There is a huge market of affordable action cameras and it may not be easy to choose one. TEC.BEAN EX5000 is one of the better offerings as it costs just under $76 on Amazon. Learn more in a full review.

TEC.BEAN EX5000 Sports Action Camera Review: VIDEO

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TEC.BEAN EX5000 Sports Action Camera Review: UNBOXING

The camera comes in a simple box with a lot of accessories. There are all sorts of mounts, cradles, adhesive pads, zip ties, velcro straps and so on. Basically, you can mount the camera wherever you want.

A few notable accessories would be a waterproof case, which has tactile buttons and it allows you to use the camera up to 30m under water. The case does its job well as I left the camera under water for 20 mins during my test.

The other accessory that I love using is a cradle that I mounted on my bike and it keeps the camera in place. 

Also, there are two batteries included, which is really great.

TEC.BEAN EX5000 Sports Action Camera Review: DESIGN

Let’s be honest, the TEC.BEAN camera looks like a GoPro. Anyway, most of the cheap action cameras does.

Most importantly, it is very well built and it uses mainly rubberised plastic in the construction.

As for optics, we have a 14MP Panasonic CMOS sensor, which can shoot videos up to 1080p and it has 170 degrees wide angle lens. Right next to it there is a power/mode button.

The display has 2 inches and while it is not even HD, it’s  really convenient for a viewfinder.

There is a shutter or “OK” button on the top along with the LED light. 

On one side you can find a microSD card slot, micro USB and HDMI ports and a mic. On the right, you can find your up/down buttons to help you navigate in the UI of the camera.

Next to the buttons there is little speaker grill. 

Finally, the battery door, as well as the battery itself, are very easy to remove.

TEC.BEAN EX5000 Sports Action Camera Review: UI

When it comes to the UI, it is pretty much straightforward. You can select from a picture taking, video recording and gallery modes.

Also, there are quite a few settings to play with but I simply used auto-mode for all the pictures I took and the videos I shot.

The camera has a built-in Wifi, which is supposed to let you easily share images with your smartphone but unfortunately, I could not make it work.

The proprietary app simply could not find the camera. Anyway, I don’t really need this feature since the camera has a display. 

TEC.BEAN EX5000 Sports Action Camera Review: IMAGE AND VIDEO QUALITY

As for still image quality, it is pretty good for a cheap action camera. However, I would love to see a bit more details in some images and some of the shots came out slightly underexposed. 

See a video review for video quality.

As for 1080p video, it is good but not great. I shot the video side by side with the Xiaomi YI camera, which is one of the best budget action cameras around. The quality is similar but the footage has slightly less detail and the video stabilisation could be better. On the other hand, the colour reproduction is more accurate but the colours look too cold.

Still, the quality of footage is great for cheap action camera and you simply can’t expect anything better at this price range. 

TEC.BEAN EX5000 Sports Action Camera Review: BATTERY LIFE

The 900mAh battery performs great knowing the fact that the camera has a 2” display. I could get 1:20 h of 1080p video and around 3 hours of total usage per charge. 

TEC.BEAN EX5000 Sports Action Camera Review: CONCLUSIONS

All in all, the TEC.BEAN action camera is a great choice for those who don’t want to spend hundreds for a GoPro but still want to have a small device that can shoot videos or take pictures.

Also, it has 2” screen, lots of settings, the battery life is good  and this cheap camera comes with lots of accessories. For a price of just below $76, it is a great bang for your buck.

The post TEC.BEAN – My New Favourite Cheap Action Camera appeared first on Gizmochina.