For the image quality the camera has 5 star rating! Here I should like to give a little to the operation:
Points are the pity and can not be change:
-No Tripod socket on the camera, only the chassis.
Camera is round bottom and is therefore not of itself - must always be somehow fixed or ajar / held.
-There Are only 1 button (Recording start / stop recording) on the underwater case. Control over WiFi is possible but not eg in diving.
-Photos Only with 2MP (FullHD resolution). The competition takes pictures with 11MP.
Points are the pity and can be changed:
Here it is interesting, maybe Sony delivers here after through firmware updates. Were it not for this troublesome points, so the camera would have 5 stars!
-control Over WiFi works with Android mobile very bad. Tested with Android 2.7 and 4.0 and PlayMemories Mobile app 2.0.2. The connection to the camera often breaks off and often one waits forever if something happens. After a few hours I got angry in the following procedure, which works in most cases: enable WiFi on the camera; Mobile phone with Camera Network Connect; Start PlayMemories Mobile app; Cancel the first connection attempt; Now again to the camera Connect (The second experiment works then mostly). At the many negative comments in the Play Store you can see that the Android app yet urgently needs an update.
That it may be a better way one sees when trying to IOS. The iOS app connects instantly and working conditions (tested on iPad 1). Does the app, then it is very convenient: Preview of the image settings of the camera (not all!), Switch between video / photo and transfer the photos / videos everything works without problems. Nevertheless, there is still room for improvement:
-The interval of photos is with at least 5 seconds too long for an action camera. Here one would wish steps starting at 0.5 seconds. In addition, although much can be adjusted via WiFi, the interval for the photos but not. Ie they have been announced each time to unpack the enclosure.
-The Photos / videos can be transmitted only from the camera if it has been previously stated in the "Send" mode. Were they in the housing is back in fashion unpack. Technically there should be no problem but be to transfer the images without make to the camera on "Send".
-Möchte You leave the camera in the housing, then you can control them via WiFi / setting (with the restrictions mentioned above). To conserve battery life, there is an auto-off feature that automatically turns off the camera when not in use, for example, one minute. Now you can see the camera in the housing but not enable (press record button) without at the same time to start recording. Far more skilled it would if the camera is turned on in the OFF state at the first press and only the second press starts recording.
Overall, I can not find the camera very well done, the service unfortunately. Many of the points were still compensate via firmware update, then the Sony Action Cam would be a 5 star candidate!
UPDATE 14:11. With the new version 2.1.0 of the PlayMemories Mobile app, the connection is made directly to conditions and work more stable than before. Tested with Xperia Sola with Android 4.0. All other restrictions that make the operation unnecessarily complicated, still exist. In addition, the lens shows chromatic aberration, that is with dark outline against a bright background (eg tree branch against the sky) sees blue-purple edges around the branch. In videos that falls on not directly, but is very clear in photos.
UPDATE 05/13/2013 Meanwhile, you can see the firmware 2.0 for Action Cam download at Sony. With the new firmware the camera 1080p with 60 frames per second creates. A real great innovation! For comparison: Before the camera could only 60fps at 720p and only in slow motion - that is, without sound recording. In direct comparison, the videos actually look much better. Both larger movements and small, fast-moving details like leaves in the wind, are better represented. In addition, 60fps offer course more reserves for slow-motion shots. The new firmware also brings a white balance specifically for underwater shots I could not test. Moreover, the "control-tones" (eg beep at the start of recording) can reduce the camera now and stop completely. In June it is / give app for Android and iPad iPhone that brings some improvements and new features, a new version of PlayMemories Mobile.
Conclusion: Unfortunately, not all problems have been fixed with the firmware update. Nevertheless with 1080p60 a really great new feature! Because of this innovation and the sharp fall in price in the meantime, I increase the overall rating of 3 stars to 4 stars. Hopefully brings new PlayMemories Mobile app a few improvements!
