GoPro HD Hero

I bought myself a Gopro HD Hero a couple of weeks ago and have been playing with it a little, what an ace piece of kit. It's not cheap by any means but for a high definition camera that is that small and versatile I was pleasantly surprised.
I bought the naked version which is by no means naked. It comes with mounts for handle bars, helmets, and numerous others too. It has a tuff case that has an interchangeable rear section that is waterproof just in case you want to go swimming or diving. I had mine running the other day just to see how long the battery would really hold up when constantly filming and it was still running at 3 hrs which I was amazed at, I am sure it must have been at the point where it was going to die because gopro say the battery will last at least 2 1/2 hours which it surpassed. so I was pleased. I went out once with it mounted on my handle bars and once with it mounted on my helmet and even with it mounted on the side of my helmet I was surprised how easy it was to start and stop filming on a video camera that I could feel but not see.
I will pop a couple of vid's on as soon as I can so you can get a good idea of what they are like for use videoing yourself and your mates when out on your bike.

GoPro Link

Those look excellent. Been thinking of getting one for a ride round spain next year, I would like to mount it on my helmet. How does it attach to the helmet? I saw it comes with mounting gear, but I can't see how it fixes, and I wouldnt really want to use any adhesives or anything like that on my helmet.



Also, is the microphone any good? How does it cope with wind noise? Did you buy it direct from GoPro or was there a reseller who had it a bit cheaper?

The GoPro is a serious piece of kit. In fact the definition is so good, watch out because you will be installing your own speed camera wherever you go! The speedo will show up nicely on your videos so think twice or edit carefully if putting on You Tube! The other side of the coin is that if someone causes you an accident and you have evidence on camera, it could save you a lot of money. My experience with a bike camera is that the films are so much fun I have to remember I am still riding a bike and not give too much attention of 'performing for the camera' (fancy overtakes and turning your head to show a nice view etc) You won't go far wrong with the GoPro. As for sound, it has a particularly good and well positioned internal microphone which will significantly reduce wind noise. To eliminate wind noise you need a camera with and external mic socket so you can 'hide' the microphone in your bag - but a little wind noise is realistic at least. I use an 'Action Camera' but mine is not the HD version which most people expect these days. I overcome the wind noise by running a separate camera in my bag for sound and mix the tracks in the editing suite. Best of luck with your trip to Spain and we look forward to seeing some footage.

PS you can blank out the speedo in the edit!!

Just bought these GoPro mounts for my camera. = £3.79 ( LINK ) What a bargain, beat that UK, love China and Hongkong Ebay. I can mount my GoPro on my helmet again or anywhere I like.

My buddy Steve used various 'action cameras', but found Go-Pro to be the best in terms of quality.
Clearly budgets can be a consideration - but if you buy a cheaper camera, and are dissatisfied with it & upgrade, then that is more expensive than taking the plunge with a better unit in the first place.
Don't rule out buying second hand .... there have been 'up-dates' to the Go-Pro range, and you could get a good condition earlier spec model from someone who has upgraded .... that would be better than a 'new' cheaper action camera.
Yes, you do get some wind noise, but it all depend on where you mount the camera. Fair warning about not having the speedo in the camera's field of view !

I get no wind noise with my GoPro but I do have two cases. A completely closed, waterproof case and a semi open case, that has a small bit of sponge next to the microphone. With any camera, there will always be more than way to skin the proverbial cat.

Just looked at when I originally started this thread, way back in 2011, still think the camera is the dogs

Dave just notice you promised a video when this thread was started but never put one here. Lots on the site in different places tho so I just copied one from the Wootton Basset ride in 2011 as that is when the thread was started. By the way good buy from china again dave with the mounts posted higher up 

 

ps your bikes changed a lot sine then, no ape hangers

Cheers Crash.  Just as a matter of interest, that video was only shot in vga-mode, I have never used the HD-mode.

Mr Intruder wrote:

Cheers Crash.  Just as a matter of interest, that video was only shot in vga-mode, I have never used the HD-mode.

Could I ask why you have never HD-mode?

I don't use HD-mode because I can see no reason to use it, VGA is good enough for me currently. I live in a house with no TV screen bigger than 48", if I played it on a screen bigger I might consider it.
Maybe my eyes just don't appreciate it?

Just off to EBAY now... ...