Elephone Explorer Pro 4k overview
Elephone Explore Pro is a budget action cam that mounts the new Sony IMX117 sensor and Novatek 96660 chip. It can record 4k @ 24fps interpolated videos, 2k @30 fps and 1080p @ 60fps. It has wifi, Gyro stabilizer, 2″ LCD screen, – we’ll anylize every feature later in the review.
Pro
- Value for money, good video quality for just 92$
- 2″ LCD screen, very big, to frame the scene, change settings, playback videos
- Video quality, pretty good thanks to the new Sony IMX117 sensor
- Gyro stabilizer, for steady and stable videos, specifically designed for sport videos
- You can use it as a dashcam, thanks to dedicated functions like Loop record
- FPV function, with a FPV cable you can trasmit videos live through the Mini usb port
- Nice design
- Many accessories in the package
- Battery Capacity of 1050mAh
- Good audio quality
- Remote control available
Cons
- Can’t use an external microphone
- Low light videos
Now let’s see all the features in detail.
Elephone Explorer Pro review and video test
We made a first test of the cam, you can see the video below.
These are our impressions: (this video was shot with the old firmware, the new is much better, take a look at the comparative video below)
Colors are natural and similar to reality, saturation is good, not excessive like sometimes it is in Git2 cam. The sky is well rendered, with a nice blue. If you frame the sun, the result is quite good, not overexposed, and the flare is nice to see. Transitions from light to shadows, and back, are well managed and rapidly. Videos are sharp and well detailed.
What surprised me are the videos shot indoors or with few light. The elephone explorer pro can do better than many other action cam in few light conditions, probably thanks to the new Sony IMX117. It seems like it can keep low iso even indoor, avoiding big squared pixels.
The audio is pretty good, and the battery can record 60 minutes at 1080p with wifi off.
You can set almost every photographic parameter, ISO (auto, 100 to 400), exposition (+2 to -2), FOV (170° to 70°), except Shutter speed.
Talking about FOV, the video were shot at 170°, so wide field of view, but the fish eye effect is very soft, lines are quite straight and the global effect is nice looking.
What i didn’t like with the first firmware was the Gyro, but with firmware 1.0 of 05.30.2016 things got much better and now stabilization is effective like in Git2. Vibrations are absorbed completely while I was using the cam in the car, or while I was running.
Here’s a comparative test:
And here I made a new comparison, adding the Elephone Explorer Elite:
Or join our general Action camera FB group
Elephone Explorer Pro features
ELEPHONE Explorer Pro, available from march 25th 2016, can record videos at this resolutions: 4k @ 24fps – interpolated from 2880 x 2160P -, 2k @ 30fps or 1080p @ 60fps. The angle of view is 170 degrees, but it is possible via menu to reduce it at 120° or 90° to remove the fisheye effect – it just crops the image.
It has the brand new Sony IMX 117 da 12mpx image sensor and the Novatek 96660 chip, the same mounted on many action cams like Gitup Git2, Firefly 6S and SJcam SJ5000X. The new sensor promises to have better quality than the IMX078, with superior picture quality and improved sampling rate increased from 20 to 35fps.
Elephone Explorer Pro has a 2″ LCD screen, much wider than the 1.5″ of the Git2, that allows you to frame the scene while taking pictures or recording video, and also to set all of the action with ease cam functions and playback your videos without a phone.
It also has wifi, thanks to which you can control the action cam by using the appropriate application. And it allows to start recording, to take pictures, or to set the cam, everything easily from mobile phone or tablet, Android or iOs.
WiFi APP Download: Click here to download app.
It mounts a Gyro stabilizer, just like it’s competitors, Git2, Firefly 6S and SJ5000X. It electronically removes vibrations and unwanted movements, creating steady and stable videos.
In the package it’s included a waterproof case, that allows you to use the cam up to 30m underwater.
Elephone Explorer Pro has an elegant design, with a glossy and wiredrawing texture, non-slip rubber on the sides, and the big 2″ screen on the back. It comes in 2 colors, white or anthracite.
It works with micro SD cards up to 64GB.
On the side, there are HDMI output, Mini USB port that supports FPV video trasmission – good for drones – and the micro sd slot.
Download the file from the official Elephone forum, insert in the microsd card, insert the card into the cam, turn on the cam and wait until the LED stops to blink, delete the file from the sd and turn on the cam updated.
Functions
Elephone Explorer Pro has many interesting features, besides the classic features found in all action cams.
For instance, it has a feature dedicated to underwater videos and photos, called Fill-in light underwater mode: light effect will be improved by 15-30%. It will add light exposure automatically to enable you take better pictures when the light is too dim underwater.
You can take timelapse with 2s, 3s, 5s, 10s, 20s, 30s, 60s intervals.
Video resolutions are:
4K @ 24fps (interpolated from 2880 x 2160P), 2K 30fps, 1080P 60fps, 720P 60fps
Photographic resolutions:
12M (4032 x 3024), 8M (3264 x 2448), 5M (2592 x 1944), 2M (1920 x 1080)
Loop recording allows to continuously record 5 minutes videos in loop. Useful when you are using the Elephone Explorer Pro as a dashcam, when the sd card is full, it deletes the older file to write a new one.
Exposure Compensation: -3， -2， -1， 0， 1， 2， 3
Battery type: Li-ion battery, with a capacity of 900mAh, 85 minutes of continuous recording @ 1080p with wifi off.
As we said, it has a Gyro stabylizer, to shoot steady and stable videos.
It has wifi , so the cam can be controlled using the app on your smartphone.
It has a new feature, voice prompts, that free your hands and eyes when you’re inconvenient, that allows you not to be distracted from exercising. The action cam emit voice prompts including Start recording, Stop recording, Full memory, Low battery, so you always know what’s happening to the cam even if you can’t see it, for instance when it is positioned on your helmet.
It has WDR or Wide Dynamic Range, useful in miscellaneous light conditions, where there are dark zones and wel lit zones in the same frame.
It comes with many accessories and mounts that allows you to use the cam in many situations, without the need to buy new accessories.
Elephone Explorer Pro unboxing
https://youtu.be/2vFLDsVSKRs
Specifications:
| General | Brand: Elephone Model: Explorer Pro Type: Sports Camera Chipset Name: Novatek Chipset: Novatek 96660 |
|---|---|
| Storage | Max External Card Supported: TF 64G (not included) Class Rating Requirements: Class 6 or Above |
| Display | Screen size: 2.0inch Screen type: TFT |
| Power | Battery Type: Built-in Capacity: 1050mAh Power Supply: 5V 1A Charge way: USB charge by PC Working Time: About 90min at 1080P 60fps |
| Primary Info. | Image Sensor: IMX117 Camera Pixel : 12MP |
| Video/Image/Audio | Video format: MOV Video Resolution: 1080P (1920 x 1080),4K (3840 x 2160),720P (1280 x 720) Video System: NTSC,PAL Video Output : HDMI Image Format : JPEG Audio System : Built-in microphone/speaker (AAC) Exposure Compensation: -2.0~2.0 White Balance Mode : Auto |
| Functions | WIFI: Yes WiFi Function: Remote Control WiFi Distance : 15m Waterproof: Yes Waterproof Rating : IP68 Water Resistant: 30m Loop-cycle Recording : Yes Loop-cycle Recording Time: 10min,3min,5min,OFF HDMI Output: Yes WDR: Yes USB Function: PC-Camera,USB-Disk Time Stamp: Yes Interface Type: HDMI,Mini USB,TF Card Slot Language: English,French,German,Italian,Portuguese,Russian,Simplified Chinese,Spanish,Traditional Chinese |
| Dimension/Weight | Product weight: 0.048 kg Package weight: 0.780 kg Product size (L x W x H): 2.98 x 5.92 x 4.10 cm / 1.17 x 2.33 x 1.61 inches Package size (L x W x H): 11.70 x 6.70 x 5.60 cm / 4.61 x 2.64 x 2.20 inches |
| Package Contents | Package Contents: 1 x Elephone Explorer Pro 4K Action Camera, 1 x Waterproof Case, 1 x Backpack Clip, 1 x Backpack Clip Case, 1 x Bike Handlebar Mount, 1 x Long Connector + Short Screw, 2 x Short Connector + Short Screw, 1 x 1/4 inch Adapter, 1 x Tripod Mount Adapter, 1 x Backdoor, 1 x J-Shaped Quick Release Mount, 1 x Flat Mount, 1 x Curved Mount, 2 x 3M Adhesive Tape, 1 x Metal Cable Tie, 4 x Nylon Cable Tie, 2 x Wrist Band, 2 x Velcro Band, 1 x USB Cable, 1 x Cleaning Cloth, 1 x English User Manual |
vkworld Stone V3S Unboxing Demonstration
searh on youtube “Stone V3S Unboxing Demonstration”
or visit https://youtu.be/80cUEXjABKo
Thank’s for the great review. In your opinion the Pro is better than the Elite ?
Pro is much better than elite. Consider also firefly 7s. If your busget allows it, consider sj6 legend and thieye t5e
Thank’s a lot. One more question, is the difference between Pro/firefly 7s and thieye t5e too much? Pro price is 72.99$, Firefly 7s price is 67.99$ and thieye t5e price is 115.99$. Worth the money?
Pro and Firefly are quite similar, almost the same thing. Thieye is worth the money for sure, much more quality. Try the coupon ReyesAC4K, if it still works you will get for 109$
GitUp Git2 or this for climbing and trekking? Mostly photo taking and some video. Was considering between sj5000x too
In review you say FPV function is supported. On google i`m try find a cable for FPV but i can`t. Anybody try FPV on this camera? Please help, because FPV is need to my MJX BUGS 3.