GoPro HD - does anyone use it for the snow season?

Hey Everyone,

Just wanted to get an idea of how many people use the HD GO PRO Camera on the slopes or even off the slopes for recreational use. Is it worth the money you all spent?

I have heard some pretty good reviews on it and have watched some cool videos. Seems like a lot of fun!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rs_wKkXCwDw

They look awesome!

I was actually going to start a thread about this. I’m looking at getting a GoPro HD too. The quality of the videos I have seen are amazing and people who use the GoPro HD seem to love it. I would think it would be great for surfing/snowboarding.

Does anyone here have one? It would be great to hear about your experience with the camera.

I own the previous model GoPro camera. Its only 5mpxl but has a 170degree lense.

I have to say it is a great camera! I highly recommend getting the HD version. They are so simple to use and because of all the different mounts they are very versatile. I havent used it for snow, other than on my car bonnet filming the drive up to hotham, but have used it a fair bit for mountain biking, kayaking and also on a canyoning trip i did down Mt Buffalo. I will look for the footage i have and post it up so you can have a look. The mtb clips i have i have it attached to the side of my full face helmet and it gives rather smooth footage on rough down hill trails. As i mentioned mine is only the 5mpxl version, and i dont mind the quality, but from what i have seen, the HD looks rad!

I love the super wide lense because it gives great perception of speed.

I am planning on using it this snow season, and i have heaps of cool ideas for shots and angles i can do with it

In my opionion the GoPro is such good value for your $$, and if i had some spare cash at the moment i would be getting the HD version as well.

K2,

That sounds awesome. A friend of mine has one and he uses it for surfing and that type of stuff. I just wanted to get other people’s perspective just in case. I love the fact that you can protect it so easily, now i understand why the wideangle HD lens is worth it as you don’t need to look through a view finder as it captures everything you want.

Hmmm… so much technology to choose from… and so much snowboard gear too… gosh looks like i am going to be working for a life time hahahah! Be worth it though. Look forward to seeing some of your stuff when you have the time.

But if anyone else has footage that is worthwhile, please post!

bugger! just typed this up and accidently clicked forums, thinking i was in a differnt window.

some mountain biking footage i already have on vimeo. All of these were mounted on my full face on the side. i was just guessing the angles as it was the first day i had ever used the camera:

one of my favourite trails because of some awesome boulder rides

some cool wooden features in this one

fun trail with berms

i will try to upload some different stuff now and ill get it up for you. just have to search the computer for the files

YAY! 100th post haha

these things definately look the part. How much are the HD ones going for?

Depending on where you get it from and which kits you get, the HD goes for around $440
When i got mine(non hd) i got it in the motorsports kit which came with a suction cap mount, which is awesome for on your car/surboard/kayak/snowboard. And it also had adhesive mounts which i used on my helmet. You can purchase seperately the helmet straps, or they come with it if you get the Helmet Hero package

sweet, not that bad considering the shots you can capture with it. Definately adding one of them to the kit this winter

Yeah I’ve been interested in getting cam for a while now also,

I thought you might want to check a Contour HD they look cool and the footage they have on their website is good too,
They have 720p and full HD 1080p model

Should check it out
http://vholdr.com/contourhd/helmetcam?q=contourhd/overview

There is also a guy on YouTube that does reviews of different hamlet cams like GoPro and the Pov1.5 which is sort of good because he goes through the hi and low points of each product. but he rides bike not boards so i dont no heres a link to his review of the Contour HD but ull be able to find a review for the GoPro hero and other makes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLK1sOuD9Gc&feature=related
Hope this was helpful;
shaun

GO Pro HD
Many in the Point Of View camera industry believe it’s the best on the market ATM. Everything mentioned above is correct, but here are some things to consider;
Without an LCD to playback what you shoot straight away many users don’t get the right angles and setting it up can takes days of poor footage.
It isn’t tethered - If you take a big tumble and it gets torn off it can easily be lost. I know so many surfers that lost there’s.
IT’S SO UGLY - that square box sticking off the top of your head!
If you hard mount it to your helmet it could become a lever to injure your head.

Contour HD
Not a good track record - It is the highest selling headcam in the world but most were sent back on warranty issues. Last year they lasted a max of 4 weeks use before breaking. THEY ARE NOT WATERPROOF! wet snow or rain will destroy it. Yes they have a housing accessory but then with almost 200g the G forces while boarding can increase the weight to +600g on the side of your head=injury.

I sell headcams as well as renting them. My site is due for an update but if your interested in buying a GoPro, Contour or one of the cams I use V.I.O. PM me.

HD
I believe is marketing hype. To process that large image the cameras start to fall short on exposure and contrast.
Think 12MP stills compared to 5MP. There isn’t much difference if used correctly. The processor does a better job in critical areas if the image size is reduced to SD. Thats why all these cams have SD modes

V.I.O. POV1.5
This is what I use, it’s tough! 90days strapped to my binding last year - never missed a beat and only 28g on your head + LCD instant playback.

We use the Go Pro HD on and off snow. My boyfriend uses it to film for Transfer Magazine as the party snake and for comps. We took it out firstly on opening weekend. Its not so good in dim lighting tho. Awesome fun tho

Hey Myanna and all the BW crew,

Always a bit weird posting for the first time on a forum - everyone wonders who you are, if you’re going to be a pain or a pleasure to have around the place etc etc, so for first post I’ll throw in some info.

I dropped into the local snowboard store, STM (Bondi) this arvo and spoke to Jeremy there who pointed me to the site, who i get to catch up with occasionally. The reason for dropping by was about exactly the subject posted here, sports cameras.

They have different names, which can be confusing. They all used to be called “POV’s” (Point Of View) cameras, until VIO bought out the VIO POV (which spaz mentioned). Then the term POV became associated with one particular camera. Now “GoPro” is becoming a term doing the same thing in many places, through its common useage and being one of the first POV cams people have used. so we chose to use Sports Cameras because it just means the cams we use when we’re doing our sports, as extreme as they may be. Other terms are helcams, on-board cams, first person cmas, auto-cams - the list goes on.

You’ll be seeing some comps and give-aways from us on here in the near future, so keep your eyes peeled for some cool gear and fun ways to win it.

In Oz, most of our snow info, especially for the HD cams has come from the States, as they have only started to come out from late last year. The non HD versions have been out a little longer, like the VIO and GoPro wide, along with a few others. The HD’s are a whole new kettle of fish, as Spaz indicated.
to get value from a HD cam, your computer firstly needs to be able to process MP4 files, which are big and busy. the non HD’s (Low resolution) cams run with MP3 files. From there it is all about the editing and programs to translate the quality from what is on your card to Vimeo (which we prefer) or youtube.

The low temperatures you’re boarding in isn’t a question for the cam’s running with rechargeable Lithium batteries as far as we have seen. with units running from replaceable batteries, it varies with the brand etc.

If you want to see how some GoPro footage turns out, we have some clips on our blog. You can check:
http://sportscamera.tumblr.com/post/784835942/you-dont-hear-much-of-splitboard-riding-but-this for some splitboard snowsurfing

for those on a budget and not wanting HD, The Tachyon XC mini is a great little cam. The mount bracket form the packet was too weak for what we wanted, so we’ve made a custom stainless steel bracket which is sick. the Tachyon handles changing light conditions and low light conditions really well. a lot of freedivers and spear crew like this cam for these reasons. waterproof to 2 atmospheres. footage here:
http://sportscamera.tumblr.com/post/772636260/snowboarding-with-the-tachyon-xc-the-tachyon-xc-is

S/S bracket:
http://sportscamera.tumblr.com/post/759825334/at-www-sportscamera-com-au-we-like-to-innovate-and

On the High tech end there is the Predator, one tough mofo:
http://sportscamera.tumblr.com/post/772651452/predator-vx360-another-of-the-water-and-snow-proof

spaz mentioned rear screen viewing. damn handy fo sure. The BIG news is the New Oregon 9K coming out next week. Rear view screen, HD, G-force sensor, 20m water resistant, 130 degree lens, optional GPS sensor to track where you’ve been on google Earth….. This cam sounds more advanced than anything we’ve seen - we’re hanging to get hold of it next week and run it through its paces in the snow from the 18th onwards.
if you want to see this baby, it’s up on our blog at http://sportscamera.tumblr.com/post/774796207/the-latest-hd-cam-oregons-9k-hd-is-about-to-hit and through that you can link back to ur main website if you would like.

We really want to offer the best info and products to film your riding, so be sure to hit us up with questions and feedback and we’ll do our best to help out wherever we can, along with the other informed folks on here. We’re a small company (3 of us) based in Sydney and delivery by express post is included with all items so it’s to you ASAP, with full warranty and back-up. Spaz sells GoPro’s and VIO’s (that’s correct yeah Spaz?) so we’re happy to cover the other brands for you lot that Spaz doesn’t carry, seeing as were the new crew on the block
Cheers,
Doc

Great first post Doc and welcome to the forums

that oregon thing looks the business, I’m assuming it’ll be a bit more costly than the gopro hd hero given the in built screen?

Big ups for the welcome Finney

If ya go to http://www.sportscamera.com.au/atc9k-action-camera-hd-p-388.html you’ll see the 9K is only $399 delivered from us, so surprisingly in the same ball park as the GoProHd - depending which GoPro pack you get it is in fact a little less than 2 of the packs (motorsport and helmet) and identical in price to the HD surf Hero pack and slightly more than the Naked, even though it has the screen - we’re pretty stoked with that. 

We haven’t been given a price on the optional GPS for the 9K unit yet, but we’re guessing around the $80 mark (ish) for folks who want that. Pretty amped the G-force sensor is included standard, that is going to inspire some madness, haha

Welcome Doc,

http://www.sportscamera.com.au have been around for a while and from memory they are one of the first action camera businesses in the country so although Doc is calling himself the NKOTB they really do have years of experience.

My business (SNOcam) is more about Head/actioncam Rental, Video Production and Photography I sell headcams as well and try to offer the best deals I can. VIO is the unit I use for rental and have a “try then buy” deal on hire costs. The business is struggling only because of a personal crisis (I run everything) and is gaining momentum as winter progresses and my time increases. I’m in Thredbo 99% of winter and have delivery to Jindabyne so if you want to try out a hands free video camera contact me.

.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

http://www.snocam.com.au
-website needs an update
-daily vidz start today!
(I have to fix the embed for my daily run page on boardworld.com.au) but have to go for a slide first!

Cheers Spaz

Yeah we’ve been around for a while, just new on here , props for the rep!

Man, hope it all pans out for the best your end, always hectic going through the tough stuff, hope your business cranks as the snow rolls in!

The Oregon 9K HD’s have just landed at our door - the initial footage is looking pretty sweet. We’re off to the white stuff this weekend, so will bring footage, reports and a heap of stoke back with us next week!