ActionCam Wars. Does the UltimateCam exist?
lol that was an accident that it came across that way. I was referring to the sony (saying we have the gopro strips already that we’d just use for the sony) when I said I liked the audio.
The liquid image ego is a great little action cam. It shoots 1080 @ 30fps and 720 @ 30 & 60 fps. It has wifi inbuilt so u can use a smart phone to control its features. Its nice and compact and has a low profile waterproof case sold seperatly. Its battery life is 1.5 -2 hours. The only problem is the lag in the app and you cannot watch in realtime what is being recorded. Its cheap as well like $180 in aus. It also shoots 12 megapixel images. Ive founf the video quality to be great however i have not tried it at the snow yet.
I have the Sony as mentioned before, IMO the sound even with the housing on is better than all the others. Battery life is excellent. Fogging is an issue, I got the antifog strips and it worked awesome but then accidentally left the camera in direct sun for about 30mins and then on the next trip into the water it fogged with the strips in. I would say that’s operator error, can’t expect any cam to cope with that treatment without fogging, air temp 30degrees, water about 19 and add into the mix direct sunlight for 30mins and camera temp was probably more like 40, I don’t like the odds of any cam dealing with the temp contrast without fogging.
Even without a housing some fogging may still occur under those conditions. Though without a housing you greatly reduce the odds.
The “UltimateCam” would not need a housing.
Can you turn audio off with the Sony nthnBG? Capturing Stereo would use a fair bit of the data stream, data that could be allocated to video quality or record time.
Going slo mo at 120fps automatically cuts sound recording out, not sure about it being an option on other settings though. Hoping to get some good footage over this xmas break period when I’m away, will probably have no shortage of willing “stars” to volunteer to have themselves filmed surfing. Funny how everyone turns into a ME ME ME ME type when the camera comes out ha ha! I find myself frustrated to the point of not bothering letting anyone else film cause invariably they have NFI on how to shoot anything and consequentially end up with next to nuthin of myself.
The liquid image ego is a great little action cam. It shoots 1080 @ 30fps and 720 @ 30 & 60 fps. It has wifi inbuilt so u can use a smart phone to control its features. Its nice and compact and has a low profile waterproof case sold seperatly. Its battery life is 1.5 -2 hours. The only problem is the lag in the app and you cannot watch in realtime what is being recorded. Its cheap as well like $180 in aus. It also shoots 12 megapixel images. Ive founf the video quality to be great however i have not tried it at the snow yet.
Pretty much all Cams video quality is good enough these days - just look at phones.
The fast action, video distortion, interference and ability to handle change between dark/light quickly while having good contrast, true colours and remaining sharp are why these specialty cams have found a market.
It’s the user-friendly aspects that are of great significance. Being robust is also a key in this market - if the cam can’t handle massive impact, water, dust and vibration it really can’t be considered an ActionCam. Size and weight are probably #1.
Liquid Image Ego is a good, cheap ActionCam and has aspects of the “UltimateCam” especially size/weight.
Going slo mo at 120fps automatically cuts sound recording out, not sure about it being an option on other settings though. Hoping to get some good footage over this xmas break period when I’m away, will probably have no shortage of willing “stars” to volunteer to have themselves filmed surfing. Funny how everyone turns into a ME ME ME ME type when the camera comes out ha ha! I find myself frustrated to the point of not bothering letting anyone else film cause invariably they have NFI on how to shoot anything and consequentially end up with next to nuthin of myself.
Yep, I hear ya nthn!
Imagine how many videos of other peoples crap footage I edited when I ran headcam rentals in the snow.
Or how many people get me to edit the years of video they have of little Johnny surfing to send out to potential sponsors.
This is one reason I encourage people to pay a professional video/photographer to spend 1hr with them. 1hr with a pro will get better results than years of getting your mates to shoot or thinking because you own the best ActionCam your footage will be as good as the Hero3 promo reel.
In over a decade of working with other photographers in the snow I have less than dozen photo’s of myself (only a few good ones).
Until I developed PoleCam there was a total of 5sec of video of me, over 10years!
People who can shoot good are like people that are good dancers - you either have it or you don’t. I only have the above because occasionally I handed my camera to someone with skill. Even many “pros” with the right gear have no idea.
3rd party accessories - OK, but the downfall is added cost due to GoPro not having 1/4” thread. Like gph3b isn’t pricey enough!?
Sony and Drift will work with any standard tripod attachment. That is 50 years of 3rd party growth! But yeah, I’ll give it that due to it’s popularity.
I brought the $12 tripod mount?? It attaches to any standard tripod.. Including my gorillapod.. I’ll put up a pick when I’m home 
All those little $ purchases add up. That ^ adapter+antifog strips+memory card = $$$ But like anything we love to accessorise.
If I keep my gph3b the first thing I’ll get is a cool stick-on cover to change the appearance.
Of greater concern is the added weight. “UltimateCam” has to be lightweight to the extreme!
Did you see there are aftermarket colourful anodised aluminium bolts to replace the standard black plastic ones for the GP?
Liquid Image Ego
