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Performance
- Motion detection
- Loop Record function
- Battery life disappointing
The pocket-sized Olfi one.five packs an impressive performance punch for a camera in this price bracket, with the ability to shoot 4K at 24fps (although this actually equates to 3840 x 2160 pixels interpolated from 2880 x 2160 pixels) and 720p at 120fps – perfect for capturing those smooth slow-mo shots.
You can also shoot simple timelapse videos using a range of timing settings and a handy 'Loop Record' function, which continuously records in small sections, overwriting the oldest files when the memory card is full.
This basically means you can use your Olfi one.five as a car dash cam when you're not busy filming extreme sports, with the optional time and date stamp adding an extra layer of evidence should the unthinkable happen.
Unfortunately, the one.five's battery life wasn't great during our test run. We managed to squeeze in between 30 and 45 minutes of filming and general fiddling before it was time to plug it in for a charge; and battery life is reduced further when Wi-Fi is activated and the unit is paired to a smartphone.
Image quality
- Flat colour profile
- Slow-motion footage
- Possible to reduce distortion
The addition of the new back-illuminated Sony Exmor-R CMOS sensor is instantly noticeable, with colors looking more vivid than before, while image shake is reduced thanks to gyro stabilization in most situations.
We found the vibration from a V-twin motorcycle engine was enough to overpower the technology, but that's a fairly extreme example. When attached to a bicycle on rough terrain, it did a good job of smoothing out the footage.
There's even an option in the menu screen that allows users to select just how intense the color palette should be, with the option to shoot 'Flat' should you want to color-grade in post.
We found the standard option perfectly suitable for bright and sunny days (Vivid just seems overkill), but the resulting footage isn't quite as impressive as that captured on GoPro's high-end products
The Olfi one.five doesn't quite distinguish light from shadows in the way the Hero5 Black currently does, but it is still very good.
Those with detailed photographic knowledge can play around with exposure settings, three metering modes, five white balance options and five different ISO limits, while it's possible to reduce the fisheye effect when shooting in wide angle via a distortion correction setting.
Still images can also be captured from 3MP to 16MP, with the option to activate a neat High Dynamic Range function that captures more detail in the highlights and shadows.
Editing and apps
- Single smartphone app
- Good for viewing live footage
- Clunky to use
Unfortunately, Olfi doesn't offer the same array of apps and editing software as rivals such as Garmin, GoPro and TomTom, with just one simple smartphone application on offer.
Apart from looking a bit cheap, the app is only really good for viewing live footage, adjusting some basic functionality and downloading footage and images to a mobile device.
The in-app editing functionality is extremely basic (trim, drag and drop footage) and it feels a little clunky to use – certainly not as slick as TomTom's Bandit app or GoPro's Quik.
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