RunCam5 FPV Action Camera

Since GoPro decided to drop the Session action cam, the RunCam 5 Orange is the closest thing I have found to the performance, in the exact same form factor (that I already had Session mounts for). I am very happy with the picture quality and I've had no issues with the recordings or file access.It has no display screen, so you configure it with the RunCam app on your phone or tablet, by pointing the camera at a QR code. Configuring the camera is quicker and easier this way for me, especially outside in bright sunlight. The camera seems rugged; I mount it on my FPV drone and it has survived dozens of crashes so far.My only complaint is that the EIS is not very good IMO, but that was not a deal breaker for my application, so I usually just leave it off.

For those of you wanting to know how well this camera works for RC, I am happy to report that this Camera works perfect for the TRX 4M. The image quality is amazing and has really good image stabilization as well. I tried it out for the SCX24 as well but it is a little too heavy for it and causes it to be a bit unstable on the trail. Overall I would recommend this camera!

I bought this as a dash cam for my bike. Primary concerns were form factor, battery life, and resolution wrt reading license plates. I didn't want to break the bank on action cams like the Gopro, so I bought this camera and another cheaper action cam (it's no longer sold on amazon but it was $50 mounting hardware and two batteries, it was called a crosstour). Overall I like this camera slightly better than the super cheap one but I don't have a comparison to a gopro or camera designed specifically for bikes like the Cycliq. Based on my understanding of currently available image sensors and image stabilization technology, I don't imagine that the additional cost of a go-pro is worth it for safety recordings but I don't have a good empirical comparison to these more expensive action cams. At the moment, I'm mostly happy with my runcam + cheapo action camera setup.Form Factor/Mounting:The overall volume is great and I don't need or want a screen on the device. This device is roughly 50 cm^3 in a nearly cubic form-factor and the cheap camera with a screen is 58 cm^3 in the typical action camera form factor, which I dislike. The only downside here is that the runcam is not easy to mount onto a bike. This device is a bit too large for the gopro hero 5 cases. That leaves you with double sticky tape as a known solution (not sure wth the straps that they provide with the device are intended for). I was able to barely fit it into a cheap plastic hero 5 case which allows me to fit it onto the same mounting system across different bikes that I ride. If I wasn't able to find this mounting system it would have been a deal killer for meBattery life:After about half a year of inconsistent use, I am able to reliably get about 90 minutes of loop recording during a ride at 2.7k 60fps with audio recording and electronic image stabilization (eis) on. That's ok for most of my rides but definitely falls short of my expectations. In comparison, the cheap action cam gives me 115 minutes at 1080p 60 fps with eis (but the eis is total garbage). So it's not a direct comparison in terms of format but the cheap camera allows me to wap batteries, which is immensely valuable in terms of battery life. For that reason, I rely more on the cheap camera for long rides even though it isn't as good in many other regards.Resolution:It's ok. I can pick up a good percentage of vehicle license plates under decent lighting conditions, but certainly not all of them. It's only slightly better resolution than the cheap camera under good light. But under slightly low light conditions or bumpy conditions, it is clearly better. Not a lot better, but worth the cost, imo. caveat: these are mounted differently, so vibrations that they experience are different, hence my assessment of image stabilization is not particularly fair. I imagine that the eis on the gopro will be superior for consistently picking up license plates (untested) but I don't know if that is worth the cost or some of the other downsides that I see in the gopro system.Other considerations:-I originally purchased a U1 Samsung memory card for this device and swear it was recommended by the company at the time of purchase. I had a terrible time with frame drop outs and weird looping issues. Runcam told me that "Based on our thousands tests and feedbacks from customer" a 128 GB U3 Samsung memory card is recommended. I have a couple of problems with this: First is that they should explicitly require a U3 Samsung card for operation if it is the only thing that works (also why is only a single brand of a single capacity supported? at that point, just build the memory card into the device, especially since the battery isn't swappable already). If it is truly the only memory card that works and if feedback from customers was required to determine that, then the engineering team at runcam is not top notch. I like the device but this experience did not give me much faith in the technical prowess of the company. Anyway, I wouldn't waste money on other memory cards. Just stick with a Samsung U3 card, which is now explicitly called out in their product description... if you read carefully-I like the qr code base configuration, though I wish I could just change a .cfg file on the memory card, which apparently used to be an option.-In the newest firmware, they automatically save accelerometer data along with the video data. Initially I found that extremely annoying and still wish that they provided a toggle in the configuration to turn off the save. It is a small amount of additional data but adds up to a reduced video storage capacity. At the same time, I have a technical interest in the accelerometer data so I do think others might be interested in it as well.

its funny amazon asked me to review when they did as i bought this months ago and just started using the runcam 5 due to several reasons some of which ill list but i didnt really need this except for certain rigs i wanted to have this option for with fixed wing fpv planes and some multirotor quadcopters but even the ones i use this camera on i really dont need it because i get amazing footage now threw my dji hd fpv set up but some this is good for still especially if you want 4k over 760 or 1080 from dvr footage. That being said its not a huge difference in the quality but the quality im comparing it to are the best fpv cameras you can own so the fact that this performs as good as those do just doesnt transmit fpv signal (actually it can via usb out which is cool but very slow with high latency) this is a high quality action cam in a perferct cube form factor as a supplement to the gopro sessions which arent produced anymore. i really wish there was a stabilization option bbut that would also add weight but i wouldnt mind the weight for that feature

DONT BUY CHEAP - buy quality. THIS IS NOT QUALITYGreat CAM, great image - pretty straight forward setup - used a HANDFULL of times...not every day - maybe 30-40 times tops.... and now its out of warranty (purchased Aug 2021) it will not charge when you insert a known working cable..Customer Support don't want to know - said "We provide 90-day replacement and one-year repairing.But I am sorry that the warranty has been expired for this camera.Sir may disassemble the camera to check if the battery swells or leaks.We could sell the battery separately"It will not take a charge as the USB port contacts are not working!!

Marginal image quality.

Wow! I love this little fpv cam! I will be buying another if mine ever dies or gets trashed but you know what?!?!? I can't kill this thing lol..... I have nailed this sucker to trees, cement walls, hard ground, grass, dirt, myself.... and it survived everything. I will admit, one of my very very nasty crashes, (motor busted 4 screws and chopped it's own frame midflight), this sucker came tumbling down out of the sky from about 300 feet up and it survived. Believe it or not my SD Card inside the thing actually cracked in half yet the camera is still perfectly fine. That was unbelievable. I don't even know how that was possible but the camera still works perfectly. This thing is a beast!!!!! BTW great video quality also. I get compliments on my video quality all the time from this cam. Can't go wrong here, worth every penny.