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ATP: GoPro Camera

Screamindemon3

Screamindemon3

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I've been think about getting a GoPro for a while now but haven't really done any research on the different models and such. I'll be using it primarily for my trip to Brazil next June for the World Cup (obviously i'll use it for other events as well but that's the main reason I want one). I had a friend post on facebook last night that he lost his job and is selling his brand new GoPro HERO3 Black Edition with a bunch of accessories for 400.00 (pictures below). 1. Is that a good deal? 2. Is that the right model for what i will be using it for? 3. From what little research I have completed, it seems like a new model is rumored to drop before my trip, so do you think it's better just to wait for the new model? Here's the pics he posted:

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Are you planning to mount it to your helmet, onto a bike or inside of your race car? If no, why not just use the camera on your cell phone? I've used GoPro's for years now in race cars but I don't think I've ever really seen them used as a handheld camera. And if you want a handheld, there are probably better options that will do stills and video with more features for the same price. The "advantage" of a GoPro is it's durability and ability to be mounted and used in harsh environments.
 
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I know nothing about the value of the camera, and I do not know what your final product from your camera will be, but if you hope to make really nice enlargements I have not seen anything that great from the GoPro files that have been sent to my photo lab. Videos I have seen are great. I think there are cameras that are better for each product, but the accessories for the GoPro are what put them on the top shelf. They are way cool, and I would love to own one myself, but I would hate to see you buy a camera in hopes of having GREAT images that you could print large only to find you could make prints that I would grade a C. Cool trip, I am very jealous, have fun!
 
yeah you wouldn't use it for stills, just videos. While at a festival in Belgium, I had a new camera while my friend had a GoPro. His videos turned out awesome while my pictures shat all over his. So it has its uses definitely. He had a head mount, there were others with head mounts or the extended arms. We didn't do anything crazy with time lapse or anything though but did shoot some continuous video to fast forward and all that.

Reminds me, I need to bug him to finish our video with that footage.
 
RacerDeac said:
Are you planning to mount it to your helmet, onto a bike or inside of your race car? If no, why not just use the camera on your cell phone? I've used GoPro's for years now in race cars but I don't think I've ever really seen them used as a handheld camera. And if you want a handheld, there are probably better options that will do stills and video with more features for the same price. The "advantage" of a GoPro is it's durability and ability to be mounted and used in harsh environments.
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Do not get me started on Cell phone images. Do yourself a favor, if you are going on this nice of a trip, spend $150 on a Nikon Coolpix or something rather than rely on your phone. Use the phone for the images at the bar, use the camera for things you really want to print pictures. Or maybe you do not care about printed pictures, if so go with either the GoPro or cell phone.
 
I don't know about him, but I probably won't even have my cell phone. It'll be two weeks in a foreign country with no service unless I want to go bankrupt on roaming and all that.
 
RacerDeac said:
Are you planning to mount it to your helmet, onto a bike or inside of your race car? If no, why not just use the camera on your cell phone? I've used GoPro's for years now in race cars but I don't think I've ever really seen them used as a handheld camera. And if you want a handheld, there are probably better options that will do stills and video with more features for the same price. The "advantage" of a GoPro is it's durability and ability to be mounted and used in harsh environments.
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Yeah probably mounting to the cranium. My friend traveling with me is all into the expensive camera stuff so still pictures are completely covered. He has thousands of dollars in his 3-4 different cameras so I'm not even going to take anything other than my cell phone.
 
Why do you want a GoPro instead of a new camera? And how much are you looking to spend? Right now you can get a new Panasonic G6 with a stabilized kit lens for $638 on Amazon- it will probably be dropping in price big time before the World Cup (I'm thinking in the $350-400 range, which is the current price for the previous model the G5). This is the kind of filmic looking video you can get from the G6 (with a little color grading).

If you wanna go cheaper you can get the Samsung NX100 with an APSC sensor for $299 at Cameta Camera (and it comes with a free copy of Adobe Lightroom). Or if you don't want a camera with interchangeable lenses you can get a high end pocket camera that produces exceptional stills and videos for less than $400. Panasonic just introduced a really small camera with a fairly big sensor called the GM1. I wouldn't be surprised if it's in the $450 range by the time of the world cup. Plus it's really stylish, taking cues from Leica in terms of it's design.
 
TARDAWG said:
Do not get me started on Cell phone images. Do yourself a favor, if you are going on this nice of a trip, spend $150 on a Nikon Coolpix or something rather than rely on your phone. Use the phone for the images at the bar, use the camera for things you really want to print pictures. Or maybe you do not care about printed pictures, if so go with either the GoPro or cell phone.
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True. I don't think I've printed an image since maybe 2001 other than wedding photos and professional images of my family/kids. A cell camera is perfect for capturing still/video memories though. It's always on you and can back up your images to the cloud instantly. I just got back from a trip to Jamaica where a friend got a little drunk and lost her phone, but since she had been connected up to WiFi multiple times on the trip, all of her photos from the trip were sitting in her iCloud account when she got home.

JDawg said:
I don't know about him, but I probably won't even have my cell phone. It'll be two weeks in a foreign country with no service unless I want to go bankrupt on roaming and all that.
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If you have a smart phone, you'd be crazy not to travel with it IMO. There's WiFi everywhere. In a foreign country, they come in really handy for looking up directions, places to eat, things to do, etc, etc. And you can text and call through various apps that utilize VOIP or messaging over IP rather than cell service in an emergency.

JDawg said:
While at a festival in Belgium, I had a new camera while my friend had a GoPro. His videos turned out awesome while my pictures shat all over his. So it has its uses definitely. He had a head mount.
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Screamindemon3 said:
Yeah probably mounting to the cranium.
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Wait, you kiddos these days wear a helmet to concerts so you can mount cameras to your head? :geek: In that case, sounds like a GoPro is perfect. :thumbsup:
 
RacerDeac said:
Wait, you kiddos these days wear a helmet to concerts so you can mount cameras to your head? :geek:
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this times 1000x.

I understand wearing the cam to film yourself and your buds participating in sports (i.e. skiing/boarding) but mounting a camera on your head to film a world cup game? or party? don't get it. #getoffmylawn
 
RacerDeac said:
If you have a smart phone, you'd be crazy not to travel with it IMO. There's WiFi everywhere. In a foreign country, they come in really handy for looking up directions, places to eat, things to do, etc, etc. And you can text and call through various apps that utilize VOIP or messaging over IP rather than cell service in an emergency.
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That's a good point. I haven't traveled since WiFi has been really widespread except this past summer, but I was camping/secluded with no WiFi.
 
Only get it if youre going to do something similar to this:
 
Yeah, that's pretty much at the top of my bucket list. Just need to buy a little more life insurance to make sure the kiddos are taken care of given the rising costs of college.
 
That video is just amazing!!

Wanted to bump this thread to see if anyone had any images from their GoPro that could make cool enlargements with high end resolution. I am going to a nature photography Show in a few weeks and would love to take a sample. I have contacted a few friends who own a GoPro and all have great videos, but nothing that will help me prove they files can be reproduced in a print form with good quality.

Shoot me a PM, and I will shoot you a link to upload the image and would be happy to print you a copy as well if the resolution holds up.

doubledeac said:
Only get it if youre going to do something similar to this:
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