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Comment by chrsstrm | Hacker News Reader

Except it's already clear they want customer lock-in on their products. You can't use the remote app without being logged in (which I can't even get to connect, but that's another complaint). Something about some cloud service that costs $5/month to use. Their remote app is clearly the funnel to sell this service, so why would they open up their API? At this point I'm just going to start buying Chinese knock-offs that don't make me create an online account to use the hardware.

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FWIW, I can heartily recommend SJCAM -- their build quality is great for a Chinese knock-off and the resulting image/video quality is really really good for the price of the hardware. However, be careful when on eBay/aliExpress I've actually seen other vendors knocking off the knock-offs.

I think I was looking at SJCAM and also Wimius, which Amazon has a full camera, case, batteries, and accessory kit for $70 right now. I mean at that price point your biggest investment is going to be in class U3 micro SD cards.

I use a Wimius -- I have to say it's pretty excellent, and the price is hard to beat. Sure my need is not to to make 'production grade footage' but I'm still very picky on quality...

To get the best deal out of any of the knockoffs and competitors, though, you have to get a little bit knowledgeable about the camera tech. The SJ5000 is a large step up over the SJ4000 because it uses a 16MP Panasonic MN34110PA sensor rather than the SJ4000's 3.5MP Aptina AR0330 (which they upscale to call a "12MP sensor"). And that's just what a $25 bump gets you! This isn't something you're just gonna know, though--do your research.

Not too sure about the Panasonic, but the AR0330 is an ancient sensor, being about 6-7 years old now. Not the type of image sensor I'd be wanting to buy these days.

I agree. But the SJ4000 is $99 and the SJ5000 is $125 on Amazon, and that's a pretty big step for $25.

From what I noticed at other SJCAM isn't great in low light conditions.

> However, be careful when on eBay/aliExpress I've actually seen other vendors knocking off the knock-offs.

Yes, I have noticed this. Do you have a list of some sellers on eBay that can be trusted to deliver real SJCAM?

This one for example is probably legit right? https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/UK-Stock-SJCAM-SJ5000X-Elite-WiFi-4...

How much should one pay for a SJ5000?

Sorry for the delay in replying. I bought mine from the Official SJCAM Store on aliexpress. It was a little cheaper on ebay at the time, but I just didn't want to risk it because shipping from China can take a while some times.

Wow, I've been passively interested in getting a GoPro camera for a long time, but knowing their remote control requires a cloud service (I thought it was local wifi) is a total dealbreaker. Same with Hue lights. It is absolutely ridiculous for the customer to be locked out of their own hardware.

Now I'm confused,I thought the hue lights and Ikea knockoffs are one of the few smart lights that don't need internet and they never leave the wlan?

Most of the others are cloud enabled without a firmware upgrade, I'll give you that

I agree. And I have the hue lights.

I can't remember having to sign in to any online account to use it.

You definitely do not need a user account to use your hue lights.

IIRC, they create an ad hoc mesh network and don’t actually need WAN to operate.

The hue lights work fine over a standardized LAN protocol. I control them with both Google Home and F.lux on my desktop.

Try LIFX.

Hue lights do not require a cloud service. It is an optional way to control your lights from outside your local network (only the base station talks to the internet).

> only the base station talks to the internet

Exactly any part talking to the internet is a deal breaker. Why would I need my home to have that amount of attack vectors open?

Again, it's optional. It does not have to talk to the internet, but the option is there for people that want features requiring it.

To be fair to hue, the REST JSON API to the local hub is well documented by Philips and you can disable it contacting its cloud infrastructure via this API (and many apps) if you wish - all without hacks.

In your self-righteous rush, you neglected to consider whether or not the base station would function without being able to talk to the web.

It does so.

Sounds like failed experiment. It's not too late to give it up. They should stick to making exciting hardware.

You mean they should convince their now large set of mostly incompetent managers to stake their careers on the long shot of actually successfully innovating ? (like, say, a quality gimbal, or even trying to miniaturize a gimbal ? That would be excellent). Instead of focusing on exactly what they've done before (at best) and "soft" initiatives, and producing more of the same marketing everyone's seen 100x before ?

Yes. They should.

Also: not going to happen.

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