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GoPro Hero Video/still camera review

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Davy J
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1511 Posts

Initially Posted - 05/31/2011 : 07:36:37

Last Week I purchased a GoPro Video/still camera. Someone on another thread asked if anyone had some video from one to post, so I put together a short clip from Sunday's sailing and last Friday's diving.

I mounted it a few different ways, to the boom and mast, and then hoisted it up on the spare jib halyard. And the last section is a clip of us diving at the Blue Heron Bridge in Rivera Beach.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MARGcCotTsE

First off, it's not a good primary camera. If you don't already own a video camera, this one is not as user friendly as a regular camera. However, you can subject the GoPro to conditions you would not want to do to a primary camera. I think you could spend quite a bit of time trying to figure out how to mount this thing above or below the water line for fun video capture. Overall I am pleased with it. It has some features I haven't had time to try out. It has a feature where if you need to mount the camera upside down the video will record upside right. It also has 5 resolution settings with one being even wider than the standard one above.

I purchased it at Best Buy on sale for 239.00 and got the optional display for 79.00. The only disappointments were that I haven't been able to use the display because I need to download some firmware upgrade and the other being it did not come with an SD card. The only other negative is that it records in MP4. Windows Movie Maker and Media Player don't recognize the format. I had to record the GoPro on my regular video camera to edit the clips.

Davy J

2005 Gemini 105Mc
PO 1987 C25 #5509 SR/SK
Tampa Bay

Edited by - on

DaveR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2015 Posts

Response Posted - 05/31/2011 : 08:22:00

It and you did a nice job I thought.

Edited by - on

Prospector
Master Marine Consultant

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Canada
3159 Posts

Response Posted - 05/31/2011 : 08:39:49

Thanks Davy J - I picked up a Fuji XP15 (http://www.fujifilm.ca/products/digital_cameras/xp/finepix_xp15/) from the discount bin at Wal-mart for a little over $100 CDN, then spent another $60 CDN on an 16 GB SD Card and a flexible tripod at Tiger Direct.

I took the camera out last weekend and it did a good job but teh tripod mount on it is in the corner of the camera, making for a very unbalanced load on the screw. After a few waves it wanted to flop around a little and I lost what I was aimed on. I need to refine the mount. I think a rubber band might do the trick. The flexible legs made it possible to wrap the tripod around a stanction and the deck/rubrail to hold on, and stay stable.

I was surprised by how well it worked. The tripod I got was only $11 and the legs on it were wrapped in neoprene. I'll try to edit a small clip from the movies I made and post it up on Youtube.

Edited by - Prospector on 05/31/2011 08:43:48

Davy J
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1511 Posts

Response Posted - 05/31/2011 : 08:52:25

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"> It and you did a nice job I thought<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Thanks Dave.

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">I picked up a Fuji XP15 <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
That looks like a good choice. I need to replace my old school primary video camera, it's about ten years old. After looking at the quality of the GoPro video on my TV, my old camera is pretty outdated.

Edited by - on

Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 05/31/2011 : 09:18:35

Lets give a big Hooray for Microsoft again. MP4 and H-264 is the standard stream for current video, especially HD, but MS again wants you to use their proprietary format.

Edited by - on

Davy J
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1511 Posts

Response Posted - 05/31/2011 : 09:44:40

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">but MS again wants you to use their proprietary format.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
It would seem that this will back-fire on them. I've already decided to see what other video editing/movie making programs are out there that will support h264. GoPro's web site suggested some free down-loadable software, I tried it and didn't like it. So still looking.

Edited by - on

Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 05/31/2011 : 12:41:00

Roxio and Adobe make consistent products for both platforms. I used both in the old days before I got tired of screwing with Windows; now I use Photoshop Elements for photos and Imovie/Idvd for video. Elements and Premiere, in several flavors, are available as a package, so I will try Premiere when when I upgrade Elements to see if it is any better than Apple's new, simplified Imovie.

Edited by - on

Prospector
Master Marine Consultant

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Canada
3159 Posts

Response Posted - 05/31/2011 : 19:19:53

Seems this is the natural "next step" I am downloading the AVS video editor as we speak. I'll let you know what I think once I get my 32 minute video clipped down to about 45 seconds.

EDIT: After spending a couple hours fiddling with AVS, I found out that the free download version saves with a watermark on the video, and limits the format you can save in. UGH.

Still hunting for a software I can use.

Edited by - Prospector on 06/01/2011 05:42:25

britinusa
Web Editor

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USA
5404 Posts

Response Posted - 06/01/2011 : 04:01:47

The best part of it all is allowing the rest of us to see what you guys are doing while we think about approaching summer.!

Nice job.

Peggy got a Fujifilm FX20 for our wedding aniversary (that's my story and I'm sticking to it

) and it's waterproof to a couple of meters. So I hope that she will get busy with it on our next trip.

Keep those videos coming!

Paul

Edited by - on

DaveR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2015 Posts

Response Posted - 06/01/2011 : 08:25:21

I went ahead and paid for AVS and have been very happy with it. I don't use it a lot but it takes care of most any format you want with audio or video and at least when I bought it it was a buy once for life and not the yearly update/rental type thing so many software makers are trying to use.

Edited by - on

Ryan L
Navigator

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USA
230 Posts

Response Posted - 06/02/2011 : 06:51:54

Nice job!

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Davy J
 Last Week I purchased a GoPro Video/still camera. Someone on another thread asked if anyone had some video from one to post, so I put together a short clip from Sunday's sailing and last Friday's diving.

I mounted it a few different ways, to the boom and mast, and then hoisted it up on the spare jib halyard. And the last section is a clip of us diving at the Blue Heron Bridge in Rivera Beach.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MARGcCotTsE

First off, it's not a good primary camera. If you don't already own a video camera, this one is not as user friendly as a regular camera. However, you can subject the GoPro to conditions you would not want to do to a primary camera. I think you could spend quite a bit of time trying to figure out how to mount this thing above or below the water line for fun video capture. Overall I am pleased with it. It has some features I haven't had time to try out. It has a feature where if you need to mount the camera upside down the video will record upside right. It also has 5 resolution settings with one being even wider than the standard one above.

I purchased it at Best Buy on sale for 239.00 and got the optional display for 79.00. The only disappointments were that I haven't been able to use the display because I need to download some firmware upgrade and the other being it did not come with an SD card. The only other negative is that it records in MP4. Windows Movie Maker and Media Player don't recognize the format. I had to record the GoPro on my regular video camera to edit the clips.

Edited by - on

Scumbucket
1st Mate

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USA
53 Posts

Response Posted - 06/02/2011 : 08:11:20

Or you could download a free file converter and convert the mp4 into a Windows media format...or anything else.

I use this one but there are a host of free file converters out there.

http://www.any-video-converter.com/products/for_video_free/

I have a Flip camera but those GoPros are nice cameras. JimB has some nice shots from his new boat "Sly McFly".

Edited by - on

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5377 Posts

Response Posted - 06/05/2011 : 08:19:10

One suggestion on using "free" downloads:
1. I always download Apps from C/Net (cnet.doc) if they offer it - they certify all their apps to be virus-free. They offer loads of free downloads.

2. If the app is not carried on C/Net, then make sure the supplier is reputable -- a household name. If not, check SNOPES.com or google the supplier's name along with the terms malware, spyware or virus.

3. If you're still not sure, when you download the program, click on "SAVE", not "RUN". Save the App in your Download folder, then afterwards right click on the downloaded .zip or .exe file and your virus checker or spyware checker should appear with a caption "scan with antivirus". Scan the downloaded file with your virus/spyware checker.

There are great free Apps out there for video conversion and lite video editing.

And by the way, if you have a video file that you're unsure what format it contains (MPG, AVI), you can download another free App called "mediainfo" to let you know all about it.

Edited by - on

GaryB
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4304 Posts

Response Posted - 02/09/2012 : 21:15:48

Well I finally broke down and bought a GoPro HD2 Motorsports camera today. Bought it through Amazon and got overnight shipping for $19.95 vs goPro's $45.00 overnight charge. It should be here tomorrow afternoon.

If the weather cooperates Saturday I'll try to get some video and upload for you guys up North.

I wonder if one of those swiveling cup holders would work as a poor mans gimbal to keep the camera level? Anyone have some other ideas?

Edited by - on

Davy J
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1511 Posts

Response Posted - 02/10/2012 : 04:14:44

I've mounted the camera in various locations, but have not found a way to gimbal it yet. I did capture some unique video of us lowering the mast while underway, if I get time I'll try to edit it and post it up.

Edited by - on

Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 02/10/2012 : 10:04:49

Oddly enough, I got a Gopro Hero 2 kit for Christmas. I had intended to buy 1 or 2 "Flip" type mini-HDcamcorders, but the Gopro is definitely well beyond that class. It has some serious limitations for primary shooting compared to my assorted video and still cams, but withstanding physical abuse is not one of them. I look forward to integrating some interesting clips to future video.

edit: I have shot some test scenes and 1080p vs 720p probably means a new computer. An IMac with a quad core I7, 16 gigs of RAM and a Thunderbolt hard drive is looking pretty sweet. A 12 core Mac Pro with 64 gigs and thunderbolt RAID drives would be even sweeter if I won the lottery.

Edited by - Dave5041 on 02/10/2012 10:19:40

av8rOC
Navigator

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USA
121 Posts

Response Posted - 02/10/2012 : 12:27:57

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Davy J
 Last Week I purchased a GoPro Video/still camera. Someone on another thread asked if anyone had some video from one to post, so I put together a short clip from Sunday's sailing and last Friday's diving.

I mounted it a few different ways, to the boom and mast, and then hoisted it up on the spare jib halyard. And the last section is a clip of us diving at the Blue Heron Bridge in Rivera Beach.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MARGcCotTsE

First off, it's not a good primary camera. If you don't already own a video camera, this one is not as user friendly as a regular camera. However, you can subject the GoPro to conditions you would not want to do to a primary camera. I think you could spend quite a bit of time trying to figure out how to mount this thing above or below the water line for fun video capture. Overall I am pleased with it. It has some features I haven't had time to try out. It has a feature where if you need to mount the camera upside down the video will record upside right. It also has 5 resolution settings with one being even wider than the standard one above.

I purchased it at Best Buy on sale for 239.00 and got the optional display for 79.00. The only disappointments were that I haven't been able to use the display because I need to download some firmware upgrade and the other being it did not come with an SD card. The only other negative is that it records in MP4. Windows Movie Maker and Media Player don't recognize the format. I had to record the GoPro on my regular video camera to edit the clips.

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Cool video but uploaded to youtube at 240p is doing the camera a disservice. Check out this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fdT4IEXQpw
Make sure to click the little cog in the bottom right corner and set the player to 1080 or 720p to see what this little camera is really capable of.

Edited by - on

DaveR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2015 Posts

Response Posted - 02/10/2012 : 13:28:57

I recently got a [url="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Smallest-HD-DV-Key-Chain-Camera-808-11-H-264-Racing-DVR-cam-NO-Time-Track-NO-/320844125620?_trksid=p4340.m185&_trkparms=algo%3DSIC.NPJS%26its%3DI%252BC%26itu%3DUA%26otn%3D5%26pmod%3D320826012783%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D6237028875625019619"]High Def Mini Cam[/url] for $34 on Ebay that is outstanding. It does 1280 x 720 H.264 30fps video in .mov format, and has excellent sound. My brother who flies model airplanes turned me on to this. Tiny, simple, cheap. I'll be flying this guy up the halyard!

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uj26JjSiazQ"]
Here's a review[/url]

Edited by - DaveR on 02/10/2012 13:37:09

Davy J
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1511 Posts

Response Posted - 02/10/2012 : 13:49:31

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Cool video but uploaded to youtube at 240p is doing the camera a disservice.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Unfortunately I had to transfer the video to an old camera in order to edit it. WMM won't do mp4. In the process of fixing that with some new editing software. The only other computer I have with WMM live is a little net book without much memory.

Edited by - on

GaryB
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4304 Posts

Response Posted - 02/12/2012 : 19:27:24

DaveR - Are you still happy with AVS?

Anyone else have a recommendation for a good/reliable video editing program?

Edited by - on

Davy J
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1511 Posts

Response Posted - 02/13/2012 : 05:45:14

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Anyone else have a recommendation for a good/reliable video editing program?<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
I picked a program called Pinnacle Studio HD. Unfortunately, I haven't loaded it yet. It looks like it is very similar to WMM.

Edited by - on

DaveR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2015 Posts

Response Posted - 02/13/2012 : 07:34:55

I'm very happy with AVS. I paid for mine though and I believe there's free AVS stuff and or other video editing software that does a good job. [url="http://download.cnet.com/1770-13631_4-0.html?tag=mncol%3Bsort%3Ber&query=video+editing+software&searchtype=downloads&filter=os%3D133|licenseName%3DFree|platform%3DWindows%2CWebware|&filterName=os%3DWindows+7|licenseName%3DFree|platform%3DWindows%2CWebware|&sort=edRating4+asc&rpp=10"]Check these out at cnet.com[/url] if you're in need. Take note of the editor's and the user ratings.

Edited by - DaveR on 02/13/2012 07:36:47

redeye
Master Marine Consultant

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3476 Posts

Response Posted - 02/13/2012 : 10:26:18

Davy.. Thanks for the video .. that was a hoot... Warms me blood in the cold winter days..

I've been wanting to try the Fujifilm finepix xp30 but trying to resist.. usta do lots of video and just can't hardly stand it .. but you never know..

Used pinnacle... long time ago. Probably buy it again for editing.. lots of codex in it.

Edited by - on

redeye
Master Marine Consultant

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3476 Posts

Response Posted - 02/13/2012 : 10:44:08

It's all in the editing.. ( and let a computer do the edit )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mJJg6aW5Lw&feature=related

Edited by - on

redeye
Master Marine Consultant

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3476 Posts

Response Posted - 02/13/2012 : 10:47:14

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkGPnqesSQI&feature=related

love it..

Edited by - on

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