It was just last month that consumer drone manufacturer DJI extended its focus from the sky to the ground, by introducing the motor-stabilized Osmo action camera. Well, it shouldn't come as a surprise to hear that another quadcopter-maker has followed suit. Today, Yuneec announced its new Typhoon ActionCam, which sounds like it could give the Osmo a run for its money.
Like DJI's camera, the ActionCam shoots in 4K/30fps resolution, and is automatically stabilized along three axes via internal sensors and electric motors. It actually utilizes the same CG03 camera that's included on Yuneec's Typhoon drone, and in fact is includedwith that quadcopter, marketed as the SteadyGrip – in that setup, users can swap the one camera between the drone and the handheld unit. Other features include 1080p/120fps slow-motion recording, 12-megapixel stills, and a 115-degree field of view.
Unlike the Osmo, the ActionCam has just two physical controls – a thumb dial that allows users to manually control its pitch (i.e: its up-or-down angle), and a mode-switch button. Other functions, such as the starting and stopping of recording, are managed via an app on the user's top-mounted iOS or Android smartphone. That app also allows the phone to serve as a real-time viewfinder, and as a playback screen.
The ActionCam is powered by a 1,400-mAh lithium-polymer battery, that should be good for up to 90 minutes of use per charge.
It's available as of today (Nov. 10th), priced at US$550 – $99 less than the Osmo. Time will tell whether its handle-behind-the-camera arrangement works better than the configuration of the Osmo, in which the handle is beneath the camera.
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