The days of the action cameras are upon us, and as a biker having one means capturing those great moments that you never usually can. Mount it just about anywhere and as simple as that you get great footage from a perspective that you never could have imagined earlier. It all started with the GoPro but with the different iterations it just kept getting more and more pricey. Yes the specifications went up as well, but do we really need 4K videos of our rides at 60fps? Those resolutions and frame rates are best reserved for the movie maker. Also the top of the line GoPro is priced at 499$. There are plenty of options that do the basic Full HD resolution just fine, options that are way cheaper than the GoPro. So below is a list of cheaper alternatives to the GoPro. Lets compare them with the price, video/photo resolution, connectivity, battery back up and the standard mounts and housing it ships with. We have kept 200$ as a top line for this list and ironically we start with some newly launched cheaper versions of the GoPro.
GoPro HERO action camera
- Price: 129$
- Max video resolution and fps: 1920*1080P 30fps and 1280*720P 60fps
- Photo resolution: 5 megapixels 170° wide angle
- Connectivity: USB 2.0
- Battery backup: 150 mins on Full HD
- Housing and mounts: Waterproof cover/ Curved Adhesive Mount/ Flat Adhesive Mount/ Quick Release Buckle
GoPro HERO3 white action camera
- Price: 199.99$
- Max video resolution and fps: 1920*1080P 30fps and 1280*720P 60fps
- Photo resolution: 5 megapixels 170° wide angle
- Connectivity: USB 2.0
- Battery backup: 150 mins on Full HD
- Housing and mounts: Waterproof cover/ Curved Adhesive Mount/ Flat Adhesive Mount/ Quick Release Buckle
Sony HDR-AS20 POV action camera
- Price: 129.99$
- Max video resolution and fps: 1920*1080P 60fps, 1280*720 120fps
- Photo resolution: 11.9 megapixels 170° wide angle
- Connectivity: USB 2.0/Wifi/NFC
- Battery backup: 200 mins on Full HD
- Housing and mounts: Waterproof cover/ Adhesive Mount kit/ Wifi remote
ContourROAM3 action Camera (Black)
- Price: 199.9$
- Max video resolution and fps: 1920*1080P 30fps, 1280*720P 60fps and 848 x 480p / 120fps
- Photo resolution: 5 megapixels 170° wide angle
- Connectivity: USB 2.0
- Battery backup: 180 mins on Full HD
- Housing and mounts: Waterproof cover/ Curved Adhesive Mount/ Flat Adhesive Mount
Contour also has the higher priced Contour+2 Action Camera priced at 299.99$. That features GPS and 120 fps.
Drift HD action Camera
- Price: 189$ with remote
- Max video resolution and fps: 1920*1080P 30fps, 1280*720P 60fps
- Photo resolution: 9 megapixels 170° wide angle
- Connectivity: USB 2.0
- Battery backup: 180 mins on Full HD
- Housing and mounts: Waterproof cover/ Curved Adhesive Mount/ Flat Adhesive Mount/ Touch-Fastener Strap/ Goggle mount
This is the lowest model of the Drift series of 3, other models cost 249$ and 378$ and feature Wifi, higher resolutions and more in-camera features.
Polaroid XS100i Wi-Fi Extreme Edition HD action camera
- Price: 179.99$
- Max video resolution and fps: 1920*1080P 30fps, 1280*720P 60fps
- Photo resolution: 16 megapixels 170° wide angle
- Connectivity: USB 2.0/ Wifi/ HDMi
- Battery backup: 150 mins on Full HD
- Housing and mounts: Waterproof/ Mount-Lock + Key/ Helmet + Bike Mount
SJCAM SJ5000 Plus Ambarella A7LS75 action camera
- Price: 170$
- Max video resolution and fps: 1920*1080P 60/30 fps |1280*720P 120/60/30 fps |848*480P 240/120/60/30 fps
- Photo resolution: 16 megapixels lens 170° wide angle
- Connectivity: USB 2.0/ Wifi
- Battery backup: 900 mAh – 90 mins on Full HD
- Housing and mounts: Waterproof cover/ Quick Release Buckle/ Housing Back door with Holes/ Handlebar Seatpost Pole Mount/ Curved Adhesive Mount/ Flat Adhesive Mount/ 3-Way Pivot Arm Mount/ 3M Adhesive Tape/ Frame Mount/ Quick Release Clip for The Frame/ Vertical Quick Release J-Hook Buckle/ Universal 1/4″ Camera Tripod Mount/ Tripod Mount Adapter/ Bandage Set/ Stainless Steel Safety Tether/ Nylon Cable Ties.
Clearly SJ is the one we recommend. So many mount options and the cam itself has a lot of built in features. Also SJ has like 11 other cameras some starting as low as 80$.
