Video Cameras

[Ian M]

Christmas is coming, those wonderful people at HM Revenue and Customs have sent me a nice little cheque, and I have been inspired by Mr Whisper
So, I know very little about video cameras, but I know that I want something that I can use on the RIB. I have seen good things about the GoPro HD, and I now see that there is a GoPro HD2 I think it is. Would I be making a smart move putting my money into one of these? Is there a suitable mounting for use on the A frame etc. Are they rugged? Anyone any experience of this latest model? Shoud I be considering anything else? As always, your thoughts appreciated

[Hightower]

Originally Posted by Ian M

Christmas is coming, those wonderful people at HM Revenue and Customs have sent me a nice little cheque, and I have been inspired by Mr Whisper
So, I know very little about video cameras, but I know that I want something that I can use on the RIB. I have seen good things about the GoPro HD, and I now see that there is a GoPro HD2 I think it is. Would I be making a smart move putting my money into one of these? Is there a suitable mounting for use on the A frame etc. Are they rugged? Anyone any experience of this latest model? Shoud I be considering anything else? As always, your thoughts appreciated

I'm sure I saw a couple of Gopro camera's being used by the Frozen Planet team. If it's good enough for them.........

[Ian Austin]

Hi Ian
I bought myself a Oregon ATC9k Water Proof Action Camera - HTC9K GPS Unit | Oregon Scientific

mine came with a GPS module, have used it couple of times but i am struggling to edit the video's, but that me i think, came with a HDMI cable and it plugs straight into my 42 inch flat screen and the picture is brilliant and it shows all the data as well, speed, G force, etc

Will have another go at editing again when i get my laptop back from being repaired and i will try and bang something on youtube.

Ian

[Andy B]

Originally Posted by Ian M

I have seen good things about the GoPro HD, Are they rugged?

not the most exciting footage but it proves a point i think

Lost GoPro HD Hero Cam found after 2.5 months at Sea.mp4 - YouTube

[Leapy]

Been using a GoPro HD this year on both RIB and canoe. Excellent results. Used the self adhesive mounts on the A frame and console - and canoe body - and all are well stuck. Initially used a lanyard too but don't bother now.

Also got the GoPro race car roll bar mount which is big enough to clamp to A frame tubes - there's two: make sure you get the bigger one if you go this route. Not tried it yet as the self adhesive mounts are so good but it looks robust.

Picture quality is superb and advertised as broadcast quality. They used a shit load of them on "the recent I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here"...results were impressive.

[MarkM]

Use the VIO-HD for general use and the Drift-HD for a second picture "in picture". Both have a sublime footage.
Started with the first VIO (non HD), but at the moment just HD.
For about one year experimenting with setups, different editing programs such as iMovie - Final Cut Express - Final Cut Pro X, audio, etc.
See Mark Mulders's videos on Vimeo for most of the testing.
This autumn I made a 18,5 GB video in HD, that is 3,5 hours, of an outing with SBF-members to Rotterdam. Busy editing and hopefully ready before Christmas. Will put it on the same Vimeo site when finished.

There are lots of problems to handle. Most difficult was power supply. Drift has nice batteries even a long-life one and a power pack. But VIO has only 4 AAA batteries and doesn't show when they are finished, so lots of recordings missing. Made a connection direct to the household battery in the Scorpion but that gave a terrible noise of the electronics and the engine. Finally used a noise filter and foam around the microphone.

Now I have 5 positions for the camera's on the RIB and my head and everything is fine.

[Jimbo]

I've got a GoPro and a GoPro Hero HD, and they're both brilliant. They aren't the smallest of standalone cameras around, but they're so easy to use and well supported by accessories, they're great.

As with all these things, make sure you budget for all the accessories you'll want too - it's easy for them to start sucking up cash on mounting kits, memory cards, batteries, lenses etc. That said, they are very well supported in accessories and you can get clamps for almost everything.

I've done a couple of days this year where we've had professional film crews out with us, and lots of their footage was taken with GoPro's - for example they use them filming bits of Total Wipeout, and if anyone has seen the advert for Rotary Watches (which I'm in...) some of that was filmed with GoPros. Gives you an indication as to the output quality.

Things to consider:
- Buy a spare battery or two, and a standalone charger.
- Spend the money on decent High Speed SD cards; it's pointless sacrificing quality for storage space. You need fast reliable cards.
- Consider your editing computer; the files are BIG and unwieldy.

I've got about 300gb of raw video footage that my computer just isn't fast enough to edit (saving up for a better machine!) and I think the only thing the HD2 adds is High Definition at 60fps rather than 30. Honestly, for most stuff, 720p at 30fps seems quite sufficient, and is much easier to work with.

[Festinghouse]

very good quality - look closely and you will see them being used on tv a lot. mythbusters use them, deadliest catch use a couple for some of their more 'exposed' shots.

[C-NUMB]

I have no experience about the Go Pro so cant compare, but think the Drift hd 170 is good and great value for the money Drift HD170 Stealth Action Camera: Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Leisure

Particularly like the inbuilt screen an remote control. What i don't like(as not a mac user) is the video format MOV when editing, but used AVS and that worked OK.

[MarkM]

Originally Posted by C-NUMB

I have no experience about the Go Pro so cant compare, but think the Drift hd 170 is good and great value for the money Drift HD170 Stealth Action Camera: Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Leisure

Particularly like the inbuilt screen an remote control. What i don't like(as not a mac user) is the video format MOV when editing, but used AVS and that worked OK.

I use MPEG Streamclip, it's free, and you get any format you like. After that you import the clips to Windows or Mac.