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of the Led Video Camera Light
I remember when POV action cameras first started making their appearance and if you wanted to do any underwater shots, or needed to shoot scenes where your camera could get wet, you had to purchase a waterproof housing since one didn’t come with the camera. Today companies like GoPro, SJCAM, BlackVue, etc., have a waterproof housing as part of their included accessories. With these special cases you can shoot underwater, shoot yourself wakeboarding, or splashing through mud in your truck right out of the box. However, a waterproof housing is just another add-on in your arsenal of camera accessories with battery such as RYOBI HILTI SFB 126 Battery, RYOBI Milwaukee PSH 18 Battery, Bosch Battery, Bosch BAT159 Battery, Dewalt Battery, Dewalt DE9096 Battery, HITACHI Battery, HITACHI FEB 9S Battery, Makita Battery, Makita 6908D Battery, Panasonic Battery, Panasonic EY9182 Battery, Black Decker Cordless Drill Battery, Black Decker FSB18 Battery. Zeblaze took the waterproof housing concept and made their camera a self-contained waterproof unit eliminating the need for a separate housing.
The Ishot 1 is rated at IP68 waterproof grade and can go as deep as 60 meters or 180 feet. The first time you handle this camera you can tell right away that it feels waterproof. It is solid and the texture even feels like it’s waterproof. It feels kind of like a hard rubber body casing, something that you would imagine being used for SCUBA equipment. Looking over the camera, you can see that it has sealed watertight fittings. With this camera housed in its own waterproof container it is enough for anyone to appreciate it for just that reason alone.
With its 12MP Sony HD 322 CMOS sensor with a 170° wide angle lens, the picture quality is very decent and impressive. Since the field of view is so wide, there is the inevitability of barreling or fish-eye effect around the edges. More so than the SJCAM S4000 or the BlackVue Sport Action Cameras. The fish-eye effect looks good in some scenes but there are some people who may not want that distorted effect in their footage, so keep that in mind. If you can overlook this effect, you will appreciate the crispness and the sharp resolution that the Ishot 1 captures. I was really pleased with the quality of this camera’s resolution.
Still shot taken with the Zeblaze Ishot 1. Unedited.
The Ishot 1 camera has frame rates of 1080P @30fps, 720P @ 60fps, 480(WVGA) @60fps and 480(VGA) @120fps. It records to a .H264 compressed .MOV video file which is basically standard on most action POV cameras. And it also captures still pictures in JPEG format and has a 4x zoom lens which comes in pretty handy. For what it’s worth, zooming in with the camera can correct barrel distortion too. The measurements on this camera are roughly about 2.4″ x 2.1″ x 2.2″ inches and the weigh is a little over 4 ounces.
The Ishot 1 has several settings which allow you to manually control the camera like White Balance, ISO, Exposure and Cyclic Recording. You can also turn off Audio Recording if you just want to record video without sound. You can save some card space by not recording sound. The Ishot 1 also has a Motion Detection feature and an Auto Photo feature. I didn’t get a chance to use the Auto Photo but this is a nice feature to have if you want to do some time-lapse recording.
If the waterproof housing isn’t a reason to try this camera, then this next feature will really seal the deal. Right above the lens is a unique feature on an action camera that I have not yet seen: dual LED lights. These lights aren’t your typical LED lights that notify you of the camera’s status such as power on, WiFi connection, or a recording lamp. These LED lights are more of an actual camera light to help throw illumination on your subject. Lights such as these dual LED lights are none that I have seen on any other action camera on the market, not even on the more expensive higher end cameras.
I can say that the lights work fairly well in low light to help fill in those dark shadows and are great to have in complete darkness. It’s not night vision by any means, but it’s a great alternative to have if you have ever used your phone’s camera LED to shine some light in your scene. The LED lights can be set to one of three settings: High, Low or Flashing. I couldn’t think of a use for the Flashing mode since the fast pulsating lights would ruin your scene. However, on Zeblaze’s website it states that it could be used as an S.O.S. signal. I can see how it could be intended for a signal light but not for recording video unless you are going for an artsy strobing abstract video.
These LED lights are a huge plus for me. I love that the Ishot 1 has them built-in. Using one of my other action cameras, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve recorded in a dark bar or club wanting to grab a quick impromptu segment of my subject doing something interesting on the fly but to get home and review the footage and find out that the scene was too dark and that the ambient light I thought would help the scene didn’t help at all. My subject needed that front light source to help pop them out from the scene. Then I got wise and used the LED light on my cell phone’s camera. The idea was there but it wasn’t really practical when you want to do a spontaneous, on the fly, candid video. I had to pull the phone from my pocket, unlock the phone, find the flashlight icon, tap it on, aim the light with one hand, hold the camera with the other hand, and try to frame my shot. By this time, the spontaneity mood has faded. With the Ishot 1, you just press the Light button and start recording away. Simple.