GoPro HD Hero 960

[Bossanova]

Costco is selling these for $179.99 if anyone is interested. This is actually the recommended retail per the GoPro website but comes with extract lens covers and extra mounts. From what I can tell it is the same as the $299 HD Motorsport Hero but without some minor features.

The HD HERO 960 features the same professional grade 960p, 720p and 480p (WVGA) video & 5MP timelapse photo modes, and incredible sound recording system as its big brother, the original HD HERO camera.

Missing from the HD HERO 960 are 720p @ 60fps, 1080p video, and the HERO BUS expansion port in the rear of the camera that will let you take advantage of GoPro's forthcoming BacPac accessories - LCD screen & Battery Extension - both important features for filmmaking hobbyists & professional videographers that are compatible with the original HD HERO camera.

So, is this a good deal?

 

[chrispudd]

Effin' sweet! I was just looking into those a couple weeks ago, also saw ad on tv of a guy dirbiking with one. Looks like a good product!

 

[Jabaniz]

ive got a motorsports hero and not all that impressed by it, but if it would have only cost 179.99 it would be worth it

 

[delta one]

on a motorcycle you will want to run the highest frame rate available and that drops your quality down pretty low

* 960p = 1280x960 pixels (4:3), 30 fps, 12 Mbit/s data rate
* 720p = 1280x720 pixels (16:9), 30 fps, 8 Mbit/s data rate
* WVGA = 848x480 pixels (16:9), 60 fps, 8 Mbit/s data rate

not sure if it would be worth it IMO

 

[misternikko]

^he has a point BUT 30fps is not bad.

60fps tends to look a little unnatural.

I do agree with you however that it seems a little on the $$$ side. That is unless, you get some awesome sound...to me the problem with mounted AV equipment has always been the shitty wind noise.

 

[misternikko]

wow but its waterproof!! very kool! hook it up boss, xmas is right around the corner lol.

when we getting together to snap some photos?

 

[Bossanova]

They only had 6 of em so I bought it but haven't opened it yet (still might return it).
Should be able to turn the audio off??
So 30fps is better than 60? I always thought it was the other way...

 

[bttrfngrz]

there's two settings for the gopro's mic regular and reduced. i find them to work well.

 

[driftingswiftly]

No 30fps is not necassarly "better" than 60. Deltaone is right, as usual, you would ideally have as many frames as possible for shooting fast and vibrating things like motorcycles. 2 drawbacks tho, the first is like he said, you have to balance it with resolution on this camera. The second is that most people want to do something with their videos like post them online. Almost all sites (youtube, vimeo, facebook) will convert your video so 30fps anyway. They also compress and otherwise molest your videos. This is frustrating, but part of the game. The biggest advantage to 60fps is smoother slomo. All-in-all they are pretty ok cameras for what they are. imo their most inciting features are their size and waterproof housing.

 

[misternikko]

60 is not better than 30 and 30 is not better than 60. Hollywood films are done at 24fps. Depends what you are shooting.

I said unnatural because 60fps is so smooth that it looks odd. I'll show u what I mean one day.

I only use 60 for slomo since there is more data/frames to slow it down.

 

[stang65pony]

i plan on getting the 1080 one. what fps does that shoot at? any problems with those or posting to youtube and stuff?

 

[driftingswiftly]

GoPro site.
They have the specs here for the 1080 one. I don't think there are issues with youtube or anything. loads of people post them. You should know tho that for $300 you can get a regular camcorder that shoots full hd as well and has much better image quality. The GoPro does fill a niche tho, so if thats what you're looking for, I say do it! I wanna see more Buell videos being made!

 

[stang65pony]

I already have a 1080p hd camcorder thats handheld. Just wish my computer was advanced enough. Lol. I should be getting some pinnacle software for christmas though. And my hand held isn't waterproof nor sand and element proof which is a big selling point.

 

[delta one]

I wonder how well that lens clears of water when riding in the rain...
I'm betting the camera isn't very useful at that point, but not having to worry about it an nearly any environment is still a big plus.
I like the HD version better as it will do 720p at 60fps

 

[kyle_dewald]

There is a difference between the 3 or 4 HD models they have. The main difference is the $300 model takes 60fps at 720p ad the $179 model only does 30fps at 720p

 

[delta one]

And the $179 model won't do 1080p at all

 

[delta one]

I said unnatural because 60fps is so smooth that it looks odd. I'll show u what I mean one day.

From my understanding this is due more to pulldown (or lack of) than anything else

 

[driftingswiftly]

Im not sure how 60fps could look unnatural. And whats pulldown? Enlighten me!

 

[delta one]

Pulldown (actually called 3:2 pulldown or 2:3 pulldown) is a method of matching frame rates of video input to refresh rates of tv sets when they are not divisible. It can make some frames repeat.
If your video is 3fps and your tv refreshes 4 times a second the frame changes don't match up, what pulldown does I'd repeats one of those frames so that there are now 4 video grams to display
Video out 1,2,3
Tv out 1,2,3,4
Corrected video out 1,2,2,3

I'll see if I can find an article on it once I have my computer in front of me, I'm on my phone right now (does that make me a BuellXB.com addict?)

 

[driftingswiftly]

I'll answer your question first. Yes.
I guess I just never knew what it was called that. The same thing happens when you speed up and slow down a video. Its normally not too noticeable, but sometimes you can see a chop here or there.