GoPro Hero and other POV Camers

I thought I would start a thread on POV (point of view) cameras like the Hero2 I just bought. I'm sure there is lots of info on this subject in other threads but it would be nice to have a thread just for this subject.

I have had my Hero2 for about a month now and have found it to be a great addition to my GT40. It will do 1080P video and many other video formats including one in WVGA resolution at 120 fps (slow motion). It also does time lapse from one picture every .5 seconds to one every 60 sec. It will take stills and has many more features. In most modes it can do it wide, medium and narrow angle and many different resolutions. Not that this feature is important to me but it will also work under water to a depth of 200ft. I did play with the camera in my Mom's pool, lots of fun.

It has a fixed focal length lens so it will not replace you SLR or Point and Shoot but the picture quality is amazing. They make it in a few different styles for surfing, skiing and one for motor sports which comes with a high quality suction cup mount and other fixed mounts. It charges through a USB connection and has a remote mic input and a composite video/audio output for real time monitoring. Soon they are going to release a remote app for iPad and Droid phones to control and view video from the Hero2 that works over WiFi.

I've posted a link to short low res video on my Picasa web site to give you some idea of the capabilities of the camera. I hope to add many more longer and in higher resolution videos and hope others will do the same so we can share what works and what doesn't. There are lots of videos on YouTube if you need more ideas on how to use this type of camera.

Have fun and get out there and take some video from you favorite ride and share them with us.

https://picasaweb.google.com/1028005...1943/Hero2Test
 

Mike

Lifetime Supporter
I've got a Hero HD and find it works well with a few draw backs. It is awful when shooting in snow. The internal mic sucks. That said, I am going to get an Hero2 since it has an external mic jack and shoot with both using the sound from the external mic. Not sure about the snow and over exposure issues.

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YCkqy03VJQ8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 

Kirby Schrader

They're mostly silver
Lifetime Supporter

Couldn't agree more...

I know the guy driving 'Chainsaw' (CHN SAW) on the right. He used to work here as manufacturing manager. He went to China on business right after that little event on Woodlands Parkway and when he came back, they were waiting for him at IAH. :stunned:

Probably the most expensive street race he'll ever have.
It became a felony when the other guy called his Mom and she showed up and said he was injured and took him to the hospital... Lots of 'interesting' background to this... Other 'vette wasn't his, belonged to a friend, he was driving on a suspended license, etc. etc.

I don't think it would have been a big deal, but the guy that recorded the video from his camera phone posted it to YouTube and there were a million hits plus within a couple of days. The county DA couldn't ignore it after that...

Ah, yes.... those minutes of fame can be painful.

FWIW,
Kirby
 

Mike

Lifetime Supporter
I wouldn't post video of street racing period which of course you see none of in the above video. I would also add that speeds never exceeded 75mph and if you don't believe me then prove it ;) You're going to have a hard time prosecuting someone without license plates, driver identification, and actual speed measurements.
 
Michael I'm with you but we do have to be careful. Our cars draw enough attention without doing something stupid on top of it. As you can see in my video I entered the freeway at the same speed as the cars in the slow lane.

Of course most people in LA drive 5-10mph over the speed limit all the time. Not that that's bad but it does take a while to get used to.

It looks like the link to my video got messed up so here is a new one. It includes the a new video that is almost as the first one except you can pick up to 1080p. Let me know what you think. The one you want to open is the small one one the right.

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/102800534533700331943/albums/5696572586551987809
 
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Rick Muck- Mark IV

GT40s Sponsor
Supporter
Couldn't agree more...

I know the guy driving 'Chainsaw' (CHN SAW) on the right. He used to work here as manufacturing manager. He went to China on business right after that little event on Woodlands Parkway and when he came back, they were waiting for him at IAH. :stunned:

Probably the most expensive street race he'll ever have.
It became a felony when the other guy called his Mom and she showed up and said he was injured and took him to the hospital... Lots of 'interesting' background to this... Other 'vette wasn't his, belonged to a friend, he was driving on a suspended license, etc. etc.

I don't think it would have been a big deal, but the guy that recorded the video from his camera phone posted it to YouTube and there were a million hits plus within a couple of days. The county DA couldn't ignore it after that...

Ah, yes.... those minutes of fame can be painful.

FWIW,
Kirby

Kirby,

The quote I like is "The internet doesn't make you stupid, it just makes your stupidity available to everyone!"
 
One of the things I hope comes out of this is to share the software we have and how to use it. I'm not sure what anybody else is using for time lapse but I've been using HandyAvi for several years and I like it a lot. For those that don't know time lapse cameras take a string of regular pictures and the user has to use software in post production to turn it into a movie. You could take a regular camera set up on a tripod and snap a picture every 2-10 sec and turn it into a video with this software, no special camera needed.

One of the many things I like about this software is the ability to skip any number of frames while making the movie to speed thing up if you need to. It was originally designed for hobby astronomers as it will setup and control a telescope and scan all the frames from the night to look for meteors. It will also detect motion for surveillance work.

You can also change how fast the movie plays by changing the frames per second during playback. The fewer frames per second when you make the movie means slower playback but it can get jerky it you run it to slow.

The software is not free but at $39 it's well worth it and they have demo software so check it out. If anyone has other software they use please let everyone know about it.
 
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Couldn't agree more...

I know the guy driving 'Chainsaw' (CHN SAW) on the right. He used to work here as manufacturing manager. He went to China on business right after that little event on Woodlands Parkway and when he came back, they were waiting for him at IAH. :stunned:

Probably the most expensive street race he'll ever have.
It became a felony when the other guy called his Mom and she showed up and said he was injured and took him to the hospital... Lots of 'interesting' background to this... Other 'vette wasn't his, belonged to a friend, he was driving on a suspended license, etc. etc.

I don't think it would have been a big deal, but the guy that recorded the video from his camera phone posted it to YouTube and there were a million hits plus within a couple of days. The county DA couldn't ignore it after that...

Ah, yes.... those minutes of fame can be painful.

FWIW,
Kirby

Doesn't look like chn saw had a clue about driving that vette, and they handle pretty good.
 

Mike

Lifetime Supporter
I'm using IMovie on a Mac to do my basic editing. Anyone into photography or video knows that you can spend as much as you like and it's hard not to once you start getting into it. I have a friend that has >$20k in his video editing setup. I don't plan on going to that level but I have been eyeing a new Mac Pro and trying Final Cut.

Everyone can make their own decision as to what they film and post. I don't street race so I'll never have to worry about posting video of that. Out west where I'm at there are miles of deserted roads and freeways that one can enjoy on early weekend mornings. On the other hand, if you're ripping through traffic at 140mph you're going to get in some trouble sooner than later. It's just kind of common sense isn't it? I speed but I don't drive like a jackass.
 
Now days it's hard to get away with anything in populated areas like LA not that it doesn't happen. You still hear about street racing. Bake in the 60's it wasn't so bad but there were a lot more drag strips around to work out your frustrations and a lot fewer people to run into. I seem to be digressing here.

Michael is right the sky is the limit when it comes to video editing and I'm just starting to learn. It is nice that today we can do it all from the comfort of an office or den and that Apple and Microsoft both provide reasonably good software with their OS's.

My suggestion if you're just starting out is to not start with a big expensive piece of software as there are just to many option that will confuse you, it did me when I started the Adobe Premier. Great software just way to complicated for a novice.

For most quick stuff I like Michael use the software that came with my computer which for me is Microsoft Movie Maker. Not great but not bad if all you want to do is cut out all the parts you don't want in you video. You don' even need a camera to get started. Just grab any video your editor will work with and see what you can do with it. If you totally mess it up just start over as there isn't a pile of cut up film all over the floor.

I know a woman that does the video editing for one of the network soaps and she loses me in nothing flat but I hope she will be a resource in the future when my brain will allow. So if you know someone that does a lot of this make friends with them and don't forget YouTube as it's a great source for ideas and even lessons.
 
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Mike

Lifetime Supporter
Looking forward to seeing some of your work Richard. Why do you use Picasaweb vs YouTube or Vimeo? Just curious... I admit I search YouTube once or twice a week for GT40 clips as well as good Cars & Coffee clips and some other specific stuff. There is not much out there in regards to good quality GT40 stuff. Rare cars and with only the recent advent of personal HD capability it's slim pickings. Hopefully, more quality video will start to show up with all the low cost equipment that can produce really stunning results. I'm looking forward to some in cockpit footage from Olthoff trading paint with his race car on the track. Come on Dennis hurry up! :)
 
If I'm not mistaken you give up your ownership rights to any material you up upload to those sites. May not be a big deal and of course anything I post publicly on Picasaweb I can't control. I have a lot of pictures there that I share with family and friends.

I see you have a Cars and Coffee in Denver. I went to my first one in Irvine a few years ago to see my first running SPF GT40 (Lance Stander's) and it was beyond description. I took my GT40 there in early Sept. It was hard to believe that there were so many amazing car in one place. I searched the Cars and Coffee videos for that date and only saw my car because it was close to some 57 Chevy they were filming.

Yes with the proliferation of small HD cameras we should see lots more interesting videos. Just the fact they have some many TV shows with people doing no end of dumb stuff proves that.

I have no problem uploading pictures to this site but haven't been able to upload a single video. Not sure whats going on there. The limited size you can upload limits it's usefulness with any HD content anyway.
 

Mike

Lifetime Supporter
I suppose but it's not like I plan on getting rich of my content. I found my videos posted on sites in Europe and Asia but they still link back to my channel. That's about as much as you can ask for. There's plenty of software out there for scraping content than no matter where you post it, it can be pilfered with ease. I'd like to think distributing content that links back to SPF or Olthoff while I don't directly benefit, may drive some business their direction and indirectly benefits me by keeping them in business and available to provide me parts and advice that I want. Speaking of... lol
 
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