The JooVuu X’s 2.7K at 30fps is impressive and shows a well-balanced image when it comes to exposure, colour and detail. Contrast is good with the camera avoiding the usual high contrast that can effect these small cameras with a good level of details in shadow and highlight areas of the footage.
The volume of settings and adjustments is handy and the ability to shoot at 2.7k at 30fps gives you the opportunity to shoot high resolution footage at a frame that that produces decent results. It might not be 4K but the 30fps at 2304 x 1296p produces good smooth motion.
Exposure adjustment is also well handled but moving from light to shade the camera does take a short time to adjust and there is a noticeable shift in colour balance for a fraction of a second before it settles.
Using the lower resolutions such as the more common 1920 x 1080p at 60fps and 30fps both produce excellent results. At this resolution at 30fps you can also activate the HDR mode which pushes the dynamic range and capture greater shadow and highlight details.
This HDR feature really does work and the results are impressive although ideally suited for general filming rather than action due to the lower frame rate.
The 155-degree f/2 lens is of a good quality enabling the capture of sharp well-balanced footage. As with all action cameras the amount of distortion produced by the lens gives the stereo typical fish-eye distortion but not to the degree that it is an issue.
The JooVuu X is a dashboard cam gone tough. It’s broken free from the original tethered design and brings simplicity of design to the action camera market.
The camera packs in the features with high definition resolutions of 2.7K at 30fs enabling the capture of well detailed smooth footage as well as the more standard 1080p at 60fps ready to capture the action.
The simple design is a huge appeal as mounted to bike or helmet the camera remains discrete and isn’t instantly apparent unlike the majority of action cameras.
This simplicity is carried over to the rest of the design with the sleek three button operation and once you get to know the meaning of all the app icons a simple to navigate app that lets you change settings and modes quickly and without fuss.
Footage quality is excellent and the small lens does a great job at capturing decent quality footage without overdoing the contrast, colour or distortion.
The lack of any on camera screen isn’t an issue once you connect to the app and again supports the easy simplicity of use that sums up this camera.
As a straight action camera the JooVuu X has a great deal to offer, and although it has evolved from a dash cam to fully-fledged action camera it can still revert to its old ways as a dual use camera if needed.
Out of the box and when being used as an action camera the JooVuu doesn’t pack in the features of some of the latest GPS and sensor-enabled action cameras such as the Olympus TG-Tracker, however this is reflected in the price.
However if you decide to use the JooVuu X as a dashboard cam then there is a GPS module included in the box which can be wired in and used to map your location. This unfortunately requires power from the car so at present cannot be integrated with a more mobile approach.
The JooVuu X is a great all round action camera, it may not be waterproof but it has plenty that appeals. The discrete nature of the design means that you don’t get questioned when riding around town, and if you ride off road you don’t get those sidewards looks as you pass walkers.
As interfaces for apps go it does look pretty dated and it isn’t as quick as some to confirm updates and changes to the settings. It’s also not as streamlined and doesn’t feature the close social integration of other brands. But you have to be aware that apps get updated and once this has an app that fully meets the quality of the hardware we’re going to have one incredible action camera, as long as it doesn’t get wet..
JooVuu X review in use – Part 2