Has GoPro taken a dive?????
GoPro uses the housing as a standard go anywhere do anything setup!!!!! The reason why it outsells cameras like DRIFT!!!!!
I think maybe the irony is lost on you, as when you buy a “sports” camera in Australia you would think that it was made to go into the surf without paying extra for a housing!!!!!
Once again this is more typical of your hatred toward GoPro!!!!!
Am I incorrect that your last sentence says that I have a “hatred toward GoPro”?
The image quality of GP2 is on par with cheaper, more aesthetic and more user friendly competitors.
While there are many cameras better than GP2 in the sub $700 category.
GoPro being the most overrated camera in the world is supported by every pro camera operator I’ve met. Having the balls to publicly have that opinion has landed me some high paying jobs and elevated me to one of the most respected persons in the country for On Board Video Systems.
But I digress; this thread is about the flat lens for the GoPro water housing which is a necessary add on for underwater videography, without it the GoPro housings design is for above water sport use.
I have a problem with the Australian distributor and feel sorry (and somewhat responsible) for the mentality of consumers who have no idea that GoPro not only have competitors but they are cheaper and better.
So once again, if you want to go underwater with most of the competitors products you STILL have to buy a suitable housing to do so!!!!!
But for some reason you see this as a flaw with GoPro and not with any of the other brands?????
I call things as I see them!!!!!
Contour, drift, vio….. In fact almost all headcams can go underwater without a housing. Giving benefit that the intention was in regard to diving or surfing (only 5% of Australians surf not as many dive - do you believe every Australian who buys an action cam needs it to shoot underwater? Based on sales figures it would seem only 5% do!
With GoPro if you want that footage to be clear you have to replace the lens on the housing.
So to shoot clear underwater footage;
GP2 = $450
Drift = $280
Contour = $250
Vio = $700
I’ve never disputed you don’t call it the way you see it, only that you see it through an armature lens. The way you use your camera and edit your footage may make readers think your opinion is professional in nature. You talk the talk of a pro but you don’t walk the walk. Yet you would have Boardworld readers believe you know what your talking about.
I stand by my professional knowledge with the backing of this industry. Yet you seem content to challenge what I say because you see it differently. That is fine, but posts you make in this regard should be tagged with the disclaimer of you opinion being amature.
I have never once stated that I am a professional, on the contrary I have made it quite clear that I am far from it!
And again just so the readers know the truth, if you choose to use a GoPro in the surf you do not need to purchase a new housing, yet if you choose to use a Drift/Contour/VIO you will need to purchase a housing!
If you choose to shoot footage underwater the above statement still holds true!!!!! But if you want extra clarity from the GoPro, then you have to by the extra housing!
Amateur or Professional this is fact!
But I’m not a professional!
edited by spaz
I think you only have to look at the big action film makers to see the honest answer to both of your opinions here. Go along to a screening of the Banff Mountain Film Festival and see how many companies use GoPro in films, not saying they dont use other products but in a lot they use gopro. kayaking, downhill Mtb, moto-x, rally drivers, climbers, divers, surfers, iceclimbers, canyoning…. so many use the gopro it’s not funny. Go over to the TGR forums and you will see a lot of people using other products also, because for snow based filming you dont actually need a waterproof camera, but at a minimum you want something that will withstand a bit of abuse.
i prefer the quality i get from my 5 year old mini dv to any of the action cams. sure the capture process is a drag, but it looks better.
I chose the Gopro simply because of it’s versatility, small size, waterproofness, heavy dutiness and the big clincher…the fact i can drag the files off it straight into my editor without having to waste time converting files like i did with the VIO or capturing like my minidv.
Banger that was true 12months ago.
Today the story is quite different.
This is the marketing strategy GoPro employed since early 2010. Give action sports productions their cameras so they are seen being used and influence the target customer.
Many of the production companies give more consideration to costs and stunts. Why would they pay for something they get for free. Before GoPro gave away cameras what did these companies use for getting onboard footage.
Take TV shows like TopGear who employe specialist to get such footage.
While miniDV gets better results (it’s 480mbs vs 10mbs) this is also why vio1.5 needs compression (vioHD does not), miniDV has mechanical drives that fail in high vibration environments.
Top Gear used pov1 until GoPro flooded the market. It’s a story of quantity over quality.
For 6 months I wanted to run GoPro - they were the best for a short period.
Today it is not the case, nor is it the cheapest or most convienient. But it is the most common.
90% of people don’t know other manufacturers exist and believe that any onboard footage is GoPro.
It has become such a generic term that I often see GoPro given credit in productions it simply was never used.
This will be my last post in this thread, as my only intention in posting it was to alert GoPro users of a new accessory out on the market!!!!! Not a shit fight!!!!!
But I would like to know why my price comparison was omitted from my post above?????
Sounds like it comes down to marketing to me.
Not dissimilar to the great Mac v PC arguments.
Horses for courses.
So to shoot clear underwater footage;
GP2 = $450
Drift = $280
Contour = $250
Vio = $700
to what depth for each of these? seeing how this thread is on DIVE housing?
My initial post included depths, but I removed it before posting.
GoPro 60m (196’) considered the maximum depth a person can dive, at 70m oxygen is toxic.
Drift 30m (98’)
Contour 20m (65’)
VIO 10m (33’)
Note these are claimed depths by manufacturers as International Protection Rating (IPR) doesn’t offer depth.
edit to correct Drift depth
Drift 20m (65’)
Note these are claimed depths by manufacturers as International Protection Rating (IPR) doesn’t offer depth.
I was under the impression the drift waterproof housing was rated at 30m???
http://driftinnovation.com/accessory/drift-hd-waterproof-case/
“Allows you to take your Drift HD or HD720 action camera down to a depth of 30m. Perfect for all your water adventures including surfing, wakeboarding, windsurfing and scuba diving.”
Sounds like it comes down to marketing to me.
Not dissimilar to the great Mac v PC arguments.
Horses for courses.
Your right Azz, I’m not going to market a brand I can’t supply BUT I’m also not going to steer BWM in the wrong direction to make money.
At the price I offer BWM I make $10 per sale (hardly worth it). I’m more focused on providing accurate information despite branding or popular opinion of a product.
If the Australian supplier for GoPro where more accommodating it would be easier for me to promote it. Even in that position I still wouldn’t rate it above Drift.
I feel the Drift camera is the best all rounder in this market (price, performance, support)
VIO has the best image and leads industry trends.
Contour is the dark horse but has an up and down history.
GoPro has the best marketing.
With more research there are a dozen other brands that need including, but I wont comment on them until I get to test the product.
Didn’t Travis Rice just sign with Contour? I thought I heard that somewhere
yeah him and a few other big names have signed with them, I think.