Sunco® DREAM 2 SJ4000 Helmet Camera Full HD 1080p 12MP Underwater Cameras With 170 Degree Wide Angle and 1.5 -inch High Definition Screen Video Camera (Black)

Customer Video Review Length:: 8:33 Mins

I did a double-take when I first saw this Sports Cam by Sunco. It looked eerily like a GoPro Hero. The camera body is nearly identical in size, shape, lens position and buttons. Even the waterproof case is a near clone of the older GoPro Hero case, although there are minor differences so that you can’t actually swap a GoPro case for this one And the reality is, it can use the same mounts that a GoPro uses.

But what sets this apart from the GoPro Hero is this sports cam has a LCD display on the back side and the moment you see it, you’ll wish that your GoPro had one too. Being able to see the shot you’re going to get, on-camera, is so helpful. And navigating the menu system is so much easier on the larger display when compared to the tiny, smaller-than-a-postage-stamp LCD that GoPro gives you.

What also impressed me was the sheer number of mounts accessories that are included with this sports cam. Many of the mounts even have tripod mount threads on them which is fantastic.

The camera has 4 modes that can be cycled through by pressing the front power/mode button. The camera turns on by a 3-5 second press of that button. When the camera first turns on it will be in the Video mode. Subsuquent presses of the front button will cycle you through the other modes:

➀ Video Recording
➁ Photo Shooting
➂ Playback
➃ Menu

➤ Video Recording

The format of video files is .MOV, uses H.264 compression and has the following video recording modes:
– 1080p @ 30fps
– 720p @ 60fps
– VGA @ 60fps (848×480)
– QVGA @ 60fps (640×480)

You also have several other options regarding video recording. You can use the Motion Detection setting to start recording when motion is detected. In the absence of further motion it will stop recording after 10 seconds. Recording will begin again when motion is detected again.

There is also a Cyclic Recording setting that will record for either 3, 5 or 10 minutes and then begin recording again.
➤ Photo Shooting

The camera has several shooting modes: single shot, timelapse and continuous shooting.
☞ Resolution: 12M (4032×3024), 10M (3648×2736), 8M (3264×2448), 5M (2592×1944)
☞ Quality: Fine, Normal, Economy.
☞ Sequence: otherwise known as Timelapse, will enable the camera to take a photo apparently every 3 seconds. There is no ability to change the frequency as far as I can tell.
☞ Sharpness: Strong, Normal or Soft.
☞ White Balance: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten
☞ Color: Color, B&W, Sepia
☞ ISO: Auto, 100, 200, 400
☞ Exposure: +2, +5/3, +4/3, +1.0, +2/3, +1/3, 0, -1/3, -2/3, -1.0, -4/3, -5/3, -2
☞ Face Detection: Off, Face Detection, Smile Detection
☞ Anti-Shaking: Off, On
☞ Quick Review: Off, 2 seconds, 5 seconds
☞ Date Stamp: Off, Date, Date/Time

➤ More Menu Settings

☞Language: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portugese, Chinese, Chinese Traditional, Chinese Simplified, Japanese, Russian
☞Date/Time
☞Auto Power Off, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes
☞Beep Sound: Off, On
☞Screensaver: 1 Minute, 3 Minutes, 5 Minutes, Off
☞Frequency: 50Hz, 60Hz
☞Car Mode: Off, On
☞Delete: Delete Current, Delete All
☞Format: Cancel, OK
☞Default Setting: Cancel, OK
☞Version: 20140106

The battery is inserted on the bottom of the Camcorder. The battery compartment door was difficult for me to release but once released the battery is pulled out. It’s a LI-IONm 3.7V, 900mAh battery with no model designation so I don’t know what battery replacements would be appropriate if you wanted to purchase extra batteries.

This uses MicroSD cards up to 32GB in size.

The overall feeling of quality is lacking but the overall performance is quite acceptable. At this price, considering all the mounts and accessories that are included, it is quite a good deal. Video and photo quality is very good.

The greatest weakness of the camcorder is the very poor audio quality. It records very low audio when outside of the waterproof case and virtually no audio when in the case. Battery life is my second concern as it is not quite an hour in my useage of the camcorder although the specs say “70 minutes.”

I’m quite impressed with this overall. Having an LCD screen is a tremendous asset and I wish my GoPro had one. The included mounts are very complete and it’s awesome that GoPro mounts are compatible with this.

I’m not sure how happy GoPro is with this look-alike camera, but for you and me, it’s a pretty cool camera.

I was provided a sample for review.