Best 'manual' action camera?

[Anarchy]

I'm looking for the 'best' budget action camera, in respect to manual settings for video.

I will be modifying said camera to use some old cine c-mount lenses for a small production.

It needs lockable settings for everything from ISO, shutter speed, WB, colour profiles, etc...

In regards to colour profiles - what I regard as 'best' would be as flat as possible, be it stock software or a script like the excellent YiMax Movie.

I'll take 4k but it isn’t a necessity, although 2k is.

I also dont need any high framerates, the standard 24 or 25FPS is all i will ever need.

The other major factor in choosing a camera is one that can output through HDMI the resolution it's shooting in at the time. This is because I will be capturing through a external recorder, and if I’m shooting 2k, I want to be able to capture that 2k through the HDMI.

I have the original Xiaomi Yi on my list <with nutsey's YiMax-Movie> as it appears to be a good choice, but I don’t know what the output is through it's HDMI...

That's some list of demands... I hope some of you can help out where you can so I can piece together what camera I should consider.

[nutsey]

Hi,

If I were you I would search for an older cam based on the A7 chipset and the OV4689 sensor like JooVuu X or Blackview Hero 2.

[Anarchy]

Hi nutsey,

Many thanks for your reply.

The main reason for looking into these cameras is so I can use my vintage small gauge cine lenses, which the m12 mount and small sensors suit perfectly. However I have next to no experience with these action cameras, and even less knowledge in 'hacking' them. So even if I find a camera that suits my needs which I mentioned in the first post, I would need it to have a script/app to achieve them, and I have no clue how to do that <if there isn’t one already available>. This is why the Yi with your YiMax was such a good prospect for me. It's a shame though, because I’ve just read it only outputs interlaced footage through HDMI, not progressive...

Is changing the HDMI output a setting that can be swapped via script, or is it hardware based?

Why do you suggest those sensors/processor? The relatively low MP count of those sensors would be an obvious benefit, I do wish the manufactures would stop making the pixels so damn small for marketing "more megapixels"...

So far my research has turned up that the Yi isn’t alone in outputting interlaced footage through HDMI... If its something that isn’t able to be changed via hacking, I guess my search will be heavily dictated by which cameras can output a progressive signal at 24 or 25 frames per second or can be dictated by the cameras currently selected video settings... Do you or anyone know of any?

[nutsey]

Why do you suggest those sensors/processor?

A7+OV4689 action cams should support advanced scripting and can provide much better dynamic range due to the CMOS sensor cell size.

[Anarchy]

Thanks nutsey.

Sorry for all the rudimentary questions... But the one about HDMI output; can you change what the output is through hacking, or is it limited by the camera's hardware?

[nutsey]

I'm not sure if the A7 chip is capable to do it, but the A12 can output 4k @ 30, 25, 24 and 23.97 (24/1001) fps.