Rollei Actioncam 7S WiFi review

The Rollei Actioncam 7S WiFi has a boxy design and comes with a removable 2in LCD display. We were fond of the Actioncam’s supplied waterproof case, mainly as the buttons were far easier to press than we have experienced with other action cameras when fitted with their respective waterproof housings. 

With the housing fitted, the camera is rated to 100m depth, which is the deepest rating we’ve seen. The waterproof casing also adds shock-proofing, so the camera should survive a 3m drop. The Actioncam comes with two interchangeable rear panels for the waterproof case to accommodate the camera with the LCD screen attached or removed. The Actioncam also comes with a wide, flat mounting plate for when it’s not in its case, one- and two-axis tilt mounts and adhesive mounts for flat and curved surfaces. 

The Actioncam 7S is able to record video in either NTSC or PAL formats, meaning there’s a wide variety of resolutions and frame rates available, and easily more combinations than on other cameras we’ve tested. The camera is able to record at 1080p at up to 60fps, with various other frame rates down to 24fps. If you want to record high-frame-rate footage to slow down in your video editor, it’s also possible to shoot at up to 120fps at 720p resolution, which is a bonus. It’s also possible to record at higher resolutions including 4K Cinema (4,096×2,160), although this means recording at a rather jerky 12fps. There’s also a 2.7K (2,704×1,524) mode at a smoother 25 or 30fps.

The camera is reasonably well designed, although the sheer number of buttons can be confusing. Navigating the menus can prove a little fiddly, but we did get used to it in the end. On the front of the unit are a number of switches to turn the camera on or off, control Wi-Fi for when you want to connect to the companion app, and finally a switch to control the centre spot metering mode. This mode is useful if you’re recording in a situation where the centre of the frame is much brighter than the surrounding areas, and should help you expose the scene correctly. There are a total of three LED indicators on the bottom, front and top to show the camera is recording, so there’s little risk of mistakenly thinking the camera is recording when it isn’t.    

The camera’s companion app had a reliable connection and was straightforward to use; we found the app made it easier to adjust settings than using the on-camera controls. The app has the usual live view from the camera sensor and there wasn’t too much delay. It’s possible to view and download footage from the camera, allowing you to then easily share it on social media from your smartphone or tablet. 

^The mount’s adhesive was very strong but there was more wobble than we would have liked – best viewed full-screen and at 1080p

To test the quality of the Actioncam 7S WiFi’s mount and video footage, we attached it to our test HPI Racing Bullet MT radio-controlled car and took it for a spin. We found the camera’s video footage a little washed out and lacking saturation. Video was sharp, though, and noise and compression artefacts were under control. The camera’s adhesive mount was so sticky that it actually proved difficult to remove after the test; we certainly didn’t have any worries about the camera falling off during our high-speed run. However, the mount did little to help reduce camera wobble, leading to shearing in our test footage.

The Rollei Actioncam 7S WiFi has an impressive number of video modes, but the Ion Air Pro 3 Wi-Fi provides superior image quality and the Drift Innovation Ghost-S has a steadier mounting system.