BOBLOV M7 PRO 4K Body Camera Review

REVIEW – Cameras have come a long way over the past few years. Bodycams are now somewhat of a norm these days, as both protection and accountability for police officers and security guards is of utmost importance.

Here at NerdTechy, we’ve reviewed hundreds of cameras over the years. That being said, we haven’t had the chance to review a body camera – until now.

BOBLOV, an overseas manufacturer of wearable cameras reached out to us an asked if we’d be interested in trying out their newest release – the BOBLOV M7 Pro. This is a professionally-oriented wearable body camera that seems to have a lot going for it.

I spent the last 2 weeks thoroughly testing it out. In that time, I’ve been happy with a lot of aspects and disappointed with only a few. Let’s start with the good.

What I Liked

• Good recording and photo quality. Both audio and video record nicely in standard lighting. Still pictures are crisp and detailed. Video playback is mostly smooth, unless there’s a lot of movement. But I feel like this would be the case with any camera without a stabilizing gimbal of sorts. I tried recording near a busy street with a lot of people and also in a dimly lit room with nobody around. Nearby voices were easily discernible and recorded clear and sharp. Daytime image quality with both still shots and 4K recordings are realistic and well-colored.

• Easy to control. All of the controls are very straightforward. There’s little to no guesswork involved, and if you have any questions, the user manual is well written to offer assistance. There’s two record buttons; one that’s front and center, and another on the right side. The left side is where the snapshot button is, which is easy to locate. The screen on the back is accompanied by a series of buttons that make browsing and playing clips a simple process.

• Screen is brightly lit and colorful. The back of the camera has a small built-in 2-inch screen that’s nice to have for instant playback and checking the field of view. It allows you to quickly playback, adjust settings, or see precisely what you’ve captured when in the field.

• Rotatable lens. The lens unit can be rotated freely so it shoots in any 180-degree direction. You can make incremental changes to the angle with a secure “click” for each position. Doing so feels sturdy so the lens doesn’t move on its own with a bump or constant movement. The rotation it offers means that the camera can easily be setup in various orientations without much guesswork.

• Large easy to press buttons. There are several rubberized buttons on all side of the body cam. Each one has a tactile feel to it and is easily discernible from the others. The main record, power, and camera buttons are colored red so they stand out. The only one that isn’t colored is the front-facing record button (also the largest button of the bunch).

• Battery and charging. The built-in rechargeable battery is a wonderful inclusion. In my experience, it lasts around 12 hours until any sort of low battery warning comes on. Unlike some cameras, BOBLOV included USB-C as the method for recharging. I found that it takes around 3 hours for a full charge, which is great.

• Minimal wait recording. You don’t have to keep the camera always-on, unless you want to continuously record. If you’d only like to record when needed, simply keep it turned off (to conserve power) and long-press the record button. It will then boot up and begin recording immediately. The boot-up time until recording is about 7 seconds.
• GPS Feature is nice to have. The M7 Pro has the ability to track the precise geo-location of each video clip thanks the internal GPS. To activate the GPS function, go into the device’s settings and locate the “GPS” section and turn it on. Next, go into an open location with a clear view of the sky. Once the small satellite dish icon turns from white to green, the GPS connection will turn green and show the amount of satellites that it’s established a connection with. As a result, each video clip will auto-save the precise GPS coordinates.

• Excellent build quality. The overall size, shape and feel of the M7 Pro is great. It’s a solid piece of equipment with minimal moving parts. The mounting system is solid and stiff. Once you use one of the two included clips to attach it, it feels very secure.

• Can be used as a dash cam. Although there’s no mount included, an optional suction mount can be purchased that enables it to be stuck to the interior of your car’s windshield. I have not personally tried this, as I don’t have the required mount. However, I feel like it would be a simple and quick addition to filming the road as you drive down it.

What I Didn’t Like

• Some video can be jittery. If there’s a lot of movement like running, bouncing, or jumping, the video can be quite jarring. It would have been nice if BOBLOV included some sort of image stabilization processing to help with this. I think this may be pretty standard with most body cams, so a good way to combat this is to make sure it’s securely fastened when mounted.

• Night vision could be better. Recording in the dark or in dim areas, the camera’s infrared feature lit-up the area within about 20 feet so that everything can be seen better. To activate it, simply long-press the IR button and the screen will turn to black and white. However, the night vision footage and still shots are grainy, blurry, and nowhere near as crisp and clear as when taken in the daytime. Honestly, it’s a lot to ask out of the small built-in IR sensors, but it’s worth noting that this is definitely an area that can be improved upon.

• The metal mounting clasps are a bit difficult to remove. When I attached a clip to the camera, it was somewhat difficult to remove. It requires a hard press downward on the metal clip that is actually kind-of painful for my finger. The good part is, however, that it results in a secure position that won’t accidently pop off if you’re moving about.

• Unable to expand storage. The M7 Pro is sold in two varieties; a 128GB or 256GB version. The memory is built-in and not removable, meaning that there is no way to plug-in an SD card to expand the storage to a higher capacity.

• No water resistance rating. Unfortunately, BOBLOV does not mention anything in regards to the waterproofing of the camera. I would assume it’s OK to take it out in a light rain, but there’s no literature that discusses its water resistance, so I’m unsure if you can expose it to harsh conditions without it malfunctioning.

Would I Recommend the BOBLOV M7 Pro?

While testing the M7 Pro for the last two weeks, I’ve come to the conclusion that I definitely would recommend it in terms of overall features and build quality. It’s perfect for security guards or police officers who need a highly functional, easy to use recording device that’s wearable in many ways.

Sure, the video would be better with some stabilizing, and the night vision shots could use some work as they are a bit grainy. Just make sure it’s not loosely fitting so you’re only capturing the stillest possible shots. This will help with providing the best possible video clips or still shots, at both day and night.

I really love the rotatable lens that feels well built. I appreciated the “snap” sound it makes when you move the lens into a different angle. It gives me a good feeling that it won’t accidently rotate on its own.

Overall usability is wonderful. The controls are simple, straightforward, and doesn’t have much of a learning curve. Chances are, if you’re comfortable using a standard action camera, or even smartphone for that matter, you’ll have no issues popping the M7 Pro out of the box and immediately begin recording.

Have you tried this body camera for yourself? What did you think about it? I’d love to hear what you’d have to say by dropping us a comment below. I’m also here to answer any questions you may have about it.