SJCAM SJ11 Active
Budget action
~$189

SJCAM

SJCAM SJ11 Active

SJCAM has been building GoPro-shaped cameras longer than most of the brands that undercut it, and the SJ11 Active is its mainstream model: a Sony sensor behind an Ambarella processor, dual screens, 5 m of bare waterproofing and 30 m in the case. At roughly 18 mm² its sensor is among the smallest in this catalogue, which matters more than the 20 MP on the box. Where it does well is the dual-screen layout and a 4K30 image that holds together in daylight. Slow motion is 1080p120, there is no horizon lock, and SJCAM rates the 1300 mAh battery at 100 minutes of 4K30.

Approx. price
~$189
No plan sold
Sensor area
18 mm²
1/2.8-inch
Max resolution
4K @ 30fps
Claimed runtime
1 h 40 min
4K30 recording, SJCAM's figure

Sensor area against the rest of the catalogue

18 mm²

Derived from the standard optical-format table rather than copied off a spec sheet, because makers print a fraction that hides it. The table and the arithmetic.

Battery, with the small print

Maker’s claim
1 h 40 min at 4K30 recording, SJCAM's figure
Third-party test
None collected. We publish a tested figure only where a named outlet has run one and stated its conditions.

Specifications

Budget action
1/2.8-inch
Not published
4K @ 30fps
Not published
Not published
6-axis gyro EIS
Field of view
154°
Photo resolution
20 MP
5 m bare, 30 m cased
1300 mAh
Weight
108 g
Dimensions
64.5×44.5×30.5 mm
Screens
1.3-inch front + 2.33-inch rear touch
GoPro folding fingers
GPS
No
Voice control
No
Storage
microSD
Model
SJ11 Active
Released
2023

Features

  • ●Sony sensor with an Ambarella processor
  • ●4K30, 2K60 and 1080p120
  • ●Dual screens, 2.33-inch rear and 1.3-inch front
  • ●Six-axis gyro stabilisation
  • ●Waterproof to 5 m bare, 30 m in the case
  • ●GoPro folding-finger mount
Waterproof bareFront screenGoPro fingersNo plan needed

Strengths

  • +5 m of bare waterproofing, which several pricier budget cameras do not offer
  • +Dual screens make framing to camera possible
  • +A Sony sensor and an Ambarella processor, both named by SJCAM
  • +GoPro folding fingers rather than a proprietary shoe

Drawbacks

  • −Joint-smallest sensor in the catalogue at roughly 18 mm²
  • −No horizon lock, and 4K caps at 30 fps
  • −5 m bare covers a pool or a snorkel; anything deeper needs the case

The strengths and drawbacks above are drawn from the manufacturer’s specifications and published reviews. No body of owner reports for this camera has been read, so nothing here claims to speak for its owners.

What owners say

No owner discussion has been collected for the SJCAM SJ11 Active yet. The pros and cons above come from the manufacturer’s specifications and published reviews. Rather than fill this space with invented sentiment, it stays empty until there is something real to put in it.

Cameras people look at alongside it

More from SJCAM →
SJCAM SJ20 Dual Lens
~$229
Budget action

Two lenses on the front, and neither of them is for 360 capture. One is an f/2.0 daylight lens; the other is an f/1.3 night lens, and the camera switches between them. It and the newer SJ30 are the only cameras in this catalogue that answer low light with a second, faster lens rather than a bigger sensor or noise reduction, and for night riding or filming from a car that is a genuinely different answer. The cost shows up everywhere else: each lens sits on a small 1/2.8-inch sensor, 4K stops at 30 fps, the bitrate is 25 Mbps — the lowest figure in this catalogue, and low enough that fast motion visibly falls apart — and there is no horizon lock. It did surprise on endurance: in road.cc's four-camera drain test it stopped within three minutes of the DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro, about half an hour after the Insta360 Ace Pro 2.

18 mm²
4K @ 30fps
Best for: Night riding, where a fast lens beats a bigger sensor
Full spec sheet
SJCAM C400
~$229
Budget action

A 54 g camera module that drops into a handle carrying a 3000 mAh battery and a big rotating screen — the same split-body idea as the DJI Osmo Nano and Insta360 GO Ultra, executed for well under their price. Seven hours and seventeen minutes at 4K30 with the handle attached is the number SJCAM leads with, and only its own SJ30 comes close. What it does not have is the sensor those two carry: 1/2.8-inch against their 1/1.3-inch and 1/1.28-inch, a quarter of the imaging area, which is the whole difference in low light. Nor is there bare waterproofing. Read this as a very long-running vlogging camera rather than a small flagship.

18 mm²
4K @ 30fps
Best for: Handheld vlogging that has to run all day
Full spec sheet
SJCAM C300
~$159
Budget action

A pocket-shaped body rather than a GoPro-shaped one, and the whole design is organised around recording for hours: a 1000 mAh camera battery that clips into a 2800 mAh grip, for a claimed six hours at 4K30. That makes it a body-cam and vlogging tool more than a sports camera, which is how SJCAM markets it. Dual touch screens, six-axis gyro stabilisation, a 30 m case. The limits are the usual ones at $159 — 4K30 with no horizon lock, no bare waterproofing, and no published bitrate — plus a form factor that does not sit as well on a helmet as a standard action-camera body does.

28 mm²
4K @ 30fps
Best for: Long-form recording clipped to clothing
Full spec sheet