JoeyBike

This is a fair assessment...for a car. They just turned the camera on and drove. Then stopped and turned the camera off. If the drivers had to turn the camera on and off every 30 seconds while drifting around corners, Contour would have gotten an A, GoPro an F. While cycling I turn my camera off while riding through the park. I turn it on when I hit traffic. On-Off without looking at the camera, stopping the bike, or even thinking about it much. Camera starts recording about 1 second after switching on. If I don't capture anything exciting that day, I just mash the Format button and plug in the battery charger for the following day.

There are other action cams out there I like. Some even have self-leveling software so no matter what cooky angle you set the camera body on, the horizon is automatically perfectly horizontal. I do admire GoPro marketing. They are A+ at marketing their product and this is all that really matters in the end.

ItsJustMe

The purpose of loop recording is that you won't leave a recording that you want on a camera for days. I think that's a safe assumption. If you're in an accident are you going to just leave the card in the camera for days and keep recording? No, you're going to take the file off the card immediately. The point of loop recording is so that you can just use a camera as a dash cam, just leave it there, turn it on and off as needed and just forget about it unless something actually happens, at which point you get the file you need off the card.

The way they have it REQUIRES you to plug the camera into a computer every few days and clear the card, or format the card in the camera (which FORCES me to lose everything on the camera). When I had mine it would sometimes be in this mode and I wouldn't realize it, until I got home and went to turn the camera off and only then realized that the camera had refused to start recording and had powered down, so I went a whole ride with no recording.

EVERY other camera in the world uses a big continuous loop, and only saves off files that you have marked in some way for permanent storage. GoPro doing it the way they do demonstrates a fundamental lack of understanding of how people use this feature.

The way they do it simply makes zero sense. Why would I want to keep yesterday's recordings in preference to today's? If I wanted yesterday's recordings I would have gotten them off the card overnight. Yesterday's recordings are MUCH less valuable than today's recordings, I can't imagine a scenario where I would want to overwrite today's stuff and keep yesterday's stuff.

JoeyBike

Even home/business security cameras work like this. You turn it on and ignore it until something happens that is worth looking at. Then you take a minute and save that segment. Then hit record and continue ignoring it until something else happens you want to see.

genec

Some people are not in a position to remove the recording every night... for instance, my son just went on a two week trek in Costa Rica... he had no way to download the recordings of the day. He had multiple memory cards, so he could change those. And he had AC power to recharge the GoPro every few days... but he wasn't backpacking a laptop. He saved the files on the memory cards that he brought until he got home.

No doubt there are other adventures that want to keep their "loops" for the day in much the same way.

Perhaps the real solution is for GoPro et al to provide for different types of loops or different saving modes.

genec

Yes and no. The problem is what if something occurred two days ago and you just haven't noticed it yet... you want to go back to those saved recordings. Quite often those security systems or the operators save the data for some predetermined period... then write over it. Deleting the events of the previous day, when it has not been completely reviewed (assuming you are NOT on station 100% of the time) can leave you unprotected.

Don't get me wrong... I have no reason to defend GoPro over any other system, or vice versa, but I simply point out that any piece of software (firmware) might actually have different use conditions for situations other than that which you have imagined. (one of the difficult vagaries of writing software...)

JoeyBike

Most security systems I know of keep data on a huge hard drive for a month, or at least one week.

GoPros are making a lot of people happy, including me. When I vege-out on YouTube for entertainment, I don't really care what camera they used. I am just happy there are so many ways to capture video and I lived to see the day. However, it would be nice if budding phone vidiographers would learn to turn the danged thing HORIZONTAL!

RomansFiveEight

Tried out my shoulder strap for my DriftHD yesterday (for anyone reading considering alternatives to the ubiquitous GoPro). Definitely need to adjust it 'upward'. Also, played around with "DashWare" which lets you take telemetry data and emboss it in the form of gauges over the video. A novelty but cool anyway. Fun to play around with. Short 5 or 6 mile ride "out and back" to try out the camera.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb9N...m-upload_owner

Chris516

This presumes that the purchaser wants/has Blue Tooth capability.

genec

Right... which is why GoPro keeps those "loop" files rather than deleting them as soon as you start a new day. That save mentality is typical of other systems... Doesn't mean that it is right, but that it is common.

Oh I wholeheartedly agree... no doubt what is happening is simply new technology in the hands of very amateur users. Nearly every display I can think of is normally oriented for a wide horizontal view.

JoeyBike

I don't use Bluetooth with my Contour. I just make sure the camera is level, point it down the road and turn it on. Wide angle of video does the rest. Never used Bluetooth. Just another battery wasting feature. Totally unnecessary for most action cam uses and 100% of mine.

Chris516

I was given my GoPro HD Hero 4 Silver for my birthday(May 16). I already posted my first video on YouTube. I had it on the wrong visual setting(Super Size; I thought that term only applied to fast food, lol). So, There is no closeup.
I didn't mean to imply, you were presuming everyone uses a Blue Tooth. I was referring to the creator of the video.
I am glad I finally have one.

hotbike

I use my Canon A2500, which I carry in my pocket when I'm not riding.

Number400

I have a "No-Pro" setup on the tandem. It's not weatherproof but it gives me over 6 hours of recording and has GPS. I can easily read license plates. It's just an old, inexpensive dash cam that I was not using anymore. I used to run the camera on my helmet with the usb cable to the battery pack in my jersey. I now have it mounted under my handlebar. I use the Garmin charger to run it as a security camera sometimes. I have left it running for weeks.

I have cameras in my car and it's nice to have on the bike as well just in case I get a really bad pass or to catch cool things along the way.

asmac

I got one of these -- actually the previous non-WiFi model -- for about US$80 delivered. It came with a 2nd battery, charger, waterproof case and a slew of mounts. Delivery took about a month but shipping was included in the price. All-in-all I'm quite happy with it. SJCAM M10 WiFi Mini Cube Action Camera Standard Version 1.5 Inch Waterproof HD Camcorder Car DVR - SJCAM.COM

What I really want is one of these: https://360fly.com/

ItsJustMe

Why what, why not a GoPro? That's easy. They're overrated and overpriced. The only reason everyone thinks GoPro when they think of action cams is not because they're the best, it's because they spend a lot of money on marketing (and pass the spending on to you).

I've had a lot of cameras, including one GoPro. The GoPro is honestly the camera that I was the least impressed with. The form factor is just idiotic; it looks stupid no matter how you mount it; like you decided to duct tape a brick to the bike. It was extremely picky about SD cards - I had a dozen SD cards at the time, any of which would work fine in any device I owned, EXCEPT the GoPro, which only liked 2 of them. It had multiple firmware issues and it corrupted SD cards regularly, to the point where they were unusable in any other device. When I talked to GoPro support, they were extremely rude and said that obviously there couldn't be anything wrong with THEIR awesome equipment, I must be doing something wrong, and/or I must be using crappy SD cards (I was using the SanDisk Ultra10 that they recommended).

I've not had this level of trouble even with the cheapest of Chinese cameras.

GoPro DOES have good picture quality IF you buy the higher range ones, but you'd hope so if you're spending $300 to $500 on a single camera. You can do as well for less money with many other makers.

As for recommendations, my criteria are:
Long battery life - AT LEAST 2 hours, more is better, must have replaceable battery if battery life is < 3 hours
Good mounting options available (even if I have to make them myself)
Proper video looping feature (*)
Easy to turn on - ideally one switch/button - I want to be able to turn it on while riding, without looking, if I forget before I start.

(*) Garmin inexplicably doesn't understand what video looping does. Their version of "video looping" is that if you set it at 5 minutes, it records a SINGLE 5 minute video, then overwrites it, over and over. This is idiotic and completely misses the point of video looping, it's pretty much guaranteed to overwrite your evidence if you have an accident. This means for the Garmin you have to turn off looping and remember to erase the card every day or two. Enough for me to send it back.

For a helmet cam (my preferred method of forward facing cam mount-I want a slim camera that fits on the side of the helmet without sticking out too much), I have an SVC200 (now sold as a Coleman) which I like but I don't think it would be my choice now. I'd go with either the Drift HD Ghost, Drift Stealth 2, or a Sony ActionCam. The Stealth 2 would absolutely be my choice except it doesn't have a removable battery. Also the Drift cameras are not the easiest to turn on, they require a couple of button pushes at least.

Rear facing is a bit more difficult. I had an M10 from SJCAM and that's OK but I found the mounting to be a bit clunky and it was a bit of a PITA to turn on, you have to push a power button, then wait for it to boot up, then press record, and in direct sunlight you can't really tell very well if it's running or not.

I finally got a Fly6 for rear facing. It ticks all the boxes. One button to turn on and start recording. Proper looping (in fact that's all it does). Battery not removable but lasts 6 hours. Mounting is OK - seat post only. I'm going to have to work on that before winter when I'll switch back to a rack trunk bag. It'd be nice to offset it a bit too - when riding in the wet, the camera on the seat post immediately gets crud on the lens being sprayed up from the tire.

asmac

That is a weakness but it's a toy and it's $80 so I can cope.

ItsJustMe

I'm not really concerned about price, for me this is not a toy, it's an evidence camera and I take it rather more seriously than that. I bought an M10 and IMO if you're in the market for a camera of the GoPro type (big ugly brick) then the M10 is a good choice, it's probably on par with the Hero White. not a great camera but for evidence you don't need cinematic quality images. There's really not much point in getting a Hero Black if your sole use is an evidence camera - you're wasting 90% of its capabilities.

If I was shooting Mythbusters I'd buy a bunch of Hero Blacks - because I have the budget to buy a crateload of $500 cameras and blow them up, I really do need that cinematic quality and it doesn't matter a bit that the camera looks horrible.

BTW for real cinematic stuff, Mythbusters is now using Black Magic camera bodies - if you're really concerned about image quality, that's the way to go. I think the 1080p version is $1000, the 4K is $2500. With no lens.

hotbike

Photographic Bike Tour by AviationMetalSmith, on Flickr

I zip-tied a selfie stick to the perforated metal shield, on the front of a Citi Bike...and it works with any small camera.

Chris516

I looked at all the cameras you mentioned above. Before I 'selected'(I asked my parents' for it as a birthday present) the GoPro. I wanted the Hero 4 Black. They gave me the Hero 4 Silver. Because of some reported problems with the Hero 4 Black. I 'selected' the GoPro because, only the Sony Action Camera had a Chest Mount Strap. I didn't like the design of the camera. This is the first video I did with my GoPro Hero 4 Silver mounted on a Chest Mount Strap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcOiXHdKxJc

joeylaugh

Judge the bad drivers, and feel sorry about your suffering. I think the camera is good that you can have the evidence about the bad drivers' behavior. I used my GoPro for filming or taking photos most of the time, never think that is relative with my safety.

biker86

I dont, but wish I could. Sadly they are a little bit too expensive for my tastes (even the cheapest model of GoPro I could find was close to $120).

ItsJustMe

SJCAM makes perfectly good cameras that are very similar to the GoPro, have BETTER image quality than the cheaper GoPros, and start around $80. The M10 is a good one. The SJ4000 is also very good, also in the same price range, but watch out, there are a lot of knock-offs of the SJCAM out there. Basically look to see if it says "SJCAM" on the case.

There's nothing particularly special about a GoPro, other than very, very good marketing.

Chris516

Quality. I looked at both the Contour and SJCam. Before I got my GoPro4. I chose the GoPro based on the quality of the accessories. The Chest Mount Strap for the SJCam, while being $20 cheaper. That is what it is, cheap. The image quality was terrible from the videos' I watched online.

ItsJustMe

OK. I haven't really looked into the other straps and mounts, but if that were the deciding factor, there's no reason you can't buy GoPro accessories and use them with an SJCAM.

I owned a GoPro a couple of years ago, and it was absolutely without exception the buggiest firmware camera I've ever owned. I had tons of problems with it, and when I talked to support, they were very snotty, and basically said that obviously there could never be anything wrong with one of their cameras, the problem CLEARLY had to be that I was using crappy SD cards. I was using a genuine SanDisk Ultra 10 as they recommended. I had a dozen SD cards, all of which worked fine in every single device I had, but only 2 worked right in the GoPro, and once formatted in the GoPro, they became very flaky in everything else.

I decided to sell the thing on eBay and stay away from GoPro stuff. I think they are like Apple - if you live entirely within their ecosphere, it's fine. Also like Apple fans, people tend to overlook shortcomings and blame the victim if anyone has trouble with the product - clearly you're using it wrong.

As for video quality, I don't know. Hopefully you were looking at original files downloaded from reputable review sites, not edited stuff on YouTube. The latter is subject to whatever idiot might have set the bitrate to 11mbps in their editor, and to YouTube recompression, and has not much to do with the actual quality of the camera's output.

youngbull

i need a gopro in case someone hits me!