Action cameras are on the rise and the popular GoPro Hero4 Black, widely considered the best of its kind, gets some serious competition from Graava.
A slew of video cameras are currently available on the market, offering different specs and features and coming in different sizes and price ranges, but most of them have one thing in common - the user has to edit the footage. That means sifting through tons of footage to select the best moments and stitch them together in a final edit to get the best video.
Amid action fans, the GoPro Hero4 Black is widely seen as the go-to camera to capture the most exciting, adrenaline-filled moments, whether it's a hike up the mountain, a bike stunt, a bungee jump or something else. Like the vast majority of cameras out there, however, the GoPro Hero4 Black also requires users to edit their own footage.
The new Graava cam has a notable edge in this department, as it is capable of editing footage on its own to get the best video from various action you captured. Graava is a tiny action cam about the size of a Tic-Tac box, but it nonetheless packs good specifications. The gadget features an 8-megapixel camera capable of shooting 1080p video @30fps or 720p @60fps continuously for three hours on an 1,100 mAh battery, with the Wi-Fi turned off.
The Graava action cam can also handle hyperlapse at 4K, 1080p or 720p. It boasts a 130-degree viewing angle, auto-rotation for filming vertical or horizontal video, and it also allows users to record continuously thanks to a looping mode. Being an action cam, Graava is also dust- and water-resistant with an IP67 rating.
In terms of specs, the Graava doesn't beat the popular GoPro Hero4 Black, which rocks a great resolution, a fast processor and advanced specs and features all around. The GoPro Hero4 Black is "the most advanced GoPro ever," but it can't edit footage on its own like Graava can.
The Graava action cam comes with a slew of built-in sensors such as accelerometer, microphone, GPS and image sensors, and also supports pairing with third-party gadgets with heart-rate monitors. Thanks to these sensors, Graava can determine when an important moment occurs and keeps it in your footage so you don't have to browse through a ton of raw footage to get to that one exciting moment.
The camera can detect when objects move in a frame, when you change your pace or direction, when your heart is beating faster than usual, and uses all that information to determine when something exciting is going on.
Moreover, the Graava action cam can also link to other Graava cams as well, thanks to its built-in GPS. This means that if you and your friend, for instance, are both using Graavas and filming the same scene, Graava will ask both of you for permission to combine the footage and edit it into a single video to deliver the best scenes from both perspectives.
If you believe Graava might miss out on an important moment, you can always utter its name to make it pay attention. Just say "Graava" when filming something and the cam will take it as a cue to include that footage in the final video.
Users can also handle the editing process themselves if they so prefer, or if they feel that Graava did not do a good enough job with the final video. Just access the raw footage and add the scenes you want, and Graava will take note of your editing and in time it will learn to edit footage the way you do.
All in all, Graava aims to make everything easier by leveraging powerful algorithms and automatic editing. Even with soundtracks, Graava will make sure to trim the video to perfectly fit the song you choose.
The Graava action cam will also trim the final footage to fit a certain song you picked, if you want a specific soundtrack to your video. The companion Graava app, meanwhile, is designed for easy video sharing, complete with editing features fit for various social media. For instance, Graava will automatically trim video if you want to share it on sites such as Vine or Instagram, which have time limits.
With such powerful features, Graava could well change the way action cams perform, raising the bar on what they have to offer. The GoPro Hero4 Black is more powerful in terms of technical specifications, but it doesn't have the editing options Graava brings to the table.
Graava is now available for pre-order with a $250 price tag, but will go up to $400 once it hits the market in early 2016. The GoPro Hero4 Black, meanwhile, costs roughly $500, albeit various promotions may offer notable discounts.
