Holy Week 2017 & the Supremo 4K

Similar to last Holy Week, I spent this year again with Mark’s family in Bukidnon. Last year, we had a Bukidnon-Davao roadtrip then we stayed in Samal Island for three days. This year, we spent two and a half days in their farm in Lantapan, Bukidnon, then we went back to Cagayan de Oro for a staycation.

The trip was also a good opportunity to use my newly bought Supremo 4K action camera. I bought the Supremo 4K while I was renewing my Globe postpaid plan. I had been contemplating since last year about buying a GoPro but I was hesitant to spend a lot given that I don’t really spend a lot of time doing thrilling hobbies such as cliff diving, sky diving, etc. Basically, I just wanted to make videos again and not have to carry around a DSLR or a video camera. So I thought the Supremo 4K was a good deal at PhP 4,390 (which can be deferred up to 3 months).

Unlike the GoPro, the Supremo 4K already comes with a lot of accessories:

• Supremo Wrist Remote
• Waterproof Case
• Replacement Backdoor
• Frame
• Quick Release Buckle
• J-hook Buckle
• 360 Degrees Rotating Swivel Arm
• 3-Way Pivot Arm + Thumb Screws
• Lock Bold
• Four Mounts (Flat, Curved, Clip, Hand Bar)
• Hand Bar Mount
• Safety Tether
• Straps
• 3M Adhesives
• 2 Rechargeable Batteries
• Wall Charger
• USB Cable

Globe also sells a bag and a jackpod with the camera, but at the time I was there, they weren’t available. So I opted to order from Kimstore instead (don’t judge me). However, the camera doesn’t come with a memory card. For best results, follow their recommendation of buying a Class 10 Micro SD card.

The camera itself looks pretty stylish and it has specs to boast too. Since I’m not really a techie person, I won’t go into detail about the specs. Here are just some highlights:

1. It can shoot videos of up to 4,000 horizontal pixels at 24 frames per second. There are also settings for slow motion, timelapse, and loop recording.

2.  It can withstand immersion up to 30 meters (or 98 feet) of seawater. Just don’t forget to put it in the waterproof case! This is one of the first things you should test. The manual advises that you remove the camera from the case and put in a clump of tissue paper. Close the case and submerge it in a bowl or pail of water. After a few minutes, check if the tissue is wet. If it’s dry, congratulations! You can begin documenting your underwater adventure right away.

3. You can set the lens settings at wide angle or fisheye. Photo settings can be changed according to your preference (5MP/8MP/10MP/12MP/14MP/16MP/20MPx Interpolated). I personally set mine to 16MP Sony IMX Sensor.

1. Though it comes with an extra battery, you can’t charge the battery outside the camera. This is actually a bit of a hassle, because you can’t use the camera while charging the extra battery.

2. When you turn it on, it sometimes goes on automatic recording mode, which I hate. I have to stop it right away or be quick enough to shift to photo mode so it doesn’t record a video automatically. If I’m not quick enough, it can result to a lot of useless and accidental videos that I’ll just delete anyway.

3. As with other action cameras, there are only a few buttons. So there’s only one button for scrolling through the options. If you miss the option you want, you have to continue clicking the button and you have to go through the entire menu again.

4. The photos are good, but sometimes they come out a bit bluish–but nothing a little Photoshop or Lightroom can’t tweak. I also still prefer photos taken by most phone cameras. I noticed that some of the Supremo 4K photos are grainy when zoomed in. This isn’t a big deal for most users–this is just one of my pet peeves which is also why I try not to go above ISO 1000 when using DSLRs.

5. The aqua mode is for underwater. However, when we went swimming there were some photos I took which were not underwater. They came out looking darker, as if they were taken during sunset and not early morning. This led me to think that the aqua mode is only for underwater. This makes it inconvenient if I have to constantly shift back and forth to underwater and not every after a few shots. I have not yet tried taking photos or videos underwater with the aquamode off.

1. It’s very sulit for its price and performance. While it’s not the best, it’s more than what you bargained for. GoPros don’t come with accessories, so this is a great bargain already. Also, Supremo’s accessories are compatible with those of GoPro. So if you have a friend with a GoPro, you can just borrow accessories.

2. I love the videos taken with it! I was really surprised when I first downloaded the videos to my laptop. I will post some sample videos in this blog entry as well. To be honest, in my opinion, it takes better videos than photos.

3. It has a remote wristwatch and can also be controlled using your smartphone and the free SupremoWorld app. This is convenient because its jackpod doesn’t have a button. So it’s either you use the watch or app, or you set a timer before going for a selfie.

4. I finally have something to use underwater! My family looooves the beach and this will be a great gadget to bring along on our adventures.

The Supremo 4K outside its waterproof case

Get the Supremo 4K if you just want to document your adventures and if you’re a beginner in terms of videography, and if you’re on a tight budget. Get it if you want to learn the basics by experimenting on your own, then get a better and more expensive one when you’re sure you want to move forward and level up.

Don’t get the Supremo 4K if you’re a really serious athlete that goes on extreme action-packed adventures. Don’t get it if you really want the GoPro quality.

As for me, I’m pretty okay with the Supremo 4K because I feel like it was worth the price I paid. Sometimes, I still find taking photos with my phone more convenient. But I like the fact that I can take photos showing the whole scene. Will I still get a GoPro? Maybe, but not anytime soon. As long as the Supremo is in good condition, I’ll stick with it. I’ll only get a GoPro when I feel I can maximize its potential.Sample photos (Above and underwater):

As promised, here are the sample photos I took last Holy Week. First I’ll show you an unedited photo and its edited counterpart. For this batch of photos, I used Adobe Lightroom for post-processing.

Here are some of my favorite photos, with notes about what edits were done.

Sample videos
Here’s a playlist of three sample videos taken with the Supremo 4K.

Some blogs that have great reviews of the Supremo 4K:
Here are some blogs I read before purchasing the Supremo 4K. They were of great help.

PinoyAdventurista’s review
Traveling-Up’s review
MobileTechPinoy’s review

Hope this review helped you decide whether the Supremo 4K is for you.