UPDATE from GearBest.com
Looks like I am not the only one who is waiting to hear back from GearBest.com regarding my complaint about the faulty Action Camera [Hawkeye FireFly 8SE] that I purchased from them. This space will be updated as soon as I receive a word from them.
UPDATE [25th September 2018] - Gearbest gave me 3 outrageous options neither of which will reduce the monetary burden on me as a customer. They also told me to go over their T&C's and also directed me to their Warranty Policy page. I have to now ship this faulty camera back to them at my expense and hope for a meager refund which will be a sum after bank charges and Shipping costs. I shall elaborate more on this later. You will also be able to access another article where I tell my Indian viewers the risks associated with making a purchase of over INR 2000 on gearbest. If the product turns out to be faulty, you will have wished that you never fell for their marketing gimmicks like 'flash sales'. For now, stay away from all products by this company, 'Hawkeye'!
UPDATE [25th September 2018] - Gearbest gave me 3 outrageous options neither of which will reduce the monetary burden on me as a customer. They also told me to go over their T&C's and also directed me to their Warranty Policy page. I have to now ship this faulty camera back to them at my expense and hope for a meager refund which will be a sum after bank charges and Shipping costs. I shall elaborate more on this later. You will also be able to access another article where I tell my Indian viewers the risks associated with making a purchase of over INR 2000 on gearbest. If the product turns out to be faulty, you will have wished that you never fell for their marketing gimmicks like 'flash sales'. For now, stay away from all products by this company, 'Hawkeye'!
Why are you recommending that folks should shy away from Firefly 8SE purely because you were sent a faulty camera? Unless there was a MASS return of these cameras back to the manufacturer, which incidentally I have seen no evidence that was the case, I therefore suggest you being totally unfair to Hawkeye.
ReplyDeleteI have used my own newly purchased Firefly 8SE on locations using the lavalier microphone. My Video Audio footage speaks for itself and you definitely had a faulty camera without question!
I have had no issues with my 90 degree SE8 and just because you had these issues doesn't necessarily mean that the problems you described in your video are widespread and therefore on other 8SE's. I have also used the on board microphone with Wifi and Bluetooth on and still had clear audio!!
Dear Unknown User,
DeleteI am assuming that you've skipped the part of the video where I mentioned the reason why I had to make this clip to talk about the problems I have with the Hawkeye Firefly 8SE or you did not read the information that was printed in the 'Description' section of the video on YouTube, which is why you think I am being unfair to Hawkeye who manufactures these cameras.
Just like you, I do not have any evidence to support the idea of a MASS return of these cameras to the manufacturer from customers who have been taken advantage of & frankly, it is none of my business. Although, I did come in contact with a few customers who were willing to talk about similar issues that they are continuing to face with their Firefly 8SE's. For some the Audio is a big deal - ME! & for others it isn't & they plan to use it in the state in which the camera was delivered to them.
The camera which was purchased by me was the 170 Degree version and NOT the 90 Degree version which you claim of owning which also does not seem to have any problems which is good for you.
After contacting the folks at Hawkeye & not getting any response from them, I had to contact the seller - GearBest and make arrangements for a return at my expense for this faulty camera! It's not child's play to ship this crappy camera to Hong Kong from where I live. So, yes - I have the right to talk about the problems & educate individuals about the risks involved in buying this camera from Hawkeye which is exactly what I did & will continue to do every time the need to inform arises.
Cheers!
Hi Buddy,
ReplyDeleteWas the issue finally solved ? Did you get a proper working unit ?
Was the problem a hardware related or software related one ?
Regards
Stan
Hello Stan,
DeleteThanks for dropping by my Living Room.
I will reply to your query right here.
I reshipped the product back to Gearbest with a lot of hardship and additional expense that Gearbest refused to compensate me with. The refund was made to the wallet at Gearbest. I had no other option but to order a similar camera and hope that everything will be well with this new order.
Let me tell you that nothing much has changed in terms of performance.
1. The external mic was fully functional with the new camera this time around.
2. There is a constant crackling noise that continues to haunt the audio recording of this camera when not using the external mic.
3. There is a constant increased crackling noise that continues to get recorded while the WiFi is ON.
It was a disappointing purchase. The only way to avoid this noise is to use the provided external mic with the camera. You may continue to use the internal mic of the camera to capture audio if you do not mind the crackling noise which most reviewers do not care about or fail to mention even if they notice it. Others too have complained about the same in the PREVIOUS versions of the Firefly Camera but nothing seemed to have been done about it ever.
Cheers!
Appreciate the reply Anurag.
DeleteFor my exact needs I think the Firefly 8SE is alright except for the crackling noise during WiFi.
I mostly anyways use external mic for my vlogs.
But apart from this I don't think there are any other good cams within this budget providing decent video quality, even the more expensive SJ8 pro doesn't have a better video quality than this at 1080p, it only excels in 4k which is not necessary for most of us in India.
So I really think Firefly 8SE is the only option under 16K for 1080p good quality videos.
I continue to use the Hawkeye Firefly 8SE to capture time lapses and it works since I wouldn't be needing the audio.
DeleteThe external mic isn't great but it will help avoid the crackling noise from getting recorded in your clips.
Let me know how it goes after you get your camera.
The biggest problem I have with my 8SE 90* is the fact I cannot use narrow FOV and Image stabilization at the same time regardless of resolution.
DeleteDo you experience this also?
What is the procedure to update the firmware?
I have downloaded the firmware: Firefly_FWUPDATE.bin
I found this here: https://www.jianguoyun.com/p/DVoi_AcQ4rDjBxik-v4B
I currently have Firmware Firefly8SE-U103