It is said that racial nerves feel best in the cellar. 😉 However, there are days and weekends when you have to go out, move frozen bones and do something crazy. To register such feats it is useful to use a webcam which, although it has the word “sports” in its name, is ideally suited also for other intensive activities. We invite you to test the Forever SC-400 4k Wi-Fi camera. At the end you will also find a competition.
The text was created in cooperation with the equipment manufacturer, Forever.
The SC-400 is my first sports camera, so you have to forgive me for talking about the obvious. The fact that I have no comparison is a big advantage with the SC-400, which is somewhere near the end of the test.
Before I talk about the strengths and weaknesses of the equipment, I talk a little about the company. Forever, in addition to video recorders, does a lot of other nerve good, including accessories for phones, tablets, wireless speakers and smartphones. Everything, including webcams, at very American prices, which puts him high on the spot. 🙂
Forever camera SC-400 is a tiny and lightweight box (59.3 x 24.6 x 41.1 mm, 44 grams), but with great possibilities. The sturdy 4k filming capability, Wi-Fi connectivity, playback of movies directly from the device with micro HDMi and multiple shooting modes (standard, trigger, timelapse) are encapsulated in a robust plastic housing.
On the casing, in addition to useful bows, preventing the baby from slipping out of hands, you will also find a large (for microscopic dimensions ;)) display, already mentioned micro HDMi, as well as micro USB (for connecting to a computer and charging the webcam) and microSD output.
Everything is nice, but… the hardware doesn’t have any SD card in the set. It’s a pity, because in order to achieve the quality of 4k, you need to add to the price of the set a few more wheelhouses (with a good and large card it will be almost the price of the webcam itself). I don’t know if such a practice is the rule in the case of sports cameras, but I would be happy to give up one or two fairy tales in the set, in return receiving a ready-to-use camera with a basic card.
And if you’re talking about “fairy tales”, then extreme sports enthusiasts will have no reason to complain. The most important one is a waterproof casing, which protects the SC-400 from moisture (up to 30 meters) and accidental webcam upholstery. We also fit most of the accessories into the set. It is composed of
1/4″ screw fixing
USB Cable
Fixing screws
Attachment per bike
clip
Helmet holder
2x Fastening
Backup screen protection
Crimping tapes
That is a total of large quantities of different parts at the same time, which make it possible to mount the SC-400 everywhere, from man to dog 😉 The set does not include a harness for the less active, thanks to which you can mount the webcam to your own body. Fortunately, I got it in the set and I used it the most during the tests.
As I have already mentioned, the webcam takes pictures and videos. Their quality, resolution, and even basic image settings (e.g. exposure) can be set in a very convenient menu.
Depending on the parameters of the memory card, movies can have a quality up to 4k, but only in 25 frames per second (but apparently consoles will not feel any difference ;)). PCMR quality (60 fps) can only be achieved in full HD. Photos can be up to 12M (4000×3000). By comparison, I have looked at other sports webcams (including, of course, the main competitor, GoPro) and I must admit that I am positively surprised. The SC-400 is not inferior to much more expensive and well-known competitors, making it an ideal choice for even the most demanding customers.
The strength of the webcam is also its modes. In the case of video, in addition to normal video recording, there is also a function of loop recording. In this mode, the SC-400 overwrites previous recordings if there is no more space for the card. The function is directly tailored for drivers who want to use the webcam as a device for recording events on the road.
“It’s only when you switch to pictures that it’s “rich”. You will find here the photos in the series (after pressing the trigger the camera takes 3 photos one by one), the self-timer and the time-lapse function, i.e. the photos folded into a neat animation.
Wi-Fi is there, but…
The SC-400 also has a Wi-Fi feature that allows you to control the device from your tablet or smartphone. However, the manufacturer does not provide dedicated software, because the webcam works with the popular Ez iCam program, available on iOS and Android.
Simply download the application, switch the camera to Wi-Fi mode, connect our device to a webcam network and you can already operate it via your phone or tablet. This is a very useful feature, especially when the SC-400 is placed in a place that is difficult to reach, such as a helmet or a dog. 😀
Unfortunately, telephony lows  may have problems with this, because the application does not want to cooperate with apple telephones very much. If you try to connect to the Wi-Fi connection of a webcam