The Runcam 4 is an affordable HD camera capable of recording 4K videos. In this review, we are going to find out about the new features, and how it compares to the previous Runcam 3S in terms of image quality.
Update (April 2019): Runcam 5 has been released.
Check out our HD cameras buyer’s guide to learn more about HD cameras for mini quads.
Where to Buy?
Runcam: https://shop.runcam.com/runcam-4-airsoft/
What’s New in the Runcam 4?
Well, the biggest selling point of the Runcam 4 would be the 4K 30FPF and 2.7K 60FPS recording capability, making this the highest resolution camera Runcam has ever made.
It’s true that most top FPV pilots are still uploading 1080p videos, what’s the point of 2.7K and 4K?
2.7K and 4K recording are picking up in popularity in the FPV community, mostly because Youtube preserves image quality and detail better for videos of higher resolutions than 1080p.
The other advantage is that you have a lot more room to play with the footage in post editing. You can zoom in and manipulate the footage without losing too much detail, or making it look blurry. (if you are uploading it in lower resolution.)
At the beginning, I was told the Runcam 4 is primarily designed for RC planes and wings, due to the more aerodynamic shape compared to the Runcam 3S. But there is nothing stops you from using it on racing drones, though it can be tricky to mount on a mini quad.
When I look at the image quality, it feels very different from the Runcam 3S and Split V2 series, possibly due to the different sensor / image processor.
I would say the video looks better than I expected, I still think the default can be tweaked to look even better, such as white balance, contrast, brightness etc.
Unboxing
In the box, you will find two velcro straps, an AV-out cable, an instruction manual, and the Runcam 4 camera.
Here is a quick size comparison between the Runcam 3S, GoPro Session, Runcam 4, and GoPro Hero 7 Black.
Closer Look at the Runcam 4 Camera
The Runcam 4 has the similar long, rectangular shape to the previous Runcam 2.
However, it actually has a slightly bigger form factor than the Runcam 2, measures 40 x 22.2 x 61.2mm (with lens, 72.2mm). Therefore the 3D printed mounts designed for the Runcam 2 are incompatible with the Runcam 4.
There are only two buttons on the camera, both located on top – a shutter/power button, and a mode/wifi button. The operation is similar to any previous cameras from Runcam, so the transition would be seamless if you owned one in the past.
There is a 4-bar battery level indicator on the side, a really nice addition. When the camera is powered off, press the shutter button briefly, turns on the indicator to show you the battery level without turning the camera on.
When it comes to the color of the shell, frankly I am a bit disappointed to see it’s in black.
Firstly, it’s really hard to find it if you lost it in grass. In fact, I lost one in my first maiden flight and never found it again :(
Secondly, it will get very hot in the summer, especially when exposed to the sun. I do hope they will do other colors when it’s out: silver or the “classic orange”, or even white would be nice.
On the back of the camera, you will find a micro USB port for charging and connecting to your computer, and a micro HDMI port.
It’s good to know that the Runcam 4 still has AV output, which means you can use it as your FPV camera in your RC model. Or connect it to a camera switcher so you can check what you are recording occasionally.
Simply plug in the provided cable to the micro USB port, and the yellow wire is the video out signal. You can power the camera with 5V while recording, so you won’t run out of battery.
I haven’t tested the video out latency yet as it takes a lot of time to do, I am not sure how many people would be interested in this. If you are, let me know.
Removing the door at the rear, reveals the removable battery, and SD card slot.
Battery
The Runcam 4 uses the exact same battery from the previous Runcam 3S camera – an 1S 850mAh Li-Ion battery.
Battery life is noticeably shorter when recording at 4K than 1080p, perhaps it uses more power to handle the greater amount of data. Here is how long the battery lasts:
- 4K – 62 mins
- 1080p – 87 mins
Spec & Other Features
Here are the specifications of the Runcam 4:
- 4K 30 FPS
- 2.7K 30/60 FPS
- 1080p 30/60/100 FPS
- 720p 100/200 FPS
- AV Video Out
- Removable battery – 1S 850mAh Li-Ion
- Dimension: 40 x 22.2 x 61.2mm (with lens, 72.2mm)
- Weight: 57g
- Takes Micro SD card up to 64GB
- Built-in WiFi for connecting to your phone to change camera settings, see live preview, start/stop recording, and playback footage
Here is the manual for future reference:
Image Quality Testing
File related info:
- File Format: MP4
- Video Bit-Rate: 65925kbps
- File Size: For a 3-minute 4K video, file size is around 1.4GB
Here is some 4K foorage from the Rucnam 4. It was raw footage, uploaded straight from the camera to Youtube, so it wasn’t edited at all.
All settings on the camera are default.
Audio is still bad on a mini quad…
But the image quality is actually pretty decent, it resembles the style from the GoPro, very contrasty, and warm in color temperature. It’s quite a contrast from its predecessors, the Runcam 3 and 3S, both have slightly more neutral colors.
Here is a side by side comparison with the Runcam 3S.
You can see the Runcam 4 has narrower horizontal FOV, but wider vertical FOV. This seems to result in less distortion to the edges of the image (less fish-eye). The image is just more pleasant to look it. Do you think this a step forward in achieving Superview?
One thing that is missing is the “Wide Dynamic Range” setting (WDR), and you can clearly see the difference from the following comparison with the Runcam 3S. The sky is blown out in the 4, and you can’t see any detail from the tree trunk anymore.
But is that really that bad? Arguably it looks more natural and realistic in my opinion. I guess it’s all subjective and personal preference. Maybe the WDR feature is too processor intensive to run in 4K that’s why they removed it.
Conclusion
Not quite yet concluded since this is just a testing sample. There are still a thing or two to fix, but it’s promising from the video quality so far :) I am hoping they can price this as cheap as the Runcam 3S, that would make it a really good option for 4K videos :)
Edit History
- Nov 2018 – Post created as soon as I heard about the release of the new camera
- Jan 2019 – I received a prototype to test, posted sample footage, and technical detail of the camera
20 comments
Any news on the RC4 release?
it’s been released on Runcam’s website, but they didn’t make a big deal of it because they wanted to only target the airsoft market, not for FPV.
Came here from the Runcam 5 review. The 2 and 4 are perfect for planes and would be great in a tailor made gimbal. Why on earth hasn’t Runcam (or anyone else) made a decent gimbal for these cameras?
No WDR???
That’s a deal-braker for sure. The MAIN benefit of these cams was the WDR.
I don’t need 4k. All I was hoping for was a [slightly] better video quality in 1080p and WDR.
Still use my trusty MiniSplit 2. They are a workhorse.
Another +1 requesting latency numbers
Too bad it’s have no WDR… I love this formfactor for fpv planes, and was hoping the successor for runcan 2 should have.
Very often I get alot of sky into the picture and make the ground dark or black…
Lets hope the latency is ok then!
I’ve talked to their customer service guy in taobao, they said they are not going to sell RC4, but other model instead. Don’t know if it’s true.
I would be interested in the FPV latency. The Runcam2 is essentially the Split in a case….I never understood why people didn’t use it more. Runcam even sells a lens extension cable to allow you to mount the case or PCB remotely.
Anyway…Latency and reliability test of the FPV output would be great.
Thanks Oscar
BTW, that spot where you were flying looked stunning! I’m not a “videophile” by any means but the camera really helped display the beauty of that location. It was very natural looking with color and lack of significant fisheye. I was super impressed.
Did you test the latency of the AV-out signal ?
Couple questions i’d like to see answered:
can you turn it 90 degrees and mount it vertically like a fin on a miniquad or plane?
what is the latency like on tv out? does the latency change based on the type of file you’re recording?
Thanks!
you can, but image is going to be like in portrait mode. I will test latency when I have time.
Mega-LOL. On October 11th I wrote to the Runcam-Support:
========================
Hello Runcam,
any plan to update the HD2? Would be cool to have this Form Factor with the Technology of the Split? Yes, I could 3D-Print a Case and insert a Split Mini, but Ready-to-Buy it would be easier :-)
========================
The answer a day later:
> Thanks for your inquiry.
> RunCam Split is evolved from RunCam 2 and 3.
> If you want a combination of HD recording and FPV, we will soon have a Split 2S released.
> If you want a Form Factor, you can directly buy RunCam 2 and 3.
It seems she did not wanted to tell me :-D
Superview or I’m out. I accidentally recorded a flight without superview the other day and it just didn’t look great for freestyle. Might be a good cheap cinematic cam though
Form factor is okay. Great for wings, so so for quads. At least it has 2.7k at 60fps, which would be great for uploading to YouTube.
SuperView? Bit rate? Price? Removable lipo? Low latency live video out?
Runcam app has an update when it says… “suport runcam 4”. It was my way to discover that new.
i don’t need heavy large files while traning or sharing via instagram or other messengers. lots of people use action cams like dash cams or recorders and there’s more important how much video fits in to the flash drive than image quality.
reminds Drift Stealth 2 camerf
but drift has more aerodynamic shapes and display could rotates 270 degree but has no 2.7 and 4k resolution
Lack of tuning on the quad. :/ Also I don’t see a way to add an ND filter which can also mitigate jello like in the video.
Why are manufacturers bringing out 30fps cameras still. The tech is there for 60fps so it should be the bottom bar 60 or better.
price?