GoPro HD camera

[Greg_E]

If you want to do simple cuts avidemux (free) seems to work pretty well. You are limited to cuts on the I frames, but it seems to work fine on my little computer. The files from the HD Hero work in FinalCut Pro with no conversion, but iMovie needed to convert them (go figure).

[Greg_E]

Looks and sounds like crap now that it is on youtube, going to have to find out how to upload HD videos and have them still look good.

Link to original page on YouTube.

A 200mb file condensed to about 10mb.

Not happy with the audio, sounds OK after the mount stops rattling, and until I get into cruise and the gain comes up to maximize the wind noise. Guess I didn't need to worry about anyone being able to tell my speed, can't see the gauge after youtube got done mangling it.

Audio was with the "open" back and a mount stuck to the gas cap that I need to scrape off so I can put fuel in. I don't think I went faster than the recommended speed for this back, and it was behind the windscreen so it shouldn't have had too much wind.

[Flow]

That is great video quality. As for the audio, just try sticking the camera in your helmet? It'll cut the wind noise.

[Greg_E]

Two more. I'm hoping that the jelly effect that can be seen on pretty much all of them can be fixed by getting mounts that are not so sloppy.

Link to original page on YouTube.

Link to original page on YouTube.

[Greg_E]

Not sure if anyone is still looking at this thread, but here is one more. Camera hng upside down so the video needed to be re-encoded when it was flipped, while doing that I decreased the size by 50% height and 50% width. The plastic mounts suck so I need to order something better. I'll probably make something to mount it lower and maybe infront of the oil cooler, still working on those thoughts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR4rTDDMNEw

It's somewhat important to look at the youtube page because I always put important information.

[rockingmtranch]

Looking good. Can you post some pics of your mounts? I'm working on a home made mount for my camera but it is still definitely a work in progress.

[Greg_E]

I don't have any of the stock mounting and the next thing you see might be me tossing them in the garbage. I have a bunch of real clamps that I'm going to try. A Bogen Superclamp, mini clamp, some other thingy clamp, and a small HAMA ball head. Waiting the the tripod adapter mount to arrive, UPS say not until Monday, weather says it will probably snow all weekend anyway. I need to test the new stuff before I toss the old stuff, I'll probably do it on video (then sell them on ebay). If you can use the sticky mounts directly to the camera they may not be so bad, but you will need to wedge something under the quick release plate to take up the slack. The only decent stock mount is the suction cup, but it whistles when in the air stream, and there are few places to put it on a bike. Worked well on the side of my car the first time I tested the camera. Nice solid view of the car parts (even over bumps) but it was too dark to see much of anything else.

I'm thinking of cutting the mounting tabs off the bottom of the camera and making a mount to 1/4-20 threads. I don't want or need this to go down to 180 feet below water so as long as it is water resistant I'm fine with it. The little tabs are a weak link, and after you add enough of them together with the plastic they used for the side arm, you get a huge amount of flex. Check some of my other videos if you want to see just how bad that flex looks.

And I sure hope they get their backsides in gear and get the new firmware out so I can do the image flip in the camera, I hate to have to re-encode everything just to flip it right side up.

[Greg_E]

I am not having a good time with GoPro support right now. They suggested something stupid to fix my sloppy mounts instead of offering to replace them. I have a bad feeling that support will continue to suck and I therefore no longer recommend this camera for any reason unless you absolutely need the water proof feature (since it is the only one that is waterproof). If I could edit my review at Revzilla it would now be rated a solid 2 because of the support issue.

Save your money and wait until they get the bugs worked out or buy something else. if you have one on order you may consider canceling the order before it ships.

[rockingmtranch]

I've been playing around with this to mount my Canon camcorder:



The parts list:
1. 1 x 10/32 2.5" Machine Screw (can change use different length screw)

2. 1 x 10/32 Nylon Washer

3. 1 x 2" 50mm Stanley Mending Plate(comes in pack of 3 for .80)

4. 2 x 1/4 1" Coupling Nut

5. 1 x 10/32 Nylon Nut

6. 1 x 1/4 Nylon Nut

7. 2 x 1/4 Nylon Washers

8. 1 x 1/4 Steel Washer

9. 1/4 3/4" Machine Screw (length depending on hole in camera)

A member in my sportbike group came up with this. It is specific for the ZX6R but I'm sure it can be modified easily enough.

The final product:

[kkim]

Originally Posted by rockingmtranch

I've been playing around with this to mount my Canon camcorder:



The parts list:
1. 1 x 10/32 2.5" Machine Screw (can change use different length screw)

I like the idea, but how does a 10/32 machine screw fit into a metric hole in the gas tank cap?

[RaceBikeRentals]

Originally Posted by RaceBikeRentals

Superbike Supply had a killer price on the group buy, but its expired now. Sucks I won't have it for my next race.

Received my motorsports version yesterday. Must say, I'm very impressed with how much they've improved this over the previous non-HD unit.

Now supports 32GB cards
Rechargeable battery
Expansion bus with future products becoming available soon
More mount flexibility
HD, obviously

Looks great!

[rockingmtranch]

Originally Posted by kkim

I like the idea, but how does a 10/32 machine screw fit into a metric hole in the gas tank cap?

It's the same thread as the front screw. I tighten it to the nylon nut and it sits pretty steady.

[Greg_E]

I got the 1/4-20 mounts today... Would you believe that even these suck? They are not flat on the screw base. I'm going to have to true these up until I can make some out of billet aluminum, need to set my mill back up and get cutting.

[Viper-Byte]

OK, so here is my first test uploading a video with the Go Pro HD, quality is a little crap, but was uploading that on 56k, so had to make it small I am going to get a better quality up and also try to get an HD version.

Link to original page on YouTube.

Greg, I am using the suction cup mount with mine and no issues, just gets a little shakey if the mount is unstable.

I hope to get some footage of the twisties this weekend, should be great!

[Greg_E]

The suction cup mount is by far the best included mount! They are finally sending me some new plastic pieces that will hopefully be closer to tolerance.

Just from the 10 seconds that I watched your video is way better than anything I have grabbed except for the first night with the suction cup mount stuck to the side of my car. This is what you should be able to see from this camera, not the super wobbly stuff that I've been able to get. I bet this looks good before the youtube compression gets put on it.

Snow, snow, and more snow! Not sure when I will be able to test the 1/4-20 mounts on my cycle, could be April.

[rockingmtranch]

Nice clip That's the way they should come out.

[kkim]

Originally Posted by Greg_E

These MP4 files work fine in WMP,

care to explain that? I'm playing with my hd go pro I got yesterday and the .MP4 files will not play in WMP. what's the secret?

[Viper-Byte]

I also cannot play in WMP... I usually use Quicktime, or VLC.

[Greg_E]

Not sure what the trick is but they are supposed to work. Might be something that loaded up with VLC or something else. Quicktime is the best. I'll check WMP again since I had to rebuild that computer from the restore disk.

[wayanlam]

the vieo quality of the go pro seems to be quite decent, but so far all the vids that ive watches seem to have quite a terrible sound track. there is way too much sound noise from the wind... wonder if its possible to make better in any way.

i almost got the go pro HD wide, but my friend that was gonna buy it wasnt able to get it on time before leaving the states.

ill see if i can build a decent enough camera mount for my new camera which ill get in Jan. getting the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ38. im just worried that its a rather heavy camera, wonder how it would be best fixed to the bike, lol

[Greg_E]

SOme of these sound decent, but mine is garbage and I'm thinking of seeing if I can exchange it.

I'm also finding that it sounds much different between Windows and Mac, the Mac playback in Quicktime sounds a lot better but the fidelity is still less than decent. I'm going to upload a raw clip and send a support request in and see what they think.

[Greg_E]

OK, here is the Avidemux-Vegas scoop. When you use Avidemux to make rough cuts of your raw footage, and you want to bring them into Vegas, you must save the clips as MP4(PSP) for the Play Station Portable. This seems to wrap that correct header around the file to allow Vegas to use it correctly. I think I may buy Vegas Movie Studio platinum now, or maybe right after Christmas and see if I can get it with a Bluray version of DVD Architect for a good price. Not that I will be making any BD disks, but it would be nice to have the ability.

Since I haven't really talked about it here, you need the AVCHD version of Vegas Movie Studio which is the platinum version. Under $100 retail and even cheaper if you happen to qualify for an educational discount (Studica, Academic Superstore, etc.).

[kkim]

Found a pretty good free video converter...

http://www.any-video-converter.com/p...or_video_free/

[Greg_E]

http://www.videohelp.com/tools/secti...deo-converters

There are several more for you to try.

[Greg_E]

BTW, a #10-32 screw is extremely close to the common 5mm screws that the GoPro uses for the mounts. If the nut is thin enough then the 10-32 screw would mostly work, I bet this is why the mount adapter above functions. Really should change that to a 5mm.

[kkim]

Originally Posted by Greg_E

Two more. I'm hoping that the jelly effect that can be seen on pretty much all of them can be fixed by getting mounts that are not so sloppy.

Playing around with the camera, I've found the jelly effect is caused by the engine... possibly the ignition. Try it... run the camera with the engine off. As soon as you start the engine the jelly effect starts.

I have no idea why David's vid is devoid of this, though.

[Greg_E]

It's vibration not ignition. If you get it mounted solidly to your helmet you will not have the same problem. It get this with just about everything except the suction cup mount. I recently put some set screws in the sticky part of the quick release so that they push the buckle down. This has mostly eliminated the problem in my car.

[kkim]

I get it even when using the suction cup mount.

To take up the slop in clip type mounts, I slid a "shim" made out of a short piece from a tie wrap between the clip "forks" and the base.

[Greg_E]

Are you also using the orange rubber thing? It gets wedged into the back of the clip.

How much vibration goes your bike give? I find it hard to believe it is more than my paint shaker Buell. I would think that if it is ignition noise, you would be blanking out everyone's radio as you ride past.

I guess it is possible that you got a bad suction cup mount, I know mine is really tight when I flip the little lever in the center of the mount to pull the cup tight and create maximum vaccum. I'm not at all impressed with the sticky mounts or those side arm right angle things.

[wayanlam]

i was tempted to buy one of them suction cups that you use to pick up glass sheets with and drill a hole in the handle to rig the camera on it. but i think that they might be too big to fit on the flat surface of the tank. ill have to measure it out and check again next time i pass by the hardware store...

i assume it does not damage the paint/tank sticking heavy duty suction cups on them? i mean i don't want to loose the camera in the middle of a ride, but i also don't want to have a permanent bump on the tank either, lol

any other alternative places besides duct tape to the dashboard, or suction cups?

[Greg_E]

Panavise makes a dual suction cup mount, can't find it right now but I know it exists because you can get it for the Contour HD cameras. Here are a few other examples you might be able to track down:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search...tialSearch=yes

[Greg_E]

Some boring clips from a short cold ride today:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oN1f3KFjAow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmrI3ot1b2Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hTGjXggO2c

Mounted directly to the frame with a Hama ball head and the 1/4-20 GoPro mount. Still not entirely happy with the amount of flex in the plastic parts.

[Greg_E]

ATTENTION:

Inspect the black plastic latch on you case, I just found that mine is starting to crack. It has always seemed a like it took too much force to snap the latch down and now it is cracking where it hooks over the back. There have been no impacts to this camera yet so I'm a little surprised. We'll see how quickly GoPro sends me a new latch.

[Viper-Byte]

Yes, it is definately vibration that causes the jelly effect, and out lill 250s don't vibrate a lot, I do get a little, but nothing as bad as Greg.

Good point about the case Greg, I have always felt there is too much pressure on that little clip for the plastic to handle... Mine seems fine, but I have noticed that it is much harder to put the non air tight lid on (which FYI, gives better sound quality )

[kkim]

I also noticed the non air tight back cover to be extremely difficult to latch and simply removed the silicone gasket they have around the edge. works fine now. I found the non air tight cover to let in too much wind noise, so I filled in most of the open spaces in back with some cardboard and hold it in place with some duct tape. the enclosed back is now much easier to latch and I have not suffered any problems from removing the gasket.

I'm having a problem with the camera turning on properly. most times, it will not show the number of clips that are stored on the camera. when that happens, I need to remove the battery and let the camera boot back up. after a number of times, it will start up like it should and I can record with it, so I just start the camera and let it run w/o turning it off during rides. I've contacted go pro support about it and will be shipping it back to them for evaluation.

also, anyone else notice the camera will only take a 4G clip and then rename the next clip? on a 2 hour ride, I get 4, 4G clips out of my 16G card.

[Viper-Byte]

Interesting, I have not had any issues like that, the only one I have had with the camera is I was unable to move the videos off, it would remove itself from my PC, but showing it was still connected and say the file could not be found... Fully charged it and no problems... It was half charged when this happened though.

I have not had it up to 4GB filesize, but this will be due to the file system limitations of FAT32 (which the SD cards are) so that it not due to the camera.

[Greg_E]

The 4GB file size is due to the limit of FAT32, so it will always break the file at that point. If the number of videos isn't showing up, it could be the memory card or the card socket. What brand of card are you using?

I haven't had any problems plugging the camera into a computer, but I've only does this once or twice. I bought a nice Sandisk multi card reader that claims up to 30MB per second and it works really nice, so that's what I mostly use. Could it be an issue with the port going to sleep? Try checking power management on your USB ports and turn it off to see what happens.

As far as wind noise goes, I found that there may be a lot coming from the knob that holds it to the mount and from the front button. Blow straight down in that button and tell me it doesn't whistle. My last ride was with an M5x.8 20mm long button head screw clamping the camera to the mount. I also covered that front button with gaffer tape so that no wind can get inside and around the plastic. I did notice that there was basically no wind noise when I hit 70mph on the short stretch of highway on that cold day. That place is right next to the scoop for the oil cooler and it also get the turbulent air off the tire so it should have been very windy. Wish it was warm so I could advance my testing faster, there are a lot of things I need to try, it was 5 F this morning.

Also it is funny, the door I have installed is the "open" back and I wonder if it is slightly out of tolerance and breaking the latch. When GoPro gets back to me I'll have to mention that both of you think the open back latches too hard, there might be an issue that they need to correct. I was thinking of going at the back with a file and making that lip a little shorter. I would worry about the back vibrating without the rubber gasket, especially on my paintshaker cycle.

Also one more thing that I may or may not have mentioned... The camera is much more stable when it is hung upside down. Blame gravity for this one and get on GoPro's back to release the new firmware to flip the video in camera. I'm thinking of making some side braces for my case so that I have 2 or 3 point bracing. I'll have to ask GoPro if they would be willing to send me an extra case to experiment, doubt it but it won't hurt to ask.

[Greg_E]

Just read a post on another forum and a guy snapped his latch when he changed to the open back too. Might be worth logging the "seems too tight" problem with GoPro.

And if it seems I am dogging GoPro, well I am kind of dogging them. I see potential in this camera, but to achieve this it needs some alternate features and ideas and they seem a little slow to go after them or even consider them.

[Viper-Byte]

Right, here is a new clip, how is this for a fun ride...

Link to original page on YouTube.

[Greg_E]

Need a wiper blade for the lens.