Yi 4K VS Yi 4K+ microphone problems
82http://geni.us/Yi4K
http://geni.us/Yi4Kplus
In this video I compare the Yi 4K VS Yi 4K plus action cameras for problems and issues with their audio recording quality from their built in microphone system. These issues range from a bad noise problem and a lot of distortion on dialogue recording, in fact any sounds picked up from their internal microphones, to general bad audio quality.
This video has been produced at the request of Yi Technology and their Official Amazon Store in the UK, in order to show them the issues that I have discussed with them after buying the Yi 4K.
As you can clearly hear in the video, these audio problems essentially make the recordings unusable. It would also make these cameras impossible to use for vlogging, as they clearly distort dialogue and also induce a lot of hiss and noise.
My hope is that the microphone issues are simply a fault in my Yi 4K and can be simply rectified or fixed by Yi Technology replacing my Yi 4K.
All audio is edited at 0db gain or attenuation in the edit. Basically, what you hear is exactly what the cameras recorded. The uploaded file uses the Grass Valley HQ mastering codec which also encodes the audio at 24 Bit 48Khz, which is the best possible quality for rendering the audio from both these cameras.
Here is a link to a WAV file that you can download of the audio in thsi video, it too is 24 Bit 48Khz:
Once Yi have sorted out this problem I will make a follow up video to explain what actions Yi have taken to correct this issue. If I get a replacement Yi 4K due to mine being defective, I will make a new video that will show that the Yi 4K is capable of recording better audio than what's in this video.
If on the other hand this audio problem is inherent to all Yi 4K action cameras, I will also report that fact in the follow up video.
In the video I make mention of a macro video recording that I made with the Yi 4K+ after I modified the camera for manual focusing. Here's the link to that video, it is simply stunning what the Yi 4K+ is capable of with regard its picture quality and definition:
https://youtu.be/WHjgobv0xsQ
Here is another link to a video that I mention showing the difference between the internal microphones of the Yi Lite and 4K+ and showing how well the Yi Lite records with its internal microphones:
https://youtu.be/AM4D7rqA2_o
Here is a copy of my original request for support to Yi with my recently purchased Yi 4K:
Hi.
I've just received my Yi 4K, thank you for the quick delivery. I had bought this to compliment my Yi 4K+ as it does not record audio so well but has a fantastic picture. I'd bought the 4K so I can have better dialogue audio with its internal microphones for vlogging, but the audio on the 4K is very poor. Is there a possibility that I could have an issue with the mics on mine, the sound is very thin and very noisy, it's actually worse than the 4K+. Would there be anything that I could so at my end in the settings to improve the noisy sound? I'm on the latest firmware. Or would I have to swap out the 4K in case there's an issue with mine. I'm not looking for a refund if there's a chance that the audio can be improved, as just like with the 4K+ it has great picture quality that I'm more than happy with. If it helps any I can send you a link to video that shows the audio issue I'm talking about.
Thank you for your help.
Dave.
Here is a copy of Yi's response to my support request and their request for me to make a video showing the problems I'd explained, so that they could help me with my issues with the Yi 4K:
Dear customer,
Thanks for your message.We are sorry for the inconvenience our product caused to you.Would you please send us a video,so that we can help you solve your problem?
We are looking forward to hearing from you soon. Thanks.
Sincerely,
xxxxxxx xx
YI Official Store Service Team
Microphones:
Sennheisser ME66: http://geni.us/ABuN6