There is no doubt that GoPro was one of the first companies that put a spotlight on the action camera industry and brought these little beasts of cameras to the mainstream. However, many years have passed since then, and GoPro is no longer the only good option available in the market that you can buy.
Nowadays, with so many competitions and options available in the action camera market, GoPro may not be the best choice for your travel. To make your life easier, I have decided to compile a list of the very best GoPro alternatives you can buy that fit better with your travel style than the generic GoPro action camera.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at the 8 best GoPro alternatives you should check out in 2021. Let’s begin with our first new contender, the action cams from Insta360.
Looking for the best travel camera to buy? Check out:The Best Cameras for Travel to Buy in 2024
Quick Summary: The best GoPro alternative action cameras to buy for travel?
Best GoPro Alternative
DJI Action 4
Features
Great in low-light
Small & Compact
Shoots 4K/120fps
Most Advanced
Insta360 Ace Pro
Features
Flip screen
Great low-light capability
Excellent stabilization
Best For Solo Travelers
Insta360 One X3
Features
360° View
Invisible Selfie Stick
Great stabilization
Best for Light Travelers
Insta360 Go 3
Features
Super small and light
Innovative mounting system
Great case design with flip up screen, remote control, etc.
Most Versatile Camera
Insta360 One RS
Features
Modular design
Invisible selfie stick
1-inch sensor option
Best for Extreme Sports
Sony FDR-X3000
Features
Great video quality
Waterproof up to 60 meters
Can use GoPro Accessories
Best For General Use
Sony DSC-RX0
Features
Excellent video quality
Good in low-light
Sturdy build quality
Cheapest
Akaso BRAVE 7 LE
Features
Cheap
Shoots 4K
Great dual screens
DJI Action 4 is DJI’s fourth foray into the action camera industry, and it returns with a significant video quality upgrade and retains its innovative way to mount the cameras without being intrusive with more cool accessories that will help elevate your storytelling even more.
DJI Action 4 utilizes magnets to allow you to quickly mount/dismount the action camera while using it as a wearable for everyday use. It comes with a 1/1.3-Inch sensor allowing it to shoot in low light while still retaining great details. Not even the GoPro can compete with the low-light capability of this camera.
The camera is packed with many great features. It can shoot in 4K/120 in 10-bit mode, allowing for great flexibility. It comes with 2 large touch screens, making it easier to operate, and is waterproof up to 18 meters without a case. Additionally, it has an AI feature that will automatically remove the selfie stick in your footage, among many other impressive capabilities!
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It is one of the best GoPro alternatives out there and will really give the new GoPro a run for its money. If you are looking for a GoPro alternative, you can’t go wrong with the DJI Action 4. For the latest price, please click the link below:
If you are looking for the most advanced action camera you can get, the Insta360 Ace Pro, new action camera from Insta360 is definitely worth checking out. The camera has a large 1/1.3 inch sensor that can shoot up to 4K/120 slow-mo video. It also has a magnetic mounting system, a great set of AI features, and many other features similar to the DJI Action 4.
What makes this camera stand out is its flippy screen which removes the need for an inferior front-facing screen as you can just flip the back screen to compose while you take selfies. The camera also has one of the best stabilization systems out there, even better than the GoPro, thanks to its bigger sensor allowing the camera to retain sharpness in low light.
They also co-engineered the lens and color science with Leica and the camera can produce some of the most true-to-life footage you can get from an action camera. If you are looking for the very best action camera you can get right now, the Insta360 Ace Pro is a great option for you. Hit the link below to check the price:
Insta360 One X3 is one of my new favorite action cameras. In fact, the company, Insta360, is starting to be one of my favorite camera producers in the market as they continue to innovate and come up with better-suited action cameras that are well-designed, packed with features, and produce excellent images. One of those cameras is this Insta360 One X3.
The Insta360 One X3 is the third edition of their first foray into the action camera market. It comes with a unique easy-to-hold form factor, capable of capturing 5.7K 360° HDR videos/photos, top-of-the-class stabilization, and best of all, the invisible selfie stick that will allows you to capture a video of yourself doing awesome things without the visible selfie stick in your footage.
The Insta360 One X3 is clever enough to detect the selfie stick and automatically remove it from the footage, giving you a beautiful video that looks like it was captured by a drone flying around you. The camera provides new and unique ways to capture yourself that GoPro is unable to achieve.
If you are a solo traveler and would like to capture yourself doing epic things on your travels, then the Insta360 One X3 is the best action camera for you. The price starts at $429.99 USD, and you can buy one for a cheaper price using the link below.
Insta360 Go 3 is another great action camera from Insta360 that comes in a much smaller form factor and offers several creative ways to capture your travel from all kinds of perspectives you never thought possible, thanks to its tiny form factor.
Don’t let the size of the Insta360 Go 3 fool you; this tiny camera is mightier than it looks. The camera comes with stabilization, 2.5K resolution, waterproofing of up to 6 meters, and the capability of shooting hyperlapse and slow motion. Best of all, it comes with a magnet and several mounting accessories that will allow you to easily capture very interesting perspectives while still being discrete.
Among the accessories that come with the Insta360 Go 3 is the magnet necklace, a true game-changer, that allows you to mount your camera on your chest without having to wear a chest strap like with GoPro cameras. It also comes with a tiny clipper that allows you to clip the camera to your cap to give a first-person perspective, or you can attach it anywhere you want, from the bottom of a skateboard to the front of a car. The possibilities with this camera are endless!
Not to mention, it’s an extremely well-designed action pod (camera case) that not only gives you extra juice for your camera but also acts as a remote control and screen, allowing you to shoot yourself from afar or while it is mounted. Additionally, you can flip out the screen for selfies and much more. I’m not gonna lie, their R&D team really hit it out of the park here.
The Insta360 Go 3 is a fun action camera that is tiny but capable, making it a great travel action cam that you can bring with you anywhere without having to carry a lot of other accessories. The price starts at $399 USD and you can hit the link below to buy one.
For something more advanced and flexible, you can’t ignore the awesome Insta360 One RS 360° action camera that has taken the action camera world by storm and is giving GoPro a run for its money.
The Insta360 One RS is an updated version of the highly popular modular action camera, the Insta360 One R, that will allow you to adapt to any type of adventure situation you might find yourself in with its swappable modular system. The modular system allows you to swap modules on the fly and helps you adapt to the situation by mixing and matching camera features in a way other cameras cannot do.
Want to vlog in a low-light environment? Swap in the one-inch sensor and capture videos in low light without any problems. Want to film yourself while you vlog? The 4K wide-angle camera module is great for that. Not sure which module to use? How about capturing everything with its dual-lens 360° module and picking out the frame later.
The action camera also comes with a great stabilization feature that will smooth out your footage, almost as if your camera is on a dedicated gimbal. Invisible sticks you can use to shoot yourself without seeing the selfie stick and it also comes with a cool slow-motion feature for when you are doing epic activities.
The new version is better than the previous version in every way, with improved battery life, HDR capability, enhanced stabilization, more microphones for better audio quality, an instant zoom feature, and much more.
If you are looking for an awesome action camera that will allow you to grow as an aspiring creator, the Insta360 One RS is definitely one of the best options out there.
Want to know what I carry in my camera bag?What’s In My Camera Bag in 2024?
Sony FDR-X3000 is Sony’s first foray into the action camera market. Sony has been making cameras for ages now, with their Sony Alpha cameras leading the mirrorless camera market. With their first action camera, they also share similar technologies with their bigger brothers, including a CMOS sensor, Optical SteadyShot, and more.
With the Sony FDR-X3000, you can expect excellent video capability, from 4K resolution to sharp and crispy image quality, thanks to its back-illuminated sensor and the Zeiss lens. The build quality is also top-notch, with dustproof, shockproof, and up to 60-meter waterproof capabilities with its underwater housing.
The best part is, if you already own many GoPro accessories and are looking to switch, the Sony FDR-X3000 is equipped with the same mount as GoPro, so all your accessories should still work when you make the switch.
As with all Sony products, the Sony FDR-X3000 is on the pricier side of things, with the camera and underwater housing priced at $399 USD. If you want a live-view screen, it’s gonna be around $549.99 USD, which is quite expensive.
They are also known to have poor battery life, but you will get better quality videos than other action cams like GoPro, making it a great alternative to GoPro if you are looking for a way to capture higher-quality action videos.
Sony DSC-RX0 is another great action/compact camera from Sony, which focuses more on producing professional-grade images and videos in a small, rugged form factor.
What sets the Sony RX0 apart from the Sony X3000 mentioned above is the fact that this camera is more of a hybrid between a high-quality compact camera and an action camera, rather than a full-fledged action cam.
The Sony RX0 comes with a 1-inch CMOS sensor, which is also used in their compact camera lineup, including the beloved Sony RX100 camera series. This series is known for being one of the best compact cameras available, ensuring that you will capture high-quality images and videos with the Sony RX0.
Despite its huge sensor, Sony was able to keep the body compact and small enough to be used as an action cam. It’s durable, with shockproof and crushproof capabilities, and it can withstand around 10 meters underwater without an underwater case, which is pretty impressive.
With such a huge sensor, probably the biggest sensor you can get on an action cam, it does come with a price tag of $699 USD, which is the most expensive action camera on the list. However, if you are looking for an action cam that produces the highest quality videos and images, you can’t go wrong with the Sony RX0.
Now, if all of those prices are not within your budget range, you might like Akaso BRAVE 7 LE, an action camera with excellent capabilities within an ultra-budget range. It comes with 4K capability, dual-screen, an excellent stabilization feature, and is waterproof without a case. All of this is available at only 139 USD, making it the cheapest GoPro alternative on this list.
It is the cheapest action camera you can buy out there that does not sacrifice functionalities like the $50 GoPro knockoffs. This one stands on its own. It comes with accessories included and all the important features like timelapse and slow-mo that will make your travel footage amazing, all for only $139.
If you are looking to start shooting action footage during your travels and do not want to spend over $150 for an action camera, the Akaso BRAVE 7 LE is perfect for you. You can buy the action camera using the link below:
Further Reading for Resources
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For more resources like this, visit my Resources page.
Want to learn how I was able to take so many good pictures of myself while I travel solo? Check out: How To Take Great Pictures of Yourself.