Garmin VIRB Ultra 30 Review (2020) | GoPro killer by Garmin?

Garmin VIRB Ultra 30 Review

The Garmin VIRB Ultra 30 is a GoPro alternative and very impressive for its quality and price. Garmin is not a very known brand and most people don’t know about it, this model, the Garmin VIRB Ultra 30 is one of the most sold action cameras by them, in this review, we discover why it’s so popular. It offers 4K quality and up to 16MP pictures.

The definition, focus, the detail is good quality and color. It comes with a multitude of accessories so you can use it to get better footage.

The Garmin VIRB Ultra 30 is a GoPro alternative from the brand of VIRB with an affordable price and decent video quality. The Garmin VIRB lets you take photos up to 16MP with 4K recording, and allows you to use other cool features as well as record underwater with the case and use the many accessories it comes with.

The Garmin VIRB is waterproof and comes with 1 battery. The protective case is waterproof and impact-resistant, which makes it possible to shoot videos underwater up to 40m. It also comes with a rechargeable 1250mAh battery to never let you miss a wonderful time and the charger.

But before we talk about its features, what comes in the box of the Garmin VIRB? We get the VIRB camera, the waterproof case, a bicycle mount, 2 bases, a clip, a fixed base, 3 switch holders with many more accessories, a USB cable, a wiper, and a Manual.

Garmin VIRB Ultra 30 also comes with a MicroSD Card, thanks to firmware 1.4.5 of the Ultra 30 you can use 64GB up to 128GB.

Garmin VIRB Ultra 30

Pros

Camera quality is pretty good
Comes with a waterproof case
Voice control
WiFi smartphone connection
3-axis stabilizer
Good audio, even with the case

Cons

No stabilization at 4K
Stabilizer could be better
Needs waterproof housing

Design

The Garmin VIRB Ultra 30 is well built with good quality plastics and it has a grey color. It feels pretty durable and with the waterproof housing, it can go underwater up to 40m (130feet). All attachments are sturdy and the waterproof case is made of high-quality plastic which makes its waterproof level up to 130 feet and protects the camera from damage in normal use.

On the front, we can see the lens and the power on-off button. On the upper side, there is the start recording button similar to most cameras and the lock to the case, on the left side, there is the microSD compartment slot and 3 buttons for settings and on the right side, there is the Micro-USB cable and the mini HDMI cable.

The dimensions of it are 2.4 x 1.2 x 1.6 inches and its weight is 3.2 ounces, with the case you can connect an external microphone if you want.

Specs

It uses a CMOS imx078 sensor with the Novatek 96660 chipset. It can record 4K 24fps and 12MP photos using a 170° super wide-angle lens. It uses an advanced gyro stabilization function (EIS) that supports 4K gyro anti-shake.

It also comes with a smartphone app and Wifi and with many different modes such as burst shots, single shot, time-lapse and more.

In the back we can find the IPS LCD 2 ″ screen of 320 x 240px resolution, the screen is pretty good but it’s not a touch screen. Here we can also find two other extra LEDs, which will mark the power of the camera and whether or not it is recording video.

Battery

The Garmin VIRB Ultra 30 uses a 1250mAh battery is decent, it uses the same as other SJCAM models. The battery can last up to 120 minutes recording 1080p Full HD video, with the WiFi and screen turned off. In the case of capturing 4K video, battery life will drop dramatically.

The battery is situated at the bottom, where there is a cover that gives access to the battery. The Garmin VIRB Ultra 30 comes with 1 battery, I recommend getting an extra battery so you can change them quickly and keep recording whenever the first one runs out.

Stabilization

The Garmin VIRB Ultra 30 uses Electronic Image Stabilization, built-in Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS) that detects the position and motion changes when the camera moves or shakes, which is impressive to gets rid of the horrible jerky jumping most action cameras have.

The sensors use a cross-border image compensation algorithm to compensate for the change and shooting of glass and stable images when the camera moves or shakes.

The (EIS) stabilization can go up to resolutions from 1080p FHD to 4K video, being the first models of cheap sports cameras that can stabilize 4K video.

Photography

As for the photography, the Garmin VIRB Ultra 30 can take pictures up to.

16MP (4320×3240)
12MP (4320×3240)
10MP (3648×2736)
8MP (3264×2448)
5MP (2592×1944)
2MP (1600×1200)

The quality is good and also taking into account that we have the possibility to change the ISO and the exposure time with some other settings, with patience we can work interesting images.

The Ultra 30 also has the option of Time Lapse in Photo mode and other picture features, something I greatly appreciate and the possibility of putting the resolutions of the pictures in 4:3 or 16:9 format.

The Garmin VIRB Ultra 30 can also take pictures in RAW format which lets you edit the pictures in postproduction for better quality, you can use Garmin’s RAW converter for the RAW pictures.

Video

It’s capable to record up to 4K full HD to 30 frames per second, and it’s able to record for 120 minutes. The videos captured with this action camera are stored in.MP4 format under the H.264 codec

The Garmin VIRB Ultra 30 can record in native 4K Ultra HD which is amazing for a low-budget action camera, it uses a 170° super wide-angle lens to provide video and 16MP photos even in low light.

The Garmin VIRB Ultra 30 also comes with some video features to get better footage, for example, single shooting, to photo burst, to time-lapse, to self-timer, to slow motion, to aqua mode, to long exposure, to distortion correction.

The video resolutions of the Garmin VIRB Ultra 30 are the following:

4K a 30fps
2.7K a 30fps
1080P FHD a 120fps/ 60fps/30fps
720P HD a 240fps/ 120fps/60fps/30fps )

Should you buy it?

This is one of the best medium-budget action cameras, with great quality on its pictures and videos. It can record up to real 4K and 30fps, it also comes with 2.7K 60fps with many other great features.

The Garmin has a decent amount of contrast with pretty good colors and good sharpness, the detail is not great but overall for its price its fine. Moreover, you can edit and share your special-effect pics with the Garmin Cam App on your Android or iOS devices instantly.

It’s compatible with most accessories like all of the GoPro accessories. It uses pretty cheaply but decent quality batteries which can last up to 120min.
The negative thing is, it doesn’t have a touch screen which is becoming more popular every day with an action camera and it doesn’t do well in low-light. The camera can also go underwater very deep up to 40m (130ft) with the waterproof case.

I definitely recommend getting this camera if you’re looking for a good quality-value action camera. Being a medium-budget action camera don’t expect to have GoPro quality or high-end brand quality. If you wanna check some other action cameras, medium and high-end click here!