Questions about GoPro camera

[williegoat]

It doesn't appear to have a viewfinder, so when you mount it to your car/bike/helmet/whatever, how do you know that it is aimed properly? Do you just point and guess?

Is the add-on LCD screen essential?

The HD Motorsports Hero is on sale, and the price is right, so I am thinking about buying one. Any cautions, suggestions or hints from those who use them?

 

[Jabaniz]

im not too impressed with my gopro, as far as picture quality and little glitches Ive had, had to send it back right out of the box when i first got it. you shouldn't need the lcd, for the most it has a real wide field of view almost fish eye style, if its facing forward you should get what you want.

 

[netty2424]

In my opinion yes the LCD screen is necessary. Speaking from experience, I recently went on a ride and had a great stretch ahead of us. Couple buddies, lots of turns, etc. When I got home, that stretch showed my front tire and the road directly in front of the tire. Wasted footage.

I mounted it on my helmet and just set it up at the wrong angle. Although an expensive upgrade, in my opinion it's mandatory. If you're just wasting footage the cameras worthless.

im not too impressed with my gopro, as far as picture quality

Did you get the picture quality worked out once you got a new one. If that cameras known for anything it's the full 1080p HD resolution. Have you adjusted the settings?

 

[dave_xb12r]

Right now, the Contour HD GPS or Pro is the way to go. With it being bluetooth enabled, it allows you to pair it with your iPhone or droid for a live view of what the camera is seeing. No on board LCDs required.
But for the money, GoPros are awesome. Picture quality is better than I expected and it's really small. The only down side of the gopro is the image processing doesn't happen at once, it goes line by line vertically. So bumpy situations result in wavy picture. The angle of viewing is also wider than I would choose.

 

[shining]

The HD Motorsports Hero is on sale, and the price is right

My son bought his here: Is that a comparable price?
Once you do a few small test runs, you'll figure where the camera needs to go. I would suggest a 32 gig memory card (if you do long trips), and a battery upgrade.
Good luck.

 

[netty2424]

The only down side of the gopro is the image processing doesn't happen at once, it goes line by line vertically. So bumpy situations result in wavy picture.

Dave I noticed this in several shots on my pro, didn't know that was the cause. It helps a little bit how it's mounted which can help absorb some of those shock waves. The first time I used the camera, I attached it to the tank cover using the suction cup/tower(not sure what it's called) so you could see the cluster in the view and the vibrations from heavy bumps did cause some disturbance. Since then, I've mounted it to my helmet and it's all but eliminated that. So I guess it really just depends on what type of shot we're going for.

I don't know about other 1080 cameras, but another downside of the high resolution is the amount of time it takes to upload to a converter like real player. Im far from an expert on these cameras so I may not be using the correct software/converters, but on a 20 minute video it can take well over 2.5 hours to convert it or upload it.

Dont mean to hijack, but it may help others with their pro. Any suggestions?

 

[netty2424]

Oh and Cyclegear.com has the gopro hero hd and LCD screen on sale, 20% of, but it looks like that sale ends tonight, 5/30!

 

[williegoat]

Several places, including Cycle Gear, have been advertising it at $239.99. But I now see that CG has gone back up.

 

[netty2424]

Hey forgot to mention, I purchased mine before realizing puzzled's Pink Gorilla was a form sponsor, but he may have them as well if others are looking for them! Might shoot him a line.

Sorry, trying to support form sponsors.

 

[Bossanova]

Cycle Gear has all GoPro stuff, including accessories, 20% off right now but I think it ends today.

 

[anrkizm95]

Right now, the Contour HD GPS or Pro is the way to go.

[up][up][up]

 

[williegoat]

Hey forgot to mention, I purchased mine before realizing puzzled's Pink Gorilla was a form sponsor, but he may have them as well if others are looking for them! Might shoot him a line.

Sorry, trying to support form sponsors.

Don't apologize, I would rather buy from a fellow Bueller and forum sponsor, but a search did not come up with any cameras on his site.

 

[squidbuellie]

i have no real complaints about my gopro the only complaint that i have it the amount of fiddling you have to do with the settings to get the best picture with the least amount of jelloing. oh and the lcd screen $70 well spent(takes the guess work out.

 

[williegoat]

oh and the lcd screen $70 well spent(takes the guess work out.

Thanks, that was what I wondered about.

 

[Cdavis1125]

I don't have the lcd back, never been an issue.
I have had issues with it turning off on its own, I think it's from overheating.

I generally set mine for 720/60, I think the video comes out better with the higher frame rate, and it seems to help with the jello issues.

 

[Loki]

My exp with the gopro is that it is SUPER picky with SD card ESP!!!!! with cards 32gb. Be careful and make sure you check to see if others had success with the 32gb card before or make sure its class 10.