Go Pro, is it worth it?

[Joeboy69]

I bought a Contour camera years ago, maybe 6 or more. Used it on my motorbike, both helmet and fairing mounted. Excellent footage of breakfast runs, Graskop etc.

 

Then the novelty wore off.

 

Took up mountain biking and found another use for the camera. A rocky decent at a Lost City race rattled it lose, went back to look for it but nothing.

 

Soon after there was an outdoor show at the Dome with good prices on a DriftHD camera. Liked that it has a small screen so you can see what you are recording as well as a remote on/off switch. So bought it and mounted on MTB.

 

Used a couple of times but as much as I try, I still forget it on and then run out of storage and battery. So after a Nissan 40 I have 2 or so nice 10sec vids of a water crossing, not with me in it but at last I can look at it and remember. Unfortunately I also have 40min of dirt roads where I thought it was off but it was recording. No fault of the camera, just the operator :-(

 

I never bothered mounting it on the motorbike again, basically lost interest. I think I must find it and all the mountings and see if I can swap it for some whiskey, or spotlights for the motorbike that I've seen at extreme lights :-)

[Brighter-Lights]

It's worth it but you need time to edit footage - rather get the new Sony AS100V...

[GLuvsMtb]

I love my Gopro 2. I'm considering getting one of these

http://www.dji.com/product/phantom-2

 

Now THAT'S going to help with those hard-to-get shots when out with your mates!

[Active Monkey]

Bought a naked and sold it as i never used it... Then bought a 3 white edition and again same story. I either forget to charge it or don't feel like downloading the footage or the ride was "boring " on camera...

[TK-Sp3cialiSt]

Anyone willing to donate their unused gopro to a choc cow that will happily use it, have all the editing software and patience to charge batteries etc.... Will make a few nice videos of the cows on events and use them to promote us

[Flowta]

It's worth it but you need time to edit footage - rather get the new Sony AS100V...

 

What's the Sony go for?

[NotSoBigBen]

We have one that my son and I use but you end up with a hell of a lot of 'footage' and VERY VERY rarely get anything interesting, at least in my experience. Having said that when you do it is priceless

[Iwan Kemp]

Any one try something like a Nikon AW120?

 

 

http://www.nikonusa....LPIX-AW120.html

 

http://nikonrumors.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Nikon-Coolpix-AW120-compact-camera.jpg

 

Edited April 5, 2014 by Iwan Kemp

[Joeboy69]

Any one try something like a Nikon AW120?

 

 

http://www.nikonusa....LPIX-AW120.html

 

http://nikonrumors.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Nikon-Coolpix-AW120-compact-camera.jpg

 

 

I bought the previous model (100 or 110). Wanted a small happy snap to take pics when we cycle and not be worried about dust, mud, water etc. Works so well I tend to use it when we go to parties rather the. My Fuji. Also shot plenty pics and videos while scuba diving. It is not National Geographic quality but, for the price, did exactly what I want it to do.

[Brighter-Lights]

What's the Sony go for?

 

It's just been released... $300 without remote (but you can use any smartphone as a remote) - or $400 with the remote - Sony's remote has a color LCD...

 

GoPro's form factor has positives but the big negatives are that they will never be able to incl. a larger capacity battery (3-3.5 hours like Sony and Drift) AND a color LCD unless they enlarge the unit.

 

Google it... Sony's AS100V 3rd gen camera uses pro codecs at 50mbps which kills GoPro's 4k according to some comparison vids on YouTube.

 

Why I choose the Sony or the Drift (not the Garmin because it needs a special adaptor cable if I want to use a Rode Videomic Pro for film projects):

 

Drift Ghost-S is not far behind the Hero+ Black in terms of image quality but the lens can rotate which makes it much easier to mount - the large LCD is a big plus (but a smartphone can also be used) - you can use the camera in a vehicle to loop record (evidence when you're in an accident or have to deal with road rage) - 3+ hour battery life - built in tripod mount - standard external mic input - great external remote - waterproof without dive case but need a dive case for proper underwater footage.

 

The new Sony AS-100V is waterproof without a dive housing - excellent stereo sound - 50mbps + Sony pro camera codecs, remote has a built in color LCD, tripod mount built in, 3+ hour battery life... etc...

 

Nothing against GoPro's - but Sony is one of the leaders in pro video and it was just a matter of time after their first action cam before they became the leaders...

[popcorn_skollie]

I've been asking myself that question for the longest time. It should be easier for me to justify buying the go-pro since i spend about as much time surfing as I do mtb'ing. But I just cant see myself forking out cash for something I really dont need. The mounting accesories also cost a small fortune, and while first person footage is always cool to see, I think its more fun seeing yourself shredding dirt from someone elses perspective.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4G9jmbOL9M

 

We shot this using our cellphones.

And it was my first attempt at editing.

Took me about an hour using some freeware I found online.

Had fun, didnt spend a dime.

 

After I did it and realised how silly it was.

I decided that I'd only consider the go-pro once I felt confident that my skills were good enough

to attempt some true Jackie Chan ****

[RocknRolla]

GoPro is a nice to have, for some people I think it would be a novelty that wears off quickly.

I recently got my hands on a hero 3 white, and it does exactly what I want.

One also need to spend some time in front of the pc to edit.

 

Yesterday I made a GoPole hack with some aly pipe i had in the garage. Then it was off to the track with my boys for some fun. Spent an hour this am putting this together.

 

 

Realised its quite difficult minding ones shodow, as you will see in the clip.

 

Edit: dunnow if the vimeo link works from tapatalk

Edited April 6, 2014 by RocknRolla

[Bibi27]

Have you ever tried using your Iphone as an Action Camera? You just need to buy the case and chesty for example and you're ready to go (cheaper)

 

The Optrix Photoprox kit for example: "a complete kit that turns your iPhone 5/5S into fully waterproof, fully shockproof action camera. The kit contains 4 interchangeable lenses for different shooting options. It includes a Macro, Telephoto, Fish Eye and Flat lenses. With the use of one of the included lenses, users will experience a great improvement in image quality thanks to the superior sapphire glass, on top of a commercial grade optical glass lens."

 

Anyone used this before?

[Bibi27]

I love my Gopro 2. I'm considering getting one of these

http://www.dji.com/product/phantom-2

 

Now THAT'S going to help with those hard-to-get shots when out with your mates!

Verrrrrrry cool toy!

[awesme]

Def worth it,

 

but and make that BUT, make sure you got a good machine to edit the footage on,

 

G

[RocknRolla]

Def worth it,

 

but and make that BUT, make sure you got a good machine to edit the footage on,

 

G

 

Hope my boss does not read this, i have a monster machine at work, and do all my editing on there, makes a huge difference.