Garmin Virb Ultra 30 Thoughts and Mini Review

 I have had my eye on the Virb Ultra 30 for years, but I decided to hold off on purchasing one, because quite frankly I wanted to wait for something better.  

What I mean by that is that both the Virb Ultra 30 and Sony X3000 claim 4K support, but either can do that at 60fps with stabilization.  In the case of the Sony, the stabilization doesn't affect the resolution or frame rate since it is physical.  The Virb Ultra 30 can do 60fps at 2.7k, but not if you want to use stabilization.  This means you are stuck with 1080p if you want 60fps whether you use the Sony or the Gamin.  Since the Sony seems to do a better job of stabilization (particularly in low light), it seems like the better choice.  I figured I would wait for Garmin to release a newer model which could do 4k@60fps with stabilization before I bit the bullet.  But here's the thing, the Ultra 30 was released in 2018.  It's now 2021, and they haven't released a successor yet.  Meanwhile, though, prices have dropped a bit.  

For that matter, Sony hasn't released anything new for several years either.  

The GoPro Hero 9 Black can do 4k@60fps with "Hypersmooth", but the Sony still seems to do a better job, the low light support still isn't up to par with the Sony, and it doesn't have the G-Metrix of the Garmin.  On top of that, the price is around the level of a 3D camera.  

So why do I want 60fps?  Well, honestly, 30fps sucks for bike footage.  I was also hoping in vain that Garmin might decide to implement optical stabilization as well for their next model.

Since none of that has happened, but the Ultra 30 is now under $300, I decided to go ahead and take the plunge.  

It's worth noting that the Virb 360 is a newer camera from Garmin, but it is missing many of the features of the 2D cameras.  For example, stabilization does not work in 2D mode, and the low light handling is awful.  You could shoot everything in 3D mode and the render it to 2D, but doing so required much more SD card space and processing power, while chewing through batteries faster, and resulting in a lower resolution.  You see, 5K for a 360 view is really a pretty low resolution if you compare it to even a 1080p 2D camera.  It's great if you want to take 3D video, but mediocre otherwise.  

So here is a quick run-down of the Virb Ultra 30, mainly pitting it against the Sony X3000, and to a lesser extent, the Virb 360 and Virb Elite.  (and to an even lesser extent, the GoPro.. eww).

Changes compared with some of the other models:

There are a few areas where Garmin has inexplicably decided to copy the GoPro, which does not please me at all.  

1. It is now a square box, with the lens on the largest side, similar to most of the go-pros.  This design looks obnoxious because it sticks out, and is less aerodynamic.  They should have copied the Sony design instead.

2. There is now a waterproof case to put it in, much like most of the go-pro models, as compared with the Sony (which has an optional case, but is waterproof even without it), or the Virb 360 (which is waterproof without any case) or the Virb Elite (weatherproof with no case, but not submersible).  The most irritating thing about this case, is that it has the mounting hardware on the bottom - so if you don't put it in the case, you can't mount it to anything! Again, they should have copied the Sony.

3. The mounting attachment itself.  Here again they copied GoPro's obnoxious design.  This design means there is something sticking out of the case (as opposed to a screw hold on the Sony), and there is always a piece attached to that, which is then in turn actually mounted to something.  This introduces an extra linkage which reduces stiffness and increases vibration.  The Virb 360 has a nice clip-on design, which allows you to have a screw hole mount, GoPro style mount, or anything else you prefer.  Luckily, one of the included adaptor pieces is a screw hole mount - but again this attaches to the flanges on the waterproof case, which means you effectively can't use the camera without it.  On the negative side, the silly protruding thumb screw has been adopted by Garmin, but on the plus side, the thumb screw they use seems much sturdier than those included with the GoPro, and there is a normal hex bolt inside, which means it can be properly tightened with a hex wrench.  Even better, you can simply remove the thumb screw all together and replace it with an M5 bolt.  

There are some improvements above Sony and GoPro, though.   The Ultra 30 has a touch screen, which works even inside the case - although it's not necessary since you can still operate it with just buttons.  Also, the case is specially designed such that sound gets into the case fairly well, unlike the Sony or GoPro.

Speaking of the touch screen.  One common gripe I have seen about the Sony cameras is that they are not intuitive or are somehow difficult to use.  It's true that the display on the Sony cameras is small, black and white, and very bare bones.  It's also true that it is actually simple and easy to use if you play with it for 5 minutes.  If you want a color display, they sell an external display unit meant to be work as a watch or similar, and you can use the app on your phone if you really want.

Live Streaming:  This is something that the Sony Camera can do all by itself, but it was limited to IBM's UStream service (which I believe is discontinued now).  The Garmin requires an iPhone or iPad to do this, but can stream to Facebook (eww) or YouTube.  This is not something I am particularly interested in, so I will move on.  Anyone who is interested can look up more details online.  

Bluetooth Mic.  This is very interesting, as you can paid the camera to something like a motorcycle helmet bluetooth intercom and then have it record your speech from that - which would obviously be a lot clearer than the inbuilt mic.  

Remote:  The camera can paid to a Garmin Cycle Computer (Edge) or Garmin Watch (ForeRunner, etc.)  This means that the cycle computer can control the recording, and you can also start and stop it from your watch.  There are also dedicated camera remotes available which mount to bike handlebars, etc.  

Powered Mount: Just like the Virb 360, there is a powered mount available.  This is awesome, because if you are using the camera on a bike, motorcycle, boat, etc., then you can hook it into the vehicle power or a normal OSB power pack and keep it going for long periods of time instead of dutifully charging up lots of special and expensive batteries.  This powered doc was available as part of a set, and also sold separately.  Sadly, it seems to be sold out most places.  An easier way is probably just to drill a hole in the side of the waterproof case.  This would render it somewhat less waterproof, but a new waterproof case is a lot easier to come by if you intend to use it for diving as well.  

Sensors:  The best thing about this camera is that it can be paired to a variety of ANT+ and Bluetooth sensors.  Sadly, while this includes cadence, speed, and heard rate sensors, it does not include the Varia Radar or light.  

Auto-Pause: Since the camera has GPS, you can set the camera to pause recording when you stop moving.  This is awesome, because it means you don't have to record all the time you spend at stop lights and edit that out later.  If you used it for, for example, skiing, it would be equally useful, as it wouldn't record all of the time you spend waiting for your friends who are trying to get back up after falling down.  The auto pause feature does actually cut the video into separate files as if you has manually stopped and restarted the video each time.  Even so, the GPS track continues, so if you are using that feature you will just see one long trip.  

Voice Control:  This could be seen as a gimmick, but although it has very few commands, it actually works very well from a considerable distance away.  This is great for taking still shots by putting the camera somewhere, getting in the photo, and then telling it to take a photo.  

Data/Charging Connector: Mini USB.  This is something where I have to say "Really, Garmin?"  Even the newer Virb 360 only has Micro USB.  Both of these are new enough that they should have USB-C.  Using Micro or Mini USB means that the data transfer is slow, despite dealing with huge files, so you will get a big speed up just by removing the card and placing it in a decent USB-C Micro SD Card Reader.  This isn't surprising, as even the latest GPS units use Mini USB, and the Virb Elite is certainly new enough to use Micro-USB and it also uses Mini-USB.  

Battery Life: Not great.  With stabilization, sensors, and GPS turned on, somewhere between half an hour and an hour.  Certainly worse than the Sony, which gets over an hour with GPS turned on.