Go pro type video camera

[CODYBOY]

Ok guys, looking on some input into a camera for doing some video. We have our phones and a good canon point and shoot. Are the video purpose cameras going to be that much better? willing to pay for a quality camera, and my first search was info on a GO Pro Hero5, (around $250) What are some of my options? Thanks for your help. "thumbsup"
Ernie

 

[STANG KILLA SS]

what do you want to do/shoot with it?

 

[HumboldtEF]

I dont have anything else other than my phone to compare it to but the image quality of the GoPro's is so so, not terrible but not super sharp either. I think the reason to get a GoPro is the durability and its small size plus the warranty. the Go Pro is also a very simple camera settings wise which could be a plus or a minus. I think the GoPro beats the Iphone video quality by a small margin.

I wouldn't mind having something that's a step up from a GoPro in image quality but for now it does the job.

Another thing worth mentioning is that the GoPro battery is not replaceable so you either need to charge with a portable battery pack, conserve or just keep a close eye on battery life.

A user on here caller IZI RC shot some great footage on a Samsung's nx300, check it out here http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/vide...ad-adventure-youtube-channel.html#post5903685

 

[Habanero]

Odd my go pro has removable batteries. Guess they changed it. Anyway I like this one for my planes. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...9ea-768a917d5900&pf_rd_r=THMRMVJE9M7HN2SRRYHE

 

[CODYBOY]

what do you want to do/shoot with it?

Anything from shooting some rock crawling to some video of my UDR to maybe my grandkids sports events. "thumbsup"

I dont have anything else other than my phone to compare it to but the image quality of the GoPro's is so so, not terrible but not super sharp either. I think the reason to get a GoPro is the durability and its small size plus the warranty. the Go Pro is also a very simple camera settings wise which could be a plus or a minus. I think the GoPro beats the Iphone video quality by a small margin.

I wouldn't mind having something that's a step up from a GoPro in image quality but for now it does the job.

Another thing worth mentioning is that the GoPro battery is not replaceable so you either need to charge with a portable battery pack, conserve or just keep a close eye on battery life.

A user on here caller IZI RC shot some great footage on a Samsung's nx300, check it out here http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/vide...ad-adventure-youtube-channel.html#post5903685

Good info Casey, thanks I will check out the YouTube.

The other thing to watch with a Go Pro type camera is the fisheye lens. Depending on the model, you're stuck with all that distortion--it's not always the best focal length for shooting crawlers.

Thanks for taking time to give some input. We just got new phones and may I need to give them a shot before I do anything else.

Odd my go pro has removable batteries. Guess they changed it. Anyway I like this one for my planes. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...9ea-768a917d5900&pf_rd_r=THMRMVJE9M7HN2SRRYHE

That is a cool little camera, and the price is right! Thanks for the info! "thumbsup"

Ernie

 

[lonleycreeper]

Check out the Runcam 2.... About $100 and 1080p @60 fps. About 1/4 the size of a gopro.

 

[JDM74]

If you are going to mount the camera on a crawler or the UDR you will want at least a Hero 6 Black. The image stabilization is pretty good and works to make video actually watchable when mounted on something like a UDR. The hero 6 Black will also record in 4k at 60 FPS.

If you are going to shoot from your hand at any considerable distance from your subject you are going to be disappointed. the field of view of the GoPro or any GoPro like camera is very wide so you will need to be pretty close to your subject to get any quality video.

 

[STANG KILLA SS]

will be no good for grand kids sporting events. gopro like cameras have a VERY wide angle lens. so they make any subject look twice to three times away as they really are. ie watching a baseball game from stands, your grand kids would just be dots.
gopros are best when subject is 3-5 feet away.
gopros also have a fixed focal length. they are set focus from 3' to infinity.

 

[Shinchu]

I agree the gopro is a little overhyped unless you are mounting it to your snowboarding helmet or other extreme activities you want to document for your social media followers.

That said, I did get one as a gift from my wife last year. Its the session. Little cube guy fits right inside the cab of just about any rc rig. Its durable and relatively easy to use. Also the session is pretty affordable and tons of mounting options.

Downsides as mentioned by others earlier is fisheye lens, and not able to swap batteries so you need to have a piggyback external USB battery bank, or constantly charge it.

I would look into alternatives that have a better sense and swappable battery packs.

I like my gopro fine, but I dont think I would buy any more of them.

 

[Natedog]

GoPros are good but have some issues, as do most cameras, you gotta buy what will do your type of video best. Rockhugger and I were discussing this not long ago and he mentioned the Akaso V50 Pro as quite good.
https://www.akaso.net/v50pro

 

[HumboldtEF]

GoPros are good but have some issues, as do most cameras, you gotta buy what will do your type of video best. Rockhugger and I were discussing this not long ago and he mentioned the Akaso V50 Pro as quite good.
https://www.akaso.net/v50pro

Dang, I wasnt even considering a new camera but the V50 pro is tempting. It looks really nice and fairly affordable.

 

[tuanies]

If you don't need waterproofing, check out the DJI Osmo Pocket. Its small, gimbal-stabilized and shoots 4K60. Otherwise if you want something better than a smartphone, you'll have to shell out $$$

 

[wings_of_fire]

When GoPro were cheap, you would find 5 of them on a single bike.

 

[CODYBOY]

Thanks for all the input and discussion guys, now I need to decide what my goals are for a camera like these. I always thought the quality of video would be better than what I'm seeing. "thumbsup"
Ernie

 

[rockhugger]

GoPros are good but have some issues, as do most cameras, you gotta buy what will do your type of video best. Rockhugger and I were discussing this not long ago and he mentioned the Akaso V50 Pro as quite good.
https://www.akaso.net/v50pro

Yes, after much research I was impressed with this little camera under $120 with full boat of included accessories plus 2 batteries and a double charger.

Dang, I wasnt even considering a new camera but the V50 pro is tempting. It looks really nice and fairly affordable.

There are lots of give and takes, but Gopro is just too expensive for what you get. I know a lot of people still use the hero 5 and 6, but nowadays you can get a camera that is comparable or better than those for under $210 and down (based on my research)

I have not been overly impressed with the Hero7 Black that a lot of people have switched to. That's not saying it is not good, but to me it always looks too dark. I'll admit, it is pretty damn sharp. The biggest advantage is the excellent EIS (electronic image stabilization) up to 4k@60. This would only be a major factor for mountain bike type of videos where previously a chest mounted gimble was used.

Thanks for all the input and discussion guys, now I need to decide what my goals are for a camera like these. I always thought the quality of video would be better than what I'm seeing. "thumbsup"
Ernie

Keep in mind Ernie that what you see on youtube is less than what the camera is able to do. If you watched the video straight from the camera raw on your computer, you would be blown away most likely (4k video) compared to what it looks like by the time it is playback on youtube.
After much research I was staying within my parameters of low cost, good 4k video, and image Stabilization. I narrowed my search down to these:
Yi4k plus - $210' ish 4k@60 w/EIS
Akaso V50 Pro (over the V50 Elite) $119.00 4k@30 w/EIS

I bought the Akaso because it's inexpensive and comes with everything, whereas the Yi4k does not include accessories. I think the Gopro and Yi4k use the same chipset, and get this, the Yi4k was the first camera to do 4k@60fps 2 years ago, before the Gopro hero 6 & 7 black. Gopro is not a perfect camera, it's just what people know and are comfortable with, but they have their problems too. I would not even consider a camera that only does up to 1080p only in 2019, when there are good affordable 4k cameras such as Akaso, Yi4k.

My goal was just to get a action camera that would help me decide if I needed to spend more on another action camera later. I don't want to ramble too much so I'll leave you with one of the better comparison videos that helped me decide. This video compared the Akaso V50-V50Pro and Gopro 6.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dljy1I8UPgk

I hope this helps.

 

[rockhugger]

The V50 Pro also has Adjustable Field of View (FOV) so you are not stuck with wide angle view.

Another thing to remember is the memory card should be of good quality. "thumbsup"

 

[Peaker]

If for our hobby and you want to walk and film your own car fairly close by, then the Ozmo pocket are ideal as it have tracking, and the build in gimbal.
So turn that on, tell it to track your car and then off you go, and only worry is you just have to face in the general direction of your car.
+ the pocket are not wide angle as action cameras, so you get a more zoomed in footage, and you can record in 4K/60 and zoom in even more in post for a 1080p output.

 

[Jim85IROC]

I keep looking for an excuse to buy a Go Pro, and I keep falling short. There's not much that a Go Pro can do that my phone can't do better. The one thing my phone can't do is fit in small areas or ride along on my RCs, but for those tasks I picked up a Mobius Maxi. It's much smaller and lighter than a Go Pro, so it's better suited to riding shotgun on my RCs.

 

[Peaker]

If you want a camera to ride along on your models, then really go pro shaped cameras are no good.
Strapped a SJ4000 to my friends electric power boat not thinking, that at 100 km/h thats one big ass negative aerodynamic problem.
Result the Sj4000 was never found again after the crash.

So your can go with cameras like the mobius - mobius maxi - gitup F1 ( this one being 4K / 30 - 1080/ 120 and also have some EIS )
There are also the foxxer cameras, like the Legend 2
These are all matchbox shaped cameras with the lens on the end so as easy as possible to install and as little drag as possible.
Problem with on board is our little cars while not fast at all, well they shake and jump around like hell, so even modest challenging terrain will be hard to film onboard.

There are also a few keychain / fob cameras that are actually even smaller, but these are largely unsupported so you take a chance.

As for you holding the camera, and doing other things too, which we often see have a negative impact on footage, well then i cant see anything better than the dji osmo pocket and its object tracking + gimbal stabilization, so you can concentrate on driving your lines and not fall on your ass, and the camera should take care of the rest.

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[JatoTheRipper]

Thanks for all the input and discussion guys, now I need to decide what my goals are for a camera like these. I always thought the quality of video would be better than what I'm seeing. "thumbsup"
Ernie

I'd suggest staying away from GoPro because the new models are problematic and have issues like overheating as well as being overpriced compared to the competition IMO.

I strongly suggest the Xiaomi Yi (I have the first gen, 4K and 4K+) or SJ Cam.

I highly recommend checking out Techmoan. He has a website as well as a YouTube channel. His reviews are independent and honest.

Techmoan - Techmoan

Techmoan - Techmoan - Yi 4K - The best action camera*ever?

https://www.youtube.com/user/Techmoan