Sony FDRX3000R/W 4K HD Recording, Action Cam, Live View Underwater Camcorder, White

This is by far the best action camera on the market right now.I've been using GoPro cameras since Hero 2. Always bought the top of the line models, but they all always had various issues. It has become customary for GoPro to release unfinished products, with a lot of bugs and issues, and then, instead of fixing them - releasing a new model, with just as many bugs and issues, while completely stopping release of firmware updates for the previous models.Ultimately, I decided to try something else. And boy, was it a good decision!First, Sony camera has a standard camcorder shape, which makes it very easy to mount on the side of a helmet. While GoPro always look ugly on the helmet, no matter where or how you mount it (especially given that you'd have to use a ton of mounting arms to align the camera the way you want). For Sony I bought a helmet side mount and it took me literally 1-2 minutes to do so, and then to alight the camera so that the horizon line is horizontal, and the camera is pointing where I need it to.Second, it's much more reliable than GoPro. So far I have not had any issues related to bugs in firmware.Third, the image quality. Sony is one of the leaders of video cameras - and it shows! Crisp, sharp image, with incredibly accurate colors, low noise, and excellent low light performance! It's day and night compared to GoPro! With GoPro I always had to use ProTune with Flat color profile, and then fiddle with color correction in Final Cut Pro X in order to get the colors to look like they do in real life. With Sony, initially I selected Neutral profile, which also requires subsequent fiddling with color correction. But then I decided to try its Vivid profile, and... I don't have to do anything with the colors anymore! It offers life-like color reproduction - even in low light! It captures great detail in shadow and highlights. The only thing I may sometimes need to do is to lower highlights intensity a bit, since by default it goes all the way to the maximum of Rec.709 specs and I prefer to keep highlights just under 80% of the maximum.The camera also has optical image stabilization, which, unlike GoPro Hero 5 Black, doesn't require you to drop the resolution from 4k to 2.7k. GoPro has digital stabilization, which only works in 2.7k or lower resolution, and it totally doesn't work in low light. It suffers from all the standard digital stabilization artifacts, while Sony's optical stabilization has none of those. The only drawback of Sony's optical stabilization is it's very sensitive to vibrations: since the lens is free-floating, vibrations cause the lens to also vibrate, which produces a jello-like effect on the image, so it's best not to hard-mount it to a vehicle (although there are mounts with built-in vibration absorbers).Overall, like I said, this is the best 4K action camera on the market.

This is my first attempt at owning an action camera. I shoot Sony for my DSLR so I figured I would see what they can offer for the rest of my camera needs.Without knowing too much except that the GoPro's are the most popular action camera out, I couldn't help but notice how so many youtubers have posted vlogs indicating that they are switching to the X3000 over their GoPro.The biggest benefit I've seen is the optical stabilization. Its pretty incredible to see some of the footage i've taken with this mounted to my bike and to my chest. I used to video record a lot back in the day with one of those sony handycams and even comparing to those videos, its amazing how walking seems very smooth. Granted, it will never be the same as comparing to a rig on a gimble but it does very good without it.Of course the 4k video was something desired and this little guy works great at it. As I tend to color correct my photos, I've not mastered the profiling on video however I tend to leave the x3000 in vivid mode and I'm happy with it.One of my biggest issues was deciding to get the bundle with the live view or not. Its an issue because Sony has not made the Live View (vr3) available as standalone purchase like their other remotes. So if you dont get the bundle and decided you want the remote, you have to either deal with your mobile phone or buying the vr2 remote. Looking at the compatibility chart, if you go with the lr2 remote, you will not be able to do some of the functions on the x3000 camera. Its looks like the App makes up for it.So i did go for the for the live remote and for the most part I am happy. Some have complained that with this remote, you are required to dock it into a base to charge it, and yes I see how this can be a pain where if you simply had the usb port on the device itself, you can just plug & charge. I wonder if it was designed this way to make it more water proof??If I had a wish granted, it would be that sony would have developed a waterproof housing that would allow the live remote to work underwater. Sony has a "Finger Grip" [ B01HD7EIVY ] that allows you to mount the live view remote to the camera and give you a more familiar camcorder experience. However the this doesn't solve the problem of trying to use the live remote underwater. Once underwater, Wifi & bluetooth don't work. So if Sony would have developed an enclosure that would keep the communication open between the cam & remote while allowing you to view the remote.. well that would be freaking sweet!I know it is hard for me to really review this camera as its my first entry but I feel very spoiled to jump into it now seeing that GoPro & Sony have had several shots improving this technology.As for accessories with this camera, allow me to share what I gotMemory Card - Delkin 128gb UHS-ii [ B01N9W72SY ] : Fast enough to max out the specs on the camera and super fast for my pc when it comes to exporting data from the card. Lifetime warranty on the card as well!Action Camera Mounts - Luxebell Bundle Kit [ B00N8JIPPC ] : Very cheap and almost everything is very useful in the kit. I was going to buy all of the Sony mount stuff but then I said for this price, it is worth to try it out, If things break in a year and i had to rebuy this kit, I still would be saving money vs the sony stuffBattery - Sony NP-BX1 [B00CBB7P4U]: Do not overpay, Amazon is out of stock at this moment, so google search the part number and check places like B&H or Adorama. I cannot stress enough, buy multiple batteries if you plan on recording alot, the 4K 100Mbps encoding just eats through the battery. I would recommend 3 (if you record ALOT) min would be 2. I also like to stay with branded names when i can for batteries.Battery Charger - Sony BCTRX [ B009OZVIS0 ] : Having more than 1 battery does mean you will need a wall charger. (the included battery is expected to be charged via in camera). This charger not only provides a full charge in under 2 hours, it also supports other sony batteries.Tip, if your looking to get 1 or more batteries for this camera, get the charger/battery bundle, ACCTRBX . You will save money [ B009OZVIJ4 ]. So if you want 3 batteries, I would get the bundle then just buy your extra Sony Type X batteries!!

I can't fully review this as I am still learning how to use it.It is a really good camera so far. Video quality is great. Hasn't overheated.Downside is that it's a bit hard to find accessories for this camera and that it didn't connect with my phone properly (app is lacking). Also don't use the camera for taking pictures. Its not that great.Also, the screen watch is a bulky for me.