GoPro test

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glenwilson

glenwilson

NRU Heed
NRU Member
15 Mar 2012
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Falkirk, United Kingdom
After playing with some cheap "action" cameras I final clicked the buy button on a GoPro Hero 3+ Black Edition that was on Amazon at a pretty decent price. I have a few different mounts so I wasn't going to have to splash to much cash on accessories for it apart from some spare batteries and memory cards. Main use will be on holiday getting some different shots from those captured on the iPhone or video camera and also some time lapse stuff. Also want to try and get some decent images of the Sparrowhawks that visit the garden which should be possible with a device like this especially as it can be located close to their normal perching spots. Going to need a bit of luck though. So for a first try of it I just placed it on the bird table. It is a bit dark but I'm generally impressed with the quality at 1080p. Tried 4k but the memory card would only cope for a few seconds as it isn't fast enough but the quality was pretty good though obviously not viewed at 4k! So here it is, my first GoPro video...

[video=youtube;HwQfsoSKPVE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwQfsoSKPVE[/video]

Though it is probably a bit of a toy at the moment there are more and more uses for video. Car dealers use it for showing cars in more detail once a potential buyer has seen the pictures on line. Therefore it is worth learning videography as it may be another useful skill to have.
 
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Not sure why it is stopping - think it maybe YouTube or Windows movie maker (though it plays OK on the PC).


Need to investigate video editing software. Need something that will take input from various sources/file types. So that is probably Premier or Adobe Premiere Elements or Final Cut Pro.
 
AW: GoPro test

well what have you payed is it easy to handle, i want buy some camera for Filming my flights arround europe
 
With the small size and the range of video settings it would be useful for that sort of thing. Been reading the manual (I know that is something you shouldn't do :) ) and you can do things like video and take stills at regular intervals. The range of mounts makes it pretty versatile too. There are plenty of tips videos on YouTube which are worth looking at before you buy as they give an idea on how it can be used. I've ordered the video back for a couple of reasons, one you can see what you have set it up to shoot and two, you can use the touch screen to change settings. The only issue I have is that the screen which shows the settings is so small I have to use a magnifying glass to see it! I know my older eyes are not perfect but I do find that hard to see!

I should have a chance to play with it over the next few days and will post some samples up here.

Here is another test from the garden. Used the phone app to control it which worked OK except Wifi connection does drop occasionally. Preview works OK but not when recording.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWFUDHEMtEI&feature=youtube_gdata
 
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AW: Re: GoPro test

it makes in my eyes very good pictures well i look how expensive maybe i order one too thanks for information i will allways look for more tests from you ^^
 
There is a definite difference with the youtube quality and the on-pc quality. I suspect there is a fair bit of compression going on and I'm only using Windows Movie Maker which is also not the best editor. I've fitted a mount to the front of the car and once I get some suitable memory cards (Monday) I'll do a test. On Amazon it was £249 which I think so far is pretty good value for a versatile camera that should cope with many conditions.
 
Another quick(ish) test with the GoPro. Mount was fixed to the right hand side of the front bumper of car and I just filmed at various settings on my journey home from Edinburgh (via Krispy Kreme). I was able to start/stop recording using the phone app via WiFi (when I was stopped).The angle makes the speed look faster than I was going and being set to wide for some of it distances look a bit weird too. Sound isn't great as I was using the full enclosure and not the more open one. Some bits look a bit blocky which is more to do with the compression on YouTube and Windows Movie Maker. So far it is meeting expectations and I want to try some time lapse shots to see how they come out.

[video=youtube;-eGynnyHXDE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eGynnyHXDE&feature=youtube_gdata[/video]
 
AW: GoPro test

i borrow me from a friend gopro for my next tour and make then a video like my mate done at this video:

[video=youtube;iOvWUOBZlVM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOvWUOBZlVM[/video]

[video=youtube;WK1xdwsSqwI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK1xdwsSqwI[/video]
 
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Laka - we'll spotted (or listened). Only vibrates at 2,500 revs which equals 60mph in 5th gear and great for cruising speed! Getting it fixed when back from holiday only £260 for parts. Driven in enough places now that even when abroad don't really notice any difference between the left and right. More fun when you hire a manual car and have to change gear with your right hand rather than left - that can be a bit more fun.

With all the mounts you can get it is a pretty versatile camera. Because of the size it is easy to carry and use even compared to a phone or small video camera. I'll ask the captain of our flight to the US if I can stick mine to the wing of the 777, I'm sure that will be fine. :) Tempted to build a quadcopter for it. One suggestion is to have a couple of external USB battery packs with you on your flights as the internal battery will run out quite quick. A 64GB memory card should have space for about 6 hours of video (depending on what resolution you are shooting at).
 
AW: Re: GoPro test

glenwilson said:
Laka - we'll spotted (or listened). Only vibrates at 2,500 revs which equals 60mph in 5th gear and great for cruising speed! Getting it fixed when back from holiday only £260 for parts. Driven in enough places now that even when abroad don't really notice any difference between the left and right. More fun when you hire a manual car and have to change gear with your right hand rather than left - that can be a bit more fun.

With all the mounts you can get it is a pretty versatile camera. Because of the size it is easy to carry and use even compared to a phone or small video camera. I'll ask the captain of our flight to the US if I can stick mine to the wing of the 777, I'm sure that will be fine. :) Tempted to build a quadcopter for it. One suggestion is to have a couple of external USB battery packs with you on your flights as the internal battery will run out quite quick. A 64GB memory card should have space for about 6 hours of video (depending on what resolution you are shooting at).
Click to expand...

on the wing i dont think that this works, i think if you ask to become a movie from cockpit window i am nearly shure that you can have that. I have to ask what is the best mode for a 1h video of good quality wiht that gopro, what are the limits of the cam
 
Tried some more settings and video quality is truly amazing even in difficult light conditions. A pal suggested 1080P at 60fps using NTSC (using PAL can give some sound sync issues when editing). With a single battery you should be able to get about 3 hours of recording. When I used the iPhone app to monitor the view and control the recording start/stop the battery lasts a lot less because you are using the built -in WiFi. If you were able to run a normal USB lead to it you should be able to get about 8 hours on a 64gb card. Also tried some timelapse using the 7mp setting and that has worked really well, again an external power supply would mean that you can record for much longer.

I have tried 4k recording and that takes a lot of space and unless you can edit in 4k and have a 4k display I don't think it is worth it though it would give you the option to zoom in without losing quality.

I you were thinking of getting one consider an aluminium enclosure for it. You can access all the ports and buttons but you can also use 37mm filters too. Really strong protection (but not water proof). They have also just released a battery pack that goes on the back which may also prove to be useful.
 
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