Activeon CX

[Kairoos]

Anyone ever tried one of these? Just ordered one for $98 on Amazon. I lost my GoPro yesterday during a dive (wrist mount came apart sometime while I was ascending). Not really interested in spending another $200 on a camera. I would have purchased the $125 GoPro Hero but I don't like that you can't remove the camera from the housing (or at least it's not made to be removed).

The housing on the Activeon CX is supposed to be rated to 60m, has built in WiFi, and a 2" LCD screen on the back. The LCD screen is nice for changing settings and as a viewfinder, although I never really used the screen on my GoPro.

Looks like they have a few models with better sensors and what not.

 

[rmssetc]

Yep, I used one in CZM earlier this month. Similar to your purchase decision, this was a last-minute (XMas eve, shortly before flying out) purchase to replace a 'higher end' action cam that was unavailable.

I had the ActiveON a little below 30M, no leaks--I like the housing. Easy to use, good battery life. I really like the Wifi app (which seems to get frequent updates). On the other hand, the low-light performance is poor (no real surprise) and some settings, particularly the electronic 'underwater' (red filter) setting are not persistent -- they need to be re-enabled every time the camera is powered up. The other annoyance is that it doesn't seem to use 'GoPro' sized filters...at least not the one's I've got.

I think that model's been out for a while -- the specs (resolution, lack of stabilization, lack of auto-rotation) are well below cameras that have been released recently, even at $150.

Overall, no real complaints, and I think a sub-$100 price point is OK for this model.

 

[Kairoos]

Yep, I used one in CZM earlier this month. Similar to your purchase decision, this was a last-minute (XMas eve, shortly before flying out) purchase to replace a 'higher end' action cam that was unavailable.

I had the ActiveON a little below 30M, no leaks--I like the housing. Easy to use, good battery life. I really like the Wifi app (which seems to get frequent updates). On the other hand, the low-light performance is poor (no real surprise) and some settings, particularly the electronic 'underwater' (red filter) setting are not persistent -- they need to be re-enabled every time the camera is powered up. The other annoyance is that it doesn't seem to use 'GoPro' sized filters...at least not the one's I've got.

I think that model's been out for a while -- the specs (resolution, lack of stabilization, lack of auto-rotation) are well below cameras that have been released recently, even at $150.

Overall, no real complaints, and I think a sub-$100 price point is OK for this model.

Do you happen to know if the GoPro batteries work on the CX? I still have a few extra, and it would be great if they were compatible, ActiveON has their batteries listed for $18 on the shop, ouch I understand they need to make some money as a small company, but those batteries cost nowhere near $18. How is the electronic red filter? That seems like a neat feature, I didn't even realize that was something this camera had, I only watched a few videos on it.

I purchased one of these filters. If you watch this video you'll see, it's a thin plastic insert that goes into the housing. Extremely overpriced for what it is, but there doesn't seem to be any other options. I'll post back on if it works or not. It does suck that it's not easily removed.

 

[Kairoos]

GoPro batteries do not work on this camera. The pins are spaced much wider on the activeon batteries,.

 

[Germie]

And how does de camera perform now? I wait for a replacement. The first one had a broken clip of the housing, a dead on arrival. That can happen. The second one flooded as soon as I entered the water on the first dive I wanted to try the camera. Now I wait for nr.3 (warranty issue of course), and I hope that now the camera is really waterproof and can be used up to 60m depth.

The resolution is not so high, but it has a 170 degrees wide angle. A lot of cams have only 140 or less. And the 60m housing was reason to buy this. Better would be a 100m housing or more, but then you can only choose for aee I believe (and more than twice the price). Or the expensive gopro with a special housing.

 

[Germie]

Sadly nr 3 is back too. Again leaking. It is the O-ring on top of the housing which is not closing well. It is on every housing I have seen. In the last 2 months I have used the activeon cx a lot. Most times some drops of water in it. I used antifog inserts too. But sometimes the camera was 'wet'. Not flooded, but wet enough to get corrosion. And that is what happened. After a while and every dive some leaks the camera stopped functioning well. Then not charging, then not going on, etc.
The CX gold looks like to have a much better housing. That looks in the shop closing well. I will try this one now.
I have tried the Nikkei X6, but that is absolutely not compareble to the Activeon camera (same price). It looks on specs much better, but it is absolutely bad for that price. The activeon cx I was satisfied with except the housing. I hope that the gold is good enough and never needs to go back to shop.

 

[Kharon]

I've got the CX Gold and am very happy with it. Last dive I closed the case at the dive site in very humid weather and with water temp of 56°F I got some light condensation inside the case. I haden't used the dessicant pouches. I will next time.

For the filter - make your own. Amazon.com : Neewer® 7"x8"/18 x 20 cm Transparent Color Correction Lighting Gel Filter Set Pack of 6 Gel Sheet for Photo Studio Strobe Flash Light (Red, Blue, Green, Cyan, Yellow, &Magenta) : Camera & Photo I cut a disk with 4 small tabs (at 0°, 90°, 180°, and 270°). I bent the tabs up perpendicular to the disk. That makes it easy to get out with tweasers. I made a red one for salt and a pink/magenta one for fresh, green water. Couple of pix. first is without filter in low vis lake, 2nd is with filter.