 

Any chance of first impressions from you early recipients before they release and increase the price?

 

Does it come with memory card or internal memory?

 

MicroSD – Compatible with class 10 or higher MicroSD cards up to 64gb

 

Soooo this have a real gyroscope gimbal inside? For full angle correction and levelling?

Or a 10 degree floating lens

Also vid quality compared to the hero session or the £80 hero?

Issue with audio at all?