Olfi one.five review

Cheap, and extremely cheerful

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Build quality and handling

  • 55g body-only
  • 110g with waterproof housing
  • Oversized buttons

Even out of its protective cladding, the Olfi one.five feels like a sturdy little camera. Although it's not waterproof straight out of the box, like the GoPro Hero5 Black, it gives the impression that it could withstand a bump or two.

The wide-angle lens is slightly recessed behind its rubbery casing, meaning it isn't liable to scratch if dropped face-down, while the hatched plastic running along the edges make it easy to grip.

If you handed a naked Olfi one.five to a friend and asked them to guess a price, we'd be amazed if they didn't return figures well in excess of the £149.99 / $179.99 price tag – it looks well proportioned, streamlined and neatly designed.

Once inside its chunky, waterproof housing (this takes the overall weight up to 110g), the little camera quickly takes a more serious tone, with the thick plastic  and oversized buttons suggesting it can withstand a pummelling.

However, even though the casing ruins some of the camera's more delicate features, it still boasts some cool red detailing around the lens, which gives it a bold look in the increasingly crowded action cam field.

Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the small range of accessories that came with our review unit. The main anchoring base didn't quite fit the plastic thumbscrew points affixed to the waterproof housing. As a result, the camera had a tendency to flop forwards under its own weight, regardless of how tight the thumbscrews were ratcheted.

The package also contained a glorified selfie-stick, complete with wireless remote, as well as chest strap and a watch-style wrist strap for the aforementioned remote.

Despite feeling a little lightweight and flimsy in the hand, the remote worked exceptionally well. It pairs easily with the camera when you press two buttons simultaneously, and handles the basic camera functions without complaint.

The wrist strap felt cheap, though, and we wouldn't be surprised if the brittle plastics gave up the ghost after a few strenuous workouts. It's a similar story with the selfie-stick and chest strap.

However, as previously mentioned, the Olfi one.five will happily sit in any mount and accessory that has been designed for GoPro cameras, meaning there's a bustling marketplace for owners to plunder.

Leon Poultney
EVs correspondent

Leon has been navigating a world where automotive and tech collide for almost 20 years, reporting on everything from in-car entertainment to robotised manufacturing plants. Currently, EVs are the focus of his attentions, but give it a few years and it will be electric vertical take-off and landing craft. Outside of work hours, he can be found tinkering with distinctly analogue motorcycles, because electric motors are no replacement for an old Honda inline four.

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