Well, conventional wisdom wins again

[MidTNDawg]

At least, it seems to me conventional wisdom says get a Go Pro camera, not an iON camera. After doing due diligence on checking everything out, I am getting a Go Pro Hero 4 Silver. It does seem I will need a couple of extra batteries for all day riding, but that is fine with me. I will be able to mount the Go Pro literally anywhere I want to and control it with my smart phone. All-in-all just a better informed decision even though spending more money. BTW, a new thread as I think this would be lost in the other thread.

[SPYD3R]

At least, it seems to me conventional wisdom says get a Go Pro camera, not an iON camera. After doing due diligence on checking everything out, I am getting a Go Pro Hero 4 Silver. It does seem I will need a couple of extra batteries for all day riding, but that is fine with me. I will be able to mount the Go Pro literally anywhere I want to and control it with my smart phone. All-in-all just a better informed decision even though spending more money. BTW, a new thread as I think this would be lost in the other thread.

i've purchased 4 SPORT CAMERA's from this website:
http://www.dhgate.com/wholesale/search.do?act=search&sus=&searchkey=SPORT+CAMERA&catalog=
and can't say that the GO-PRO's are any better than the ones i have....
i kept 1, and have given away 3 as gifts, and i've had NO compliants... what about you BIG BIRD - any compaints?
and the price is right...
dp
SPYD3R

[wyliec]

At least, it seems to me conventional wisdom says get a Go Pro camera, not an iON camera. After doing due diligence on checking everything out, I am getting a Go Pro Hero 4 Silver. It does seem I will need a couple of extra batteries for all day riding, but that is fine with me. I will be able to mount the Go Pro literally anywhere I want to and control it with my smart phone. All-in-all just a better informed decision even though spending more money. BTW, a new thread as I think this would be lost in the other thread.

I think you've made a good choice. Just in case you're not satisfied with the suction mount that comes with the gopro, this may be of interest:

http://joby.com/action-series/suction-cup-locking-arm

[MEP]

At least, it seems to me conventional wisdom says get a Go Pro camera, not an iON camera. After doing due diligence on checking everything out, I am getting a Go Pro Hero 4 Silver. It does seem I will need a couple of extra batteries for all day riding, but that is fine with me. I will be able to mount the Go Pro literally anywhere I want to and control it with my smart phone. All-in-all just a better informed decision even though spending more money. BTW, a new thread as I think this would be lost in the other thread.



Although I thought that the 50% or so off that you were talking about with the Ion camera was a good deal for a solid camera, you won't go wrong with a Go Pro. You've made a well thought out, researched, and reasoned decision...I don't think you will be disappointed in it.

[DJFaninTN]

smart move! just got one myself and still learning all what it will do.

[samewok]

I have one and it is charged dual USB port where the gas gauge was.

[pauly1]

What is a good camera for mounting and taking scenery shots? The very short focal length the Hero 3+ we had would take great selfies but really sucked for getting any worthwhile scenery shots. Inquiring minds want to know.....

Wayne

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

I have a GoPro Hero 3+. Some thoughts from my experience. The Android app to control the camera works pretty good, but there is about a 1 or 2 second delay between the image the camera is capturing and the displayed picture. There is a bit of delay in the actions like turning camera on and off. The record button is hard to see in the daytime and it's hard to tell if it's in record mode or not. They may have changed that since I complained about it last fall. Hitting the buttons on the screen to control the camera isn't the easiest thing to do while traveling. Touch control probably won't work with gloves on so you need a stylus, which brings up the need to figure out where to park the stylus.

Consider using a tablet instead of a phone so you'll have a larger image to work with. Mounting the GoPro on your helmet makes it easy to aim the camera at the subject of interest, but the image is not as steady as it will be if the camera is mounted to the bike. The guys here who have posted videos taken with a bike mounted camera have steadier images than I have gotten.

The GoPro charger is USB and holds two batteries. A second battery is a good idea. By the time the first is used up the second one will be charged. I keep my charger in the trunk. But two should get you through a full day I think. Keep in mind you are not going to be recording continuously while riding, that is if you have mercy on yourself as far as editing, and on others who you hope will watch them later!! :)

For what it's worth here is one of the videos I took last year. The camera is on my helmet. You can see the tablet and can catch a glimpse of me touching the tablet at the start and end.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ro0STmMDg4I

[finless]

i've purchased 4 SPORT CAMERA's from this website:
http://www.dhgate.com/wholesale/search.do?act=search&sus=&searchkey=SPORT+CAMERA&catalog=
and can't say that the GO-PRO's are any better than the ones i have....
i kept 1, and have given away 3 as gifts, and i've had NO compliants... what about you BIG BIRD - any compaints?
and the price is right...
dp
SPYD3R

I bought that SJ6000 camera. Sorry it is a POS.

TRUST ME... it is not at the level the Go Pro is. It is also buggy as hell. 50% of the time it locks up and stops recording on my commute to work. It locks up so bad you have to pull the battery to reboot it. And yes I have a high end SDcard! So that's not the issue. SDcard works fine on my Go Pro Hero 3+ Black edition.

It only supports up to a 32GB SDcard which at 1080 is a problem. It also has to record in "segments" of which 25 minutes is the largest the menus allow. No other camera I have does this.

Bottom line while that SJ6000 has a good price (I paid $100 on ebay) it's junk. Video quality is fine but the thing is just not reliable.

Bob

[finless]

FYI for the GoPro guys... While the mobile APP is cool and all, it's not great for using on a MC as some have pointed out.

I got the Wifi Remote which you can strap to your wrist and this works really well.

Also if you want good audio for moto-blogging, the Sena BT backpack works really well.

You can also make your own wired MIC pretty easy and cheap. I ordered the MIC connector on Ebay and used a old Sena headset MIC.

Bob

[wyliec]

FYI for the GoPro guys... While the mobile APP is cool and all, it's not great for using on a MC as some have pointed out.

I got the Wifi Remote which you can strap to your wrist and this works really well.

Also if you want good audio for moto-blogging, the Sena BT backpack works really well.

You can also make your own wired MIC pretty easy and cheap. I ordered the MIC connector on Ebay and used a old Sena headset MIC.

Bob

I have the original gopro HD, and I'm thinking of a wired remote. Would you know the type of adapter required, and how to wire, and where would it plug to on the gopro? I can buy one on sale for $79; but, if it wasn't to difficult to make, I'd go that way.

Thanks

[MidTNDawg]

to all who have posted here. I am positive I will need more info about sound as well as video. Thanks again.

[Dragonrider]

I have a neighbor with a GoPro, and his videos are no better that the ones I took with my $6 (ebay) video spy camera, attached with velcro to my bike. I now have a HD waterproof video camera that's svelte, and operates with one button. BTW, with accessories, it costs $48 delivered, it's ram mounted to the dash top.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

You can also make your own wired MIC pretty easy and cheap. I ordered the MIC connector on Ebay and used a old Sena headset MIC.


to all who have posted here. I am positive I will need more info about sound as well as video. Thanks again.
Bob, how will you plug the mic into the GoPro? There is no access through the clear housing that I see. I wonder if there is any feasible way to feed audio from the bike system into the GoPro when using the wired system, not BT.

Dawg, you can turn the mic off and then add audio later. I didn't turn it off when I used it and you can hear a constant low noise level from wind and such. If you listen close you can hear the music I had playing through the headset. On some other vids I can hear the GPS announcements. Those sounds obviously are carried through the helmet shell.

[finless]

Waswinger, I bought a case on eBay for my hero+ black that has a cut out on the side to access the ports.
Let me know if you would like me to find the link. I am mobile right now.

Bob

[MidTNDawg]

Waswinger, I bought a case on eBay for my hero+ black that has a cut out on the side to access the ports.
Let me know if you would like me to find the link. I am mobile right now.

Bob

I would like the link. Thanks.

[wyliec]

I would like the link. Thanks.


Here's a side opening gopro case:


http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Protective-Side-Opening-Case-Skeleton-Housing-For-Gopro-Hero-2-US-Stock/291206009760?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%2 6asc%3D29381%26meid%3D2d03c99a060c4e5ea04e5fbdb86f b3a2%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D2717 17270184&rt=nc

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Here's a side opening gopro case:


http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Protective-Side-Opening-Case-Skeleton-Housing-For-Gopro-Hero-2-US-Stock/291206009760?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%2 6asc%3D29381%26meid%3D2d03c99a060c4e5ea04e5fbdb86f b3a2%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D2717 17270184&rt=nc

All the ones I looked at on eBay are skeleton cases which means they are not water tight. Could be bad news if you get caught in a rain storm while riding. If I were to get one I'd put some sort of shield on it to keep rain from entering the side opening.

[finless]

Here's a side opening gopro case:


http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Protective-Side-Opening-Case-Skeleton-Housing-For-Gopro-Hero-2-US-Stock/291206009760?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%2 6asc%3D29381%26meid%3D2d03c99a060c4e5ea04e5fbdb86f b3a2%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D2717 17270184&rt=nc

This is the case I got.

Waswinger, you cannot expect to have access to the ports AND be water tight. Just not going to happen.
Only way to have that is get the Sena GoPro backpack which is water proof.

Bob

[finless]

FYI if you want audio for moto-blogging I do recommend the Sena backpack.

Here is how I mounted my GoPro and the audio you get with the Sena backpack.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5ldUJ0V6Ck


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cg3g4fOpJKE

Bob