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GoPro video camera


mcbean7

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Hi guys.

I ran across this camera and thought it would be good for the boat (waterproof, can record in full HD (1080p), can take still photos (5MP), really good price). The only thing I am not sure about is the lens. Since it's a fixed lens (wide angle) and you cannot zoom in/out, will the rider be too far away if the camera is in the boat? Most of the pics show the camera mounted very close to the rider. What do you guys think?

http://www.goprocamera.com/index.php?area=2&productid=31

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These are actually used a bunch on the Racing world! Very nice product and an extremely cheap price I think! I don't think you'd have any problem filming a rider if the camera in on the very back of the boat. But with it being attached to the boat, it's not going to be as smooth as it would if someone was holding the camera going over waves and what not. And I'm not exactly sure how resistant (if at all) they are to water. But we've used them for in car footage and outside the car footage going down the drag strip and they work awesome!

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These are actually used a bunch on the Racing world! Very nice product and an extremely cheap price I think! I don't think you'd have any problem filming a rider if the camera in on the very back of the boat. But with it being attached to the boat, it's not going to be as smooth as it would if someone was holding the camera going over waves and what not. And I'm not exactly sure how resistant (if at all) they are to water. But we've used them for in car footage and outside the car footage going down the drag strip and they work awesome!

Thanks for the response A7. The one I am looking at comes with a waterproof housing. I was thinking the same thing about attaching it somewhere on the very back of the boat. Another idea is to attach it on the wakeboard itself? But the camera may be too bulky and heavy. Also the board is so short that I don't know if the wide angle is wide enough to catch anything.

I'm glad to hear they are durable. I was afraid they were a cheapy product...considering the price.

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Thanks for the response A7. The one I am looking at comes with a waterproof housing. I was thinking the same thing about attaching it somewhere on the very back of the boat. Another idea is to attach it on the wakeboard itself? But the camera may be too bulky and heavy. Also the board is so short that I don't know if the wide angle is wide enough to catch anything.

I'm glad to hear they are durable. I was afraid they were a cheapy product...considering the price.

I'm sure you could attach them wherever you wanted to. Have the rider wear a helmet and attach it to that. Like I said, I have no idea how well they'd hold up to a majestic face plant that no one here does, I know ;) Damn Pro's. I believe there's a few video's on youtube of foilers using them, attaching to the back and giving a rear view of what's going on. As far as what I've used them for, we've done rear views on cars going down the track, (8 sec.-10 sec quarter miles) stuck em on front bumpers, side windows, cage bars, you name it. They held up very well.

Edited by A7X_LSV_23
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I'm sure you could attach them wherever you wanted to. Have the rider wear a helmet and attach it to that. Like I said, I have no idea how well they'd hold up to a majestic face plant that no one here does, I know ;) Damn Pro's. I believe there's a few video's on youtube of foilers using them, attaching to the back and giving a rear view of what's going on. As far as what I've used them for, we've done rear views on cars going down the track, (8 sec.-10 sec quarter miles) stuck em on front bumpers, side windows, cage bars, you name it. They held up very well.

I'll be wearing mine a lot this summer. I'm sure I'll get a faceplant or two documented.

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I've got the wide and the HD, though I've had nothing but trouble with the HD and currently have a service ticket on it.

A couple of gratuitous vids that I did with the wide:

The cam is definitely waterproof with the case seal intact. I let my kids play with it in the pool on our summer vacation and got lots of cool pics. There's a surfboard mount (that's what I did the snowboard vid above with), that will work great on a (drumroll) surfboard.

There's also a suction cup mount that's used for cars.

gopro-wide-mounting-system.jpg

I've tried the suction cup mounted to the snowboard and it doesn't work because it's very susceptible to high frequency vibrations, and with a little moisture underneath it will start to "skate" on the snowboard deck. However on dry surfaces it works well. There are lots of vids of motos doing 140 around a track using that mount. So I figure it should work great on the transom if you wipe the transom and the suction cup with a towel first.

If I can get the hd cam sorted out, I'm thinking that sticking it on the transom will be a great way to get vid of surfers from the boat.

If you do use it on the surfboard, I'd be sure to put a floaty keychain on it. The surf mount uses 3M vbr tape (which you can also get at walmart). That stuff sticks GREAT... till it doesn't. If you look at my youtube profile you'll find a snowboard vid where the camera came off. With the vbr tape I've let cure for a week or so, it seems rock solid, but why not have a little insurance with a floatie?

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I've got the wide and the HD, though I've had nothing but trouble with the HD and currently have a service ticket on it.

A couple of gratuitous vids that I did with the wide:

The cam is definitely waterproof with the case seal intact. I let my kids play with it in the pool on our summer vacation and got lots of cool pics. There's a surfboard mount (that's what I did the snowboard vid above with), that will work great on a (drumroll) surfboard.

There's also a suction cup mount that's used for cars.

gopro-wide-mounting-system.jpg

I've tried the suction cup mounted to the snowboard and it doesn't work because it's very susceptible to high frequency vibrations, and with a little moisture underneath it will start to "skate" on the snowboard deck. However on dry surfaces it works well. There are lots of vids of motos doing 140 around a track using that mount. So I figure it should work great on the transom if you wipe the transom and the suction cup with a towel first.

If I can get the hd cam sorted out, I'm thinking that sticking it on the transom will be a great way to get vid of surfers from the boat.

If you do use it on the surfboard, I'd be sure to put a floaty keychain on it. The surf mount uses 3M vbr tape (which you can also get at walmart). That stuff sticks GREAT... till it doesn't. If you look at my youtube profile you'll find a snowboard vid where the camera came off. With the vbr tape I've let cure for a week or so, it seems rock solid, but why not have a little insurance with a floatie?

Nice vid's I might have to get one of these myself.Thumbup.gif

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Nice vid's I might have to get one of these myself.Thumbup.gif

That was my first reaction too when I saw sample videos from this device. I also like the price too!

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Some of you probably saw the videos I did recently of barefooing in this friggin cold water I posted. I think overall, they take really good video especially from a view not many other people will ever see first hand.

I have the standard def. one so I'm not sure if the HD has more/less options than the standard. One cool thing is the picture mode, It can take pictures every 2-5 seconds.

I was about to buy the HD model but decided to spend the far lesser for the standard just in case I wasn't satisfied with it. I may decide to buy another one in the HD version eventually, but for now I'll have fun playing with what I got.

EDIT: actually, shawndoggy posted those videos a while back which is why I ended up buying one. :thumbup:

Edited by areamike
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Honestly, I can't get the HD to record a video other than sitting at my desk at home screwing around with it. When I get it out to wherever I want to actually use it, it totally craps out and locks up. Tried five different SD cards, two of which I also use in a Canon Vixia HF100 handheld hd cam, and it won't work with any of them. That said I've not tried a Kingston or Patriot Class 4 card (only Transcend Class 6 and Sandisk Class 4), but I'm having a hard time believing that the issue is the brand of SD card and I don't want to go out buying another SD card till gopro tells me I have to.

The gopro wide, on the other hand, is super reliable, super durable, super easy to use, and the video can be edited very easily even in Windows movie maker on a machine with very little horsepower. Even when I get the HD working, I'm expecting the editing experience to be more difficult than with the wide (if editing the avchd hd video from the Vixia HF100 is any indication). Downside of the wide is that it takes AAA's and really needs lithium batteries to perform at its best (at about $5 for every two hours or so of video). I've had decent luck with rechargeables, tho, as long as it isn't super cold and assuming the recharge is fresh.

I'd love to give a report on the HD, but so far I've just got a bunch of wasted time invested.

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Honestly, I can't get the HD to record a video other than sitting at my desk at home screwing around with it. When I get it out to wherever I want to actually use it, it totally craps out and locks up. Tried five different SD cards, two of which I also use in a Canon Vixia HF100 handheld hd cam, and it won't work with any of them. That said I've not tried a Kingston or Patriot Class 4 card (only Transcend Class 6 and Sandisk Class 4), but I'm having a hard time believing that the issue is the brand of SD card and I don't want to go out buying another SD card till gopro tells me I have to.

The gopro wide, on the other hand, is super reliable, super durable, super easy to use, and the video can be edited very easily even in Windows movie maker on a machine with very little horsepower. Even when I get the HD working, I'm expecting the editing experience to be more difficult than with the wide (if editing the avchd hd video from the Vixia HF100 is any indication). Downside of the wide is that it takes AAA's and really needs lithium batteries to perform at its best (at about $5 for every two hours or so of video). I've had decent luck with rechargeables, tho, as long as it isn't super cold and assuming the recharge is fresh.

I'd love to give a report on the HD, but so far I've just got a bunch of wasted time invested.

Yeah, those lithiums are salty.

I've used the Litiums this winter as well. I plan to just use some rechargeables in the summer time.

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I got a set of four duracell aaa and four aa rechargeables from costco for less than $20 with the charger. They work really well in temps above freezing. Probably an hour per set. Which is really plenty as long as you remember to turn the camera off and on.

Hopefully the HD gets sorted, because it has a built in rechargeable bat AND an autoshutoff timer. Seems promising if I can ever get it to record a video.

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I got a set of four duracell aaa and four aa rechargeables from costco for less than $20 with the charger. They work really well in temps above freezing. Probably an hour per set. Which is really plenty as long as you remember to turn the camera off and on.

Hopefully the HD gets sorted, because it has a built in rechargeable bat AND an autoshutoff timer. Seems promising if I can ever get it to record a video.

Have you watched some of the high def videos on their website? That base jumping is NUTZ! :crazy:

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You cannt go wrong with the original GoPro, awsome pics like everyone says and super easy to use. The only thing I found was the battery life is kind of short when everyone whats to film their set but other then that you should be happy. I'm thinking of upgrading to the HD though just to have the longer battery life and an extra camera on the boat.

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Pete,

Thanks for the tip. I had no idea Bakes carries them. I saw tjeir ad in a wakeboard magazine and got their website info from that.

Looks like I'll be giving Paul a call tomorrow.

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No offense to Bakes, but with a product like this I'd only buy it from REI. They have a no questions asked satisfaction guaranteed return policy. Don't know anyone else with that kind of return policy for electronics. Just saying. And REI will also be having a 20% off any one item coupon in a couple of weeks (when dividends are issued if history is a guide).

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I'd like to see a response to the OP's question... In the absence of zoom capabilities, how would these things do filming skiers/riders from the back of the boat? Also, the website doesn't give much indication as to what type of image stabilization technology is utilized.

I was planning on pulling the trigger on the Flip Ultra HD (which has zoom) until I saw this thread (and Mikes barefoot video). Somewhat different design/purpose, but if anyone has compared, I'd be curious as to which one has better image stabilization.

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I'd like to see a response to the OP's question... In the absence of zoom capabilities, how would these things do filming skiers/riders from the back of the boat? Also, the website doesn't give much indication as to what type of image stabilization technology is utilized.

I was planning on pulling the trigger on the Flip Ultra HD (which has zoom) until I saw this thread (and Mikes barefoot video). Somewhat different design/purpose, but if anyone has compared, I'd be curious as to which one has better image stabilization.

Did you watch the HD VIdeos on the GoPro site? Looks pretty stable. Don't know what stabilization if any it uses though.

Even the standard one looks pretty stable.

http://www.goprocamera.com/video_sd.php - When it's on the shocks of the Mt. Bike.

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I'd like to see a response to the OP's question... In the absence of zoom capabilities, how would these things do filming skiers/riders from the back of the boat? Also, the website doesn't give much indication as to what type of image stabilization technology is utilized.

I was planning on pulling the trigger on the Flip Ultra HD (which has zoom) until I saw this thread (and Mikes barefoot video). Somewhat different design/purpose, but if anyone has compared, I'd be curious as to which one has better image stabilization.

I was looking into the UltraHD myself. One thing to note is it appears as if the zoom is digital zoom only. This isn't good as the further you zoom in the uglier the picture gets. It very similar to taking a small picture or video and then making it bigger on your computer(download a thumbnail and expand it 300x for a drastic example). The zoom on the flip is easier than expanding the size of the video yourself afterwards though but the quality will likely be very similar.

Based on that I'd say the GoPro is a better buy of the two but I'm going to look into the optics of the GoPro when I am done studying and look into how small the skier will look from the boat but if it is like a typical camera than I'd look for something with some optical zoom.

Edit - The gopro is a .6m lens, not great from the boat. The wide angle is cool but for this item to be worth it, you should attach it to yourself or whatever you are riding.

Edited by Wakes
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Did you watch the HD VIdeos on the GoPro site? Looks pretty stable. Don't know what stabilization if any it uses though.

Even the standard one looks pretty stable.

http://www.goprocame...om/video_sd.php - When it's on the shocks of the Mt. Bike.

agreed, very impressive....love the base jumping stuff, but I'm inherently cynical about private advertising (else I'd have a ShamWow in every room).

I am seriously looking forward to more of your BF videos...as soon as your re-attached limb/appendage heelsSmile.gif .

How does the GoPro work when "hand held", and does it have one of those threaded inserts on the bottom for mounting on tripod, etc?

TIA

Edited by davemac
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The gopro and a flip are two different cameras altogether. The gopro is a fisheye lens. You can hold it about 5" from your nose and it will get a pic of your whole face and more.

For filming surfers from the boat it would be acceptable, I think. I did film a bit of video with a gopro mounted on our wake surf board with the mount on the back of the board facing forward (so you'd see the rider and the boat). The boat looked pretty far away, even though it was only 10-15' (of course I accidentally erased those vids in a computer meltdown).

For filming wakeboarders or skiers from the boat it would suck. The focal point is about 5-10' out. Beyond that distance stuff looks like "background". I would not buy a gopro as a primary video cam for filming the kids at school or birthday parties, etc. It's more for getting action shots, up close and personal. There is no image stabilization in the gopro at all, other than your knees if you are wearing it. Same goes for the flip, I believe.

If you are considering a flip, I'd also strongly consider a canon sd780. They are going for about $150 now and shoot in 720p hd. And it's a darn good point and shoot camera too.

As for the gopro video quality, it's definitely as good as the videos on the gopro site... but it (probably) won't be that good in videos you share on youtube, because youtube re-compresses an already pretty compressed video. For home viewing you will be very satisfied (assuming you've got the hardware to store and play the vids).

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We have been wanting to get a GoPro for filming various items.

Here is a video of a kiteboarder who has a GoPro standard mounted to his kite. The distance would be about 20 meters to give you an idea.

PS, turn down your volume the music sucks. Long video but after you watch a couple of minutes you'll see the capabilites.

Here are some shorter videos shot using a GoPro HD. It was mounted on a kite line approx 10 ft from the rider and than later on the board itself.

GoPro HD while surfing

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