Hi guys, today I am reviewing the Muson MC1 action camera. This is perhaps best described
as a cheap alternative to a GoPro, and in fact at first glance you would be forgiven
for thinking it is a GoPro as the design of the camera, casing and accessories are extremely
similar.
Here I have compared it to the GoPro Hero 4 Silver, and the newer GoPro 5. A key difference
is that it doesn’t have the front facing LCD screen.
Now at the time of making this review, this camera is on Amazon for under £50 which is
a small fraction of the cost of a GoPro. I have included a link in the description below
along with a discount code. To add further value to this item, it comes with a huge amount
of accessories, all contained nicely within a carry case.
The camera itself comes contained within water proof housing that can go as deep as 30m,
which should be more than enough for most users.
The pack includes 2 batteries both with a lifespan of roughly 90 minutes of filming,
along with a separate charger which is really convenient. There is also a skeleton frame
and all kinds of additional mounts and accessories.
The charging cable is also a standardised micro USB rather than a cable with a unique
fit, so you don’t have to worry about losing the cable or carrying lots of different cables
around with you.
The build quality of the camera is fine, and there are a few elements to it that have a
premium feel. There is a nice big bright 2.0” LCD screen on the back, but the pixel density
of the display seems quite low and as such it is a little pixelated.
There are a few different settings for this camera, but primarily it has a wide angle
full HD 1080p resolution at 30fps for video. It also capable of a 720 resolution at 60fps,
and 4k at 10fps. However 10fps isn’t really a useable video format in my opinion.
It can also take 12MP photos, has a burst mode and time lapse functionality.
On the side of the camera there is a USB and HDMI port along with a slot for a micro SD
card. The opposite side has up and down arrows for navigating the menus. The record or shutter
release button is at the top and the mode and on/off button is on the front.
The battery is accessed at the bottom of the device, but be aware that there is no hinge
on the cover.
Now of course what you should be most interested in is the quality of the footage, and I thought
it would be fun to compare it to 3 different GoPro devices at the same time. So this mount
was designed and 3D printed for me by YouTube user ChunkySteveo. Mounted on it, we have
the Muson, a GoPro Hero, a GoPro 4 Silver and a GoPro 5.
So in this first video I have taken a pan of a nearby mere; and the quality of the video
looks pretty good. There is a little bit of noise in the footage and some auto changes
in exposure. The shadows are very dark.
By comparison the same shot on the GoPro has less noise, but is a lot greyer and less sharp.
This footage is raw straight out of the cameras with no processing, and the GoPro’s seem
to be setup with post-processing in mind, so you would edit the saturation and clarity.
The Muson footage seems to already be saturated, with a higher contrast and sharpening. This
is good for those that don’t process their videos, but for those that do, it will make
it difficult to edit.
Where the Muson struggled however, was when there was lots of information to capture in
a scene. The bit-rate didn’t seem to be able to keep up and the footage becomes quite
pixelated. This becomes more apparent when comparing it to the GoPro’s.
In terms of stabilisation, there is a photo stabiliser but there doesn’t appear to be
one for video. Testing the camera while running, the shake of the footage was on a par with
the GoPro Hero and the Hero 4 Silver. The stabilisation of the GoPro 5 however is quite
evident by comparison.
To provide more insights into the quality of the video, the Muson video files for 30
minutes of filming 3.87GB in size. The same footage was 4.51GB for the GoPro Hero, and
13.4GB for the Hero 4 Silver and the GoPro 5.
So overall I would have to say that the Muson isn’t as good as a GoPro, but, you have
to remember that this is a very cheap alternative. The footage it captures whilst not as good
as a GoPro is good enough for most people, and there is a lot of value in the product
when you consider all the accessories included.
I would recommend this product for someone new to film making, or who was considering
investing in a GoPro but couldn’t afford one or wasn’t sure how often they would
use it. It would also be a great option for kids, or for use in events like mud runs and
obstacle course where there is the risk of losing an otherwise expensive piece of kit.
So hopefully you enjoyed this video and found it useful; don’t forget to give a thumbs
up if you did, and as always subscribe for more videos!