Andoer C5 Pro 4K review and test

This is Andoer C5 Pro review, a brand new action cam that can record real 4K @ 30 fps (3840×2160 16:9) or 25fps (3840×2160 16:9 Super View), and that also supports Full 1080P@120FPS for action videos and slowmotions. It features 16MP Sony IMX117 image sensor and Ambarella A12S75 chipset. It has a 170° lens and a 2″ rear screen. It has wifi and comes with a waterproof case and many accessories.

Ambarella A12 chipset is the same that equip Thieye T5e, SJ7 Star and Eken H8 Pro/Plus. It is very good, can handle 4K@30 fps videos without lags, slowdowns or frame loss.

Sony IMX117 image sensor is the same of Gopro 4 black, SJ7, Thieye T5e and Eken H8 Plus. It can shoot 16MP images of high quality, sharp and with natural and crisp colors, as we will see further in the Andoer C5 review.

What I tell you in advance is that the video and photographic quality are very good, as we expected as this cam has the same sensor and processor of Thieye T5E and Eken H8 that we reviewed positively, but the one thing that striked me about this cam is the stabilization that works really well, probably better than all those with Ambarella chipset and at the same level of Git2, but with a much higher video quality. We’ll talk about all these things later on in the Andoer C5 Pro review.

All of this at a very competitive price, 112.99$ using the coupon code below, practically the same price of Thieye T5E, much lower than SJ6 legend, and almost half the price of Yi 4k and SJ7 Star.

Available @ Camfere

Coupon code: ANDOERC5, $13 OFF (112.99$)

Andoer C5 review

Andoer C5 comes in a package with many accessories, the Waterproof Case, an extra Backdoor, USB Cable, Bicycle Stand, J-shaped Mount Base, Helmet Base, Switch Support, Clip, Bracket, Bandage, Ribbon, Wire Rope, Adhesive Tape, Cleaning Cloth and the User Manual (in English, Chinese & Spanish). It has everything you need to start recording, but a micro sd card.

As I said Andoer C5 comes with a waterproof case up to 30m. Buttons are big and soft to push. There’s no safety lever but the mechanism that hold the cover is strong enough. The battery has a capacity of 950mAh and allows the cam to record 1h10m at maximum resolution.

In the front side we can find the lens and the ON/Mode button, that can be used to turn the camera on/off and also to switch between modes: video, photo, video playback, photo playback and menu.

On the back a 2″ screen with all essential informations on the recording: mode, resolution, fps, battery status, stabilizer, image quality, time/date, wifi status. It is not touchscreen, as Andoer preferred to keep the price low instead of adding a nice but not necessary funcionality.

In the left side there are the micro sd, microHDMI and micro USB ports. On top there’s just an OK button, used to start/stop recording, shoot a picture, select an option in the menu mode.

On the right two buttons just to navigate in the menu. The up-button can be used to can turn on and off audio recording which is indicated by a white (on) or orange (off) microphone icon on the screen.

Menu

All the menu voices are shown one below each other, and not organized in subemnus. The most important options – video and photo resolutions, quality – are at the beginning, but there are 10 pages of options! You can find timelapse video (no 4k), loop record, self timer, photo burst, timelapse photo, EIS stabilizer, long exposure up to 60 seconds, motion detect. You can also change some photographic parameter, like ISO, EV exposure, long exposure. Menu is translated in many languages, like english, german, french, italian, spanish.

Andoer C5 video quality

Andoer C5 records videos with Format H.264 BP/MP/HP Level 5.1 and MJPEG codecs, so we are sure it is native 4K, as we can see in the “Level” table in this page.

4K videos have a bitrate of 59Mb/s,  in , so it’s a pretty high value, which means low compression and good quality, and 1080p@60fps have a bitrate of 35 Mb/s.

Light is well managed, when in the same scene there are low light and high light zones, exposition is always optimal, with no overxposed or black portions. When you pass from a dark zone to a well lighted scene, exposition changes rapidly. Videos are flowing even in 4K, but on shaky shots – like in a bike on a bumpy road – videos are a little “gummy”, so it’s better if you use 2K for shaky videos, or 1080p@60fps with stabilizer on.

Audio is quite good, you can get a conversation from people even if they’re not close. Ambient sound has a nice quality. There’s no possibility to use external microphone.

Battery can last up to 1h20m. I used it in the mountains with 0°C and I could record more than 1h at 1080p@60fps with gyro on. In summer you can reach easily 1h20m. You can find spare batteries here.

What really surprised me is stabilization. You can activate it with 1080p @ 30/60fps or lower resolutions, and it performs a really good job. I mounted it on the handlebar of my bike, and even on really bumpy roads in the countryside, videos are stable, like recorded from a drone. It reminds me the stabilization of the Git2, but this cam has a better video and photografic quality. You can see what I’m saying in the video below. In the first part I filmed while snowboarding and the cam was attached in the helmet. In the second part the cam was attached on the handlebar of my mountainbike without any gimbal. From minute 8:50 you can see what really good job this cam can do.

This is a video recorded at 4k@30fps. At the end of the video there’s also some picture shot at 16MP. Stabilization is not available at 4K, so it’s off. Watch it at 4K resolution.

Andoer C5 photos

As you can see pictures shot with Andoer C5 are really good and sharp, very similar to Yi 4k and Thieye T5e (as the sensor and chipset of the T5e are the same). Colors are bright and natural, dark zones are nicely manged, as dark/well lighted transitions. White balance is well set in every conditions, there’s no tendency to red nor to green. Exposure is well measured and balanced. The sky has a dark intense blue, and the grass a natural green, even with a lot of sunlight.

Here are some photos shot with Andoer C5, click on the image to enlarge to actual resolution (16MP).

Conclusions

Andoer C5 is really a nice action cam that you can get for a really cheap price. Video and photographic qualities are really good, similar to the Tieye T5e and Eken H8 Plus, close to Xiaomi Yi 4K. Videos and photos are sharp and vivid, colors are intense and natural. Audio quality is quite good. Stabilizer works pretty well.

It is a very economic camera with an excellent quality, but to get a low price this camera lacks of some functions, for instance there’s no possibility to use a remote controller or an external microphone and there’s no touchscreen on the display. This camera is all essence and good quality, and no frills. I suggest you to consider this cam if your budget is around 110$, it has the same price and video quality of thieye T5e but with Andoer C5 you get many accessories included, while with Thieye you only get the cam and the waterproof case, but the T5e has the possibility to use a RC command. You can read our article about the best action cam to find what suits your needs and read some comparison.

Available @ Camfere

Coupon code: ANDOERC5, $13 OFF (112.99$)

Andoer C5 Pro overview

Hardware
It features Sony IMX117 image sensor – the same of Gopro 4 black, SJ7, Thieye T5e – , that can shoot 16MP images, and Ambarella A12S75 chipset – the same of SJ7, Eken H8pro, Thieye T5e – for high quality real 4k@30fps videos. This is one of the budget action cam that can record native 4k videos (like Thieye T5e, Yi 4k, SJ7), not interpolated as the majority of the others.

Lens
C5 has a 170 degree wide-angle lens f/2.5, that support super-view recording. With a wide angle lens you can record almost everything in front of you.

Display
C5 offers a 2.0″ LCD screen, where you can see what you are recording, playback your videos and pictures and change options easily. This is not touchscreen like thieye t5e, while Yi 4k and SJ7 have a touchscreen display.

Waterproof
C5 comes with a case waterproof up to 30m, so you can record excellent marine adventures, or kayak, sky and any water sport.

Stabilization
C5 Pro comes with built-in electronic image stabilization, largely avoid vague photography. EIS only works in 1080p 30/60fps or lower resolutions.

WiFi
With built-in WiFi, C5 Pro supports remote control, real-time share and playback, using your phone and the HDKCAm app (available for iOS / Android).

Battery
A removable 950mAh li-ion battery, for 1hour of recording. This cam uses the same batteries of the SJ4000 and Git2, so if you need spare batteries you can get SJ compatible ones, like these on Camfere. These spare batteries are dedicated to Andoer C5 Pro.

Features
– long exposure, with different scene modes and effects
– loop recording, can be used as car DVR and home security.

Formats
JPEG image format
H.264 video format BP/MP/HP (Level 5.1 and MJPEG codecs), with HDMI output interface, reduce quality degradation

Images
Focal Length: f=3mm, F=2.5
Image Resolution:
16M（4608×3456 4:3）
14M（4254×3264 4:3）
12M （4000×3000 4:3）
8.3M（3840×2160 16:9）
5M（2560×1920 4:3）
3M（2048×1536 4:3）

Image modes
Single Shot
Continuous Shot
Self-timer
Auto Shooting

Video Resolutions

• 4K (3840×2160 16:9 30fps) (3840×2160 16:9 25fps Super View)
• 2.7K (2704×2028 4:3 30fps) (2704×1520 16:9 30fps) (2704×1520 16:9 30fps Super View)
• 2.5K (2560×1440 16:9 60/30 fps)
• 2160P (2880×2160 4:3 30fps)
• 1440P (1920×1440 4:3 60/30 fps)
• 1080P (1920×1080 16:9 60/30 fps Super View) (1920×1080 16:9 120/60/30 fps)
• 960P (1280×1080 4:3 120/60/30 fps)
• 720P (1280×720 16:9 120/30 fps Super View) (1280×720 16:9 200/120/60/30 fps)

Video Format
Codec: h.264 Level 5.1 / audio: PCM 48KHZ 16bit

Video Modes
Time Lapse
Loop Recording

Photo / Video options
Long Exposure: OFF/ 1s / 2s / 5s / 10s / 30s / 60s
Continuous Shot: OFF / 3 P/s / 5 P/s / 10 P/s
Self-timer: OFF / 1s / 2s / 5s / 10s / 30s / 60s
Auto Shooting: OFF / 3s / 5s / 10s / 30s / 60s
Burst Photo: 3p / 5p / 10p
Time Lapse: 1s/2s/5s/10s/30s/60s/OFF
Loop Recording: OFF / 2 Min. / 3 Min. / 5 Min.
Motion Detection: Off / Low / Medium / High
Scene Mode：Normal / Flash / Night / Sports / Landscape / Portrait / Sunset
Effect ：Normal / Art / Sepia / Negative / B&W/ VIVID / 70 Film

Available @ Camfere

Coupon code: camfere, 5% discount / ANDOERC5, $13 OFF

Colors

Available @ Camfere

Coupon code: ANDOERC5, $13 OFF (112.99$)

Features:
4K 30fps 1080P 120fps full HD dynamic shootings, with motion detection, record vivid, clear and smooth moving action.
Adopt for Sony IMX117 image sensor, 16MP image, save wonderful moments in high definition.
170 degree wide-angle lens, support super-view recording.
2.0″ LCD screen, display natural shootings scene and offer real-time playtime.
Camera case waterproof 30m, enable you to record excellent marine adventures.
Built-in electronic image stabilization, largely avoid vague photography.
With built-in WiFi, support remote control, real-time share and playback.
Support long exposure, with different scene modes and effects, satisfy different shooting demands.
Support loop recording, can be used as car DVR and home security.
JPEG image format and H.264 video format, with HDMI output interface, reduce quality degradation.
When HDMI output is linked, it still works well.
Powered by detectable 900mAh li-ion battery.

Package List:
1 * Mini Camera
1 * Waterproof Case
1 * Backdoor
1 * USB Cable
1 * Bicycle Stand
1 * J-shaped Mount Base
2 * Helmet Base
3 * Switch Support
1 * Clip
1 * Bracket
1 * Bandage
4 * Ribbon
1 * Wire Rope
2 * Adhesive Tape
1 * Cleaning Cloth
1 * User Manual(English & Chinese & Spanish)

Specifications:
Brand: Andoer
Model: C5 Pro
Color: Black
Chipset: Ambarella A12S75
Image Sensor: Sony IMX117
Screen Type: 2.0″ LCD
Lens: 170 Degree Wide-angle Lens
Focal Length: f=3mm, F=2.5
Image Resolution: 16M（4608×3456 4:3）/ 14M（4254×3264 4:3）/ 12M （4000×3000 4:3）/ 8.3M（3840×2160 16:9）/ 5M（2560×1920 4:3）/ 3M（2048×1536 4:3）
Shooting Mode: Single Shot / Continuous Shot / Self-timer / Auto Shooting
Image Format: JPEG
Video Resolution: 4K(3840×2160 16:9 30fps)(3840×2160 16:9 25fps Super View) / 2.7K(2704×2028 4:3 30fps)(2704×1520 16:9 30fps)(2704×1520 16:9 30fps Super View) / 2.5K(2560×1440 16:9 60/30 fps) / 2160P(2880×2160 4:3 30fps) / 1440P(1920×1440 4:3 60/30 fps) /1080P(1920×1080 16:9 60/30 fps Super        View)(1920×1080 16:9 120/60/30 fps) / 960P(1280×1080 4:3 120/60/30 fps)  / 720P(1280×720 16:9 120/30 fps Super View)(1280×720 16:9 200/120/60/30 fps)
Video Mode: Time Lapse / Loop Recording
Video Format: H.264 BP/MP/HP (Level 5.1 and MJPEG codecs)
Audio Format: PCM 48KHZ 16bit
WiFi: Support
EIS: Support 1080P 60/30 fps Only
Waterproof Level: 30m underwater
Dual File: ON / OFF
Long Exposure: OFF/ 1s / 2s / 5s / 10s / 30s / 60s
Continuous Shot: OFF / 3 P/s / 5 P/s / 10 P/s
Self-timer: OFF / 1s / 2s / 5s / 10s / 30s / 60s
Auto Shooting: OFF / 3s / 5s / 10s / 30s / 60s
Burst Photo: 3p / 5p / 10p
Time Lapse: 1s/2s/5s/10s/30s/60s/OFF
Loop Recording: OFF / 2 Min. / 3 Min. / 5 Min.
Motion Detection: Off / Low / Medium / High
Scene Mode：Normal / Flash / Night / Sports / Landscape / Portrait / Sunset
Effect ：Normal / Art / Sepia / Negative / B&W/ VIVID / 70 Film
Interface: USB 2.0/HDMI Output
HDMI Output: Support 1920 * 1080P 60 output With CEC
Composite Video Output: NTSC/PAL
ISO Equivalent: Auto / 100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600
White Balance: Auto / Incandescent / D4000 / D5000 / Daylight / Cloudy / D9000 / D10000 / Flash / Fluorescent / Water / Outdoor
Exposure: +- 2EV (0.33 EV steps)
Memory Card Type: Support SDIO v3.0,SD,SDHC,SDXC and UHS-1 Speed (not included)
Audio Input/Output: Microphone/Speaker
Compatible Battery Type: Li-ion rechargeable Battery 4.35V 900mAH
Compatible Computer System: Mass Storage Driver / Windows 7, 8X / OS X 10.8 or later
Language: English / Francais / Deutsch / Espania / Italiano
Item Size: 5.7 * 3.9 * 2.7cm / 2.2 * 1.5 * 1.1in
Item Weight: 58g / 2.1oz
Package Size: 23.5 * 10.5 * 7.5cm / 9.3 * 4.1 * 3.0in
Package Weight: 686g / 24.2oz