Two weeks that I enjoyed it in some of our outdoor adventures and some before or after media events, I finally had my verdict on the most affordable Yi action cam that they released so far since the first Yi cam
The biggest drawback on the Discovery is not having a tripod mount. Good thing that the SRP of this thing is still affordable, having a waterproof case (which also gives you that must-need feature) will fix this issue. Hey, Maricel Online Store has the official Yi Discovery case. In addition, the case is quite important too as the micro SD and micro USB ports are exposed to possible harmful environments but I prefer this over those might-be-easy-to-wear-and-tear flap covers. On the good side, I love it's matte finish for gripping either by hand or putting in those third-party accessories
Overall in both photo and video, I noticed that the camera itself with Sony IMX 179 sensor on 150 degree wide angle mode which can do some advantages especially when you are covering concerts, those beautiful landscapes and vloggers who has a short arm
Audio quality when I did some vlogging either beside a road or in a quite windy scenario in Nuvali (as long as you are in steady mode) are fine to me based it's asking price but once you are about to walk, the noise will be that harsh. I love when I brought this one on rock gigs as they captured it a lot better than a number of midrange smartphones that I owned recently. It can handle that massive noise which I am surpised personally
On photo, it can shoot on both 8 and 16 MP with f/2.4 aperture. Daylight, there's almost no difference in quality but for low light I prefer the 8 MP so that you will gonna get less noise
On video, Yi Discovery can capture HD 30, 60 and 90 fps, Full HD 30 and 60 fps, Quad HD at 30 fps and 4K at 20 fps. The 4K option seems not giving some justice for me. The Quad HD option seems no difference compared to Full HD 30 fps so the sweet spots for me as for future-proofing given that you have this device is either go for the HD and Full HD 60 fps with smooth video framing, good audio and detail. I chose to do it on night time in a food park beside a road in Lipa City, Batangas with that busy scenario of various vehicles
Yi Discovery HD 60 fps timelapse sample
Yi Discovery Quad HD 30 fps timelapse sample
Yi Discovery 4K 20 fps video sample
Yi Discovery Full HD 60 fps video sample
Other video features include loop and timelapse which I enjoyed it, just use it depending on the scenario as you can find some guides rom Yi itself like this sunset which is good at 5 seconds per frame
On battery, they had almost in their promise of 90 minutes for videos. It depends on the video resolution but shooting on Full HD
On video and audio output, it is based on H.264 codec and mp4 format so almost no problem if you will gonna play it directly on most media players, your smartphone and even those LED TVs with USB input. In terms of file size, an hour on Full HD 60 fps can have at around 8 GB.
The Yi Discovery is priced as of this writing at Php 3,899 at Maricel Online Store thru Shopee PH and Php 3,897 on Lazada Philippines but you will gonna get Php 100 off until June 30, 2018 on the latter if you will gonna put the promo code YIACTIONJUNE (Buy at Lazada PH thru this link). For it's budget price tag, Yi Discovery is definitely good start-up if you are still new to action cameras with a recognizable brand and not hurting literally on your pocket. The con that I seen for now is the lack of tripod mount. I will gonna give it at 4.25 out of 5
