Finally broke down and got the Xiaomi Yi (Z23L) that I keep hearing about being “just as good as a GoPro” or a “GoPro Killer” and decided to stack up where it stands side by side with my current GoPro Lineup. I also have the older GoPro Hero 960 which is basically a software limited HD Hero without the 30-pin accessory port, but decided not to include it since it will obviously not compete with the rest.

Note the version of Xiaomi Yi i have is the Z23L hardware version and the Firmware version is 1.2.13

Comparison by the Numbers:

The Yi is the lightest of the bunch, coming in at 9 grams lighter than any other camera when fully equipped, but only 2 grams after removing the batteries.  Speaking of batteries the Yi has the smallest of batteries compared to the rest, this will be interesting whenever i get around to doing the Endurance test to see who can record longer in one go. In the past I have had some issues with the Hero 3 Black not getting to long of a record time with the battery, often heating up and turning the screen dark and heating up the entire device to that its uncomfortable to hold in a bare hand.

After only two days the Yi seems to place itself in between the H3 and the H2 in terms of  visual quality in 30fps, the h2 details are limited with its 1080P limited pixels, text in the distance comes out muddy and blurred together, when switched to the Yi there is more detail but it is still a bit more blurry.

_— To Be Continued —-

I have several videos i now need to do direct comparisons with and upload to youtube, check back to updates.