New action cam, need resolution setting guidance

Pstar

Just bought a Akaso V50 Pro action camera.  I'm a little overwhelmed by the settings and wondering what might be most practical for me.  I'll mainly use it for making outdoor You Tube/Face Book type movies and stills while fishing in the boat, hiking outings etc.  It has native 4k/30fps with image stabilization available in all resolutions but 720p.  I heard 720p is garbage so I doubt I'd use that.  I want to maximize battery life and get the best looking movies possible but manageable for You Tube /Face Book downloads.  I'm running a 64gb sd card.  Looking for suggestions which deal with Codec options as well, not clear on this particularly.  Thanks!

https://www.amazon.com/AKASO-Adjustable-Waterproof-External-Accessories/dp/B07CKV9FRX

VIDEOSETTING
Video Resolution: 4K / 30fps, 2.7K / 30fps,
1080P / 60fps, 720P / 120fps
Codec: H.264 / H.265
Image Stabilization

PHOTOSETTING
Resolution: 20MP/ 16MP/ 14MP/ 10MP/ 8MP/
5MP/ 2MP

12harry

Hi - It depends on your target audience...what will they see? 720 is better than DVD so don't dismiss it. Also your camera electronics will "probably" give a good output on the "lesser-settings" ((Although we've had Reports that HD from a 4K hi-end Panasonic is worse that the HD-only model a few years earlier!....)).
It is "usual" to film in the highest resolution possible - but for Action-Cams there is a secondary issue - Memory space and battery-life may be a consideration.
I know nowt about fishing, but suspect it's pretty boring until there is a "bite" - so you may have hours of the same view with nothing to show for it except your commentary, or the "plop" of a fish no-where near your hook. If you have a spare battery and can open the camera without water ingress, then you can keep going. I've used an early GoPro - which needed battery-change ( without the LCD attached) every hour - Hopefully this is longer nowadays.
IMHO The snag with action-Cams is their Wide-angle view prevents you getting close to the action - as does their focus-free optics. The blurb about setting different "angles" really means chopping off the pixels.
Good luck.

Pstar

Thanks.  Do you have any knowledge about the Codec options?  H.264 vs. H.265 and which resolution to use them with?

12harry

Sadly, No.   -  You'll have to refer to the Mfr Website... or Search for that difference. The H.265 is "probably"  more efficient - but may not work with older programs/websites... you need to check this before you produce too much footage.
Mfrs are always trying to gain the upper-hand over rivals...but that doesn't mean it will work OK for Users.
We've had 4K for some years, yet  still there is little uptake, probably due to the marginal visual improvement - yet huge Memory demand ( and need to buy a Super-Duper PC to run the Editing)

chrishull3

H .264 is what i have always used with 4K and its always been fine for me.