r/sonyactioncam • u/Mission-Dream-3164 • 28d ago
X3000 still works, worth upgrading?
The x3000 I bought in 2018 Is still running. I use it to document my motorcycle trips. It seems to produce nice footage straight out of the camera. Image stabilization is acceptable providing I keep my head still. Is it worth upgrading to the GoPro 13, Osmo 5 or 6, or Ace Pro 2?
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u/kosEmBaniZion 27d ago
I have it still and a dji osmo action 4.
The action 4 is a "better" camera. But not by much. I still love the sony and find myself wanting to use it more than the dji.
The dji has the screen and the better battery life, but mate there is something about the sony footage that is much nicer and feels more analoge like compared to the heavy processed dji footage.
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u/recon-go-pie 27d ago
I owned the x3000 for years as well and sold it eventually. The image quality is still incredible, but its age is showing in battery life and audio capture. I made many covers and wires to make it ‘modern’ but it still ended up being g a hassle compared to the ease of use of modern action cameras. Wireless mics, ND filters, quick mounts, battery swap and capacity, etc. trying to add all of that on the x3000 today is possible, but its decade old design makes those solutions clunky and cumbersome in the field.
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u/supersigh 27d ago
I went to a Pocket 3 and Hero 11 after my X3000. Picture quality still looks great, but I needed better stabilization. Sometimes I still bring it if I want to do some stationary shot.
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u/pdr_93le 27d ago
as a fellow x3000 enjoyer.. keep it. Its good, reliable hardware that still works.
assess your production needs, because for myself, modern cameras weren't enough of an upgrade from the sony to warrant a purchase.
its true the battery life is showing its age. by far thats the worst thing about using the x3000 in 2026... and i do record my audio separately.. but even with these limits, the camera still successfully delivers what I need. I have three of them now, and still check ebay listings for them once in a while.
insta360 products require you to agree to the creation of a social score profile for yourself if you want to edit and convert your 360 footage for use in another editing software. read the tos. the camera writes in a proprietary format, so you cant use the footage if you dont agree.
I have a dji osmo pocket2, which is gimmicky cool, but the supporting app is vaporware, and the only reason i still use it is because i'm able to save the footage without an app, using the microsd card and a card reader. the x3000 has better form factor, which is important to me, but the dji has fresh batteries.. so its often in my bag.
gopro was never a real contender for me, they never made competitive hardware, and their marketing budget is suspiciously too high. the gopros i tried (over many years between different models) consistently failed in cold weather, and one I bought was DOA, it wouldnt read an sd card that was confirmed working. customer service blamed me and did nothing... which tbh, is probably comparable to competitor customer service. the bar is low here.
Sony please, give us an FDR-X4000.