Topic: Anyone here use a GoPro camera?

[jneuf]

Going on vacation in a week and plan on doing some snorkeling and what not....and I've been thinking about one of these:
http://www.goprocamera.com/products/?area=2

Just wondering if anyone here has ever used one...how easy they are to use, any glitches, etc...I'll need to pull the trigger fairly soon to get it shipped to me on time, so let me know!

Basically, convincing my wife of this was pretty easy as it would be great for "vacations and underwater video"....needless to say, the only thing I can think of is how cool it would be strapped to the car or motorcycle! Plus, it'd be great to document my leg of the SOHC4 Rally!

[Joel]

I don't have one but I've been seeing their commercials and entered the contest.  I'd love to win one.  It says the prize value for everything they make is $570.  Doesn't sound terribly expensive.

[Nikkisixx]

Looked at one, decided against it based on what the competition had to offer at that price.  No view finder or zoom killed the deal for me.

[jneuf]

What did you wind up getting instead?

[Nikkisixx]

Kodak playsport:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0030MITDK/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=7137887619&ref=pd_sl_48tf6b706e_b

Drawbacks-
-It doesn't have a cover for the lens but I think there is an add-on available.  
-I use a PC and my editing software won't recognize the file type the Playsport creates so I must use my wife's Mac (she thinks that is funny)
-Frame rate is slow in 1080 but HD is typically 720 and at that resolution the frame rate is good

It has a standard screw mount on the bottom, so my Bogen superclamp will mount it to anything (handlebars, grab bar).  I used the extra $$$ for a Blue Ray burner (how else you gonna take advantage of the HD?), the optional remote, and of course motorcycle parts!

edit: AND it isn't marketed as well as the Go-pro.  The marketing department rocks.  Have you noticed those little cameras placed in TV shows like Mythbusters and Chasing Classic Cars?  Even the packaging is better.  They had me hooked until I reached for my wallet!

[RickRR]

A got a couple of friend that have them and they are absolutely amazing.
get the motorsport Hero kit , it's the best suited for bike and car.
http://www.goprocamera.com/products/hd-motorsports-hero-camera.php
video quality is top notch and the price is really good.
my 2cents
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-l4A_qKG3M&feature=related

[wannabridin]

The gopro's are good, but I've heard from a lot Of people that they have bad battery life, especially in cold conditions.  I looked at getting one, but they're expensive.

I made the compromise and my girlfriend got me a Veho Muvi Pro, with the waterproof case and other mounts, it's only $99 on amazon.  Been recording things this week skiing and the quality isn't bad for the size, smaller than my thumb!

I'll take some shots from One of the bikes soon, just to see what the quality is like.  Just my $.02.  The gopro is HD though, which is nice. 

[Joel]

Here's another option I found.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/29/vholdr-contourhd1080p-helmet-cam-announced-we-go-hands-on/

[Duanob]

Probably not a GoPro but yes, cool vids from the ride just the same: Brianzek's vids:

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=72132.0

[wannabridin]

Here's another option I found.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/29/vholdr-contourhd1080p-helmet-cam-announced-we-go-hands-on/

I actually talked to a guy with that camera today.  He said the battery life is crap, and the image stabilization is worthless.  I've read this elsewhere too, before deciding on my veho. 

[Joel]

Here's another option I found.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/29/vholdr-contourhd1080p-helmet-cam-announced-we-go-hands-on/

I actually talked to a guy with that camera today.  He said the battery life is crap, and the image stabilization is worthless.  I've read this elsewhere too, before deciding on my veho. 

I didn't know it had an image stabilization feature.  I did see it's designed to rotate inside the housing so the video is always oriented properly no matter what angle the housing is mounted at.  What was that guy getting in battery life compared to their 3 hr claim?

[jneuf]

I just bit the bullet and ordered the gopro hd with the motorsports mounts...I found it online for $100 less than what I could buy it for locally, so I should have it by the weekend...

Crappy thing is that its the middle of January, and I'm in Manitoba...so I won't be making any videos on my bike anytime soon 

I'll be using all week on vacation next week though, so I should be able to write a pretty good review of it when I'm back.

[techy5025]

You might want to take a look at this little jewel. I have had one for several months and love it. One nice feature is that the lenses rotates with respect to the body so you can mount it at any rotational angle and rotate the image level. Waterproof to one meter, built in viewfinder, can do single images...timed also, HD images, etc. The long life battery is good for about 4 hours recording and can be recharged from a USB computer port. It's about the size of two D-cells in series.

http://driftinnovation.com/hd170-action-camera

Bought it here....I have no connection except as a customer.

http://www.advdesigns.net/drx1acca.html

I just back from Thailand and captured over 10 hours of video with it mounted on a rented CB400 bike. One where an elephant ran across the road in front of me. 

Jim

[seaweb11]

Thanks for the link!
I just ordered their accessory handlebar mount.
     Looks like it will work for any camera, and at $9.99 nice solution

[techy5025]

These cams eat up lots of flash drive space. At full HD the Drift HD170 uses about 6GB/hour. I carried a 1TB external drive to store all the vids.  Editing them takes some serious computer horsepower, too.

Jim

[RickRR]

The drift innovation looks good too ,alot sexier than the gopro , but it's pricier so is it worth it ??

[crazypj]

I've got two  
 Bought the $99.00 one first, use it as a helmet cam.
 As stated previously, battery life isn't very good on it
 Got HD for Christmas, it has rechargeable battery.
Great image stabilisation and real easy to use.
 It's professional quality although I only use it as a toy at present (still learning stuff)

[q2418130103p]

A got a couple of friend that have them and they are absolutely amazing.
get the motorsport Hero kit , it's the best suited for bike and car.
http://www.goprocamera.com/products/hd-motorsports-hero-camera.php
video quality is top notch and the price is really good.
my 2cents
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-l4A_qKG3M&feature=related

thats a cool video, but that noise is horrible

[crazypj]

thats a cool video, but that noise is horrible

The resonant vibration causing it is rather annoying and probably is noticable when riding (although the camera case may be picking it up if it's rigid mounting)

[Don R]

My helmet cam.

Notice the handicap start, the other car gets about a second. My driver lifts a bit at the end to avoid the break-out. (running quicker than our dial-in)

[crazypj]

Here's a quick test I did with camera mounted to lower fork leg ( I made a mount)