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GoPro Recommendation

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Not really sure where to start.

Photo's and editing short clips to put onto social media. i.e. Facebook Twitter

Longer clips to be edited to show on screens around school building and assemblies to promote ski trips.

Would like the above to also be viewed on iPhone & iPads wifi compatible

In addition to skiing, I will personally use for sports i.e. Mountain Biking, Road Races Kayaking Paddleboarding.


Wish I was a tech geek!
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
A mid range GoPro will suit you. Or alternative like Contour Roam.

The trick is more in the video editing. I use GoPro studio, which is free to download. My advice is take lots of short clips, rather than turn it on and film for hours. Then look at the clips each evening, delete the rubbish and write down decent clips etc. Watch some GoPro videos on YouTube to see how they flow - length of each section, merging between clips etc. Any video editing software will produce an MP4 which you will be able to upload to YouTube or Vimeo and/or play on any device.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Don't buy now, unless you really need it. They will start getting cheaper over the next 6 weeks.
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The Session 4 is quite good for video but the sound isn't the greatest, depends what you want from it. If you want better sound then the various Hero options have an option to plug in an external mic if needed (I think).

There are also some pretty decent alternatives from other manufacturers and knock off 'Go Pro' cameras. These tend to still claim the same HD quality but fail to deliver in a few different ways. Usually the sound is even worse, the motion a bit blurry and the battery slightly worse. They still do a decent job for what most people want though.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@1969jma, I have a Hero 3, very pleased with it, nice and simple functionality. Have a chesty and also a Dakine rucksack strap mount, gave up on helmet mounts (annoying bashing on chair-lifts and also look like a plonker). Secret I found is to have a couple of spare SD cards and 2-3 spare batteries and keep it warm between uses. As said above switch on/ off as required and avoid just leaving it running. I'm rubbish at editing, need to spend time going through old footage and making some decent movies, never get time to review it properly.

Used to have a Contour - sold it, really complicated functions and I believe they also are no longer in business, back up service affected? Go Pro market leader and its for a reason - they are excellent. I've seen the cheap Chinese replicas, not for me....I like decent stuff that works when needed, might be OK but I'd rather not mess about, Go Pro is great gear.
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Bear in mind that a gopro isn't the best tool if you want, for example, to interview people. If you're in a group then you may want to think about taking video from others in the group too. Any Point-of-View (PoV) camera will do the job. None of them produce a format you can't easily make work with the devices you mention. It's not technical.

If you're unsure then borrow a device from someone you know, or at least look at some user-generated footage (the manufacturer's stuff is not reliable for this).

As far as shooting and editing... that's down to you.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
I'm not too worried about interviews at this stage.

So in the next six weeks an introduction of new GoPro will see at price drop in others

which would you go with?

Sj4000
Hero 3+
Hero 4+
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
The problem I've had with cheaper Gopros and their knockoffs is poor handling of bright light (i.e. typical blue sky days on snow when you want to film!), with washing out, loss of contrast etc. In the end I shelled out on a top end Hero 4 black which has been excellent.

As others have pointed out, its not just the hardware, think about the software as well. I found the free GoPro Studio was worth less than I paid for it, and bought Cyberlink Power Director which was much more user friendly, flexible, capable, faster and reliable. It cost about £60.
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Just to throw another one in the mix:

http://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/actioncam/hdr-az1-kit

I bought it last year and it spanked my mates Hero 4+ in both snow, racing and on water.

You can get the HD version too.

The remote on your wrist is so so handy for lining up shots, taking videos and photos. OK Gopro allow you to sink to your phone, but its a ball ache faffing with your phone.

and the best bit, you don't look like a teletuby and you don't smack your camera every time you drop the bar down wink
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@1969jma, Hero 3+ easy good enough for me, it's like most things - you can get nice shiny stuff at a fraction of the cost increase if you buy right, but equally when its -20C and its painfully cold to get your hands out of your glove, but it's a blue-bird day and deep powder you want it nice and simple imho. Wait a few weeks and ther'll no doubt be a SJ4000+ or a 5+.....marginal gains, £'s spent vs features vs faff is the thing, I'd go 3+ and trade up once you know what you know works and doesn't for you, good resale on them.
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@PaulC1984, am I correct just splash proof. What if I was to fall off Paddleboard or capsize in Kayak?
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
@Markymark29, do you know any online websites which are currently the cheapest / good deals?
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
@1969jma, Comes with the waterproof case for the camera. The wrist band controller is only splash proof - fine for skiing, not so fine for diving wink
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
@ansta1, do you know if it is possible to buy a Xi 4K camera in the UK, and if so what the frame rates are for 4K and 1080p footage? I've done a quick search and can't find a UK retailer, but you might know different?
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
@1969jma, Bought mine via amazon 2 years ago, but were plenty of deals on fleebay at the time with good reviews, shop around is my best advice. Currys and Argos may be in on the action now which always drives prices down. Another tip, buy the remote, then put it on ebay and use your iphone via Bluetooth, saves £20-25. Buy decent mounts (as above Chesty and Dakine rucksack strap mounts).....and you don't have to buy pucker Go Pro mounts. OEM ones are just as good.....oh and buy a lanyard for it.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
1969jma wrote:
@Markymark29, do you know any online websites which are currently the cheapest / good deals?


You will find that a number of retailers are limited/out ofstock for gopro cameras at the moment. Plenty of them got burned previously with updates. As mentioned the new camera and drone is currently slated for October release. Those retailers with paid for stock are going to start marking them down over the next couple of weeks to try and clear the decks.

@rob_rar I'll see if I can find someone, I know it's had a recent firmware upgrade to update the 4k capability.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@ansta1, I saw a comparison of its electronic image stabilisation at 1080p60 compared to the GoPro4 Black and was impressed (although I guess that GoPro5 will offer this?)


Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Tue 30-08-16 16:30; edited 1 time in total
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Yes, plus improved connectivity, extended battery life, more user control over camera and a few other goodies that they may or may not enable at launch. Gps, voice control ( the joke is going around that if you ask 'is it on yet' it will beep and start recording).

No real change in frame rates (for now at least). Just more usable.
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@ansta1, thanks, good to know.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@ansta1, extended battery life with the rumoured LCD screen as well? I currently always use mine with a 2nd battery pack so if I could get similiar battery life without the added bulk of 2nd battery pack + LCD I could be tempted Smile
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@kitenski, yep, we're not talking order of magnitude but certainly better I am led (ahem) to believe. The new chipset is better and so consumes less power to do the same and the battery has a little more juice to boot.

'go pro that was sick' command will auto highlight.

Note from editor. As with car tests the improved bit is also a bit of a fudge due to the change in UI meaning less menu cycling for option.

Very Happy
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
My suggestion.

If you want a gopro now and don't want or need the new features then try and pick one up in the next 3-4 weeks. If you still don't want the new features then wait for the online bulk retailers (sportspursuit as an example) to start offloading the unused stock at a hefty discount in 3-4 months.

If someone wants a hands on with the 5 or some real world test before deciding I can probably help out after the official release date which may or may not be in early october if they fix the current issues with the camera and drone in time, which they will I am led to believe.

Note from editor.

Old housing/new camera or new housing/old camera combi won't work. Less buttons on the new.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
I found this review very persuasive for having a camera with Electronic Image Stabilisation. The other stuff like a touchscreen, GPS, voice commands, better battery life, etc are great, but for me video quality is king. Having the option to get stabilised 1080p video by sampling from a 4K sensor would be a great feature for the GoPro5, but if I was in the market for a new action cam I'd be interested to see how it compared to the YI 4K camera.


http://youtube.com/v/ona84wA6cnw

BTW, does anyone else mentally pronounce the name of the YI 4K camera with a Geordie accent?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
How much is this device and where can it be purchased?
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I would not compare iq based on that source. Of course image stabilisation in camera has benefits but what is seen can be achieved post processing. I would doubt (but i don't know what they did) that they are true like4like comparisons. Gopro are king of source capture IQ quality, but that comes with a price in terms of processing that source data to make it good. Abe is the man when it comes to workflow.


5 is going to knock socks of the competition but I am somewhat biased given my investment financially and otherwise.
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Check the frame rate.

Many 4k cameras can only capture at 15fps, which is IMO seriously cr*p. I want 50fps - and if this means only capturing at HD then I will live with that.
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
rob@rar wrote:
I found this review very persuasive for having a camera with Electronic Image Stabilisation. The other stuff like a touchscreen, GPS, voice commands, better battery life, etc are great, but for me video quality is king. Having the option to get stabilised 1080p video by sampling from a 4K sensor would be a great feature for the GoPro5, but if I was in the market for a new action cam I'd be interested to see how it compared to the YI 4K camera. ....

It's a bit misleading though. It's easy to Warp Stabilize 1080p out of GoPro 4 black 4k. I would look at user-generated footage for a more reasonable comparison. You probably won't find much quality stuff which isn't shot on GoPro though.

For snowboarding, I mostly don't bother doing stabilization as it's not really an issue. Ride smoother!

I would check also the data rate you're getting from the cameras, and how "raw" their output is, as if you're shooting snow those things are important (because you need to get the brightness and colour balance right, and the actual image quality is not only a function of the number of pixels, but the data you're retrieving from the camera).

--
GoPro 5 -well they already exceed the quality of the competition, and the power of many people's processing systems. My 2-year-old GoPro Black 4 cost maybe $300 two years ago, but the computer to process the output cost much more. It must be quite hard to keep your position when you're top dog.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Gopro won't be happy.

http://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2016/8/31/12716212/garmin-virb-ultra-30-action-cam-4k-stabilization-voice
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
@ansta1, and the "oracle" of tech loves it!

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2016/08/garmin-virb-ulta-30-mini-review.html

Quote:
As one who has repeatedly said that they’d have to pry my GoPro Hero4 Silver out of my cold dead hands, I’m pretty much happy to give that up and make the $499 VIRB Ultra 30 my day-to-day action cam. Well, at least until I see what the Hero5 looks like.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Indeed and based on my info at this time(I know nothing Guv honest), this could be a small nail in the coffin for nick and the guys at gopro hq.

But they have some tricks in the bag that they could risk.....
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Looks like gopro are reacting to the garmin, release date been pulled forward....
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
ansta1 wrote:
Looks like gopro are reacting to the garmin, release date been pulled forward....
Any guesstimates on price and release date? Be good if it were no more expensive than 4 Black.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Not sure of the price but I'd expect it to be similar in price to current 4 black. As for release date 19th september is the current one on the table.
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@ansta1, thanks.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Not wishing to teach you to suck eggs, but just an observation - whatever you go for, ocassionally take it out of its fixed holder and try a bit of hand-held shooting. Otherwise you tend to get a lot of 'samey' shots, as you're constrained to look where you're going most of the time (obviously safer than skiing in one direction while looking in a different one!). From time to time, I take my camera out of its clip, and pan it 'round while skiing, just to show the scenery. Obviously works best on a fairly easy run but it does make for a bit of variation. And as mentioned, if you're in a group, try to shoot each other and share the results. Basically, go for a bit of variation from the Teletubby viewpoint that comprises 90% of YouTube videos. Nothing wrong as such, and you're often constrained by having to concentrate on actually skiing safely, but perhaps worth a bit of time spent trying to do something slightly different.
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Nice thread! I (foolishly!) lost my beloved GoPro hero 2 in the sea at Woolacombe last week. My initial reaction of annoyance (mostly for losing the memory card with all video from VT last year) was soon replaced by excitement of thinking about getting a new one!

I stumbled across a review for the Garmin Virb Ultra 30, and was blown away by the review. It's definitely first on my list currently as I wait to see what GoPro have go up their sleeve.

It seems to tick all the boxes regarding picture quality, pixels, fps etc so that aside I particularly like:
- good sound recording even with case on
- voice activated recording, should be handy with gloves on!
- compatible mounts with the GoPro
- gps stats (elevation, speed etc)
- not sure I'll use the image stabilisation but nice to have anyway
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
My Garmin Virb Ultra 30 arrived yesterday (after the courier 'lost' the one I ordered last week).

I only had a short play around last night but the image quality is amazing and the stabilisation would have you thinking it was gimballed. I've got a second battery on order and think it will need it, especially if you leave remote wake up and other niceties turned on.

Voice activation is great, pro settings give excellent low light footage and the zoom works well too. Running it from my iPhone 6 was really cool (my Lumix does this well too) and the phone offers all the control you would need. This feature is especially useful when setting up on your helmet, board or bike. Mapping where you were, on a piste (or off), on a bike ride or on a para flight is really nice... having speed, cadence, G force, altitude, HR as well is the game changer.

I think Garmin may have really caught Go Pro napping with the Ultra 30. I'm liking mine.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
@bar shaker, in my experience using the phone to set up a shot from helmet cam still takes some getting used to. I did it with mine and ended up with footage of the sky because I didn't realise quite how much I look down when I ski.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
The devil is in the detail, gopro have previously been the king of raw (as raw as it gets at least) image quality, coupled with Abe K's editing it's a killer combination.


The additional data and integration with other sources is going to play a factor, but peeps will still want the kudos of the latest gopro. 6 days till launch for the new device, it's going to be interesting how the market reacts but as i've said earlier the garmin could be a big hit on gopro sales just because they got in there first.
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Some reading:

https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/2016-roundup-4k-action-cameras
http://www.techmoan.com/blog/category/action-cameras
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