are gopros any good?

ThorpyFX

So, im sure loads of you have used these but.... the headline figures sound incredible but im not sure if they are worth it at all? What do you use to record video? is a gopro a good all round solution?

Hertz32

I dont own one personally, but I'd certainly default to one. All footage i have seen from the new ones is exceptional. 

A couple other brands to consider are;
Contour
Sony
Drift

thomasross20

Aren't they mainly for use if you're doing something extreme? Or biking (extreme to some lol)

Mkjackary

What are you using it for? On the side of a motorcycle helmet/when surfing/snowboarding it is brilliant.

If you are gonna do gear demos there are much better options at the price.

The new go pro hero 5 and drift ghost 4 look awesome. Finally a go pro that is water resistant from the off, without any stupid cases.

ThorpyFX

Mkjackary said:

What are you using it for? On the side of a motorcycle helmet/when surfing/snowboarding it is brilliant.

If you are gonna do gear demos there are much better options at the price.

The new go pro hero 5 and drift ghost 4 look awesome. Finally a go pro that is water resistant from the off, without any stupid cases.

i was looking at something to film my pedals with.....

Hertz32

Something with a mic input and a screen to frame your shot with then? 
Drift ghost-s is my suggestion

Mkjackary

Well aot of the money in a cost of a go pro goes towards marketing, and another load goes towards waterproofing/keeping it compact. Things that are of no/little use to you.

If you were to spend the same amount of money on a camera that didnt have some of the budget/compromises of needing to be small then you will get a better picture quality.

The new go pro hero 5 is £350, and the session 5 is £250

Something like a cannon 700D would be much better than a go pro hero 5 in most areas.

PVO_Dave

They are good fun, good quality and surprisingly good audio. Not 100% sure they'd be the best for filming your pedals with, as that doesn't really require the wide angle nature of the camera? I guess it depends on how / what you plan to film. They do have the advantage of being small with lots of grips / mounts though I guess. 

A few years back, the band I was in took it in turns to wear my GoPro on our heads, play the same song 4 times over and merge together, albeit a bit crudely in the end. Audio is all from the camera:

https://youtu.be/m-AkbE9jbpI

cruxiform

Hertz32 said:

Something with a mic input and a screen to frame your shot with then? 
Drift ghost-s is my suggestion

I have a Drift Ghost S to film my motorcycling shenanigans. It's ideal for my use and at 1080p/60 fps the quality is excellent. I've also owned 2 gopros previously which were excellent too but I rate the Drift as it's more streamlined, has the screen and works well with iphone app. The external mic is handy too. One thing I've learnt is that when editing videos do it in the highest resolution possible. 

joeyowen

I'm sure that pedal show use them, so that is a good reference . 

The karma drone looks soooo good 

Col_Decker

We've got an SJCAM 4000 which is a Chinese copy but very good and only £70. Make sure you get one from a proper camera shop though not amazon as there's lots of Chinese knock offs. A Chinese copy of a Chinese copy is going to be pretty bad. 

ThePrettyDamned

Wouldn't something like a low end Canon DSLR and STM lens be better suited for gear demos? 

You're paying a lot for a fairly low end video camera (although they're decent, the main focus is on marketing and being weatherproof! two things a gear demo won't need). 

Hootsmon

Thorpers....how's your health now Bro...feelin' better?

Hootsmon

I'm angling for a discount  

only kiddin' I'm WELL sorted

Jez6345789

For direct to camera stuff probably not a go pro imho a moderate DSLR with good video again mentioned Canon hard to beat.

All that said I am a stills guy who never got that excited for video.

From recent experience we did a quick and easy little video demo of a new product recently on two iPhone 6 as long as you have good lighting the quality is pretty fine for demo stuff. 

I was was very impressed how easy it was to do a two or three camera shoot and track it all together by the audio in Final Cut I laid down a clap for start and stop but it tracked it easily on the spoken voice in the demo. 

The the ability to do multiple angles and cut between shots to me is far more powerful and makes for more engaging watching than just someone talking direct to camera.

ymmv

ThorpyFX

Thanks for the responses, Im thinking a mix of solutions will make this work best. Gopro for the wide moving stuff and my SLR for the static focussed in stuff.

ThePrettyDamned

ThorpyFX said:

Thanks for the responses, Im thinking a mix of solutions will make this work best. Gopro for the wide stuff and my SLR for the focussed in stuff.

What SLR have you got? If it's a canikon you can get an 18-55 zoom cheap, and canon ones have a stepper motor for quieter continuous focusing. They cost a lot less than ago pro and will give way better results, with image stabilisation.

ThorpyFX

ThePrettyDamned said:

ThorpyFX said:

Thanks for the responses, Im thinking a mix of solutions will make this work best. Gopro for the wide stuff and my SLR for the focussed in stuff.

What SLR have you got? If it's a canikon you can get an 18-55 zoom cheap, and canon ones have a stepper motor for quieter continuous focusing. They cost a lot less than ago pro and will give way better results, with image stabilisation.

I have just bought a Canon 6D for the business. (probably overkill, but it was a great deal)

thisisguitar

If you are doing static shots with a tripod, then IS (Image Stabilisation) isn't necessary. I'm using an SLR as my main video camera, and an iPhone 7 paired up with a DJI Osmo Mobile... though I'm yet to play with the latter much (check out the image tracking feature, it's a lovely feature if you don't have someone to operate the cameras for you. For audio a small Zoom recorder is handy, the H4 I have doubles as a USB audio interface too.

ThorpyFX

thisisguitar said:

If you are doing static shots with a tripod, then IS (Image Stabilisation) isn't necessary. I'm using an SLR as my main video camera, and an iPhone 7 paired up with a DJI Osmo Mobile... though I'm yet to play with the latter much (check out the image tracking feature, it's a lovely feature if you don't have someone to operate the cameras for you. For audio a small Zoom recorder is handy, the H4 I have doubles as a USB audio interface too.

Yeah, i bought the Zoom H5N (used) a short while ago, Just getting to grips with it at the moment. Although it seems to be a really useful and powerful device.