Look what I just bought! (GoPro HD Hero Camera)

Travis

Travis

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I've wanted one of these for a couple of years and finally bought one! It's a waterproof, shockproof video camera that shoots 1080p video.

GoPro HD Motorsports HERO Camera
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It is on sale at right now at Amazon for $219 with free shipping! The best price I've seen yet. It even beats ebay prices. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002VA57XC/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

I also got a 32gb memory card on sale for better than ebay prices. This will hold 9+ hours of HD video: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001C9P5TO/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Check out this video of what the camera can do:

I plan on mounting it to my helmet when motorcycling and snowmobiling and who knows what else.

This should be fun. Hopefully I'm not too lazy and actually get some cool videos made to show everyone. :bike:

If I had more money, I would have bought another camera and this for HD video and pictures in 3D :yikes:

http://www.amazon.com/GoPro-AHD3D-0...1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1318804807&sr=1-1

Anyone have a GoPro camera? If so, let's see your videos!
 

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Love the go pro, got lots of street bike, surfing, and ski videos taken on it. Probably the best investment of coolness I have actually. I sent them an e-mail asking for a easy to carry diving mount too and they said they will send the request to the R&D team and that it seemed worthwhile to look into. Cool product, cool company. And I paid the retail 299 when it first came out, but 219 is the best price i've ever seen also.
 
gemiller said:
... And I paid the retail 299 when it first came out, but 219 is the best price i've ever seen also.
Click to expand...

I couldn't pass it up! When I was first looking at these, they didn't have the full 1080p ones out yet. Then they came out and I think they were back ordered immediately so no chance of them going on sale. I almost bought one this spring at a motorcycle show for $250 but didn't have the money at the time. Not that I really have money to spare now but oh well! :)
 
I've been wanting one for a while now. My friend who races downhill mountain bike has one. Freaking awesome videos.

This is my favorite Go Pro videos.
 
I have shot a lot of ski and snowboard footage on the 720p version and I must say even the 720 puts out nice footage. I will try and dig up a few of our old videos.
 
Cool, I picked up the new 960 version at the begining of summer myself. They sell at best buy for $180, and they have all the accessories too. I definately would recommend picking up the suction cup mount, I've found it to be the most versatile for different viewing options. The only issue I've had is finding software to edit videos with since they get recorded in mp4 format which doesn't seem to be supported in Windows without additional expensive software.

Heres one of our test videos at the track. Its unedited, with a helmet mount and kinda pointed down to much. But you get a idea of the quality. Really no wind noise to at 100mph plus.

 
Wow that is awesome. Looks good when you change the resolution to 720p and put it on full screen.

I don't think my videos are going to be that interesting. I can't ride like that.

The motorsports package comes with a suction cup mount for windshields and things. Is that the one you're talking about? What mount do you use on your helmet? Have you ever tried it on the side or you helmet instead of on top? Can you feel the camera up there with the wind resistance and extra weight?

I think Camtasia Studio is probably the best bet for editing. I've used it quite a bit and it works well for high definition editing.
 
Travis said:
The motorsports package comes with a suction cup mount for windshields and things. Is that the one you're talking about? What mount do you use on your helmet? Have you ever tried it on the side or you helmet instead of on top? Can you feel the camera up there with the wind resistance and extra weight?
Click to expand...

Yeah, that should be the suction cup mount. We use the suction cup mount on almost everything so far. Mounted it to the gas tank, front windshield, side of bike at full speed. I was pretty concerned it was just going to just blow off, but it held. Just make sure you attach it properly, because I had it wrong the first 2 times. I also recommend safety wiring to you, bike,etc. the first couple of time. Any surface that is smooth (like clear coat, or glass) it works like a champ. Any surface that isn't smooth such as spray paint or matte finish wont hold it and will just fall off. No issues on wind resistance or extra weight though. Can't even tell a difference with typical helmet weight.

Another video, mounted to the gas tank on this one.

 
Bonez said:
The only issue I've had is finding software to edit videos with since they get recorded in mp4 format which doesn't seem to be supported in Windows without additional expensive software.
Click to expand...

Try FFMpeg. It's a multi-platform free program that can convert anything. It is, however, command line only.

FFMPEG Builds

Otherwise, use VLC, again it can convert anything to anything. Another free program.

VLC for Windows

I'm not sure what specific editing software you are using, but Adobe Premier will accept most formats. Hope this helps.

If you have any other questions feel free to post. :thumbsup:
 
Well here's my first edited video with the camera.. Sorry about the crappy music. It's hard to find music that YouTube won't remove from the video that is free and any good. If anyone knows a source for good royalty free music, let me know. My editing isn't anything special either. I'm new to all of this so be nice..

Weeks ago, a buddy was asking me if I had a good video camera to record a burnout he wanted to do the next day. I said no because my GoPro camera wasn't supposed to show up until the next week. I got home and it had arrived! Woo Hoo. What perfect timing! I slapped a mount on my helmet and took a couple of quick test videos while out on a ride to figure out how the camera worked. The next day I filmed this burnout:


Recognize the car? More on the car: http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=260
 
By the way, I figured out why the camera was such a good deal when I bought it. Like two weeks after I got it, they released the GoPro HD Hero 2. :doh: They upgraded the camera a little bit. The good news is the camera cases and all the accessories are still the same so if I decide I have to have the latest and greatest, I will only have to buy the bare camera itself.

Retail on the package I got (HD Motorsports HERO) is still $239.99 and I'm sure they probably go for about $200, so I don't feel like I got too bad of deal. :shrug:
 
For free music try I think it's archive.org. To post music there you sign away your rights, then it's treated like wikipedia pictures more or less.

Also, strip music out of existing youtube vids that have been up a long time. Audacity is the standard free audio recording and editing program.
 
I won a GoPro Hero Wide over a year ago at work. If I've used it 6 times I'd be lucky. I my strap it to the sled this winter or the bike in the spring once it's finished.
 
Woot.com had one a few days ago for $129, sold out pretty fast. Showed it to my son, he figured I was looking to buy and he walks in an early Christmas present so I didn't purchase a second! Looking forward to using it on the bike as well as out offshore on the boat.
 
^ Now that's a deal! If I would have seen that I might have bought another for the 3D setup.

xjwmx, thanks for the tip on archive.org
 
I like that clip. ^^^ :D

I'm getting one from Santa, and I think I will send it back for the new one. I have a need (I think) for the narrower field of view the new one has available.

Cycle Gear has the one Travis got for $200 right now.

John
 
Since I do a little car racing, I bought one of these:

http://www.raceoptics.com/evohd5.php

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It was not much more than the GoPro (which is a damn fine piece, BTW) but it came with a lot more stuff: a built in screen, two batteries, a charger, a power cord to run it from a car, etc. It was $385.00 last year. I was able to record 16 hours of 720p video on a single 32GB SD card.

BTW, in the burnout vid at one point it's hard to tell whether there's more smoke from the exhaust or the tires. :laugh:
 
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