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Which GoPro???


Ellsworth Joker's picture

By Ellsworth Joker - Posted on 25 October 2015

NB: Originally posted elsewhere on the Global Riders Network and appears via syndication.

Now I know there are many versions now days and naturally the higher specced version is also the most expensive.

What's the opinion of those owners that use theirs generally to video their MTB riding using the chest mount?

hawkeye's picture

I have a Hero3 black. I hadn't used it since Rotorua late last year and now it plays up. It keeps turning on the Bluetooth functionality by itself and generally being a pain in the arse. If I want to film only part of the ride, say from an hour in, I need to take it to the start point with the battery out of the unit, then put it in when I want to start recording, otherwise the battery is half-used before I've begun.

Google search seems to show this and some other faults are not uncommon.

The chest mount used to be OK but now flops around quite a bit. We ended up ditching it in favour of bar mount for Rotorua as the chest mount was too shakey and couldn't be tightened up enough to make it stable. That said, it was OK to start with but the elastic has stretched. I wouldn't call the Rotorua trails we rode rough... certainly not nearly as rough as Many Dam.

Others may have a different view. Hopefully they will comment.

thshs's picture

Thought they were the greatest thing ever. Used it for a couple of months, filming every ride until I realised that no-one, including me, is the slightest bit interested in watching a fat old bloke rolling around the same trails endlessly.
Also got the black version, and had plenty of firmware problems. Fogs up and the battery life poor. Also had a lot of trouble rendering the files down to useable size. But....the vision and detail is unbelievably good. If you catch something worth keeping it will look great. Look at amarkie's stuff on here as an example of someone who does great stuff with one.
Mine now collects dust under the bed next to my ab roller.

MrMez's picture

Mounts:
-Bar mount is too shakey and all over the place. Makes it look like youre going faster than you are.
-Helmet mount is the opposite. Looks too smooth and stable, but good if you can see the bars in frame.
-Chest mount is a good balance for me. Get to see the bars and a bit of the bike and still gives you a sense of the hits. Had my chest mount since the gopro 2, and it's still fine.

Model:
I use the 4 black now, but never record 4k. Most my videos end up online, and VERY few people have a 4k monitor and nbn to stream it. Mostly use 2.7k. playback stressed my old laptop pretty bad, and while I can upload the files to my ipad, it won't play them back. Annoying when youre on holiday.

This will give you an idea of what to expect from a chest mount, 2.7k, superview (wide setting) and youtube cutting the guts out of it.


http://youtu.be/iOvbN4MZJac

Ellsworth Joker's picture

I totally get you oldandslow....I too have an abandoned ab roller under the bed.

As I only ever do the same trails at Kalamunda, a GoPro for me would be wasted after a few outings.

My other half thought it may be a good ideas for my birthday next month. Oh well, socks from the kids it is then.

Cheers.

hawkeye's picture

Where the GoPro did come in handy was on the helmet while commuting.

Drivers were miraculously much better behaved, giving me lots of room.

It doesn't even have to work....

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