Looking for a Cheap Alternative to the GoPro Hero?

First, let´s start with the company: Energy Sistem. I discovered them in the El Corte Ingles of downtown Madrid when I needed a new mp3 player because my iPod decided to die. Being a savvy traveler, I opted to save myself 100 euro and buy the Energy Sistem version which was only 20 euro. The packaging was slick and though the price tag was suspiciously low I went ahead and purchased because the 36 month guarantee on the front made me feel pretty safe.

When I got home, the packaging confirmed to me that this was a company I was seriously interested in working with. Their slogan is “technology with heart” and who can´t get behind that? Five months later, the player was still working, in fact, I was wearing it in the store while shopping for a GoPro.

Though the basic GoPro models can be had for a (somewhat) reasonable cost, I wasn´t about to toss my hard earned euro away so easily. I kept browsing and stumbled across the Energy Sistem Sport Cam Pro for a very humble 159 euro. Because Energy Sistem is a relatively new company their prices are unbeatable and they intend to keep them that way.It easily competes with the GoPro Hero 3, check out this baby´s stats :

– Does it record in HD? Psh, of course it does.

– Can I connect it to my smartphone via built in WiFi? why yes, yes you can.

– What if I want to use a remote control? Not to worry, the Sport Cam Pro comes with a watch to allow you to turn on and off your camera with the press of a button.

– I want to go SCUBA diving, is it waterproof? Of course, this camera can go as far down as 60m and still record incredible footage.

– Can it do hyperlapses? Yes. Time lapse, hyper lapse, and all those other crazy things you´ve only seen on TV, the Sport Cam Pro can do it all.

Here are three videos which I have shot on the Energy Sistem Sport Cam Pro : Outdoors in the very loud and crowded Rastro of Madrid and inside and outside on the awesome (and delicious) Madrid Food Tour and then once more at the travel conference FITUR which was indoors and with fluorescent lighting.

The sound recording is amazingly accurate and powerful as you can see – or hear, rather.

Of course, nothing is perfect and the only time I notice a difference in capture is in fluorescent lighting. It doesn´t have the same vibrant effect, but as most sport and travel videos take place outdoors, it has no effect on my usage of the camera, I just want to make sure I give you guys all the info I have.

The best part for me was finding out the camera comes with over 16 different accessories, turning you into a pro-videographer in an instant. One of these accessories is the GoPro adapter which has allowed me to purchase even more accessories (head harness, chest mount, pole, bike mount, etc) at a fraction of the normal cost.

A word to the penny wise : once you have the GoPro adapter, buy off-brand GoPro accessories on Amazon. I got 10 accessories for under 25 euro including shipping. The more money saved, the more money to travel!

In summary : I love my Energy Sistem Sport Cam Pro and I promise you will, too.

ps. you can also turn off the red recording light which allows you to capture people in their natural habitat and not with duck face.

Energy Sistem may be new, but they´re here to stay. All their products come with a 36 month warranty for FREE. Who else in the tech industry is vouching for their products like that? No one, I tell you.

Rumor has it they are releasing a new smart phone that packs all the punch (and more!) of an iPhone but at a fraction of the cost. Don´t worry, I will be the first in line to check it out and report back to you.