I have a weak spot for video cameras and equipment. I guess it comes with the territory of being a tech “influencer”. I realise that products like Aicoco onAir are never mainstream, but having a pocket video camera that can stream the content directly can always come in handy. Especially, if you like to tease your friends and family with video uploads from exotic destinations. Turns out Aicoco onAir has a couple of interesting features worth talking about.
It’s a kit!
I received an Aicoco OnAir Kit! The box sent to me was filled with extras that are genuinely useful if you never had a camera like this. I went through each item from the box wondering what I opened next – and you can see the entire process in my TechDrop short below:
The Aicoco onAir Kit brought the Aicoco OnAir camera, two batteries with dual battery charger, a micro SD card with USB-A reader, a very unusual tripod/stick/handheld holder that took me way too long to fully figure out, cables, a screen protector and extra adapters to attach the camera to other accessories. Pouch! There is a pouch too!
While the included tripod, and selfie-stick combo encourages you to go for adventure, I would curb the use cases to stationary use, considering how wobbly this thing is when extended.
Aicoco OnAir
Two main features of Aicoco OnAir are the video resolution (4K30/1080P60) and 5GHz WiFi to enable direct streaming to services like YouTube/Facebook/Twitch/RTMP and a couple of Asian services I have no idea about! You can use it as a traditional video camera or take advantage of built-in WiFi to stream to your favourite platform directly.
The Aicoco OnAir is a bit heftier than I anticipated. It reminded me of Insta360 ONE X2 at first but it’s heavier and bulkier. The front of the device embeds a 2.4″ (480×640) display with a touch interface and an easy-to-use menu system. Two physical buttons control the power and recording options. Both sides of the camera hide ports under small flaps: one for charging (USB-C) and one for external microphones (3.5mm jack). It’s a nice surprise to see support for external mics!
Inside the battery compartment, there is a slot for the micro SD card. The case also hides 2 stereo microphones and speakers. Small holes in the enclosure mean that the camera isn’t watertight, and these vents are used to let the air in via an active cooling system (fans).
Three surprisingly good features
It took me a moment to realise that the head Aicoco OnAir with the camera lens is mounted on a swivel and allows for 180-degree rotation. I can’t understate how useful it is to be able to see the preview of the camera while I’m shooting in the selfie mode! Unfortunately, the camera doesn’t recognise the orientation of the swivel, but the touchscreen has an always-handy overlay button to flip the image.
The second cool feature I discovered by accident. It also makes perfect sense. I powered the camera on, but I forgot to put the micro SD card in. Without much thinking, I removed the battery and slotted the card in. I expected the camera to power off, but it never did. It turns out that Aicoco OnAir has a hidden battery inside that allows the device to function for a limited time. That’s incredibly handy, as you can swap the Aicoco OnAir’s battery without stopping a live stream!
The third cool feature is 2 tripod adapters that mount the camera in a vertical or horizontal orientation. It helps a lot when mounting the camera using various tripods, arms and mounts. To make things more interesting, you can use the empty mount to add other accessories like a light or microphone mount.
Not-so-good things
The built-in display could be more responsive to the touch and the white balance of this display is off. It made me look more pink/violet than the real footage or the preview available via mobile phone. Don’t panic, the recording is ok, it’s just the LCD isn’t that good. Thankfully, I can double-check everything using my mobile phone which works surprisingly well.
Video/Audio
To enable 1080P60 mode, go to camera settings (swipe up) and disable HDR mode, otherwise your frame options are limited to 25/30 FPS.
My initial impressions of the video and audio quality were good. I ran a test live stream on my 2nd channel on YouTube and it looked good when shot inside with a controlled light set up. During my first stream, I also noticed that options like aspect ratio, orientation, microphone selected, and shake reduction were not available during recording. I had to pick these in advance, before starting my stream. It’s not a massive problem, but something to bear in mind.
The built-in microphone is pretty decent. When set to Omni (both microphones are working) the audio is good and clear which was also highlighted by my viewers. There are options to select front and back microphones only, but in my testing, it works best when both are in use.
It’s nice to see a 3.5mm jack for other microphones. I quickly gave it a go with Rode Wireless PRO – lavs I currently use for my videos, which bumped the audio quality even more. It also gave me the ability to go further away from the camera without my voice fading away
The disappointment came when I took Aicoco OnAir outdoors. In the evening light, the footage was very noisy – something, that I hadn’t noticed when running my 1st live stream at all. The video stabilisation works by cropping the frame slightly and uses internal processing to resolve the motion. Thankfully, the crop isn’t as aggressive as on the Akaso action camera I tested last year, but the video isn’t smooth either.
Aicoco OnAir will work well for static shots, with well-defined lighting conditions but I would not use this camera in low-lighting conditions. The footage quickly degrades. Pair this with not-so-strong video stabilisation and it makes it for a poor viewing experience. One thing I also found while testing the camera – it does not offer options to take pictures.
Aicoco app
The app is really simple, but offers everything you need to set up the camera, enable preview, start live stream or update the firmware (I had to do this twice since I got the camera for the review, which indicates good aftercare). What I also liked, was the fact, that I didn’t have to create an account to use my camera. Something that is far too common nowadays!
Streaming
I was a little hesitant to submit my credentials via the app, but with admin security in place, I risked linking my Google Account to try streaming. You don’t have to do this either as the camera supports RTSP setup and makes security management much easier.
My experience with streaming was very good. It’s easy and quick to start, but the app doesn’t give you any options to work with the description field of your lifestream on YouTube. You’ll have to take care of this after the stream. What I loved was the fact that Aicoco OnAir will automatically make a backup recording of your stream to the microSD card in original quality.
In the past, I made the mistake of not recording my livestreams and YouTube footage downloaded from the account is only available in 720p which is not great.
If streaming directly from Aicoco OnAir isn’t your thing, you can set it to USB mode and connect it directly to a computer running the streaming software of your choice or simply set the camera to video mode and upload the footage later.
I didn’t test this, as I only have one Aicoco OnAir, but if you have multiple units, you can switch between them in the live stream which is kinda cool.
Note on accessories
The box was packed with things that you’d need to get started. A spare battery with a dual battery charger, microSD card, a very funky tripod that took me a while to figure out and some attachments to mount Aicoco OnAir on GoPro-like accessories. The selection is good enough to get you started before you choose to.
Final thoughts
I’m split right now. The ease of use, the ability to live stream directly, and swap batteries on the go are the strong points of the Aicoco OnAir. However, I can’t skirt over the fact that video quality drops significantly once the sun starts setting. If this is something you can live with, Aicoco OnAir introduces a couple of interesting concepts that I would like to see on other cameras and it might be just enough to fill your need for content creation. At $349.00 it feels a little pricy, (use code NOTENOUGHTECH to get 10% off) but the kit comes with, cushions the blow and provides you with everything you need to get started (except lights – take a look at these cute panels). Let me know your thoughts in this Reddit thread.
🆓📈💵 – See the transparency note for details.
