ISAW Wing / Edge Action Cam Review

Features
Handling
Performance
Verdict
Specification

If someone asks you to name an action cam brand, the name that you'll probably say first is 'Go Pro' but there are other brands slowly chipping away at their dominance in the action cam market and one such brand is ISAW. Currently, there are 3 ISAW action cams available: ISAW Air, ISAW Wing and ISAW Edge. On test, courtesy of Stratos, we have the Wing and Edge versions. 

ISAW Action Cam Features

Keeping with the familiar box-shaped, action cam style, the ISAW cameras do look very similar to those found in the GoPro Hero series. The Edge is slightly superior to the Wing with its standout feature being Ultra HD 4K video recording. It also has a 16Mp Sony sensor, 170º wide-angle lens, built-in Wi-Fi and a 1.5" LCD screen. The ISAW Wing captures full HD 1080p at 30fps, has a 150º wide-angle lens, 12Mp image sensor, built-in Wi-Fi and the same screen found on the Edge. Both cameras are also waterproof to 40m, shockproof, freezeproof and dustproof when used in the supplied waterproof housing. 

As well as the housing, the ISAW Action Cam comes with plenty of accessories (slightly different for each camera) such as combination mounts, screws for securing, tripod mount and a universal suction mount that works great on car dashboard should you wish to record your car journeys. For added stability when filming / capturing images hand-held, a grip is supplied. 

You can control the ISAW Action Cam via the buttons on the camera or by downloading and pairing it with the ISAW Viewer II app, available for IOS and Android devices, there's also ISAW software available for PCs.

Photo modes include single, burst-mode and timelapse and images are captured with a high-quality 7 element glass, f/2.5 lens on the Edge while on the Wing it is constructed from high precision glass that gives it an aperture of f/2.2. Battery life is rated at 2 hours and it's charged by connecting the device via USB to a computer or USB plug. Images / video are recorded to Micro SD / SDXC and there's a built-in microphone to capture sound. 

The Edge offers slightly more shooting modes, including Darklapse (slow shutter photos) for night shoots which is a pretty cool feature, but both can capture footage with various artistic filters applied. Both also feature a small live view, LCD screen which is a useful feature. 

Key Features ISAW Edge

• 16Mp Sony sensor 
• 4K video capture at 10fps
• 170° Ultra wide angle lens
• Waterproof to 40m with housing
• Shockproof
• Freezeproof
• Dustproof
• Wi-Fi 
• Live recording 
• 7 Elements glass lens
• Single, Burst-shot, Timelapse

Key Features ISAW Wing 

• 12Mp Sony sensor 
• Full HD video at 30fps
• 150° Ultra wide angle lens
• Waterproof to 40m with housing
• Shockproof
• Freezeproof
• Dustproof
• Wi-Fi
• Live recording
• f/2.2 High precision lens
• Single, Burst-shot, Timelapse

ISAW Action Cam Handling

To switch the camera on you simply hold the orange button found on the top of the camera. The 2 LEDs will flash red to indicate the camera's powering on (the LED light also does this when taking a photo or starting / stopping recording) and there will also be rapid beeps if you've got noise switched on. You can connect the camera to your smartphone and control it from there or alternatively, simply press the button on the camera to start and stop video recording and to capture stills.

On the front are two buttons: Setup and Mode. By clicking Mode, you'll flick through video, stills and preview options while the Setup button gives you access to, what can only be described as, an extensive menu. You navigate the menus with the Setup and Mode buttons which act as up and down keys and you hold the Mode button to access sub-menus. The Edge and Wing ISAW cameras do have slightly different options in their menus but they are set out the same. The menus are well laid out, easy to read and easy enough to navigate, although we'd recommend you download the accompanying free app as it's even easier to change options through it. Having said that, the menu system is one of the easiest we've found to navigate in these styles of camera. 

The camera is built well and even though it's small, it's not fiddly to use. It's powered by a small, rechargeable battery that's given power via USB and it can take just over 2 hours to charge the battery to full capacity. Footage is stored to a MicroSD card and the ISAW camera can also be plugged into a car charger meaning you can use it to capture your car journeys without worrying the battery will die. 

The ISAW Action Cam comes with two cases that feature GoPro style mounts which means you can use the numerous mounts already available on the market as well as those that are supplied with the ISAW Action Cam. The frame-style mount is a snug fit which means your Action Cam won't come flying out when turning corners at high-speed but the real star is the waterproof housing which makes the ISAW Action Cams waterproof to depths of a whopping 40m.

The case is built incredibly well with good seals and the compression lever lock makes a satisfying 'snap' when you close it which gives reassurance that the camera inside won't get wet. In fact, we left the Edge inside its waterproof housing in a bath full of water for quite some time and not a drop reached the camera sat inside the housing. Opening the housing can be a little tricky but again, this is a good thing as you don't want the lock to come up by accident. The buttons on the housing work as they should and are designed well with springs offering a little support when pushed. The housing is easily attached to the various mounts supplied, including a surf attachment with the Edge, via a simple twist lock and screw that you can adjust to give less / more rigidity to the camera's movement. 

On the front, you'll find the camera's lens which on the Edge is a 7 element fixed f/2.5 lens with a 170-degree field of view. On the slightly less expensive Wing it's an f/2.2 high precision, 150° Ultra wide angle lens that captures images and video of an impressive quality even though the Sony sensor inside it features 4 fewer megapixels than that of the Edge which uses a Sony 16Mp CMOS sensor to capture images / video which are superb. 

ISAW Action Cam App

Available for free from the iOS and Android app stores, the app is easy to use and is well worth downloading. The set-up is quite straightforward; find the Wi-Fi options in your smart phone's settings then hold the mode button down on the ISAW Action Cam for 2 seconds. The name of the camera will appear in the Wi-Fi options, click on it and enter the password. The two devices will then be connected. 

In the ISAW Viewer II app, you see a live view of what the camera can see, capture video / images by clicking the shutter button, switch modes and access the camera's menu. The app is particularly useful for ensuring you don't cause unwanted shake in your shots and for giving you a slightly larger view of the scene in front of you than the built-in LCD provides. Having said that, the LCD is useful for checking settings and keeping an eye on your composition. It's also great for quickly glancing at to check the device is recording and how much battery is left. The distance you can control the ISAW Action Cam from the app is also impressive as we left the camera on the top floor of our office and went downstairs with the smartphone and it stayed connected. 

Battery life - Battery life is said to last 2 hours, which is pretty good. Although, through heavy usage, we averaged slightly short of this but not by much. 

Speed - Switch on is fast and it's quick to respond when you press the record button, using either the smartphone app or the button on the camera. 

ISAW Action Cam Performance

The performance section is where we look at the video / image quality performance of the camera. Additional sample photos and product shots are available in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own review, photos and product ratings.

ISAW Edge Action Cam Sample Photos

The image mode is something you'll more than likely use secondary to the video mode but it's still a nice feature to have available. Image clarity is good, even underwater, but obviously, due to the wide-angle of the lenses found both on the Edge and Wing, they do have a slight curve to them. 

Video - You can leave the camera to handle the quality of the images / video you capture or if you'd like a little more control, you can use the options listed under the 'MyTune' menu to adjust white balance, exposure levels and more. GoPro Heros offer a similar feature and it's something those who like to make small adjustments to the picture quality will be pleased to see available on Action Cams which are priced much lower than the Heros from GoPro. 

As for the quality of the video, it's good on both cameras. Of course, the Edge gets a few more points as it captures 4K but on both devices, video is clean, generally sharp and we couldn't see any vignetting. Both devices generally coped well in bright conditions and colours looked great for the most part. Although, the sky did sometimes look a little overly bright / blue in places on very sunny days. One slight issue is that 4K is only captured at 10fps and sometimes this meant the camera struggled to keep up, making footage stutter but lower the resolution and frame rate option and you'll be able to capture fast moving objects all day without a problem. In fact, 1080P @ 60fps was pretty much spot on. You can also capture footage at 120fps when shooting at 720p (on the Edge) but to turn this into a cool slow motion video, you will need video editing software to alter the speed it's played back at. 

We also need to praise the mounts as they're very sturdy and reliable. The mount we used in the car with its suction cap held on strong and there was no wobble or movement when turning corners or breaking. 

Video Resolution Edge:

• 4k 3840 x 2160 10fps MJPEG
• 2.7k 2704 x 1524 15fps MJPEG
• 1440P 1920 x 1440 30fps
• 1080P 1920 x 1080 60fps
• 1080P 1920 x 1080 30fps UltraView
• 1080P 1920 x 1080 30fps
• 1200P 1600 x 1200 30fps
• 720P 1280 x 720 120fps
• 720P 1280 x 720 60fps
• 720P 1280 x 720 30fps

Video Resolution Wing: 

• 1080P 1920 x 1080 30fps
• 960P 1280 x 960 30fps
• 720P 1280 x 720 60fps
• 720P 1280 x 720 30fps

Video Samples 

ISAW Edge Action Cam: 

ISAW Edge Action Cam: 

ISAW Edge Action Cam: 

ISAW Wing Action Cam: 

Value For Money

The ISAW Edge is available for £169.99 while the ISAW Wing is priced at £109.99 which when you look at what they have to offer, how they perform and compare them with the pricing of action cams created by competitors, then both ISAW action cameras are really great value for money. 

People will compare the ISAW cameras to GoPros and like the ISAW Edge, the GoPro Hero4 shoots 4K but at 15fps instead of 10 and it has a touchscreen, plus a few other features. The Hero4 will set you back around £289 which is around £120 more than the ISAW Edge which makes the Edge even more of a steal, especially with all it has to offer.  The GoPro Hero3 and Hero+ both capture footage at 1080p as the ISAW Wing does but again, they're much more expensive coming in at £149 and £194, respectively. 

ISAW Action Cam Verdict

The ISAW Edge and Wing are incredibly easy to use and video quality is great. There are plenty of options should you wish to get more hands-on with the controls and settings, plus the LCD screen, even though it's small, is a great tool for quickly checking composition and camera options. The app is a really useful tool and the array of mounts supplied with each camera are great. 

4K shooting is an impressive feature, particularly at the price point the Edge is offered at, but the 10fps did mean that footage could be stuttery when capturing fast-moving action.

As we've said, the ISAW cameras will be compared with GoPros and spec wise, they do stand up really well but where they really shine is the price as they really are a bargain. 

If you're wondering which of the ISAW action cams is for you, you just need to decide if the 4K capabilities, wider view and the extra bells and whistles the Edge has compared with the less expensive Wing are extras you need. Whatever you decide, you won't be disappointed as both the ISAW Edge and ISAW Wing are well-built, sturdy action cams that capture decent quality footage at incredibly reasonable prices. 

ISAW Action Cam Pros

Very easy to use
Waterproof (when in housing)
Well built 
Wide field of view 
Compatible with GoPro accessories
2 hours of battery life
Inexpensive 

ISAW Action Cam Cons

4K Video resolution at 10fps can sometimes stutter 
Charging battery to full can take some time 
 

FEATURES
HANDLING
PERFORMANCE
VALUE FOR MONEY
VERDICT

The ISAW Action Cameras perform really well for a price that can't be ignored.  

 

ISAW Edge Action Cam Specifications

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