GoPros don't always suck (or do they?)

[SXR-FOREVER]

In my experience the GoPro are amazing...you just have to realize that you can't be far away from another person if you want to film them. But I think thats how its going to be with everything that doesn't have a zoom...

My buddy's and I are pretty good at remembering to be close to one another and our shots are pretty good...(make sure to view in HD)

That being said however here is a perfect example of how close you have to be...

Here is a frame shot with the regular wide angle GoPro's we were using last year:

Here is how close he was to me:

 

[ScottyRocker]

This vid was done with GOPRO

but yeah u do need to be close, so its best used with competant riders .

 

[masterblaster]

kracus...if you wana watch your vids on a hdtv a had cam is worth it otherwise its worthless,99% of these vids are watched on a 6x9 box in your comp mon,I saw very little diff between the 480 ver and the 720 ver,other than slow glitchy playback of 720 on a 2 yr old comp with a $300 gaming vid card.
the second vid you posted by the bbc is shot with a 10,000 or more underwater hd camera,we are talking $100 hel cams lol.

Sx& scotty,your vids proves the point to a T all your first person looks cool and your shots of your buddies riding are little black dots where your objective is taking less than 1/50th of your frame pause it in these shots and check yourself,its terrible. If you would have shot that same vid with a 90deg lens you would not have missed anything and your objective would have been WAY larger in the frame,the waves would also be more in perspective.trust me ive had them all,just buy this cam and compare your results,its a dirt cheap cam

 

[FlightPlanDan]

That's a great vid!
I think the high-tech guys are over-thinking this a bit.
Granted, the days of my ATC-2K are over. (you can all click the thanks button now)
But as long as something cool happens, a good vid can be made with almost any cam.
The Tachyon thing seems user friendly and is affordable. And it seems to have very good quality.
For me, it seems to be a viable alternative to the gopro. (fish-eye)
I'm not trying to be Oliver f'ing Stone.

edit: To me..."HD" means---putting on my reading glasses.

 

[kraqus]

kracus...if you wana watch your vids on a hdtv a had cam is worth it otherwise its worthless,99% of these vids are watched on a 6x9 box in your comp mon,I saw very little diff between the 480 ver and the 720 ver,other than slow glitchy playback of 720 on a 2 yr old comp with a $300 gaming vid card.
the second vid you posted by the bbc is shot with a 10,000 or more underwater hd camera,we are talking $100 hel cams lol.

Yes, of course you are correct, that was a very expensive camera. The point I was trying to make is that Youtube HD works.
Maybe this is a better HD 1080p footage with a more realistic camera:

You can play back at 480 then 1080p...the difference is like day and night.


Benny

 

[FlightPlanDan]

Holy crap!
I thought I just left this thread!

 

[2-Stroke Guru]

Could you guys post some pics of your mounting setups while we are on this subject? I recently got a gopro hd but I am hesitant to take it on the water because I am scared the rush of water will rip it off when I crash.

 

[Dustin Mustangs]

^There is another thread just for that, do a search^

 

[Kuchera89]

no matter where you mount it, it needs a tether, i use steel braided fishing leaders, they come with hooks already on them so its easy to attach to the camera.

 

[Kuchera89]

this is probably a dumb question...but has anyone used the suction cup mount on the ski before?

and they sure need a remote for the gopro, it would make things much easier, especially in auto applications

 

[200%Absolut]

don't forget to use a real fast SDHC card to have the best quality .

at least class 10 card for 720p, with the go pro HD.

 

[Dustin Mustangs]

I don't know where people are getting that from but it's not true. Gopro says at least class 4 and that is what they will sell you. I am using class 6 with no problems at all with any resolution on the hd model.

 

[masterblaster]

the tachyon does have a remote but not really good for surf hel cam use,the mount is decent but i would reinforce it with a really tether.the impact of water is huge on a cam especailly the gopro because it is so wide from the front,the bullet stylle cams dont take as much impact from the front,but still need a good tether just in case,we have already lost 3 gopros with tethers,in most cases the ski hit the helmet,but a wave alone can do it. One more reason a $129 cam is better than a $300 cam, happens in the surf

 

[Nascency Chris]

Wow!! This thread is amazing!! while I agree with some points made here, I definitely think you guys are overthinking things just a bit...

Yeah, the GoPro vids with riders super far away can be hard to watch, but... there was another thread recently about people not posting up as much as they used to... telling people their videos (which they make and post for fun) are not good to watch just discourages them. Maybe (and I could be way off base here) this is one of those "if you don't have anything nice to say" situations, because when it comes down to it they are there for fun and nothing more. Don't over analyze something that is simplistic at its core...

I think it is slightly humorous how you guys get so locked into one type or style of camera... I play with all of these cams for a living and would not favor one over the other, they all have a use and an ideal situation where they will shine. It is the users best judgement at the time to decide the details... Are some of you guys getting camera endorsements?

All that being said, if you have a wide angle camera, you cannot be close enough. There is no other way to say it. The close shots posted a bit ago are fairly close but to really get shots like MB is talking about you need to be danger close (within 3-4 feet at certain points in the shot). This is what separates alot of good video and not so good video, the willingness of the camera op to get in there and get dirty... ideally you want the rider/ski to fill the majority of the frame unless you are framing with a sweet background, etc behind or beside them. Obviously if someone is hammering down a 30ft face you would want a nice wide shot and then the GP wide would work (remember ideal situations earlier lol?)

In the end, have fun with what you do... Like stated earlier "I'm not trying to be Oliver Stone"...if thats the level that is deemed acceptable to post vids then I need to go pull down all of my stuff because its nowhere near that kind of level lol... remember why we all do what we do... and to think this thread was started because Jerry wanted to post more footage of himself lol (zing buddy, zing)...

note - I like to give Jerry crap and its all in jest, please don't read too much into it (sad that the interweb has made things like this that I have to post disclaimers)

 

[SuziQ]

Art is an expression…

and videos are art, so people are going to possess individual preferences in producing them, as well as interpreting them; I think that is good. To try to make each individual produce, interpret, and especially react in the same manner is a grave folly. If it were even possible to manage such a feat, art would cease to exist.

I believe I have enjoyed every video I have watched on this site, with exception to one, and I have no problem expressing my serious disdain with it either, nor joking around about other videos, or directly with friends inside their video threads, or those belonging to someone else. With that stated, I do personally prefer the nicely edited videos…doesn’t matter to me if the individuals ride well or not honestly, just so long as each appears to be having fun. A well made video on Youtube or Vimeo can motivate someone outside of this network to purchase a stand-up, which helps all of us.

I only watch a tiny fraction of the videos in reality, so I wonder if the statistics do indeed reflect less video is being posted. That would seem odd, being that there has been a vast increase in cameras over the past year or two. If so, perhaps it is because many people are only now beginning their ride season due to cold and ice; it was an extremely cold winter for most.

edit: and/or maybe with the state of the economy over the past year, many are riding less, hence less video.

 

[djkorn1]

Good posts...it's all in good fun. If you like taping and editing, do it. If not, just ride and maybe someone else will catch ya!

btw...sxr foreva...your vid is badass...as is Jerry's.

 

[kraqus]

In the end, have fun with what you do... Like stated earlier "I'm not trying to be Oliver Stone"...if thats the level that is deemed acceptable to post vids then I need to go pull down all of my stuff because its nowhere near that kind of level lol... remember why we all do what we do...

I think you are under rating yourself here. Let me say something, and I believe I am not alone, your videos are hands down THE BEST. You truly capture the "essence" of Freeriding, and what we do, flawlessly. They capture something that most of us can't explain with words, but is what draw us to this sport. I have also notice you are very through when editing, as the video matches the music score you happen to pick to perfection. I am always left wanting more of your videos.

p.s: can't wait for O&D


Benny

 

[masterblaster]

I agree,chris is underrating himself,you are the oliver of jetskis bro. My only intent on both these threads is to inform the LARGE group of uninformed riders either already using a wide angle go pro or more to the point the group that is looking to purchase a cam,to film others while riding that are only going to buy one cam "this is like 90% of us" that a gopro wide is totally useless for this purpose.It seems that now 99% agree on that. Anyone new to hel cam will get MUCH better shots with a 90 deg lens.Best thing is these tachyons cams are dirt cheap,might be even cheaper if the group buy works out in the other thread

 

[Nascency Chris]

gee... thanks guys!! The GoPro cams I don't think were ever intended for anything more than 1st person POV, which would be why the wide angle lens won out on the HD model... it would be interesting to talk them into running a few one offs with different lenses for different applications... hmmmm...

 

[masterblaster]

i already tried,didnt get much hope from them on it,gopro have suckered the market into believing the 170 is a all purpose lens and it costs them less $ to make a one size fits all cam. When you talk to the guys at tachyon,they are all about user feedback,they are looking at making a wireless waterproff rf remote and a dedicated rechargeable lipo pack that runs 3 hours plus. with these features this cam will really be a jetski cam winner and way more cost effective