Hey.

I've been looking at these for a short while. I like cameras, ALLOT! I've several, film and digital, weird and wonderful.

Anywho. These look good. Moreover they won't smash when i bail like it would if I attached one of my DSLRs. I've read allot about them but does anyone here know about the quality of the still photos? Do you get a manual mode that fully controls the aperture and shutter speed, does it even matter?! :tumble:

Can you take a still say if you were paragliding and had time to frame a shot (ish)?

Is the footage as good as it looks on the site? Many times have i been fooled by the opinion of the person selling whatever object i'm buying! Only to find out that those moon boots weren't for moons at all...:wow:

These cameras usually have a mode, Either you are recording or taking stills, cant do both at the same time.
No zoom or way of controlling aperture or shutter speeds.Video quality is pretty good, Wide angle lens makes for good video.
HD cameras DO NOT perform good when shooting in low light conditions.

All in all when shooting outdoor sports (as long as it is light out) the quality is really good, You just don't get the manual modes you get from other cameras.

My 2 cents.

Quote:

Originally posted by martinipro These cameras usually have a mode, Either you are recording or taking stills, cant do both at the same time. No zoom or way of controlling aperture or shutter speeds.Video quality is pretty good, Wide angle lens makes for good video. HD cameras DO NOT perform good when shooting in low light conditions. All in all when shooting outdoor sports (as long as it is light out) the quality is really good, You just don't get the manual modes you get from other cameras. My 2 cents.

Thanks. The lack of zoom and HD quality in low light makes sense. They seem really good value tbh. I may just have to purchase one, it's only fair really!

Go Pros are da $&5#!! You gotta have one for kiting

i enjoy my gopro. A good portion of my videos were done with the newest version. You won't be disappointed.

No manual controls whatsoever......except I think you can choose spot or average metering. The lens is about equivalent to a 14mm - so very wide angle with obvious curvature if you point up or down..... Keep the camera level and it's pretty good. There is a $25 program called PTlens that acts as either a standalone or photoshop plug-in that does an excellent job at flattening horizons, correcting tilt etc.

All the rest is good. Video quality is just friggin awesome. Stills are quite good. The low light performance of the GoPro Hero 2 is quite a bit better with decent dynamic range. Pretty sharp right to the edge. No obvious chromatic aberrations. And tough.... I am more than happy to sling one underneath a kite and set it to photo every 5 seconds. If it fell off, I reckon there's a good chance it will survive.

If you'd like to see a few raw still pics, I'd be happy to send them to you via email. Mine is jhn.holgate@gmail.com

One of my all time favorite bits of kit.

Quote:

Originally posted by John Holgate No manual controls whatsoever......except I think you can choose spot or average metering. The lens is about equivalent to a 14mm - so very wide angle with obvious curvature if you point up or down..... Keep the camera level and it's pretty good. There is a $25 program called PTlens that acts as either a standalone or photoshop plug-in that does an excellent job at flattening horizons, correcting tilt etc. All the rest is good. Video quality is just friggin awesome. Stills are quite good. The low light performance of the GoPro Hero 2 is quite a bit better with decent dynamic range. Pretty sharp right to the edge. No obvious chromatic aberrations. And tough.... I am more than happy to sling one underneath a kite and set it to photo every 5 seconds. If it fell off, I reckon there's a good chance it will survive. If you'd like to see a few raw still pics, I'd be happy to send them to you via email. Mine is jhn.holgate@gmail.com One of my all time favorite bits of kit.

THanks for all the comments everyone. I'm pretty much swayed so far.

I've e-mailed, thanks very much its really appreciated!

At the risk of stirring up the whole "GO Pro" vs. "The World" debate I would offer up the Drift HD as another possibilty. Here's a my review of an earlier model.... The HD 170.

http://hardwaterkiter.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2010-0...

The new HD records in 1080p, adjustable frame rate, adjustable iris, very good low light ability, digital zoom and remote. Stills are only 5MP but very nice nonetheless. And its about a 3rd smaller.

The video featured in the review doesn't really reflect the camera's ability as I have a slow connection here and can only upload mediocre quality levels if I don't want it to take all day.

Here's a link to a video I shot day before yesterday. The footage is a little blurry on the right hand side of the screen because I got sun block on the lens. But if you look to the right it looks very good! heheheh

http://youtu.be/IbeZM1YJh44

GoPro has no manual mode but can do stills and time-sequence shots. I've not ever been impressed with the quality out of the stills though ...

The "competition" is catching up ... or GoPro is starting to fall behind - delays in releasing the WiFi add-on when it's built-in to other cameras is starting to hurt, I think ... and it's swaying my decision about my next camera. A big factor for me though is that I have a bunch of different mounts for the GoPro already ...

Digital zoom I've never liked - all it does is resize the center portion of the image. Which probably won't be too bad with a high-MP image but I still don't like it, no sir.

Drift was under consideration when I had cash in the PP account but the lack of a waterproof case put me off - I'd probably lean towards Contour now too.

Read the reviews, watch the video, make a tough decision.

H2 over the H1 hands down... Sorry Krug, I just haven't seen enough video from the HD 179 to sway otherwise but would have to agree with Kevin on them being behind the 8 ball. For some outstanding footage I also shoot with the Samsung handi cam (not to dunked, dipped or even remotely subjected to moisture) but I shoot on the beach with it anyways

GoPro? Yes... my .02

i just replaced may lost GoPro with a GoPro hero 2 , thank u todd!

one button , zero problems, simple effective, tough (ran over it with my truck!)...AND ran into one last weekend !

Quote:

Originally posted by PHREERIDER AND ran into one last weekend !

You're welcome! Poor RayRay... anything for the shot!

Again, at the risk of stirring up the nest...

As I've always said, the Go-Pro is the "I-pod" of action cameras and I seriously think that a lot of people don't want to risk being singled out for not liking the GP. But I think people should know there are options out there.

I've had just about every action cam under the sun. The GP is a great unit, no doubt, but for my needs it's clunky and limited. For ME the Drift units are more useful. I've used and abused them all and the Drift is easily on par with GP. I've run it way below it's operating temps, slapped it on bare ice while bouncing my noggin in crashes, had it fall off the car on the highway and they keep going. Even without the armor the GP has by default.

I have literally thousands of miles on the Drifts in about as unfriendly and enviroment as any and it's performed brilliantly.

My only complaint is that due to it's bullet design you can't easily do a chest mount with it. But it comes with more mounts than you know what to do with.

I agree with Kami, the digital zoom is only good to a point. But it is a feature worth having and mentioning. And the Waterproof case required for the Drift HD is clunky but it mounts easily and anywhere. For me the case would be a hazard in the woods (on a bike) but on the water I'm not sure what the issue is as it doesn't weigh hardly anything.

Having a GP on top of my helmet in the woods is not an option as it would grab branches like crasy on some of our rides.

Check this older side by side feature comparison. These guys sell both units and I think it describes the differences well.
http://www.mypov360.com/comparison-review-of-the-drift-hd-vs...

I haven't seen any comparisons of the HD2 and the current Drift HD. (everyone compares the HD2 to the older Drift 170)

I had the Contour for a season before I got into the Drift. Nice unit but not very user friendly and the mounts sucked. Same audio tone for record and stop.
The new model looks a lot better and with the Blue Tooth option you can link it to Recon Instruments equiped goggles and see the cams POV on your HUD. Pretty slick.

Not so much for the water riding types I guess.

I guess the caveat with all the adjustabilty in the Drift is that it's easy to mess up your settngs and get bad vid. I myself have done this. Example: setting my iris levels worng and getting a darker image. I only knew it was the setting because I was running to Drifts at the same time and one looked awesome, the other darker, less vibrant and less detail. I think the GP has a better default light setting. It's simple and a lot of people like that.

I guess the bottom line is get something and have fun with it. There are so few bad action cams these days and all of them have some merit. I guess it comes down to features and price. All I know is I'd rather be out riding making footage than sitting in fornt of a computer editting footage.

Thus my half A$$ vids. =)

Just to stir the pot a little- I have a gopro HD that i really like but have found for more enjoyable viewing experience that I can only take so much POI hence i have been using my kodak playsportz (on a tripod or someone shooting) more than the go pro and i actually think it does a better job- has a screen so can see what you are filming and costs about 1/3rd th price- just saying. The last video i posted was all done on the playsportz (jibe jump video)
Scott

I say go for it! Whichever one you can afford. Just use it often, and post them here. Otherwise you'll be stuck with watching my videos all the time!

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Originally posted by Feyd As I've always said, the Go-Pro is the "I-pod" of action cameras ... ... I haven't seen any comparisons of the HD2 and the current Drift HD. (everyone compares the HD2 to the older Drift 170) ... I had the Contour for a season before I got into the Drift. Nice unit but not very user friendly and the mounts sucked. Same audio tone for record and stop. The new model looks a lot better and with the Blue Tooth option you can link it to Recon Instruments equiped goggles and see the cams POV on your HUD. Pretty slick. ... All I know is I'd rather be out riding making footage than sitting in fornt of a computer editting footage.

... I-pod :puzzled: now that's just rude :roll:

Oh that was the other reason I lean towards the GoPro - for the money, it's the best quality ... Contour is as good but is another $200 ... isn't it?

Can't hear the tones anyway

Ooh, that's nifty ...!

Right on!

sport n play by sony very handy hi def cam. i had one, maybe posted 10vids on vimeo and utube . the lens angle only draw back . in and out of the pocket easy for sure. busted at NABX 11 .

Flyguy is on to something. Those Kodak units are dirt cheap and have really good quality. I see them on sale at Staples sometimes and think about snapping one up but given how much time I can suck up with the two cameras I have now 3 cameras will really slow down the works. :P

Hey.

Thanks for the replies. I bought one in the end. Almost accidentally... It was in my usual camera shop where i live. I didn't think they'd have it at all.. but they did I had to talk myself into it but i'm very happy with the results so far. Considering i use DSLRs i've found the GP to be a very good camera in comparison to my 24mp A65. Obviously my a65 takes excellent stills, but that's what its for. I didn't think i'd use the GP for stills that much but lacking a fish eye lens it fits the gap nicely. So far i've been for a skate but it was low light. I've also dropped it in my aquarium a couple of times. Nice results!

Any tips for attaching it to my kite bridles/lines? I'd love to get some aerial shots where i fly.

I'm still learning the ropes kiting so there won't be many videos up in the near future. I may upload some bloopers though and a few bombs on inline skates usually go down a treat!

Kitepro will sit in your bridle. Rich at ECKS should have a few in stock.

Gopro, mine just wont switch on today on the beach, I think it might be f*&%$£d

That be the first and last one I buy, only 6 months old

Flat battery?

Masterfoot - you can get hot-shoe mounts for the GoPro (or at least make them) so you can take photos with your SLR and movies at the same time

searched the net and this seems to be a major poblem. Charged battery full still NoGo. We will find out how good customer service is

Quote:

Originally posted by Kamikuza Flat battery? Masterfoot - you can get hot-shoe mounts for the GoPro (or at least make them) so you can take photos with your SLR and movies at the same time

THanks. I reckon I could strap it to one of my tripods with the vented helmet strap. I use the same thing to strap it to one of my skate's inliner tongue. They seem quite versatile in terms of mounting. I can't for the life of my find a kite bridle mount though! Rich at ECKS was suggested above but i'm not quite sure what that means! hahha.

Quote:

Originally posted by Mastertoot Rich at ECKS was suggested above but i'm not quite sure what that means! hahha.

Call Rich (shehatesmyhobies) at East Coast Kite Sports for the KitePro. He should have some in stock last I remembered. OR u2u ME! Thanks.


Posting from the Petro in Bucksville Alabama!

u2u sent