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True 4k 30fps with stabilisation. 2.35" Touch screen. Blutooth remote. Sharp and saturated results but let down by significant colour fringing in the corners from the cheap lens. EIS works very well at 4k. 1080P not so good with poor sharpness unfortunately.

GitUP F1

Sony IMX317 maybe

Ambarella A12
This is a superior quality flat-form 4k 30fps action camera. Has excellent image stabilisation at 1080 resolution and sparkling clear 4k recording. Would benefit from more subtle image adjustment options but otherwise it is amazing. Has PWM control which means it can be operated from your RC transmitter.
Review Video

GitUp F1 product page

True 4K Cameras based on

Sony IMX117 sensor and Ambarella A12 chip
Price Range A$200 to A$120 (US$150 to US$90)

The cameras in this group are all very high quality with almost identical image quality. True 4K 30fps with EIS at 1080 60P. Smooth tonal gradations and natural colours. Audio can be muddy and slightly out of sync. Firmware updates may have improved this. All highly recommended. My current favourites are the Fireflys.

BEST GOPRO COMPETITOR UNDER $200

Firefly 8SE 170º Touch Screen

Best of the A12 chip Sony 117 sensor cameras.
Improved audio quality and sync, comes with external microphone.
Superior video and photo quality. Can use touch screen and manual navigation buttons.
Available with 170º or 90º lens.
Review 1 Unboxing
Review 2 Results
Banggood

Firefly 8S 170º

Banggood 170º - https://bit.ly/2vJ3H3R

Firefly 8S 90º

Banggood 90º - https://bit.ly/2w0RsPs

Firefly External Microphone - https://bit.ly/2B899Cn

Gearbest 170º or 90º - http://shrsl.com/140w1

Foxeer Legend 3

Sony IMX117

Ambarella A12

Superior quality True 4K flat-form action cam with a very useful OLED screen. Very similar quality to all the other cameras using this chip and sensor

Review Video

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SJCAM SJ7 (Touch screen)

Great quality video, touch screen, metal housing

ThiEYE T5e

Same great quality video with no touch screen giving lighter weight, longer battery life

Eken V8s

Pan MN34110 14MP sensor

Ambarella A12 chip
This is a true 4k 25fps action cam with full time Electronic Image Stabilisation. Smooth and natural colours and decent audio with no sync problems. Not quite as sharp as the best but still very good.
Review
GEARBEST

Mid Range

Good performers, less expensive, usually not true 4k

Price Range A$180 to A$130 (US$140 to US$90)

The cameras in this range are usually not true 4K but capable of an interpolated 4k output. That means the lower resolution video is increased by the software. Video results are sharp but often too contrasty.

BEST NON 4K ACTION CAMERA

SJCAM SJ6

Panasonic MN34120PA

Novatek NT96660 chip
Best quality mid range camera with rear touch screen and front info screen. Exactly the same size as the GoPro3 but 10g heavier at 82g. Gyro image stabilisation works very well.
Review

GEARBEST

Firefly 8

Sony IMX117 sensor

Novatek NT96660 chip
Good mid range action cam if you like lots of contrast. It uses the high end Sony IMX117 sensor but matched with the lower spec Novatek 96660 chip. That means it cant do 4k 30fps but it does have good quality audio.
Review video

GEARBEST

SJCAM M20

Sony IMX206 sensor

Novatek 96660 chip
This is the camera I use for the wide angle workbench views in all my reviews.
Much cheaper and better results than my GoPro 3+ Silver. Vibrant colours and sharp video and great still images too. Video Out for FPV, gyro image stabilization,
Review
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Elephone REXSO Explorer K

Panasonic MN34120

HiSilicon HI3559
Good image quality but focussed closer than infinity, OK for close in action. Audio not great.
Review
GEARBEST

ThiEYE V5s

OmniVision OV4689 4MPx sensor

Allwinner chipset
A unique 4K 30fps action cam with UV and polarising filters included.
Build quality and accessories are excellent. Image quality is good but I had audio problems on my iMac and firmware upgrades are limited to PC.
Review
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Cameras based on

Sony IMX078 sensor and Novatek 96660 chip

There are many cameras based on this combination of sensor and chip. They all have similar video quality which is very good for the price. Can be contrasty and over sharpened, with noticeable posterisation, pink banding and compression artefacts in areas of smooth blue sky. Better than the cheapest options.

SJ5000 Elite

Sony IMX078 sensor

Novatek 96660 chip
Another very good 2K 12Mpx action cam. Quite contrasty results.

Review video
SJCAM

Andoer AN5000

Sony IMX078 sensor
Novatek 96660 chip

Comes with an excellent storage case, heaps of accessories and spoken mode settings.
The image quality is better than you would expect for the price of the camera. Video and stills are very sharp with contrasty and saturated colours. The down side is that the cheap lens produces a lot of colour fringing and occasional pink banding in blue sky.
Review video
TOMTOP

Andoer AN300 flip screen

Sony IMX078 sensor

Novatek 96660 chip
Unique flip screen version of the AN5000 with the same image quality
Review video
TOMTOP

Firefly 7S 90º lens

Sony IMX078 sensor

Novatek 96660 chip
Great if you want the narrower field of view. Less distortion than the full 170º fisheye cameras.
Review video
GEARBEST

4K UHD Sports cam

Sony IMX078 sensor

Novatek 96660 chip

Very similar to all the above mid range cameras.

TOMTOP

Onboard HD and FPV cameras.
Flat form, Splits and Cube

MOBIUS flat form cameras

Aptina AR0330 sensor

Novatek 96650 chip (possibly - according to dashcamtalk.com)

I love the Mobius cameras, simple cheap and great video results. Only 1080 30fps but the video looks better than most alternatives. Audio is Loud and there are lots of video adjustments available in the setup.

Beware when buying, there are many inferior fakes out there. The following links are verified sellers.

Mobius C2 is my most used onboard camera (widest FOV)

Mobius D for hatcam (narrower FOV)

Works very well with external microphone mod

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Mobius Mini

Great little camera, 1080 60fps video, narrower 110º angle of view. Pefect for hatcam and onboard flight recording. Works for FPV as well. Useful for onboard smaller models that wouldn't handle the full sized Mobius with the added bonus of 60fps. WDR is not great, best for sunny days

Purchase

Mobius Maxi

This is the big brother to the Mobius Mini, with an M12 lens available in 135º or 150º versions, bigger battery, Image stabilisation, G-Sensor image flip, Time-lapse photos, WiFi and PC setup apps (no Apple apps yet) and setup via FPV screen. 1080 60fps video gives the best image quality but it also does 2.7K 30fps and 4K 24fps. Audio is excellent but image quality is not up to the Mobius D and C2 versions unfortunately. Not as sharp or saturated, and anything above 1080P looks flat, grainy and blocky. Not really a good upgrade to the Mobius D and C2.
Review Video
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Firefly Q6

Sony IMX078 sensor

Novatek 96660 chip
Very sharp video and stills, slight pinkish hue compared to Mobius, struggles with clear blue sky in some lighting and produces a pinkish band and blue fringing. Audio quality is very good, a little lower volume than Mobius. Gyro image stabilisation works well. Cheapest decent quality flat form action cam
Review video
GEARBEST

Runcam 2

This is a popular 1080 60fps HD recording and FPV camera. FOV is not as wide as some action cams at 130º. Excellent image quality. Very low audio recording levels, good for onboard but not good for voice recording. Settings via smart phone app or FPV OSD. The big bonus is removable battery, and it's the same battery as the Runcam 3S.

TOMTOP

Runcam 3S

Cheaper alternative to the discontinued GoPro Session. Video quality is a bit odd, with strange colours, purple fringing and extreme fisheye distortion. Limited to 1080 60fps, but that is a good resolution for most uses. Specifically designed for the mini quad market but it works well in the nose of a flying wing like the Sonic AR. Would be brilliant with a better quality lens and higher resolution.

Purchase

Runcam Split

This is a unique FPV and HD recording camera designed specifically for mounting on a mini quad. The camera and processing recording board are separate and connected by a cable. RunCam Split is a split version of RunCam 3 for FPV. Supports recording 1080P 60fps and WDR. Built-in microphone, WiFi module.

HD recording looks great. SD card mount is poorly designed. 4:3 FPV view.

Runcam Split 2

Much better Runcam! This is the updated version of the Runcam Split and it's excellent. Wider input voltage - 2S to 4S, proper SD card slot, and can be operated by your transmitter via flight control board or PWM receiver. Slight vignetting and pink hue on one side, but looks good otherwise. 4:3 FPV view

Purchase

Runcam Split Mini

Smaller and lighter version of the all in one HD recording and FPV camera.

Good quality 1080P 60fps HD recording. 4:3 FPV view

RUNCAM

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Foxeer Legend 1

Sony Exmor R BSI sensor

Ambarella A7LS Chip

Excellent image quality HD cam with 1080 60fps. Video-out for FPV and RC switchable shutter for video and stills. Audio is better than Runcam HD but not as clean as Mobius. Only configurable on PC (no Mac app at this stage)

Foxeer Legend 2 (now Legend 2+)

Sony Exmor R BSI sensor.
This is potentially a very nice HD cam (1080 60fps) with EIS, 4k 24fps probably interpolated. Using the stock settings the video and images are a bit too saturated and contrasty for my liking but there are lots of adjustments available through the smart phone app. The app needs improvement to make settings stick but otherwise it works well. Audio levels and quality are both better than most other similar cams apart from the Mobius.