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The Best GoPro Alternative: Half the Price of the Hero 10

Half the price, but not half the camera.

GoPro makes some of the best action cameras, especially its flagship Hero10 Black. It has excellent image quality and supersmooth stabilization and the whole thing is waterproof without a case. But all those features don’t come cheap — the Hero 10 Black costs around $449. If you can’t quite stretch the budget to get the best GoPro, you can get a cheaper GoPro or look for a budget alternative. 

There’s no shortage of contenders looking to take on the GoPro. I’ve chosen two cameras to compare with the current top-tier GoPro, at different prices to suit all budgets. First is the Akaso EK7000 Pro, at $75. The second is the Yi 4K Plus Action Camera, which is $199. I’ve chosen the Yi because an earlier Yi model scored high marks from CNET camera guru Josh Goldman.

Read more: Best action cameras of 2019: GoPro, DJI and Yi compared

I tested all three cameras while walking, riding a bicycle and scuba diving to see what they could do.

Check out the video above to see my full thoughts on how the Hero10 Black compares with these cheaper alternatives. 

GoPro vs. cheap alternatives

GoPro Hero 7 Black Yi 4K Plus Action Camera Akaso EK7000 Pro
Display 2-inch touchscreen 2.2-inch touchscreen 2-inch touchscreen
Max resolution 4K/60 4K/60 4K/25
Still image resolution 12MP 12MP 16MP
Lens 149.2-degree FOV 155-degree FOV 170-degree FOV
Stabilization Yes (HyperSmooth) Yes (EIS at 4K/30) Yes (EIS at 1080/60)
Voice control Yes Yes No
Waterproofing (without case) Yes (33ft/10m) No No
Waterproofing (with case) 131ft/40m 131ft/40m 131ft/40m

These GoPro alternatives are all easy to use

Thankfully, the GoPro method has almost become the default way to operate action cameras. All three have a touchscreen at the back, as well as physical buttons that turn the camera on and off, start and stop recording or change settings like the Wi-Fi connection.

Angela Lang/CNET

There are also companion apps on iOS or Android that let you view the live image, start recording, pull down footage to your phone or even livestream (GoPro and Yi only). I didn’t have any problems connecting, downloading footage or filming with any of the cameras when I tested on iOS.

Want mounts? Akaso has them all

Open the box that comes with the Akaso EK7000 Pro and you’ll be shocked at how much you get for your money. There are several mounts, a waterproof case, a remote control and a spare battery.

The Yi, on the other hand, comes with nothing but the camera, the battery and two cables. That’s it.

The GoPro falls in the middle, with a cage, buckle and some adhesive mounts.

Fortunately, all the cameras are compatible with the standard GoPro mounting system. It’s really easy to change them in and out as you need, as long as you have the right parts.

GoPro wins at image quality, but the Yi gets close

Hands down, the best image out of these cameras comes from the GoPro, which is our benchmark for all these comparisons. The other two cameras just can’t match it for dynamic range, especially underwater. But the Yi gets close and captures detail and color in bright, outdoor situations well. Motion at 60fps looks smooth and overall I think the image looks quite good.

The Akaso’s image, on the other hand, is far from perfect. There’s plenty of noise, even when filming in bright sunlight, as well as chromatic aberration (the technical term for purple fringing). The exposure also blew out some highlights and the colors didn’t look very accurate. I could tell that this was the cheapest camera of the bunch. But where this camera did perform well was underwater, thanks to a dedicated diving mode.

gopro-alternative-5gopro-alternative-5
Angela Lang/CNET

I went to the Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco to test out underwater image quality. Dive safety operator Chris Grace took all three cameras down to 16 feet in the Near Shore and Sharks of Alcatraz tunnels. Want to see sharks and fish up close? Watch the video at the top of the article.

Note that all the sample video and images were taken on default color settings, although you can use ProTune on the GoPro or a flat profile on the Yi so you have more flexibility to color correct footage.

Ready, steady, GoPro stabilization

Stabilization is so important on an action camera, otherwise that epic bike ride or skate trick will make you sick when watching the footage. GoPro has its own version of electronic image stabilization called HyperSmooth that makes everything look like it’s been filmed on a gimbal. And it works at most resolutions and frame rates, including 4K/60.

The Yi also offers its own electronic image stabilization but it’s nowhere near as nice as the GoPro and it’s only at 4K/30. And the Akaso … well, the less said about that the better. It’s only at 1080/60 and it doesn’t look particularly smooth at all, at least from the footage I took on a bike ride.

So which one is the best cheap GoPro alternative?

The Akaso EK7000 Pro is not my favorite when it comes to image quality. But it’s cheap for what it offers and if you don’t have any more wiggle room in the budget for mounts and accessories, it could fit the bill.

My pick is the Yi 4K Plus Action Cam because it does a lot more than the Akaso and offers comparable image quality to the GoPro — for half the price. That said, you get absolutely nothing apart from the camera in the box, so you’ll have to invest a little more in accessories to get the most out of it.

Don’t forget to watch the video at the top of the page for my full review, where I talk about battery life and audio quality and show you plenty of video samples!

Also, if you have your heart set on getting an actual GoPro but aren’t prepared to pay for the Hero 10 Black, then you’ll want to check out the Silver and White lines. Or look for discounts on earlier models like the Hero 9 or Hero 8.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, July 3

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for July 3.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.


Today’s Mini Crossword stumped me in a few spots. 8-Across had me thinking of a couple different words, but I landed on it eventually. Need answers? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue:  Glaswegian or Edinburgher
Answer: SCOT

5A clue: 2025 Pixar film about a boy who gets abducted by aliens
Answer: ELIO

6A clue: Strong string
Answer: TWINE

7A clue: Religious devotee with a shaved head, maybe
Answer: MONK

8A clue: Calligrapher’s assortment
Answer: INKS

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Attach, as a button
Answer: SEWON

2D clue: Sound of two glasses being «cheers-ed»
Answer: CLINK

3D clue: Noises from a pig
Answer: OINKS

4D clue: «Little piggy»
Answer: TOE

6D clue: «Did I overshare?»
Answer: TMI

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Starlink Plans to Send 42K Satellites Into Space. That Could Be Bad News for the Ozone

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Technologies

Scary Survey Results: Teen Drivers Are Often Looking at Their Phones

New troubling research found that entertainment is the most common reason teens use their phones behind the wheel, followed by texting and navigation.

A new study reveals that teen drivers in the US are spending more than one-fifth of their driving time distracted by their phones, with many glances lasting long enough to significantly raise the risk of a crash. Published in the journal Traffic Injury Prevention and released on Thursday, the research found that, on average, teens reported looking at their phones during 21.1% of every driving trip. More than a quarter of those distractions lasted two seconds or longer, which is an amount of time widely recognized as dangerous at highway speeds.

Most distractions tied to entertainment, not emergencies

The top reason teens said they reached for their phones behind the wheel was for entertainment, cited by 65% of respondents. Texting (40%) and navigation (30%) were also common. Researchers emphasized that these distractions weren’t typically urgent, but rather habitual or social.

Teens know the risks

The study includes survey responses from 1,126 teen drivers across all four US regions, along with in-depth interviews with a smaller group of high schoolers. Most participants recognized that distracted driving is unsafe and believed their parents and peers disapproved of the behavior.

But many teens also assumed that their friends were doing it anyway, pointing to a disconnect between personal values and perceived social norms.

Teens think they can resist distractions

Interestingly, most teens expressed confidence in their ability to resist distractions. That belief, researchers suggest, could make it harder to change behavior unless future safety campaigns specifically target these attitudes.

The study’s lead author, Dr. Rebecca Robbins of Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said interventions should aim to shift social norms while also emphasizing practical steps, such as enabling «Do Not Disturb» mode and physically separating drivers from their devices.

«Distracted driving is a serious public health threat and particularly concerning among young drivers,» Robbins said. «Driving distracted doesn’t just put the driver at risk of injury or death, it puts everyone else on the road in danger of an accident.» 

What this means for parents and educators

The researchers say their findings can help guide educators and parents in developing more persuasive messaging about the dangers of distracted driving. One of the recommendations is that adults need to counter teens’ beliefs that phone use while driving is productive or harmless.

While the study’s qualitative component was limited by a small and non-urban sample, the authors believe the 38-question survey they developed can be used more broadly to assess beliefs, behaviors and the effectiveness of future safety efforts.

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