When we were approached about selling the NEW Sony HDR-AS30VPK Action Cam I was quite excited, not because it was a new product line for ABTEC’s Shop in Petone but more because it meant that I would be doing a Product Review on something out of the norm of Car Audio…
On the weeks building up to the Christmas break and also during the break I got to test the Sony Action Cam and also its competitions product so I could have proper comparison of the products.
First things first, unpacking the HDR-AS30VPK! Like a fellow blogger/reviewer Aaron I wanted to photograph the whole unpacking of the product, but due to my patience or lack of by the time Ashley got the camera out I had already had it unpacked and already charging.
I was surprised to what you get for money as most of the competitors products only came with the bare basics at a higher price point.
What you get supplied is:
- HDR-AS30VPK Action Camera
- Rechargeable Battery Pack
- Micro USB Cable
- Waterproof Case
- Adhesive Mount
- Bonus LCD Mount
The Bonus LCD Mount in my opinion is great little add-on which allows your Action Cam to be used as a camcorder, this I found very handy while making little demo videos of the company vehicles playing bass heavy music.
As to be expected from Sony the video on the HDR-AS30VPK is very crystal-clear and I get the idea it has something to do with the Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar Lens. Over the last few weeks I have tested and made videos in 1080p in PAL & NTSC, Slow-Mo videos in 720p 60p & also 720p 120p Slow-Mo videos, which I must say was a good laugh watching peoples face reactions when heavy bass notes hit in ABTEC1.
You also have a choice of filming in 120 degrees or the ultra-wide 170 degrees, the 170 degree angle is a little fish-eyed but that is to be expected and is an amazing feature if you play a high action sport/hobby that has a lot going on.
The sound quality of the HDR-AS30VPK is very crisp and clean due to the Stereo microphone, I found it to pick up most frequencies pretty well considering it was never built for those duties. The only frequencies I found it to struggle with is extreme bass but in saying that I am yet to any camera or Action Camera that can record those sort of frequencies!
Another cool feature on the Sony HDR-AS30VPK is the Time Lapse feature, I didn’t spend much time with this feature over the break but lately have been using it more and more. What I am liking about the time lapse is the ease of turning 1-2hours (Can be more) of photos into a 2-3 minute video with the help of the PlayMemories Home App for PC/Mac.
The GPS function is very useful for trekkers, Motorsports enthusiasts or even people that would like to show off their record breaking time to get from one point to another! To have the GPS info showing on your video you have to use the PlayMemories Home App which very easy to use even for the most technophobic person. The only grief I had with the rendering of the GPS video’s was that if your pc (like the one I used) doesn’t have much ram it doesn’t render the info 100%, however this is easily solved by using a better spec’d pc and not a basic office pc like I initially did!
The Accessories available for the Sony HDR-AS30VPK are numerous and I could write a blog/review on those alone but you can find all the current available accessories HERE.
My overall opinion on the Sony HDR-AS30VPK Action Cam is very high, so high that only after two days of testing I was already asking Ashley if I could buy one! Also it is spec’d as high as the competition’s top models at a cheaper price point which is a bonus so if you are involved in Motorsport or are after an Action Cam to record your high impact family outings this is the product for you!