$300 HELMET CAM SHOOTOUT - GoPro Hero HD vs. Drift Innovation Stealth FX

[Corey]

I bought the GoPro Hero HD when they first hit the market, and it takes very good full 1080p HD videos and 5 megapixel pictures.

www.mtbr.com has a review on the two cameras in the thread title.
http://reviews.mtbr.com/300-helmet-camera-shootout

Earlier this year I bought the LCD screen "backpack" which is in another thread by me.
Makes using the camera as easy as a point and shoot since you can see what you are shooting right on the screen, then you can play it back on it too.

Video example from the article of the GoPro using the Chesty mount which I prefer over using the helmet mount.
I did not get a chance to listen to the whole video, so if there is cussing in it, a moderator can remove the video from the thread here.

 

[Ford Prefect]

Wow,

WHY!?!?!

I mean, why in the world do you prefer that mount? It is horrible to watch, makes me dizzy just in the three inch window. Not to mention you can not see more than two feet in front of the bike, the helmet mount, IMO is far better. You can see what the rider sees, and it can be pointed in the direction that you want with greater ease.

Well, different strokes and all that.

 

[Corey]

His video I admit is poor quality, it was aimed way off.

I have watched some local videos of mountain biking using the chest mount that turned out very professional looking.

 

[Corey]

Here is a good example of a helmet cam for the HD Hero, turned out good.
Found it via Google search for editing the GoPro HD videos using Windows Movie Maker.
I can not edit them on my PC with Movie Maker, I have to upload them raw.
The guy who uploaded this one had to use to editors to get it to work with Movie Maker, to much trouble.

I will be trying a demo of Sony Vegas to see how it works since it supports the newer HD Pro movie format.

Video looks good in 720 playback.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9fnUhiGhX0&feature=player_embedded

 

[plm61]

GoPro Hero Footage of Helicopter Rescue

I bought one in March and it is just pretty dang cool. Very small and comes with numerous options for mounting. Replacement parts are easily available and not too highly priced.

Here is a link to a video I shot in May. PCT through-hiker had been vomiting for 10 hours but finally was able to hold down 1L of water in the hour before I got to her. Easiest rescue in the world at 23 minutes from takeoff to landing, but it looks nice in HD.

Edited in Final Cut, the new completely rewritten version of which is rumored to be released by Apple this week.

Patrick
WEMT/PA-C

 

[Corey]

Great video, but you sure could hear the wind being picked up once you were on the mountain.

I need to contact GoPro as I went to mount my camera case to the headband you can wear without a helmet, it was not designed for the backpack accessories like the LCD screen I have on mine now.
Sticks out to far, and it forces the camera to look downwards.

 

[mhiscox]

FWIW, the July issue of Motorcyclist has short summary of a test of 5 cameras; the GoPro Motorsports Hero HD got 4.5 stars and the editor's choice; the Replay XD also got 4.5 stars.

The article was short--probably not worth buying the magazine for--but they put more information, including actual footage, here:

http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/gearbox/gear/122_1107_action_camera_comparison/index.html.

 

[jaggedfish]

Will be interested to see how this thread progresses. I own the HD Hero with various mounts and have had a lot of fun with it so far but haven't had too much time to fully explore it's capabilities. I have produced an amateurish vid of one of my Delica club adventures using Premiere Elements but in the process forgot to set the pixel aspect ratio correctly which resulted in a lesser quality video than usual so it's a little embarrasing to post until I redo it with proper 1.21:1 HD (1080p). I have done others while training for non-competitive power lifting but this is not really the place for that.

One downside that has been plaguing the GoPro is the underwater capabilities. The curved lense in the goPro housing is not optically corrected for underwater and thus produces disappointing underwater photos and footage. Sartek has modified the GoPro housings with a flat lense for underwater 1080p shooting. The lower quality, wider angle settings produce a halo with the flat lense but overall the quality of the images and footage is hugely improved.

That said, I love my GoPro and will continue to test it in as many different ways as I can.

Cheers!
Ian

 

[Corey]

On a sidenote I mentioned above my GoPro does not work now with the headband since the LCD screen sticks out the rear more.

Contacted GoPro yesterday, and they go back to me and are sending me an extension that mounts to the headband mount that will fix this.

Great customer service.