gopro camera thoughts?

Since this little unit seems to be affordable and easy to use it must be right up my alley.

I'd be very interested in hearing good or bad things.

There was a discussion about these cameras a while back:

Go ~HERE~ to see it.

You may get a lot of opinons on this. Here's mine:

I have a GoPro and I do not really like it it. The attachment components are pretty slick, but the actual camera seems poor to me. Anyway, building a camera mount setup is pretty easy, so the various attachment components don't have that much value to me. I far prefer the Flip solid state camcorder ($129 at Walmart).

If I had the money, I'd buy the Panasonic SDRS100 SD solid-state camcorder. A real nice unit, but about $600.

Here's esentially what I wrote about the various camcorders I've used in another thread.

I've had four camcorders in the last six years in my race cars and my favourite is the Flip solid state camcorder. Three are listed below (I also had a VHS unit, but converting that to digital video resulted in huge loss of quality):

1-The family JVC mini-DV camcorder (which requires an extra-cost Firewire card and cable). Kind of heavy and delicate for this purpose. Video is best quality, though. Typical max recording time in 120 minutes ~Not recommended due to fragility~

2-GoPro Hero camera. Very small and easy to attach (USB), but even the very best AAA batteries hardly last 30 minutes. The ability to record for two hours has no value to me if the battery goes dead so soon. I wrote to GoPro and they suggested I use "better batteries" (I was already using the best AAA batteries). Also the sound quality is poor, there's no monitor and the "Record" button is clumsy and isn't easy to use (the last thing you want when your on the starting grid). Low quality video. I just built an external adapter to run it off two "C" cells (but this makes it more of a hassle to use)....running it on AAA batteries is almost hopeless. Uses SD flash cards (2 GB max).~Not recommended due to battery life and clumsy controls~

3-Flip solid state camcorder with built in USB "leg" that flips out. This is my favourite by far (cheapest too, at about $129 at WalMart). Very easy to use, decent monitor and AA batteries that last much longer that AAA in GoPro. Has "fixed" non-expandable memory chip(not removeable) that will hold 1 hour of video (we download between sessions to a laptop so this is fine). My temporary camera-mount for the Flip has been a plastic dry-gas bottle with the top cut off. The bottle is held to the roll bar with a U-bolt and bracket. I drop the camera into the bottle and secure it with a small bungy cord. I gotta build something better for '09 than this ghetto-rig mount...but it actually works fine.

A friend of mine has four races cars he rents and he has Flips in all of them with great luck.~Recommended. Quality is not as good as a mini-DV camera but far more durable~

Again, this has been my experience. Your mileage may vary

aeronca65t wrote: There was a discussion about these cameras a while back: Go ~HERE~ to see it. You may get a lot of opinons on this. Here's mine: I have a GoPro and I do not really like it it. The attachment components are pretty slick, but the actual camera seems poor to me. Anyway, building a camera mount setup is pretty easy, so the various attachment components don't have that much value to me. I *far* prefer the Flip solid state camcorder ($129 at Walmart). If I had the money, I'd buy the Panasonic SDRS100 SD solid-state camcorder. A real nice unit, but about $600. Here's esentially what I wrote about the various camcorders I've used in another thread. I've had four camcorders in the last six years in my race cars and my favourite is the Flip solid state camcorder. Three are listed below (I also had a VHS unit, but converting that to digital video resulted in huge loss of quality): 1-The family JVC mini-DV camcorder (which requires an extra-cost Firewire card and cable). Kind of heavy and delicate for this purpose. Video is best quality, though. Typical max recording time in 120 minutes ~Not recommended due to fragility~ 2-GoPro Hero camera. Very small and easy to attach (USB), but even the very best AAA batteries hardly last 30 minutes. The ability to record for two hours has no value to me if the battery goes dead so soon. I wrote to GoPro and they suggested I use "better batteries" (I was already using the best AAA batteries). Also the sound quality is poor, there's no monitor and the "Record" button is clumsy and isn't easy to use (the *last* thing you want when your on the starting grid). Low quality video. I just built an external adapter to run it off two "C" cells (but this makes it more of a hassle to use)....running it on AAA batteries is almost hopeless. Uses SD flash cards (2 GB max).~Not recommended due to battery life and clumsy controls~ 3-Flip solid state camcorder with built in USB "leg" that flips out. This is my favourite by far (cheapest too, at about $129 at WalMart). Very easy to use, decent monitor and AA batteries that last much longer that AAA in GoPro. Has "fixed" non-expandable memory chip(not removeable) that will hold 1 hour of video (we download between sessions to a laptop so this is fine). My temporary camera-mount for the Flip has been a plastic dry-gas bottle with the top cut off. The bottle is held to the roll bar with a U-bolt and bracket. I drop the camera into the bottle and secure it with a small bungy cord. I gotta build something better for '09 than this ghetto-rig mount...but it actually works fine. A friend of mine has four races cars he rents and he has Flips in all of them with great luck.~Recommended. Quality is not as good as a mini-DV camera but far more durable~ Again, this has been my experience. Your mileage may vary

Thanks for the write up. I can really appreciate someone's opinion when they have had first hand experience like you. Good to know.

A different opinion. The boss came home from PRI with a Hero camera. I've done a bit of playing around with it now.

The one thing that it can do that a Mini DV or Flip can't is act like a bullet camera. It's got a super wide angle lens (the latest version does, anyhow, don't know about the older ones) so you get a good sensation of speed, and you can mount it just about anywhere. Rooftop shots, fender shots, skimming-the-road shots - it's easy to set up and the supplied mounts do a good job of both holding and protecting the camera. I've even sprayed it with water off a wheel a couple of times and the waterproof case not only protected the camera, but shed the water pretty quickly for a clear view. I'm planning on aiming it at the front suspension of my Locost sometime for a really cool view of the suspension at work.

Video quality certainly isn't as good as a Mini DV. The lack of a monitor is a pain in the butt. Battery life in sub-freezing weather certainly isn't good, but most of my use so far has been relatively shot videos as I experiment with camera placement and angles. Customer support is awful, I had a hell of a time getting them to tell me what the codec used to encode the video was.

In short - if you want to play with video that's a bit more than the usual "over the driver's shoulder" view, it's a good option. It's not what I would choose to document the Targa Newfoundland (I'd probably start with a new DV camera and just expect to replace it after the race or maybe man up and go for the full Chase Cam), but I'm looking forward to placing it all over the car and getting some really interesting shots at the upcoming Laguna Seca event.

I have two of the Hero cameras and for the money there a good deal. The battery life is a problem but I only run sprint races which seldom last more than a 1/2 hour anyway. I didn't buy the Motorsports model but the sports model which has a wide Velcro wrist strap. I use this to strap it over the roll bar just behind me and i get a pretty good picture. My car is an open cockpit, 63 Triumph Spitfire, so the weatherproof housing is a requirement. The sound level can be adjusted from the menu and I can hear the engine over the wind noise. Starting it can be a PITA, I've missed a few runs when I didn't get a clean start on the grid. Due to the battery issues I don't turn the camera on until after the 5 minute warning and don't start it until the one minute mark. If you don't get it going on the first time the workers on the grid usually yell at the crew to stop touching the car and I'll go out with out video.

The upsides are the cost and the versatility. I took one of them on a dive vacation last summer and was able to get some cool underwater video, with sound at over 50' down. It was nice to have when we went sailing too. Just strap it on my wrist and take snapshots and videos point and shoot. Snorkeling at the resort had good results too, did I mention it was a topless beach?

It's been a big help in improving my driving and learning new tracks. Watch the video between runs, with a friend or another driver and opportunities for a better line or later braking become very obvious. When you're documented hitting your marks right it's good positive reenforcement too.

I've used it on go karts too, taping it to my helmet or the kart. Great for bench racing in the off season.

Mine were ~ $120 delivered from eBay

mike

I had my MotoCam 360's ShockBox modified to run off 12V and that took care of pretty much all the complaints I had. Is it possible to power a Hero from the car's electrical system?

BTW, the reason I picked the MotoCam over the ChaseCam is the MC came with a DVR that has a monitor, makes setup a snap.

The Heros I have seen can be aimed with the viewfinder pretty accurately but yeah it can be a pain in the butt. The video seems pretty good as long as the mount is good and tight. One guy with a rotary A Mod car kept getting a wiggly picture until he reinforced the mounting bracket (this particular camera is about 2 years old, BTW).

Well, I'm just too cheap to spend that kind of money on a MotoCam or a ChaseCam, even though I've got a Traqmate Complete that can sync video with the ChaseCam, I'm into my wide angle dual video system for all of $321.98 (not including the IOPort camera mounts which I've already had for years).

I bought a pair of cheap Aiptek A-HD 720p 16x9 cameras ($112/ea.) with 8GB ($12/ea.) (it will take 32GB) SD cards , a pair of magnetic mount 17mm-27mm 0.45 wide angle lenses for $22/ea. off eBay and a pair of extra 1800mAH NP60 batteries ($14.99/ea).

The camera's come with AC and Car power adapters so I don't have to worry about batteries running dead and even without the power, the 1800mAH batteries last about 4 hours. The 8GB SD cards are good for 4hrs of recording at 1280x720 (720p) resolution or 9.5hrs at 720x480 (480p) resolution which is what I use most often, so it has plenty of recording time to capture a whole day of racing and a relatively easy to reach "on/off" switch while in the driver's seat, but it's easier to have a crew person start them and with the long battery life and video memory, it's easier to just turn it on before leaving the pits and just edit out the "lead-in" after your race day is done.

They also input and output directly to a component HD as well as standard RCA, so you can output directly to a standard or HDTV and use it as a PVR.

It's not without it's issues. It doesn't work well in low light and it's not a very good still camera, but I don't use it in either scenario.

These were to replace my old Sony TRV-730 Digital 8mm handy cam that I originally bought back in the '90s and started using as an in-car camera when my wife wanted a new digital camera and the old Sony was relegated to the abuse of the track. It was fine with a Firewire output and 9hr battery, but the Hi-8 video tapes were only good for an hour and you had to pull the camera off the mount in order change the tape which was a pain during longer events where I would have to settle for only the first 55 minutes of an event and hope nothing "good" happened in the latter part of a long event.

ww wrote: The camera's come with AC and Car power adapters so I don't have to worry about batteries running dead and even without the power, the 1800mAH batteries last about 4 hours.

Hmm, does the car adapter work to power when recording? I have the A-HD, and the word on the internets is the car adapter charges only, so you can't leave it plugged in and run a worry free enduro.

OP, if you haven't seen it, the 24Hrs of LeMons video my team shot was done with the Aiptek A-HD and wide angle lens setup that ww described. http://vimeo.com/2678089

Anyone here using Oregon Scientific stuff? alot of my dirt bike ride freinds love there units. The two newst units have a 48 and a 53 deg feild of veiw.

I've run a hi 8 can corder in my dwarf before but at a certin RPM the tape head bonces and i loose video.

I've looked at mustec = crap Flip and go pro but not purcased anything yet.