Kogan Action Cam 3+ Review – How does it really stack up against a GoPro

When Ruslan Kogan launches a product, he doesn’t just tell you all about it, he tells you which key successful product in the market he’s targeting.  This week, it’s the GoPro.  Kogan has announced the “Action Camera 3+” for “fast paced, action packed” footage at a “fraction of the cost”.  So, is it any good?  EFTM has put it to the test – head to head with GoPro.

Without question the Kogan Action Camera 3+ is great value right out of the box.  You’re getting the camera, a rear screen, suction mount, helmet strap, waterproof case and handlebar mount all for $159.

When you buy a GoPro you’re pretty much buying the camera, and then you’ll find yourself deep into the GoPro ecosystem with mounts and accessories to make it work for you.

As with many of these “new to market” action cameras – all looking to capitalise on the huge success of GoPro, you’ll find they cunningly all use a mounting system not dissimilar to the GoPro, which means many of the accessories in the after-market may just work here too.

Here’s how Kogan present the comparison between the GoPro and their own Action Cam:

You won’t find EFTM on the ski slopes or mountain bike trails – so the best place we thought to test it was in the car.  With the Kogan, we used gear right out of the box.  The GoPro we used some after-market Joby suction cup and mounting gear.  To be clear, on the GoPro shots there is more “shake” in the vision – mainly due to the movement in the mount, not the quality of the camera.

The Kogan does a great job.  Where it is let down is sound, colour and quality.  All pretty important things to most videographers.

Sound can be easily fixed with a standard 3.5mm mic input to the Kogan (on a GoPro there’s an accessory to allow Mic input).

Quality and Colour are more a symptom of price than anything else.

I ask myself – would I have noticed if I’d just filmed with the Kogan and not had a side by side comparison?  Not sure.  I think I would have noticed the brighter (less natural) colours, and the clarity on areas like text in signs, leaves on trees and changes in the grass are little things which really take points away from the Kogan in terms of quality.

That said, this is $159.

Blokes risking their lives jumping out of planes or on professional extreme sports are not the market for the Kogan Action Camera.  If you’ve got kids who love to ride, or scoot around the park – imagine strapping a camera along and making a cool video.  Or for people looking to start a bit of YouTube video content but without the budget for the GoPro – a great solution.

You really can’t “compare” the GoPro to the Kogan Action Camera.  GoPro wins on quality of picture every single time.

If you compare the Kogan Action Camera to something like the cheap action cams at Officeworks, then it comes out a clear winner.

So – buy one?

Looking for a GoPro – buy a GoPro.

Looking for an action cam for some fun – Get the Kogan.