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Xiaomi Xiaoyi YI-M1 m43 camera, 4K video, $213 only now for kit
  • 303 Replies sorted by
  • It feels like a camera which costs $240 with a lens (on sale) is not targeting the "professional" market... but even in the consumer market, recording limits tend to irk people.

  • @eatstoomuchjam

    If you ask me, for recording interviews on tripod and with proper spanning it will be same as any m43 camera with 4K crop, like Olympus or GH4. With 1080p must be no difference at all.

  • @Vitialiy_Kisilev I could totally see that, but my point was just that they might not be looking for the advice of "professionals" for a camera which so clearly targets the consumer market (based on price, build quality, and its weird "how to take a photo" mode). :)

  • @eatstoomuchjam

    My interest if pragmatic, as we could use pairs of such cheap cameras for exhibitions for new teams.

    For now we used pair of GH5s.

  • @Vitaliy_Kisilev Sure, even in its current form, I'd think it would be (mostly) usable for them. A lot of expo interviews don't seem to go longer than 7 1/2 minutes. One of the biggest drawbacks would be lack of an external mic jack and no firmware is going to help with that.

    If the lighting at the expos is decent (hope so because the m1 isn't great in low light either), you could also consider giving them a pair of Osmo+. It costs a little more, but has a mic jack and an integrated gimbal which "just works" without any fuss. Combine it with a short monopod / selfie stick and it would be absolutely no problem to do 1:1 interviews with it at arm's length with minimal/no tripod setup.

  • A lot of expo interviews don't seem to go longer than 7 1/2 minutes.

    It is wrong view, as such limit put big stress at people. And require precise and fast start and not allow restarts and cutouts.

    One of the biggest drawbacks would be lack of an external mic jack and no firmware is going to help with that.

    This is not really issue, as we use external sound always anyway. External shotgun mic just allows better auto syncing.

    As for gimbals, if you do not notice we do testing of various. Any good gimbal will work.

  • Higher bitrates, better recording time and clean hdmi ouput would make me satisfied.

  • @samuelcabral

    Actually I am more interested in improved encoder and availability of 40Mbit, 50Mbit at 4K.

    This is why NX500 / NX1 with HEVC is still best camera for remote teams.

  • If you say so... You have better understanding on this area than i. But i still want a clean hdmi output and no recording limit.

  • @samuelcabral

    Smaller bitrates are better match with US and EU real internet speeds :-)

    Plus Youtube still reencodes it to even lower numbers.

  • @Vitaliy_Kisilev - From the thread in the m1 discussion group where someone asked where to send the feedback form - the yi people suggested sending it to sami.luo@xiaoyi.com - he might be a contact for you vs just their zendesk support account.

  • @eatstoomuchjam

    Thanks, sent to him also.

  • @Vitaliy_Kiselev

    Do you think an improved encoder is viable for them? I mean.... would it be easy for them to change the actual encoder or it would demand a lot o effort for their team?

  • @samuelcabral

    Top encoder limits are defined by used LSI.

    Btw, anyone made current encoder analysis?

    @eatstoomuchjam

    They replied what time limit with spanning and exfat as possible solutions are sent to R&D team.

  • @eatstoomuchjam

    Can you tell me limit in 1080p modes, as bitrate is lower in them, is it also around 4GB or same 7.5 minutes?

  • Some exclusive info!

    Thanks for our efforts Yi M1 will have either spanning or exFAT support, it is officially put into plans.

    Release date is not known yet, but we will be informed.

  • &24p. pls.

  • @Vitaliy_Kisilev - I just ran a test. 1080p30 stopped at 29:59 with a file size of 3239.58MB. That would seem to match the behavior I observed in 4K where a completely black/easily-compressed scene only came to 1GB, but still stopped recording at 7:30. It seems like their developers just hardcoded stops based on maximum expected bitrate. I took a snapshot with my phone (attached) - I started to wonder if I misremembered the 1GB 4K file and was kicking myself for not doing something similar.

    IMG_6054.jpg
    3264 x 2448 - 1M
  • @eatstoomuchjam

    Got it. 1080p50 and 1080p60 also stop at 30 minutes? Or sooner?

  • @Vitaliy_Kisilev Also since you seem to have found a receptive listener, it would also be great to have an option to set the liveview displayed exposure to match the settings. Right now, it doesn't seem to and it's annoying to have to start recording to check lighting, etc.

  • I'll check 1080p60. My camera has no option for 1080p50 - either it's not available on the Yi cameras or it's disabled when they're set for NTSC. I suspect the former.

  • 1080p60 - weird result - stopped at 20:10, 3082MB.

    IMG_6055.jpg
    3264 x 2448 - 1M
  • @eatstoomuchjam

    Seems like time constant is dependent on mode.

  • It does - but 20:10 just seems like a weird number. :)