INTRODUCTION
People have always liked to take impressive risks in order to feel alive and just by looking at some of the most popular extreme sports like parachuting (plane jumping), skiing, snowboarding, Cyaking, deep diving and surfing that's not really hard to figure out. However why do something so extreme if you can't keep a visual record of it not only as proof that you actually did it but also to help you improve. Up until a few years ago there was simply no easy way for people to record video while taking part in outdoor activities something which changed with the arrival of tiny cameras that could be easily mounted pretty much everywhere. We are of course talking about Action Cameras and today we will be checking out the brand new S-50 Wi-Fi Nitro Circus Live Limited Edition model by Rollei.
Rollei’s history goes back to the year 1920 and a workshop in Braunschweig. With the launch of the twin-lens Rolleiflex, a landmark film camera, Rollei quickly established a global reputation for precision engineering. A cult brand, it gave rise to its very own photo style in the 1950s and ’60s. In 2007 Hamburg-based RCP-Technik GmbH acquired the European rights to Rollei and since then has marketed Rollei consumer products with growing success. Rollei products are currently sold in more than 20 European countries. The Rollei product range features digital cameras, camcorders, action camcorders, digital picture frames, slide scanners, professional tripods as well as camera and iPhone accessories. Excellent service is assured for all Rollei products with the all-inclusive package for 24 months. If a defect is found within this time, the product can be returned and a new one received within eight days.
One issue I’ve experienced with every action camera I’ve ever used so far is that due to their tiny size the manufacturers simply can't use the same optical sensors and lens as some full size handheld models resulting in far inferior image quality. However having followed this new trend close for the past 3 years i can now say that thanks to continuous technological advancements we have reached a point where such devices can now record in Full HD quality (some even more) and offer several useful features so it's not really a surprise that we see more manufacturers jump in the wagon with their own models. Of course image quality is still not on par with that of normal handheld camcorders but we are getting there. Getting back to the S-50 Wi-Fi Nitro Circus Live Limited Edition action camera Rollei has really stepped up their game since this time over they've managed to pack an 14 Megapixel CMOS sensor (although it can shot still pictures at 20mp in 16:9 mode) along with a Wi-Fi transmitter, HDMI port and a 2.0 inch LCD screen inside the smallest housing currently in the market (yes even smaller than the HERO3/+ by GoPro). The S-50 Wi-Fi Nitro Circus Limited Edition also offers several interesting functions such as motion sensor recording, time lapse recording/shooting and dual stream recording output. On paper however things tend to look much better than in reality so let's see what Rollei has to offer with their latest S-50 Wi-Fi Nitro Circus Live Limited Edition action camera.
SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES
PACKAGING AND CONTENTS
We received the S-50 Wi-Fi Nitro Circus Live Limited Edition inside a clear hard plastic box with the camera placed at the top section.
The product highlights (features) are placed on the right side next to the system requirements.
On the opposite side we see a list and a picture with the contents of the box.
At the rear we see the specifications list in German and English.
Just as the name states Rollei has just manufactured a total of 3000 pieces of the S-50 Wi-Fi Nitro Circus Live Limited Edition. Now what really makes this Limited Edition special is the bundle since inside the box you will find a waterproof housing with two rear panels (1 for underwater use and one splash-proof for better audio), standard mount, helmet mount, short standard mount, U-Bolt mount, 3 adhesive stickers by 3M, one adhesive pad, remote control, remote control charger, 2 Lithium-Ion Batteries, microUSB to USB cable, user's manual, Limited Edition paper (proof) and a warranty information paper.
THE S-50 WI-FI NITRO CIRCUS LIVE LIMITED EDITION
The housing of the S-50 Wi-Fi Nitro Circus Live Limited Edition has a nice rubber coating and measures 58mm in length, 46mm in height and 25mm in depth (almost 39mm with the lens) with a weight of 80g.
Rollei has equipped the camera with a 14 Megapixel CMOS sensor and lens capable of Full HD 1080p recording at 30fps with a horizontal angle of 175 degrees.
Right beneath the lens we see the power and recording LEDs.
At the right side of the camera we find the HDMI port, miniUSB port and a microSD card slot (supports microSD cards up to 64GB in capacity).
The power button is placed on the opposite side.
Moving at the top we see the activity LED (recording/taking shots) along with the menu navigation arrows (to access the menu you need to push one and hold it for a few seconds) and the picture and video buttons.
The 2.0 inch screen takes most of the rear so you should pay some attention on where you place the camera.
By default the camera is mounted on the standard mount which can be mounted on most places via a 3M adhesive pad.
I was surprised to see that Rollei packs two Lithium-Ion batteries in the box allowing you to record continuously for up to 160 minutes. To battery compartment is placed right behind the front cap seen above.
Rollei also provides a nice and small remote control for the S-50 which can be used to turn it on/off, take pictures and start/pause recording.
You can use the provided base to charge the remote (you will need to use the bundled miniUSB cable with the base).
Although the camera is not waterproof that's not a problem since Rollei also bundles a waterproof housing allowing you to record underwater up to 60m.
For people however who just want to use the S-50 in the rain (anywhere just not inside water) the second panel is more suitable since it allows better audio to get recorded.
USING THE S-50 WI-FI NITRO CIRCUS LIVE LIMITED EDITION
The first thing you should do when you get the S-50 should be to check online for a new firmware update.
You just need to place the firmware file inside the microSD card, place it back in the camera and then perform a firmware update from the settings menu.
Here you can see all of the available settings placed under the 3 available tabs (photo/video/system).
Rollei also allows you to connect the S-50 via Wi-Fi to your tablet or smartphone with their application. From here not only you can see everything the camera does but you can also adjust some of its settings. The app we used is designed for firmware version 1.09 but we found no issues with version 1.13 (the one we used).
AUDIO/VIDEO QUALITY
The S-50 Wi-Fi Nitro Circus Live Limited Edition is an action camera so once again for testing we used both my car and a friends bike to see just how well it does in both day and night environments/conditions. The results as you will see are very good but you may need to experiment with all the available color settings since at default the rich setting might be too much for you (i think it does make the colors a lot more vivid than it should). As usual we chose to upload all 4 clips to our server and not YouTube to preserve the exact same quality so to download the clips directly just click on the above images (click and save as).
CONCLUSION
When the S-50 Wi-Fi Nitro Circus Live Limited Edition arrived at our doorstep and i opened the box i found myself feeling the exact same way i did when i unboxed the GoPro HERO2 a couple of years ago. Of course back then i felt joy because the HERO2 was actually my first serious action camera while this time over i felt that way because i was surprised by both the very rich bundle and the size of the S-50. Unfortunately inside the bundle Rollei hasn't placed a car suction mount and that's perhaps the only problem i really had with the bundle (Rollei however was kind enough to send us an extra car mount). Performance-wise the S-50 Wi-Fi Nitro Circus Live Limited Edition did very well since our recordings combined quite crisp, smooth and very vivid video with good audio quality as well although you may need to adjust the volume size from the settings menu. The dual Lithium-Ion batteries and the remote control are also excellent additions but I’d rather Rollei used a single yet larger capacity battery than two since that reduces the recording time of the camera to a max of 80 minutes with each battery. Overall we were very pleased during our tests with the S-50 Wi-Fi Nitro Circus Live Limited Edition which i have to say took a bit longer than expected.
Full HD capable action cameras have been around for a couple of years now but we just now see models that can actually record in 1080p with very decent results thanks to more advanced sensors/lens so it goes without saying that these models don't come cheap especially when they also come packing extra features like Wi-Fi or GPS. The Rollei S-50 Wi-Fi Nitro Circus Live Limited Edition may not be the most expensive action camera in the market but it's certainly amongst the most expensive ones with a current price tag set at USD379.95 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and 351.99Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de). Of course if you don't care about the very rich bundle this model comes with Rollei also has the S-50 available with single mounts and a much lower price tag (roughly 60-70Euros less). Bottom line the S-50 Wi-Fi Nitro Circus Live Limited Edition may not be perfect (no action camera is currently) but it comes close and that's why it gets our Platinum Award.
PROS
- Build Quality
- Size
- Image Quality (Sharpness/Smoothness)
- Audio Quality
- 2 Inch LCD Screen
- Rechargeable Remote Control
- Built-In Wi-Fi
- Two Lithium-Ion Batteries
- Waterproof Housing
- Bundled Mounts
- Available Settings
- Android/iOS App
CONS
- Price (For Some)