4GEE Capture Cam review

The camera might be small but it has a quality feel with a textured outer covering, metal clip and overall solid design. The lurid colours of the EE Action Cam have been lost and the Capture Cam is a far more stylish and usable camera. The clip on the back makes it easy to attach to an item of clothing and the ability to quickly adapt for GoPro mounts increases the flexibility of mounting almost infinitely. The flat base design also makes it possible to simply stand it upright on a table, which is often not possible with regular action camera designs.

The front of the camera is pretty minimalist with just the small f/2.4 lens. Memory and network cards fit neatly into slots under the base, and these are protected by a simple cover. The top of the camera features a sliding switch to swap between camera and photo options and next to this is the power/shutter button. A row of lights next to this switch shows whether the camera has a network signal or not.

There are three ways to use the camera: stand alone operation, mobile connected or live streaming.

Standalone is exceptionally straightforward as you are limited to two modes – stills or video – selected through the top mounted switch. You hit the shutter button to power on and again to shoot video or stills depending on the mode that you're in.

If you want to adjust the settings then you need to use the mobile app, which is available for both iOS and Android. Once you select a resolution, such as 720p at 30fps within the app, that will be the setting used by the camera from that point on, and can only be readjusted through the app.

This app is the same as that used by the Action Cam and once you connect to the camera's Wi-Fi network and boot the app it's all pretty straightforward and offers a good live view stream and straightforward operation, including direct access to the two main recording modes; REC and LIVE.

In the REC mode, you have access to the video resolution and camera settings and from the home screen you can quickly start and stop recordings by hitting the big red record button. Delving into the video recording options reveals 1080p at 30fps, a slightly more impressive 720p at 60fps and a very low 480p at 60 fps. You also have other options for shooting time lapse sequences, plus general camera options such as Auto Power Off, Card Status and Reset options.

The final recording mode is LIVE, which can be accessed by tapping the text on the screen of the app. Once setup and activated this enables you to stream live video over a 4G network. In order to do this you'll also need that data contract with EE.