New GoPro Hero 2
Read this first…...
This camera is superior than others in having the lcd screen and small profile camera head, but don’t be fooled into purchasing anything from V.I.O. or it may cost you.Price: costs a LOT more than the competitorsAccessories: you will need them and WOW will you have to pay top dollar to get them. [$] just for a mounting kit.Repairs: They don’t do them. Something breaks, buy a new one.Firmware updates: You have to BUY them too!Professionalism: Ended up getting the wrong extension cord from their website because it was incorrectly labeled as compatible for my camera. Also took almost a week to get my email to customer service answered.Design flaws: POV1.0 Camera head opened under normal use. Head can be easily unscrewed when removing the a/v cable because it is not fixed closed. (it is threaded to open for no apparent reason and attached to where the a/v cable attaches. If camera head twists open, the fixed wiring will pull away from components and render the camera head useless. ([$] replacement part). No warning in the instruction manual and they do not repair or have refurbished parts. Customer service first said the product was used improperly. When I disputed this and it was clear that it opened while used as directed, the supervisor intervened and stated that the user tampered with the product and voided the warranty. This design flaw was fixed for the POV1.5 when they created the tethered head, but they claim this change was done to “make the camera easier to use” not because of a design flaw. Design Flaw #2: Camera will not stay secure in the mount on its own. I had to add tape around the body of the camera to secure it tighter in the mount so that it would stay fixed upright. Camera head would not stay upright on my helmet and video would be ruined because camera was shooting at a crooked angle.There are plenty of helmet cameras out on the market for half the price. For the price of VIO cameras, there should be much better customer service. This is not the case.
Post stuff that’s UP TO DATE!!!! ^^ that is at least 2 years old and written by a disgruntled consumer.
The VIO is built for getting the best footage in this market and is more at home in the hands of professional when setting it up.
The missleading named GoPro is overpriced.
Big call Spaz
Yeah, I only just realized that you have tested both the VIO and the GoPro, Warren!!!!!
What’s ya opinion on ease of use?????
Yes mate i have…....
I didn’t like the VIO for a number of reasons….
1. It has a cord that runs to the camera
2. If you wanted to swap with ya mate, you had to change the setup
3. Heavy
4. The battreys are shit house and dont last long
5. I dont like it lolI could be here for days going on.
point 4. They use AA batteries and have nothing to do with the camera. (If the person who bought the batteries got the wrong ones it’s hardly cameras fault - old rechargeable NiMH don’t last nearly as long as Lithium)
How about point 6. User stuffed up and you didn’t capture any footage - because stop on the remote wasn’t pressed to save it, or files were deleted or, or, or…. Resulting in you not getting to experience the great quality footage vio captures.
But most importantly point 7. The person who supplied you the vio - only 20 minutes earlier had dislocated, fractured bones and ruptured ligaments in his knee and was in no mind-set to explain the best ways to use it or to have it set up correctly before handing it over, (I believe I went to great lengths to correct any issues that came up and I walked several km’s through Thredbo that day (on a busted knee, without pain killers, before getting to the doctor) to give you new batteries (and a spare set), different mounts- to try different set ups and to collect the camera that night and burn a data dvd at your accommodation. Then meet the next morning (because you where unavailable when I got to the accom). i think I charged you $30 for the 24hrs you had the camera?
I only found out days later (when checking memory cards) that your memory card had only a few seconds of footage on it. And have always meant to ask you what happened or why you didn’t tell me there was no footage.
Granted, vio does have flaws. Every product does. Have you never had a problem with GoPro (fogging, lost footage, flat battery)?
My criticism to your post Warren, is that you are comparing vio’s product against something that wasn’t available until 12 months later and even what they released then was replaced by 3 newer models before the GoPro you used.
The debate goes on….
to try and clear this up;
Quality of Footage Vs Ruggedness V’s Ease of Use V’s Price
Anything else we should add before I start a poll of what is most important.
Review of the Drift!!!!!!
At the pace of this industry parts of that review are out of date - especially it’s “wrap-up” and comparison to GoPro regarding price. The price is the only thing they have an issue with (and my point re:GoPro) - both DriftHD and GP2 are the same rrp.
http://www.helmetcamlive.com/VIO_POV_1_5m_Helmet_Cam_p/viopov15m.htm
My mate is selling his for $200, should i be buying it??
Don’t buy it because I will!!!!!! Give his details.
I sold a few in June for $200 and have regretted it ever since. I swapped one back for a POV.HD but now he wants the POV1.5 returned.
Another customer of mine (professional drag racer and award winning show car builder) owns a POV1.5 and a POV.HD and I’ve lent him another POV.HD while he waits for me to repair a POV1.5 because he prefers the 1.5
I collect any damaged or second hand POV1.5 I can - vio no longer build them and the superior quality of this now 6year old camera is still hard to beat. It set the bench mark for all HeadCams.
Review of the Drift!!!!!!
At the pace of this industry parts of that review are out of date - especially it’s “wrap-up” and comparison to GoPro regarding price. The price is the only thing they have an issue with (and my point re:GoPro) - both DriftHD and GP2 are the same rrp.
They would hardly recommend buyin the GoPro solely on price!!!!!
All of the people that have done these reviews obviously think that the GoPro is a great camera, that delivers what it was designed to deliver!!!!!
How about point 6. User stuffed up and you didn’t capture any footage - because stop on the remote wasn’t pressed to save it, or files were deleted or, or, or…. Resulting in you not getting to experience the great quality footage vio captures.
Granted that I have never used a VIO personally, again I reiterate the “ease of use” of the GoPro!!!!!
Even Warren can use the GoPro successfully!!!!!
Shot entirely on the GoPro!!!!! (For those that have not seen it before)
darn it!
All those arguments!
Now I can’t decide :/
In defence of the drift, the review linked above was based on a early pre-production model and many of the problems have apparently been rectified info sourced from here http://driftinnovation.com/drift-camera-reviews/engadget-review/
I’m still sitting on the fence between the drift hd (plus waterproof case) and gopro 2 (plus antifog kit and tripod mount) I think for consumers i.e not pros either will do the job just fine. I like the feature set of the drift more and if I can get video quality like this out of it I will be happy
Having said that you have to take videos posted on manufacturers website with a grain of salt as we don’t know how much video processing they have been through.
And from that reply to Engadget’s Review, Drift Innovations fail to be truly honest themselves!!!!!
“Drift’s main points of differentiation compared to the other competitors in the market are the built-in LCD screen and the wireless remote. These two features are only offered in other cameras as an aftermarket accessory, not as built-in functionality as with the Drift HD. Often, when the price of the competitors’ aftermarket accessories is combined with that of the camera, the final price easily exceeds the cost of the Drift HD all-inclusive package.”
The Drift isn’t water proof, and ya still have to buy an after market “colostomy bag” for it to be able to go as far as a backyard swimmin pool!!!!! A MAJOR negative in comparison to a viewfinder and remote (That are/will be available if so desired with the GoPro), in my honest opinion!!!!!
The Drift HD is waterproof enough to be used in the snow and light water activities without a case. When you need to get it really wet i.e surfing they have a proper waterproof casing available for around $50-$60 the “colostomy bag” was for the older 170 and stealth cameras
In my situation if I go with a drift HD I’m also going to have to buy the waterproof case
If I buy the GP2 I’m going to need to buy the antifog strips, tripod mount and eventually the wireless backpack to makeup for no remote/lcd.
So either option is going to require additional $$ over the intitial purchase price it’s just a matter of working out which one suits my needs best.
My mistake, gotta go easy on me for that one!!!!! Even Drift themselves have overlooked that?????
From the FAQ’s on the Drift site,
How waterproof is the camera?
The Drift HD is designed to be splash-proof, dust-proof, weatherproof, and dunk-proof but not designed to be underwater for sustained periods of time. For most users this level of waterproof-ness is more than adequate. For those users who would like to use the camera in water sports or for scuba/snorkeling an aftermarket waterproof pouch available that may be suitable for the Drift range.
Oh, and just out of curiosity, how is this mounted to a surfboard?????
My mistake, gotta go easy on me for that one!!!!! Even Drift themselves have overlooked that?????
From the FAQ’s on the Drift site,
How waterproof is the camera?
The Drift HD is designed to be splash-proof, dust-proof, weatherproof, and dunk-proof but not designed to be underwater for sustained periods of time. For most users this level of waterproof-ness is more than adequate. For those users who would like to use the camera in water sports or for scuba/snorkeling an aftermarket waterproof pouch available that may be suitable for the Drift range.Oh, and just out of curiosity, how is this mounted to a surfboard?????
Haha I’ll let you off on that one. Yeah always be wary of company websites they probably have the work experience guy updating the details.
The drift comes with a tripod mounting screw that is compatible with standard camera accessories (would need to double check you can still use this with with waterproof case) so I would plan to just combine it with a standard $3 camera suction cup mount i.e I would copy gopros method.
My mistake, gotta go easy on me for that one!!!!! Even Drift themselves have overlooked that?????
From the FAQ’s on the Drift site,
How waterproof is the camera?
The Drift HD is designed to be splash-proof, dust-proof, weatherproof, and dunk-proof but not designed to be underwater for sustained periods of time. For most users this level of waterproof-ness is more than adequate. For those users who would like to use the camera in water sports or for scuba/snorkeling an aftermarket waterproof pouch available that may be suitable for the Drift range.Oh, and just out of curiosity, how is this mounted to a surfboard?????
Haha I’ll let you off on that one. Yeah always be wary of company websites they probably have the work experience guy updating the details.
The drift comes with a tripod mounting screw that is compatible with standard camera accessories (would need to double check you can still use this with with waterproof case) so I would plan to just combine it with a standard camera suction cup mount i.e I would copy gopros method
I have the suction cup mount (Came with my GoPro in the Motor Sports kit), and I would NEVER use it on my surfboard!!!!!
I have the 3M mounting on my Longboard as I would only mount the cam on it on a smaller day, and I have the FCS plug setup in my shortboard and also on my pole that I use for the snow!!!!! (My pole cost me under $20 to build, and easy as)
This is the vid showing my pole and my GoPro HD (Not the HERO2) that was used at the Boardworld Shred!!!!! (I’ll put some pics up of the pole, as I have to dust it off for my trip to Whistler anyway!!!!!)