How To: Action Camera SJ4000: Review and Lens Replacement

Hello so from the previous post you might have noticed that i fancy the SJ4000 camera.
From all the research that i had done online it seems like there are people who decided to give this camera a try in search of a Cheaper GoPro Alternative and those people all seems to be extremely happy with their pick. Then there are the people who believe that there is a reason the GoPro is double the money for their least expensive model, and that the SJ4000 is most likely half of the camera, and have never seen the SJ4000 in person.
To tell you the truth i was one of those people who thought that there is no way that this camera can be on par with the GoPro and was not really going to consider it for my Airial Video device.
Well as i learned the hard way in the RC world its best to buy things that people have used and have positive view on. so my camera budget got sliced in half due to the fact that i needed a new set of motors for my build.
Then the SJ4000 became a very appealing unit for the money. at $89.99 to my opinion this camera does everything that the $200 GoPro does. I instantly fell in love with this camera from the first day i used it, and its an added bonus that the protective case is the same exact mounting as the GoPro so all the mounts are compatible with this camera. I will be providing all the pictures of the million accessories that come with camera another day.
Another Thing to keep in mind, if you need a Camera ASAP, you can get this camera on Amazon Prime with 2 day shipping for $99.99.

****Space for Pictures of Accessories****





OK so now you have owned this camera just like i did for a little bit, for some it might be longer or you might be like me and the TBS Discovery Frame and its love-seat for anti jello video does not permit you using the protective shell for this camera or the GoPro, so you are running naked as one might say. As my luck always comes through for me and in addition of my inability to pilot anything with the Remote Control at the time i had an unpleasant face to face with the curb on the street which in turn put a huge gash smack in the middle of the lens.
I was pretty upset and was even more upset when after hours of researching online i could not seem to find any people replacing the lenses on these cameras.
The Maker in me said do not give up and i decided to take apart this camera which revealed a huge similarity in lenses to the GoPro2 that i had fixed for a friend of mine last year.
I was right, although this camera does everything that the GoPro Hero3 does, its actually uses the same FishEye lens type as the GoPro Hero2 did. Guess what the Ebays and Amazons are storming with these lenses for dirt cheap.
I ordered this one as this one actually had a glass cover unlike the Original SJ4000 lens that has a plastic overlay which i think is why it scratched up so easily. OK maybe not, i eat the curb pretty hard....
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EFLCEN6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
GoPro Hero2 Lens for $9.51


So once you receive the lens you just want to do exactly what i did in these pictures as follows.
just pop off the cover plate, remove the 8 little screws with the watch repair like Philips screw driver, then take something very flat, i used a utility knife and pry out the little button, don't worry you are not going to break it, once u did that just remove the black housing and that will reveal a very standard MTV mount lens system and the people who do FPV and deal with Sony Security cameras know this set up very well.

Then just unscrew the original lens and screw the new lens on, now most likely the first time you screw it in you will think that you screwed it in all the way and when you turn on the camera you will see a very blurry picture, don't be discouraged its not a bad lens you just did not catch the focus of the lens and you need to put a couple more turns on the lens, i actually had to retest almost 5 times before i got it perfect.

Anyway know that you got the written aspect of the how to, please reference to the pictures below to complete your experience