So I've chatted and I've browsed. Looks like the 960 might be the smart money. Maybe even 2 for setup in the middle of the speedy run at Ivanpah, or to run on 2 of the buggies for multiple perspective movies. I'm not my usual early adopter on these so I'm deferring some research to you guys that have been down the path. Let me know the camera, mounts, accessories and such that have worked best for you and what you like/dislike about your choices. I hope to give a frequent window into Ivanpah riding with this/these camera(s).

.......I have 3 GoPros ...... all HD hero .......
960 is good ..... however .... 1080 is a standard those days ..... the only problem is ....... editing ...... I have Mac with 8 processors and when editing 1080 footage all of them are screaming ..... when you process video for stabilization ... it takes forever ... less powerful computer .... more hours to wait ......
HD space is another issue .... I have 4 TB + 8 external..... so ... I am not thinking about running out of space ...... but every HD recorded session takes its space ...... going thru recorded video and edit takes lots of time ..... every 5 min clip that I do takes up to 4h without processing time .....

..... about mounts ....
.... I think ... best option is to buy adapter that allows mount GoPro on standard camera mounts ... then you have way more options ......and cheaper then GoPro specific .....
and Kite mount for GoPro is a must ..... If you see andy of my videos you know I use it often .......

Meh ... 1080 is over-rated. If it's mounted on anything that vibrates - even at a low frequency - you'll get bad jelly-fishing of the image. Oddly enough, even though 960p is still only 30fps, I've yet to see it bothered by vibration at all. 960 is also the "tallest" resolution, so you get a lot more.

If I were going to buy 2 cameras, I'd get a GoPro (for it's known qualities, ultimate waterproofness and miriad mount options) and a Contour something ... or any other of the action cams :D

Kober - you stabilizing with Vegas? Man is that slow - overly-slow, considering how bad a job it does. Vdub is quicker and better but the best bang for stabilization buck is that vReveal software.

+ one for hd hero. Add the mounts grab bag, and the handle bar (roll bar?) mount. The grab bag will let you improvise alot. I do have the tripod mount, but have yet to use it. Also, I'm pretty well done with helmet/pov mounts as the footage is too broken up.

@kober- I haven't seen recent threads re kite mounts. What are you using?

I shoot in 960 because I like the fisheye perspective and it does cut down on the shake as well. Nice to be able to go 1080 if that won't be an issue, though.

edit- @kober again- I want one of those- who makes that?

Edit edit- found it. Thanks for the info on that. Going on the glider, I think.

There's a new version of the Kitehero line mount coming - places the camera vertically, lowering the bobbling due to the hanging mass ...

I've been shooting in 720 (I started with the 960, but I like the widescreen better) - fill the whole screen on the computer and the raw files looks great. Stick it on a DVD and put it on the TV and it's great. The only time I use 1080 is if I need to 'zoom' in a bit - like RC planes etc, but as has been said, it's a pain in the rear to edit. I could easily live without the 1080. I think buying 2 of the 960's is the way to go for what we do. And get an extra packet of flat mounts - helmet, downtube, handle, pole, picavet mount for aerial photography - you can stick 'em (and screw 'em) anywhere.

Also, keep a little pump sprayer with some glass cleaner and a microfibre cloth handy - depending on the wind, the GoPro lens can get really smeared up in 20 minutes of buggying. And check it regularly for fogging - I'm not sure it it's because they have a little onboard heater operating, but the fogging is a bit of a pain. Clears almost instantly when you open the housing. Or use the open back....

Hey Beaver dont rule out those Hoyt HD cams I bought one thru Dino I think it is quite ok but am no expert.

Sons have used it more than me doing downhill MTB footage

Pops uses one also

Found footage of boys this is Hoyt HD Cam

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinkbike.co...

Vibration is from goggle strap not tight enough Cam was mounted on the strap.

Actually, fogging is moist air trapped in the case or body of the camera - blast the bejesus out of the case and camera with the aircon in your car, then seal it up inside the car and don't open it again. That cures my fogging 100%. Oh and I made a little pad for the door out of chamois ...

Have a good look at the Drift cameras if you don't need waterproof ... Contour has a new one out too that's a good price. Variety is the spice of life :D

Kami I think Drift and Hoyt are clones maybe ???????

Oh yeah, I see what you mean ... wonder what's going on there?

GPS and Bluetooth on the expensive Contours dude

hd HERO +1 , fogging ,,,don't open thing when your outside. i have never had a fog problem. open /close only in controlled environments ... home with a/c , closed vehicle a/c. dry air every time its opened outside introduces moisture...this is the full case scenario at the beach.

the edit can be tedious and time consuming

if the footage is good, u can pick the front for a start point and clip it at the back add tunes, titles and credits... i process into a "medium" size movie on iMovie. working thru full HD with stabilization ...haven't had the patience for that yet. the SONY sport play rendered much quicker but theres just less there to begin with. go pro HD far superior lots of format choices as well.

working thru the raw capture to good stuff...tick tock tick tock. but its fun once u get quick with the split, clip edit stuff in your head.

Get a package of the the little desicant strips. No fog problems, and they can be reused.

I am agreeing with Mr Holgate.... GoPro 960s and get 2.

It has been proven time and time again the majority of people can not tell the difference between 720p and 1080p.

I have a new lg plasma 50 in 2011 model in 720p even my videophile friends were fooled and thought it was 1080p.

The daisy chaining of the hero hd and it's 3d capability are cool, but for what we do.... I think the hero 960 and some extra batteries and mounts is the way to go.

Thanks guys. The shake issue might be prevalent on the cobblestones of Ivanpah. On the other hand, it seems that the smoothest parts of the lakebed are also the windiest. Awindofchange told me that a while back but it was proven first hand on Sunday. It seems that the wind shapes the playa the most where it blows the most so the rough spots didn't get smoothed out by the wind.

I don't have a computer with 8 processors or anything so running 1080 might not be worth dealing with the editing burden. It looks like my notion of 2 960s might be a better value given that we have lots of space and multiple buggies running at the same time. I don't want to mix companies either due to a double stack of learning curve and chargers/batteries and such. Grab bag of mounts sounds like a long term problem solver too. Off we go!

Correct me if I am wrong but the HD hero comes with all the mounts you could want and the 960 does not...

LCD for the HD only

Editing ... I made a PVR so I just sit on the sofa with a notepad and write down the times when something "interesting" happens then when I get to the PC it's just decided what is most interesting (or least boring ) and trim it to fit the music.

Actual editing, so long as you've set the preview correctly, shouldn't be too heavy on the system. Rendering on the other hand ... set it up and go to bed

The only time I have computer crunch issues is when I do some heavy corrections for shake, image sharpening, etc.. Then again, I am running WO a graphics card. I am going 3d, so hero HD it is.

I always do analyzing, stabilization, noise reduction at night..... seeing up as much as I can before going to sleep ..... If there is a lot of processing I place small fan next to computer for extra cooling ....... My last video have so much shake that after processing frame was 1/2 size smaller ....... I did reduce stabilization to gain more picture ......
.... When you able to create video with you own music it is way more time consuming when editing ...... but final product is rewording ........
.... when choosing music from You Tube library is good idea to look for songs with high beat rate ..... and sometimes you luckily get everything synchronized ......

Now .... 960 or 1080 ......
quality is not that different .... however 16:9 frame is standard on most TVs and monitors now ...... and it makes full screen viewing way more pleasurable ....... Its like making vertical photos ..... is not welcome in digital era .... You are using only 30% of screen and not gaining anything ..... Make them horizontal ...... you get same picture with something on sides to fill up black bars ........

.....

960 is the "tall" version, so you'll have bars at the side of a widescreen display. That bothers me less than losing the action - see the "Phoam" thread ...

I use this cool, easy to use and very effective tool called Project Odessa for bookmarking highlights in my videos by briefly covering the lens with my hand. Check their video...



You can scan the videos by batch or individually (default is batch). You can store the clips with the original or in their own folder (default same folder and Windows Video folder). You can set the clip size to 5 seconds all the way to 2 minutes each at 5 second increments (default is 30sec). You can set the sensitivity of how it recognizes your hand cover (default is Medium). It is also set to ignore the first 10 seconds of video, you know... the "is it on" self portrait (default is ignore).

It scans and creates the clips in real time (but you no longer have to sit through it all). I do not notice any loss. The file name of each clip includes it's start and stop time location in its original video file. Making it easy to find in case it missed some highlights (of that clip or before or after action). You would have to get that action in the usual way though. At least you can find it quickly now.

The hand cover marks the end of the action. Prior to scanning your video, the size of the clips (ending at the hand cover) can be set from 5 second clips all the way to (at 5 second increments) 2 minute clips (the default is 30 second clips).

Here is an example of the file name of each clip.
"GOPR5323.MP4.highlight.00.26.56.to.00.27.08.MP4"
It includes the original file name. The the start and end location (hr.min.sec) of the clip in the original video. Notice the size of the clip is actually 12 seconds not 10 here.

You will still need to edit out the hand cover as it is included at the end of each clip (in the extra 1-2 seconds at the end).

The hardest part is remembering that the camera is there and that you need to use your hand to bookmark the highlights.

... line mount, wife on the beach ... won't work :D

I can see that this will become half the hobby if you run video every time.

Yah.

I got footage from winter I need to chop up into a movie :o summer is looking like a winter release too ...!
Which is why I probably don't often go out with the camera ...

I did promise myself that I would film my first attempts at rotations ... but I was too lazy to hook the camera up and then Uncle Pyro was doing rolls so I thought damn if he can do them I can. And by the time I put the camera on the kite, I'd pretty much nailed back-rolls - crashes are a bit rare.

So basically, the next movie you'll see from me will be from all of summer :o but hopefully less boring than usual :D

I'm thinking of sticking to sub 2 minute highlights to keep it simple. Work my way into music and text after that. And I'd hate to get behind on it, but I guess its inevitable.

I have the song first, the the story board second, and the footage next year. That's why I have been working on my first movie since 2008.

Song usually pops into my head as I'm watching the footage ... then I try to fit the clips around that.

the odessa seems nice , had a JVC dig vid cam with "blank" chase or something , it always went to next OPEN spot for recording from play back.. it was a tape thing though.

the blank spot would be cool for clipped up stuff.

960 X2 with the tall will be ample. the attachment with the helemt set is nice though. still haven't stabilized any with Gopro raw stuff . maybe a duplicate short, one with stab, one without. def got to help with tidy editing .