I use this camera professionally on numerous classic and exotic cars and it was chosen over the GoPro due to the image quality. At 4k however you do get an awful fish-eye effect which needs tweaking in post production.

If you're an Arlo owner looking to expand you coverage, give this a try.

It’s exciting to see new competition in the action cameras arena. It's especially exciting to see some useful new features such as the GPS and handy sensor data used by the TomTom Bandit and Garmin Virb Elite, as they introduce new possibilities. Then there are other innovations, such as EE's 4G streaming, that we’re not so sure about. But GoPro has been doing this, and only this, for a long time - and it shows. The Hero4 has abundant mounting options and a focus on image quality and versatility that means it’s still the one to beat. Its free editing software is just as powerful, helping you to get carefully ­crafted action vids up in double­quick time. Having said that, £410 is a lot to spend, so we’d recommend looking at its cheaper cousin the Hero4 Silver (£330) to see if your needs can be satisfied for less of an outlay. It can only record 4K video at 15fps rather than 30fps, but does have a built­-in live-view screen. And if you don’t need 4K videos, the smaller Hero4 Session could yet prove to be your best bet. After that we’d consider the Garmin Virb Elite. Its video quality and editing package with G­-Metrix overlays are just brilliant, but most attractive of all is the price - it's practically half the price of the Hero4 Black. It's the TomTom that comes in third - it's overall design is really well thought out, and while it's automatic video editing isn't perfect, the innovation is to be applauded. And then there's the Sony FDR-X1000V - it comes second on the video quality front, but the usability is just a little too compromised. Finally, while novel and unique, the 4GEE’s focus on standalone streaming feels like a slightly misguided concept to us.

Its menu system is rather fiddly, but the Sony FDR-X1000V is top-notch 4K action camera

At the end of the day, in the action cam market, the buck stops at GoPro. Whether a company is trying to compete with them or not, they are the standard that everyone is held to.

Sony's 4K Action Cam is a capable POV camcorder that shoots great videos, but its size and price put it behind GoPro's Hero4 Black.

4K (UHD) video recording; Good-looking; smooth videos; High 100-Mbps bitrate; SteadyShot stabilization

Larger than most action cams; 4K requires SDXC card; Some quality issues in bright light; Pricey compared to competition

Worth a look if you're new to the POV camera market, but if you've already got a GoPro, stick with it.

- Excellent video quality; - Small without the case; - Splash proof without case

- Colors are oversaturated; - Stills aren't very good

Amazing, exceeded expectations by far, I would give it 6 stars if I could. After much agonising about this verses a GoPro, I eventually bought this in late 2015. It has been brilliant - although I notice the price has gone up quite a bit since then which may expose it to more competition today.

For those of us of a certain vintage, it's almost impossible to believe that Sony could be described as an underdog when it comes to video cameras. But in the world of professional action cameras, it's fallen to Sony to play David to GoPro's Goliath.

Splash-proof without a housing; easy operation; image stabilization; GPS

Waterproof housing not rated for depths as low as the competition; colors can appear oversaturated; fewer resolution/frame rate options than the competition

Sony added its new Action Cam camera with 4K video recording to its Action Cam wearable camera lineup at CES 2015. The Sony FDR-X1000V 4K Action Cam has a similar form-factor as the previous Action Cam models and will cost $499 and $599 with the Sony Live View Remote, a utterly useful accessory when...