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Old 14-02-2011, 15:27   #1
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Go Pro Camera - Reviews ?

I just ran across this website for the Go Pro camera... Some of the sample videos are amazing.

Looks like it would be a great sailing camera. Has anyone used it? I'm curious about it.
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Old 14-02-2011, 15:41   #2
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I have one, used it on my sailing dingy all last summer. I don't have any vids on the web to show, but it is excellent HD wide angle footage.

It's not like your typical point and shoot camera. It's no frills, no LCD screens, no image manipulation. It just shoots video at a wide angle and its waterproof enough to go diving with it. And its cheap (pricewise). You can get a wide range of mounting options geared towards different sports, but for a sailboat, unless you want to mount it permenantly somehwere, just get the tripod mount and use various tripod configurations (i have a c-clamp tripod i got on ebay for $3 and I was able to bungie a mini-tripod to my sailing dingies mast).

don't expect great audio. To get good audio you have to either use it without the waterproof case, or use the 'spash resistant' case that has a hole in the back for better audio. Otherwise, inside the waterproof case, the audio is muffled and doesn't come out well. It's best suited for voice and music over the vid.

Its perfect for anything underwater.
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Old 14-02-2011, 15:55   #3
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I should also mention, I have 2 other waterproof cameras that are standard point and shoot types geared toward beach goers and the like... The gopro is far superior video. But I use the other ones when I don't want such a wide angle shot or I just want to point and shoot (instead of setting up a mount point for the gopro). The other cameras are for putting in the pocket and not worrying about weather, or dingy rides or falling off the dock or anything like that....the gopro is for setting up a really cool shot and taking awesome action footage or for intended submersion in water... I probably wouldn't get one just to use as a normal, everyday use, type of camera.
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Old 14-02-2011, 16:20   #4
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It's not like your typical point and shoot camera. It's no frills, no LCD screens....
GoPro has released an LCD "backpack" add-on for about $80:

GoPro LCD BacPac


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Its perfect for anything underwater.
True dat:


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Old 14-02-2011, 17:07   #5
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Used one back in 2008. It was c... .

There are decent waterproof cameras from most any maker.

b.
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Old 14-02-2011, 17:13   #6
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Used one back in 2008. It was c... .

There are decent waterproof cameras from most any maker.

b.
They didn't become high quality HD video until last year. There is not much else in the under $200 $300 price range with remotely comparable video quality. Also none of the other options are waterproof more than a few feet (30 feet max). There are indeed other waterproof cameras out there, but for that action sports market, there is nothing better short of professional video equipment. For the consumer market, you could do fine with the other options, but if you want the wide angle, and/or the underwater performance, you almost have no other options.
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Old 14-02-2011, 17:39   #7
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I have the HD Hero from GoPro, as well as the LCD expansion pack. The wide range and high video (1080p) quality is astounding. The resulting videos make the viewer feel like they are living the scenes, rather than watching them. It is however,a labor intense camera, in that it is harder to find editing software to accommodate the file types, and you may need to learn to trans-code. It adds time and another layer to getting the end result. If you will use it for underwater use, you may want to get an additional housing to construct a flat front lens, this avoids a distortion from the fisheye lens it comes with. There are instructions you can hunt down on the GoPro forum. Like I said, it is not just a simple point-and-shoot if you want to get the most out of it. More like a cult thing. I love mine though.
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Old 14-02-2011, 17:50   #8
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It is however,a labor intense camera, in that it is harder to find editing software to accommodate the file types, and you may need to learn to trans-code. It adds time and another layer to getting the end result.
The video editing program (Windows Live Moviemaker) that came installed on my Windows 7 machine created the two videos that I posted above. They were my second and third attempts at using the software. Couldn't be much simpler.
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Old 14-02-2011, 17:57   #9
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The video editing program (Windows Live Moviemaker) that came installed on my Windows 7 machine created the two videos that I posted above. They were my second and third attempts at using the software. Couldn't be much simpler.
I was gonna make the same comment...

I use Cyberlink PowerDirector (mostly) with no issues. I'm pretty sure it records in a standard mp4 format that most, if not all, editing software will recognize.

Also, I have to say... In My non-professional opinion, you really want the wide angle for underwater video unless you have a specific application to choose otherwise.
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Old 14-02-2011, 18:21   #10
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My bad, I should have been more specific. If you want to find software that will utilize all the camera has to offer, such as 60FPS and full HD wide format, there are many good softwares out there that will do some but not all and many which require that you trans-code to use. Yes WLMM uses the MP4 format, but it is not a full feature editing program. You for example can't do a smooth super slow motion at 60fps with WLMM. When I installed it, it no longer has the timeline that WMM 6.0 or 2.6 came with, it was a basic edit and upload type of program. Not trashing it, just saying it doesn't handle everything I want to be able to get out of this camera. For non-editing non-obsessive/compulsive types, and we are not referring to me here LOL, it probably does perfectly. I won't speak at all to CyberLink, as I have no experience with it. As I am always looking for new software to edit with, I will put it on my research list, thanks for the mention of it.
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Old 14-02-2011, 18:25   #11
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Oh, yeah forgot about the fisheye underwater use. The wide angle feature and the distortion from having a fisheye lens on the housing are two separate things. You will have a wide angle view even with the flat lens addition to the housing. It just removes the smeary distortion at the edges of the frames caused by the curved lens on the HD waterproof housing.
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Old 14-02-2011, 18:41   #12
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I see, thanks for clarifying that.
It did sound like you were knocking it a bit but obviously we just missed the point...

I haven't noticed the housing distorting the view, but I honestly haven't looked that closely.

Powerdirector is pretty nice from an end-user point of view. It's easy to use but also relatively powerful. It handles slow-mo at 60fps very well and most anything else a consumer camera can throw at it. It is a bit limiting with the built in effects and that type of stuff, it's not 'pro' software, but its a very nice step up from the standard fair, it's worth trying before you buy...
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Old 14-02-2011, 18:48   #13
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Buy one! You cannot beat it for size, price and uses! You can just do so much with them, I own 5, even if you have a big expensive hd camera they are perfect for a b cam. You can get shots with it that you cant from larger cams.

Stick one on the end of a pole when sharks are around etc. Lots of possibilities from it sideband being waterproof.
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Old 14-02-2011, 18:50   #14
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Sideband = size, sorry I'm typing on my iPad.
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Old 14-02-2011, 19:20   #15
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@Chipg- FIVE! I am in awe! I can only dream of the day.... (what do you edit with?) It's only a semi-hijack when you still talk about the same camera, right?
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