Dude, wow. This is probably the most comprehensive camera comparison video I've ever seen. Really hoping to see more of these. Thanks for the excellent video, man, this is such a great example of what these videos should be like.
Sad, I love my Cube + and love the picture it shoots. Unfortunately it is NO longer manufactured and sells around town for crazy amounts 200.00+.Mine after 2 years of use, the battery now lasts about 10min. I have discovered you can shoot connected to a powerbank but to maintain its portability, Im considering another viable option. Buying a cheaper Polaroid act 2 from amazon and replacing my Cube + ‘s battery myself. This info is for others experiencing this problem and do still want to have this lil gem in their camera arsenal.
I feel like the cube is for beginners and someone who doesn't know how to do post work because the session is awesome if you know how to mess with the settings and do some after shooting editing in photoshop or gopro edit software.
I have to say I don’t have any problem with the sound quality I get with my cube. I have GoPro cameras and I love them but the little cube is amazing for me because it is so convenient. Thank You for a great video.
Never knew Polaroid is this good but more seriously, Dude when you can make such a great video, why on earth there have been no videos from you in past several years?
Solid review brother! It gonna be interesting to see which company is first to squeeze 4K inside this small form factor, plus a removable battery and that would be a perfect product!
Take a look at the side-by-side comparison at 15:57. The Session has a very clean, crisp image; a night and day difference from the video tests. This makes me think the optics in the camera are actually decent, but the detail and sharpness are getting lost in compression. Perhaps GoPro did this to achieve 2 hour battery life, who knows... Either way, excellent video Mark!
This is great! Thank you so much! I was having a hard time deciding which camera to purchase but being that the hero is going for 199.99 now I think it beats the cube now...only thing is the picture issue...but it is not too bad if you know how to play around with it after the fact.
Great comparison. You asked why I would choose one over the other. I like the image stabilization of the cube but I use my action cams a lot riding a dirt bike on gravel and trails. Stabilization is important but can be dealt with (somewhat) in post. For me, it all boils down to which one works with a remote. Session does, Cube doesn't, and that's the deal breaker for me. I have gopro remote mounted to my handlebars and it's simple matter to toggle the camera into action. I wish gopro would have provided stabilization and more color profiles to choose from..
I haven't really used much since I got it but the video quality: is pretty damn good thing I really don't like is that it gets pretty warm after use particularly on the magnet I almost want to say that the magnet is the heat sink but I'm not sure but Polaroid website does say that this is normal I could see myself using the slow-motion feature for something cool but I don't know they must've also made the magnet little stronger on it than the first cube cause I think it works pretty strong if you were to just to just stick it to a car and go at least maybe 80mph but I wouldn't try it it shoots 1440 1080 and 720 P video due to the probably lack of Storge unless you get a bigger memory card I would probably just be only shooting at 720 cause 720 P and 1080 P at 60 FPS look about the same memory wise it's just better to go with 720 P 60 FPS for longer shooting time like I said memory wise unless you have a large memory card then forget it but for anyone who does come across this video I would definitely highly recommend it over the session for sho! battery life though also it's not very good about an hour and a half but I mean if it would be a pretty good vlogging camera it'll get you through several videos per day and yeah 170 would be good but it's not too far off I think what was it 110 think of it this way the More view you have the more fisheye it looks
Very nice job on your comparison. Thank you! I'm much more interested on how the stabilization works on the Polaroid Cube + for road cycling and MTB cycling. Do you have a video comparing these two cameras or anything on the Polaroid Cube + ?
Using image quality only, the Cube wins hands down. 99% of the viewers don't know anything about pulsing or stabilization or saturation and don't really care. How the image looks is the only thing that matters!!!
Great comparison man! I think the hero 4 session has soft image issues only because it has a much wider field of view. This means that you are zooming in more in the hero 4's image than in that of the polaroid , hence the occurrence of the softer image.
+nuv neet The scale ups a lot of times are the footage at 100% to better show edge issues. It's not rasterising it in a way that multiplies and problems compared to it's counter part. The sharp/soft edges can mainly be from 3 areas. Color profile, lens focus, and image sensor. You're on the right track. I think it's a combination of the len's focal settings / hardware and the color profile not crunching the black and white values as much on the GoPro. There are reasons for this but I also feel the GoPro could appeal to more people if it found a better middle ground like the Jump from the Hero3+ to Hero4. (Hero3+ was crazy good up close focus but got soft at a distance compared to the Hero3. The Hero4 found really good middle ground for both audiences)
It works good enough, my concern with my unit is the battery life. It seems the battery does not last as long as before, which means I will be using it more for 720p instead of 1080p, since it doesn't last 30 minutes at 1080p , and often lasts only 15-20 minutes
Great information MarkHawkCam!!!! Wow seeing what the Polaroid can do makes me think I can afford a nice camera. I will be purchasing a camera for the soul purpose of recording motocross riding mounted to my helmet. Now everything I see about the Polaroid + looks great but, if you think there is a better camera out there for recording on my helmet while going fast on dirt in the same price range as the + please let me know. I would rather take your advise based on experience rather than what I think I know. Thanks again.
Looks like this one is going to be about the use. I am briefly thinking of buying a action camera, and I think I would use a external soundtrack anyways. Thereby choosing the polaroid since the image quality blows the gopro away. For those planing to talk to the camera, the sound of the gopro wins.
+Arko Shatyan Did they finally put out the update? Was checking regularly for sometime. Glad it's finally out. Not sure I'll have the time but would like to check back in on it.
The Polaroid feels like a security camera. With those digitally sharpened edges. It has that sort of "jittering" feel to it. Especially to smaller objects that it tries to sharpen.
damn that little cube is whooping ass...and here i was wanting to get a new go pro..was thinking 4 silver over the 5 since it seems to have problems but eh maybe this little cube will suite my needs
Great job Mark! I just started watching your videos! They are great! I'm joining the Marine Corps soon and I am a downhill mountain biker and im getting the hero 3 white edition for time lapse features so is that a good purchase or do I need to find a better GoPro?
+InsanityDubstep15 I would also check out the VIO POV HD. It's an older camera but it's a little easier to stay low profile plus it's run off 6 AA batteries. Hopefully it'd be cheap to buy one used for over seas use but it's a very tough and unique camera. Thanks for your service and come back safe so we can hit those trails ;)
Thank you man! That's great advise! Imma probably get a hero 4 black for 4k so the video when i'm over there will be pretty cool when I come back. Thank you for the wishes too! Once I get back were gunna hit the trails! haha
Great video. I picked up a 2nd hand Cube+ on ebay for 36 quid so a bargain. Also grabbed a tripod mount for it too. For me the audio quality isn't an issue as I'll be recording that separately anyhow.
This review was a real eye-opener for me because I was planning on getting the Hero4 Session now that it is $200. However, seeing the difference in detail and color captured by the Polaroid, I may go that route instead. Only thing that is still making me consider the GoPro is the audio, it is sooo much better than the Polaroid! BTW: I used to own a 2003 Toyota Matrix in Radiant Red like the one used in this video, and it is a very bright red in real life so I thought the Polaroid did a better job at capturing the color accuracy.
The Cube+ images look better to me in about most every way. I have several other cameras for my motorcycle adventures with some better at the things your are critical of on the Cube+, but the Cube+ has a place in my kit. Even in 2022.
The session is soft because you are zooming into the same magnification on a 170 fov vs 124 fov. You are zooming in much further. In order for the test to be fair the object needs to be at the same magnification, ie the session needs to be closer to the object.
yeah, crunching your levels implies you are reducing the range between your black and white levels (think of this as unique shades of colors at the end). Imagine you have a deck of 52 playing cards. 1 is pure black and 52 is pure white. As you go from 1-52 you get various shades of gray till it goes white. Crunching basically removes cards between 1-52. So if you have 36 cards, you have less shades of gray. If the camera needs a shade of gray that is no longer there, it picks the next closest one. So let's say a block that would of had 4 unique shades of green now all the same shade of green. An area that use to be fairly bright but not pure white, is now made pure white because there are no other options. This allows the camera to put more power to other parts of the camera or compress the file so it can write things faster. For context a camera is normally dealing with a deck of 1,000,00+ shades of colors before it starts to crunch the values down to make white or blacks pop more.
I am curious, is the cube able to fit into a session housing? And the cube looks like it can give both the 4 and 5 run for its money on most things minus audio
+NicMediaDesign Going to get back to the Sony line of cameras soon. Lost a few weeks during the process of buying our first home. Hoping to have a bunch of Sony vs's by thanksgiving.
+NicMediaDesign About 25 days. It marks the start of our big holiday buying season. I recorded a video about the move but never communicated it anywhere except instagram :p Catching up on everything this week hopefully.
Late to the party but... the raw downloadble files reveal a weird thing - Cube+ wasn't recording at its best setting - the full HD video file is shot with the bit rate of 8Mbps while the camera is capable of shooting at 15Mbps at 60fps. So it's either the case of the raw file not being a raw file but a processed footage or the Cube wasn't set up to perform at its best. Also, it the Cube's lens has lower f value (2.0) compared to the GP so allows more light in.
+Antoine Smits I expected September but since that day came and went, no idea. Perhaps first quarter 2016 when they are releasing their new VR rig and quadcopter... but no idea really. They are off their routine so it's anyone's guess.
Mark Hawk always talks about the GoPro in post processing. What he fails to comment on, is that post processing can work both ways. If you feel the colors are to saturated then you can desaturate the colors. Same goes for color correction, sharpness, etc Using Photoshop CS 6 you can edit your videos with adjustment layers. The only advantage the Session has over the Cube is in the contrast range. The Cube pumps out video, so you turn around and post it to You Tube with no post processing. However, since the contrast is high it will at times block your highlight and shadows with no detail. If this happens then there is no way to recover any detail. Despite the Session being more post processing friendly, it fails to match the overall details that the Cube has. Bottom line, if audio is not a biggie and to quadcopter pilots this is a non issue, the Cube is the clear winner over the Session.....
Post can only work both ways if the file you start with is in an uncompressed RAW/Flat format. Even then, there are a lot of differences that will affect how much range each one gives you. Think of it has having a deck of 52 cards that go from a pure white to a pure black over various shades of gray. Now if you want your colors to really "pop" more have a look of brighter whites or richer blacks, then you remove a lot of shades of gray in your deck. That way more shades of the footage snap to a similar group of values making many go to pure black or pure white faster. That's what increasing contrast will do in post. However, when this process is done in the camera, and you bring this "crunched" footage into the post, your base file is starting with fewer shades of gray. Your options are now limited to that 32 deck, and there is no way to restore those other 20 shades back. You'd have no way of knowing which blocks were pure black and which were card #50 shades of black. Anyway, none of this matters if you don't plan to do any post work, and you want an image right out of the camera that already has a pop to it. My main point being that it's easier to go one way but hard to go the other. You have saturation options, but you often lose contrast, edge, and exposure controls. My day job is a VFX artist where RAW formats are essential for doing seamless integration of VFX elements.
Thank you so much for this video, it's really really helpful! I think I might go for a Cube+ and an external mic, for what I need it's enough! It looks more straightforward than the GoPro for people who want just to shoot videos, quickly edit and share them! GoPro Session is good if you do post-production on the video and adjust colours, saturation, sharpness and so on, but if I have to spend time to post-production to have a top quality result I would rather buy a GP H4 BE instead...
+TheJayS I think you are aware of this but not sure everyone would be, I don't think the Cube+ supports external microphones. Pretty sure but I'd need to double check this.
I'm pretty sure it doesn't support an ext mic :) My idea is to use an ext mic (not connected to the Cube+) when I need it and then sync the audio with FCP X, that has the clip sync feature and makes all the operation really easy! I need the Cube+ for vlogging mainly and to take very short video when I travel (for action videos I already have a GP H3+ BE)... I just need an easy and small cam I could take with me 24/7!
So cube does baked in internal color correction. Needs a feature to disable that. Why cube is over exposed and over sharpened. Still dollar value cube looks best
Your review is amazing dude, good work ! If you consider the price, the Paloroid Cube is way better than session. Cube isn't so far from the session, and sometimes better ! So this little difference (in my opinion) is too expensive.
+Guillaume Vial Very surprised the jump in quality the cube made for $50. Caught me off guard. That said I still feel the Hero4 Session has more range in it's color for post work but I hope GoPro is taking note on areas people are focusing on.
But to be honest, I made a price comparison. and the cube+ is not so far from the session if we need same specs and accessories. 1 Waterproof case 1 connector etc etc... All of these are included with the session...
Again was a great review Mark, I was able to pick mine up nov12th for $199 in NYC, maybe it was just location that was doing this? Like I said found your review and channel did a great job on this product. Since then I have picked up 2 more sessions and love the form factor. Great design and look forward to gopro to keep improving the specs on this. Cheers
Hi, nice video. thanks. have a few questions. does the image stabilization make a big difference in cube + compared to GoPro which doesn't have? What about the battery, how long will it last on both cameras? sorry if you say this in the video, have no sound right now!
Facts. Cube+ advantages 1. the cube has superior video quality (clarity and contrast) 2. you can get two cubes for the price of one session 3.nobody ever uses internal microphones ever, but for syncing Session advantages 1. built in waterproofing 2.somewhat better battery life 3.more mounting options I conclude, I'd get the Cube, twice, over the Session
Hi I was wandering are the light on the GP session bright because I was thinking on getting one for the rides at Florida but if the rides are dark in any parts it will ruin it for everyone else?
Hello, does your cube plus ever stop flashing orange and turn to a solid color to tell you that it’s charged ? Mine flashes orange and never stops or turns solid colors no matter how long it’s on the charger. Thanks
Dude, wow. This is probably the most comprehensive camera comparison video I've ever seen. Really hoping to see more of these.
Thanks for the excellent video, man, this is such a great example of what these videos should be like.
Cant help it,but liked the Polaroid Cube+ pictures better. Great comparison job!
Sad, I love my Cube + and love the picture it shoots. Unfortunately it is NO longer manufactured and sells around town for crazy amounts 200.00+.Mine after 2 years of use, the battery now lasts about 10min. I have discovered you can shoot connected to a powerbank but to maintain its portability, Im considering another viable option. Buying a cheaper Polaroid act 2 from amazon and replacing my Cube + ‘s battery myself.
This info is for others experiencing this problem and do still want to have this lil gem in their camera arsenal.
VERY NICE side by side review comparison! GOOD JOB!
+rekaksky Thanks :D
rekaksky fuck you
polaroid cude kicks its ass in picture quality and thats what it is all about..
+Heidi O'Connor What about audio?
+Delinda Jensen get a audio recorder and sink them in the edit!!!
in price 2. could have 2 for the price.
Thank your for all your very great comparison videos! They are a big help when deciding what to buy. Greetings from Austria!
+GackiH Thanks for the feedback. WORLDWIDE exposure :D
I feel like the cube is for beginners and someone who doesn't know how to do post work because the session is awesome if you know how to mess with the settings and do some after shooting editing in photoshop or gopro edit software.
Your review led me to purchase the Cube+. Nicely done. Thank you!
Wow, I think that was the most information packed comparison I've ever seen, for anything. Awesome!
I have to say I don’t have any problem with the sound quality I get with my cube.
I have GoPro cameras and I love them but the little cube is amazing for me because it is so convenient.
Thank You for a great video.
Superb Video and the download folder for analysis was the icing on the cake.
Thank you.
Never knew Polaroid is this good but more seriously, Dude when you can make such a great video, why on earth there have been no videos from you in past several years?
Sold on the Polaroid Cube+, great review!
Solid review brother!
It gonna be interesting to see which company is first to squeeze 4K
inside this small form factor, plus a removable battery and that would be a perfect product!
Yeah brotha, I came from the future.... I mean... present. And I just wanted to say that nowadays all action cameras have 4K and removable battery
Fantastic video :) very well done!
Good comparison as usual!
+Jeremy Sciarappa To kind as always Jeremy ;)
Really helpful comparison, thanks for taking the time to put this together!
Thanks for the review! Bought the cube+ after watching.
Take a look at the side-by-side comparison at 15:57. The Session has a very clean, crisp image; a night and day difference from the video tests. This makes me think the optics in the camera are actually decent, but the detail and sharpness are getting lost in compression. Perhaps GoPro did this to achieve 2 hour battery life, who knows...
Either way, excellent video Mark!
FANTASTIC Video. GREAT Work.
Great comparison and love the meta info in the description.
Agreed! excellent side by side review with technical explanations.
Very nice job. One of the best and detail video. Thanks again
I think 8:20 just sold a whole bunch of Polaroids... and 13:38. Polaroid Plus is sold out on Amazon.
Excellent video....i agreed with all of your comparisons and key points. Thank you!
A comparison done right. Great stuff!
Great informational video! Thanks!
I'm really impressed with that Polaroid Cube+
Exceptional review, very helpful, great job.
this is great, thank you for doing such a thorough job.
Another great video. Wish there was a walking test for the image stabilization.
+One Brothers Productions I walked around the car but yeah, I was very limited on time for this one.
Good job Mark, still don't know why Gopro has not added stablization on any of their cameras yet
+Steve Moore Well... at least it'll be there in their quadcopter right?
I'm beginning to like the cube more for sharpness but looks like it's not so good at night
Love that I had the option to skip around. I chose to just relax myself and watch :)
thanks for the reviewq. excellent job.
Great comparison video, very interested.
Great comparison. I like the Cube plus for it's punch and sharpness but you probably have more control of the image in post production with the Hero.
This is great! Thank you so much! I was having a hard time deciding which camera to purchase but being that the hero is going for 199.99 now I think it beats the cube now...only thing is the picture issue...but it is not too bad if you know how to play around with it after the fact.
Great comparison. You asked why I would choose one over the other. I like the image stabilization of the cube but I use my action cams a lot riding a dirt bike on gravel and trails.
Stabilization is important but can be dealt with (somewhat) in post. For me, it all boils down to which one works with a remote. Session does, Cube doesn't, and that's the deal breaker for me. I have gopro remote mounted to my handlebars and it's simple matter to toggle the camera into action. I wish gopro would have provided stabilization and more color profiles to choose from..
Cube+ Hands Down Just Ordered One. ..
+Angel Scene (XxAnGeLScEnExX) 170fov would be better though
I haven't really used much since I got it but the video quality: is pretty damn good thing I really don't like is that it gets pretty warm after use particularly on the magnet I almost want to say that the magnet is the heat sink but I'm not sure but Polaroid website does say that this is normal I could see myself using the slow-motion feature for something cool but I don't know they must've also made the magnet little stronger on it than the first cube cause I think it works pretty strong if you were to just to just stick it to a car and go at least maybe 80mph but I wouldn't try it it shoots 1440 1080 and 720 P video due to the probably lack of Storge unless you get a bigger memory card I would probably just be only shooting at 720 cause 720 P and 1080 P at 60 FPS look about the same memory wise it's just better to go with 720 P 60 FPS for longer shooting time like I said memory wise unless you have a large memory card then forget it but for anyone who does come across this video I would definitely highly recommend it over the session for sho! battery life though also it's not very good about an hour and a half but I mean if it would be a pretty good vlogging camera it'll get you through several videos per day and yeah 170 would be good but it's not too far off I think what was it 110 think of it this way the More view you have the more fisheye it looks
+Angel Scene (XxAnGeLScEnExX) here,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,use some of them to make your text readable.
This is also speech to txt...
Great Review.Thanks
Very nice job on your comparison. Thank you! I'm much more interested on how the stabilization works on the Polaroid Cube + for road cycling and MTB cycling. Do you have a video comparing these two cameras or anything on the Polaroid Cube + ?
Good video. What do you think of audio cube plus?
+Omar Vega López I have read comments very bad
+Omar Vega López I have a section of the video that gives you examples. The quicklinks at the start can be used to jump right to it.
Using image quality only, the Cube wins hands down. 99% of the viewers don't know anything about pulsing or stabilization or saturation and don't really care. How the image looks is the only thing that matters!!!
I was going with cube+ until the sound
llol same
I think they fixed it
Did they ?
ya it's fixed
no they didn't.
excellent video
very helpful review.. thanks
+Agus Purwanto (Brexebrex) No worries and thanks for the feedback :D
Great comparison man!
I think the hero 4 session has soft image issues only because it has a much wider field of view. This means that you are zooming in more in the hero 4's image than in that of the polaroid , hence the occurrence of the softer image.
+nuv neet The scale ups a lot of times are the footage at 100% to better show edge issues. It's not rasterising it in a way that multiplies and problems compared to it's counter part. The sharp/soft edges can mainly be from 3 areas. Color profile, lens focus, and image sensor. You're on the right track. I think it's a combination of the len's focal settings / hardware and the color profile not crunching the black and white values as much on the GoPro. There are reasons for this but I also feel the GoPro could appeal to more people if it found a better middle ground like the Jump from the Hero3+ to Hero4. (Hero3+ was crazy good up close focus but got soft at a distance compared to the Hero3. The Hero4 found really good middle ground for both audiences)
A+ on this video. Really liked the Polaroid cube except for the audio. Thanks for the info!
They fixed the audio in the december 2015 update
SWEET!
Patriot Trump Is it good now ? i mean shall i just go for it ?
It works good enough, my concern with my unit is the battery life. It seems the battery does not last as long as before, which means I will be using it more for 720p instead of 1080p, since it doesn't last 30 minutes at 1080p , and often lasts only 15-20 minutes
love the side by side. 30 frames per second is the way to go.
Great information MarkHawkCam!!!! Wow seeing what the Polaroid can do makes me think I can afford a nice camera. I will be purchasing a camera for the soul purpose of recording motocross riding mounted to my helmet. Now everything I see about the Polaroid + looks great but, if you think there is a better camera out there for recording on my helmet while going fast on dirt in the same price range as the + please let me know. I would rather take your advise based on experience rather than what I think I know. Thanks again.
Looking for an action camera, and your video is a very good comparison between these two cams. Great job. Liked and subscribed ;)
Looks like this one is going to be about the use. I am briefly thinking of buying a action camera, and I think I would use a external soundtrack anyways. Thereby choosing the polaroid since the image quality blows the gopro away. For those planing to talk to the camera, the sound of the gopro wins.
Very good info. I definitely like the Polaroid Cube Plus imaging best, shame audio is not very good.
+Carol Andrenato
Audio was fixed with the update. It sounds very decent now.
+Arko Shatyan Did they finally put out the update? Was checking regularly for sometime. Glad it's finally out. Not sure I'll have the time but would like to check back in on it.
The Polaroid feels like a security camera. With those digitally sharpened edges. It has that sort of "jittering" feel to it. Especially to smaller objects that it tries to sharpen.
which one do you personally recommend Mark?
damn that little cube is whooping ass...and here i was wanting to get a new go pro..was thinking 4 silver over the 5 since it seems to have problems but eh maybe this little cube will suite my needs
bodyemcal i know the 5 session has issues too, have had 2 brand new ones and they stopped working the same day i used it
Great job Mark! I just started watching your videos! They are great! I'm joining the Marine Corps soon and I am a downhill mountain biker and im getting the hero 3 white edition for time lapse features so is that a good purchase or do I need to find a better GoPro?
+InsanityDubstep15 I would also check out the VIO POV HD. It's an older camera but it's a little easier to stay low profile plus it's run off 6 AA batteries. Hopefully it'd be cheap to buy one used for over seas use but it's a very tough and unique camera. Thanks for your service and come back safe so we can hit those trails ;)
Thank you man! That's great advise! Imma probably get a hero 4 black for 4k so the video when i'm over there will be pretty cool when I come back. Thank you for the wishes too! Once I get back were gunna hit the trails! haha
Thanks that really helped me out
Great video. I picked up a 2nd hand Cube+ on ebay for 36 quid so a bargain. Also grabbed a tripod mount for it too. For me the audio quality isn't an issue as I'll be recording that separately anyhow.
Great review! The GoPro has ND FILTERS that are square shaped, would you happen to know if the filter will fit the cube?
This review was a real eye-opener for me because I was planning on getting the Hero4 Session now that it is $200. However, seeing the difference in detail and color captured by the Polaroid, I may go that route instead. Only thing that is still making me consider the GoPro is the audio, it is sooo much better than the Polaroid!
BTW: I used to own a 2003 Toyota Matrix in Radiant Red like the one used in this video, and it is a very bright red in real life so I thought the Polaroid did a better job at capturing the color accuracy.
Thanks for the comparison
ITS REALLY NICE REVIEW
👍
The Cube+ images look better to me in about most every way. I have several other cameras for my motorcycle adventures with some better at the things your are critical of on the Cube+, but the Cube+ has a place in my kit. Even in 2022.
The session is soft because you are zooming into the same magnification on a 170 fov vs 124 fov. You are zooming in much further. In order for the test to be fair the object needs to be at the same magnification, ie the session needs to be closer to the object.
Thank you very much !!!
Is crunch a technical term? I need a bag of chips after watching this vid. Overall, nice comparison. Research 'dynamic range'.
yeah, crunching your levels implies you are reducing the range between your black and white levels (think of this as unique shades of colors at the end). Imagine you have a deck of 52 playing cards. 1 is pure black and 52 is pure white. As you go from 1-52 you get various shades of gray till it goes white. Crunching basically removes cards between 1-52. So if you have 36 cards, you have less shades of gray. If the camera needs a shade of gray that is no longer there, it picks the next closest one. So let's say a block that would of had 4 unique shades of green now all the same shade of green. An area that use to be fairly bright but not pure white, is now made pure white because there are no other options. This allows the camera to put more power to other parts of the camera or compress the file so it can write things faster. For context a camera is normally dealing with a deck of 1,000,00+ shades of colors before it starts to crunch the values down to make white or blacks pop more.
Is there automatic gain control on the Polaroid? To avoid distortion loud concerts ? Thanks!
The first cude segmented recording in 5 minutes segments. Does the plus do the same thing?
I have a Polaroid cube and I love it
I am curious, is the cube able to fit into a session housing? And the cube looks like it can give both the 4 and 5 run for its money on most things minus audio
Did you do a comparison of the Session and the HDR AZ1, too?
I can't find one on TH-cam yet :(
+NicMediaDesign Going to get back to the Sony line of cameras soon. Lost a few weeks during the process of buying our first home. Hoping to have a bunch of Sony vs's by thanksgiving.
Hey Mark, thank you for the fast reply.
No problem, didn't know you moved ;)
I am from Europe and too lazy to google - but when is thanksgiving?
+NicMediaDesign About 25 days. It marks the start of our big holiday buying season. I recorded a video about the move but never communicated it anywhere except instagram :p Catching up on everything this week hopefully.
Late to the party but... the raw downloadble files reveal a weird thing - Cube+ wasn't recording at its best setting - the full HD video file is shot with the bit rate of 8Mbps while the camera is capable of shooting at 15Mbps at 60fps.
So it's either the case of the raw file not being a raw file but a processed footage or the Cube wasn't set up to perform at its best.
Also, it the Cube's lens has lower f value (2.0) compared to the GP so allows more light in.
hi, nice video. I want to buy the future hero4+ (or maybe 5), do you have any idea when it'll be released? I hope there will be an image stabilization
+Antoine Smits I expected September but since that day came and went, no idea. Perhaps first quarter 2016 when they are releasing their new VR rig and quadcopter... but no idea really. They are off their routine so it's anyone's guess.
Has the pulsating on the Polaroid+ been resolved ?
Mark Hawk always talks about the GoPro in post processing. What he fails to comment on, is that post processing can work both ways. If you feel the colors are to saturated then you can desaturate the colors. Same goes for color correction, sharpness, etc Using Photoshop CS 6 you can edit your videos with adjustment layers. The only advantage the Session has over the Cube is in the contrast range. The Cube pumps out video, so you turn around and post it to You Tube with no post processing. However, since the contrast is high it will at times block your highlight and shadows with no detail. If this happens then there is no way to recover any detail. Despite the Session being more post processing friendly, it fails to match the overall details that the Cube has. Bottom line, if audio is not a biggie and to quadcopter pilots this is a non issue, the Cube is the clear winner over the Session.....
Post can only work both ways if the file you start with is in an uncompressed RAW/Flat format. Even then, there are a lot of differences that will affect how much range each one gives you.
Think of it has having a deck of 52 cards that go from a pure white to a pure black over various shades of gray. Now if you want your colors to really "pop" more have a look of brighter whites or richer blacks, then you remove a lot of shades of gray in your deck. That way more shades of the footage snap to a similar group of values making many go to pure black or pure white faster. That's what increasing contrast will do in post. However, when this process is done in the camera, and you bring this "crunched" footage into the post, your base file is starting with fewer shades of gray. Your options are now limited to that 32 deck, and there is no way to restore those other 20 shades back. You'd have no way of knowing which blocks were pure black and which were card #50 shades of black.
Anyway, none of this matters if you don't plan to do any post work, and you want an image right out of the camera that already has a pop to it. My main point being that it's easier to go one way but hard to go the other. You have saturation options, but you often lose contrast, edge, and exposure controls. My day job is a VFX artist where RAW formats are essential for doing seamless integration of VFX elements.
Thank you so much for this video, it's really really helpful!
I think I might go for a Cube+ and an external mic, for what I need it's enough! It looks more straightforward than the GoPro for people who want just to shoot videos, quickly edit and share them!
GoPro Session is good if you do post-production on the video and adjust colours, saturation, sharpness and so on, but if I have to spend time to post-production to have a top quality result I would rather buy a GP H4 BE instead...
+TheJayS I think you are aware of this but not sure everyone would be, I don't think the Cube+ supports external microphones. Pretty sure but I'd need to double check this.
I'm pretty sure it doesn't support an ext mic :)
My idea is to use an ext mic (not connected to the Cube+) when I need it and then sync the audio with FCP X, that has the clip sync feature and makes all the operation really easy! I need the Cube+ for vlogging mainly and to take very short video when I travel (for action videos I already have a GP H3+ BE)... I just need an easy and small cam I could take with me 24/7!
The Cube's images were all crisper, clearer and cleaner that the Session.
So cube does baked in internal color correction. Needs a feature to disable that. Why cube is over exposed and over sharpened. Still dollar value cube looks best
Colors are more vibrant in the polaroid!
Hi, GoPro was with Protune on or off? (Sharpness high, medium or low?)
I'm a bit curious, can I use the session mount and case for cube?
Nope, it's too big.
which one can go longest on full charge ?
The cube is a much better value IMO
I compare the two you which you think is better polariod or gopro. which has better video quality?
gopro accessories are compatible with Polaroid ?
Your review is amazing dude, good work !
If you consider the price, the Paloroid Cube is way better than session. Cube isn't so far from the session, and sometimes better ! So this little difference (in my opinion) is too expensive.
+Guillaume Vial Very surprised the jump in quality the cube made for $50. Caught me off guard. That said I still feel the Hero4 Session has more range in it's color for post work but I hope GoPro is taking note on areas people are focusing on.
But to be honest, I made a price comparison. and the cube+ is not so far from the session if we need same specs and accessories.
1 Waterproof case
1 connector etc etc...
All of these are included with the session...
+Guillaume Vial they dropped the price on the session again its still like 40 more than the cube but alot more worth it
Can you do a review of SJcam m10 plus?
+kdash0213 I'll see what I can do.
+kdash0213 i bought one a week ago and it shits on the gopro.
+MrKdr500 great to hear, I have been holding out, I'll probably grab one in couple days.
Nice review , $199 is now the standard pricing as you prob know since nov. Not sure were $299 came into play but other than that great blog.
+Dj Rich Saracino Hero4 Session Started at $399 in August when it launched, $299 the day I recorded these Polaroid videos, and $199 by early December.
Again was a great review Mark, I was able to pick mine up nov12th for $199 in NYC, maybe it was just location that was doing this? Like I said found your review and channel did a great job on this product. Since then I have picked up 2 more sessions and love the form factor. Great design and look forward to gopro to keep improving the specs on this. Cheers
In your Download link, Both Video Samples (Gopro and Polaroid) are the same Clip, file name and size ??
does either camera work as a time lapse ?
I know the cube plus does
The cube + still images are 8mp not 6mp
Zsavage1 not true. You made that up on the spot. Nice try
dang i just got some xiaomi yi
Polaroid Cube + is using 8 MP and not 6 MP
Hi, nice video. thanks. have a few questions. does the image stabilization make a big difference in cube + compared to GoPro which doesn't have? What about the battery, how long will it last on both cameras? sorry if you say this in the video, have no sound right now!
Facts.
Cube+ advantages
1. the cube has superior video quality (clarity and contrast)
2. you can get two cubes for the price of one session
3.nobody ever uses internal microphones ever, but for syncing
Session advantages
1. built in waterproofing
2.somewhat better battery life
3.more mounting options
I conclude, I'd get the Cube, twice, over the Session
+Titvs Caivs The session is now 199.99
I'm still rooting for the HERO4 Session.
AND A CHEEK WIT BIGGG BOOBZ, HUH???
Hi I was wandering are the light on the GP session bright because I was thinking on getting one for the rides at Florida but if the rides are dark in any parts it will ruin it for everyone else?
They can be pretty bright but they can also be disabled. I don't think it'll affect your filming quality though.
Thanks
Hello, does your cube plus ever stop flashing orange and turn to a solid color to tell you that it’s charged ? Mine flashes orange and never stops or turns solid colors no matter how long it’s on the charger. Thanks