Gopro and similar cameras (Me and ma big mooth)

[Andy in Germany]

So we're progressing on the conversion of an elderly MTB to a randonneur bike, and looking at the practicalities of getting the bikes to Japan and if there are any possible routes.

Turns out there are a lot.

To give Elder Son a bit of motivation and suggest what we could do, I showed him videos like this playlist.

I should have remembered that he loves video editing.

Now he wants to get a GoPro or similar and make videos on the ride. Of course this is a good thing because he's now 100% more motivated. I know he can edit because I've seen him at work, but I haven't the first clue about GoPros or similar. There's plenty of the 'similar' on Ama*on.

Ideally I'd prefer a used camera because of the whole tree hugging hippy vibe.

Does anyone have recommendations? I get the impression that earlier Gopro's are cheaper on the used market but have poor sound, which I doubt would worry us, as I've noticed most videos on bikes with sound are mostly wind anyway.

What should we look for? what is a 'good' resolution? and perhaps just as importantly, what are gimmicks that we don't need but push the price up?

(Edit: Link added, sorry about that...)

 

[nickAKA]

Set a budget and buy the best used gopro you can for the money, I bought an original hero a fair few years ago for about £80 on ebay - still going strong.

There'll be more knocking around after Christmas as people will upgrade, and if you don't fancy ebay and it's ilk, somewhere like MPB instead is your friend (but you'll pay a premium I guess) :

https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/used-equi...-action-cameras/used-gopro/gopro-hero5-black/

 

[Biff600]

I have a couple of GoPro's, a Hero 4 Silver and a Hero 5 Session, both are excellent at what they do, I prefer the size of the Session and the battery life !!

The Session has a built in battery and lasts for a couple of hours at 1080p and about half of that if recording on 4k with wifi and stabilisation on, its also excellent at doing timelapse movies

The Hero 4 is great as it has a touch screen rear panel and is simple to use, and the batteries are removable and last about 1hr 30mins

Both can be linked to a mobile phone with the GoPro app installed and then all settings can be adjusted via the phone on the hoof !!

I bought them just to have some fun on the motorbike, but swiftly realised that it could be viewed as 'incriminating evidence' !!

I definitely do not belong to the 'I've got you on camera' brigade.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Thanks for the replies:

Set a budget and buy the best used gopro you can for the money, I bought an original hero a fair few years ago for about £80 on ebay - still going strong.

There'll be more knocking around after Christmas as people will upgrade, and if you don't fancy ebay and it's ilk, somewhere like MPB instead is your friend (but you'll pay a premium I guess)

Makes a lot of sense as a strategy. So an original or early model works? Also handy.

I have a couple of GoPro's, a Hero 4 Silver and a Hero 5 Session, both are excellent at what they do, I prefer the size of the Session and the battery life !!

The Session has a built in battery and lasts for a couple of hours at 1080p and about half of that if recording on 4k with wifi and stabilisation on, its also excellent at doing timelapse movies

So the 'session' lasts longer then, but the built in battery means I can't recharge on the road?

Does 'stabilisation' mean it shows clearly despite rattling about on the bike?

I've already got a couple of ideas or timelapse movies...

Is 1080p a good quality?

The Hero 4 is great as it has a touch screen rear panel and is simple to use, and the batteries are removable and last about 1hr 30mins

I definitely do not belong to the 'I've got you on camera' brigade.

As there appears to be a 'hero 6' and beyond I take it that 's an older model...

I'm conscious of the privacy issue with the cameras too, as there are strict privacy laws in Germany -and I want to make moves here as well because it's a beautiful part of the country but sadly neglected. I noticed on a few travelogues that peoples faces were pixilated. Is that an automatic feature, and what is it called?

I did warn you that I haven't a clue...

 

[mjr]

Is 1080p a good quality?

Good enough and better camera like a Go-pro has better sensor makes better results. I think 1080p is what

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijrdET44NJ8
started off as (on a cheaper "Active Sport" high street clone), although youtube only offers me 720p as the maximum. The drawback of higher resolutions is that it takes a lot longer to transfer the files.

I noticed on a few travelogues that peoples faces were pixilated. Is that an automatic feature, and what is it called?

It's a feature on youtube and some video editing software but the name varies and I don't even remember youtube's name for it.

 

[Kempstonian]

I have a Hero4 Silver and I'm really pleased with it. It comes with a waterproof case too - ideal for those rainy days!

 

[Slick]

This was a session 5.

View: https://youtu.be/7nCOR0HzV1o

 

[Joffey]

This action packed video was filmed on a GoPro Session 4 using the wrong frame rate (my bad) - the sound isn't too bad and it's super easy to pull the footage and edit. They are pretty cheap on eBay.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqMVlqHMYMA&t=89s


And the best thing about the Session Cameras is they are tiny - you can attach to anything and even film underwater without a case.

 

[nickAKA]

Thanks for the replies:



Makes a lot of sense as a strategy. So an original or early model works? Also handy.



So the 'session' lasts longer then, but the built in battery means I can't recharge on the road?

Does 'stabilisation' mean it shows clearly despite rattling about on the bike?

I've already got a couple of ideas or timelapse movies...

Is 1080p a good quality?



As there appears to be a 'hero 6' and beyond I take it that 's an older model...

I'm conscious of the privacy issue with the cameras too, as there are strict privacy laws in Germany -and I want to make moves here as well because it's a beautiful part of the country but sadly neglected. I noticed on a few travelogues that peoples faces were pixilated. Is that an automatic feature, and what is it called?

I did warn you that I haven't a clue...

This all depends upon what you're willing to spend - I'm a bit out of the loop as regards the most recent improvements on the GoPro but I believe the later versions are waterproof to about 30m without a case, which is bloody handy as you don't have the faff of the case, and trying to find a replacement off the shelf in the UK for the older models is a royal pain in the backside.
So personally I'd suggest buy as new as you can afford to spend - the latest models are all-singing-&-dancing, they have enough features to satisfy the pros (have a look at DC Rainmaker's reviews) but they can still be used as point & click if that's what you want.
Assuming your son does video editting now, I'm guessing he has a decent editting setup; that's the main hurdle to using hi-res footage. You need tons of storage & plenty of processing power so that's generally what limits you shooting in 1080p or 4K. Generally, 1080p is good enough (standard HD) where 4K is for the pros. Frame rates of 60fps and over eat storage but they're nice for shooting slo-mo footage sparingly.
The gopro is great for timelapse...
Pixelating faces etc would, I guess, be taken care of during the editting process. I'm sure there is off-the-shelf software to do this but it's a bit beyond my knowledge TBH.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

I got one of these earlier this year (currently unavailable)
https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B0146CE9PE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

What I liked about it was that it had a spare battery. (Although battery needs to be in the unit to charge). It works fine to my non-tech mind. With patience, I can do basic editing on my phone. I think a go-pro or other premium brand uses more common formats though. That may be a point to consider. Also consider the size of memory card that can be used. And working on the assumption that the videos will be stored and edited at home, a safe way to store the full cards during the tour.

But..... the reality of it is that I don't use it on tour. It'll run 90 mins to 2 hours on a battery, whereas I cycle for maybe 8 hours per day, so it needs to be switched on and off. I could use a battery pack or hook it into my dynohub, but I need that power for other things. It interferes with the "touring" feel if I have to stop to tun it on & off. Also, it needs to be removed whenever I am leaving the bike.

Having said all that, a Father/Son tour of Japan is definitely something to be recorded!

I love watching other tourers videos! It's just not for me.

Just one question. If it's the son who wants to do this, why not let him off and get what he wants? He'll be the one using it, after all.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Thanks for the thoughts...

I love watching other tourers videos! It's just not for me.

I can understand that, but I'm an natural storyteller, in different media, so it's kind of inevitable that I end up doing something like this. In previous ages I'd probably be trying to make woodcuts.

Just one question. If it's the son who wants to do this, why not let him off and get what he wants? He'll be the one using it, after all.

Fair comment. He'll be looking and asking his friends, and I ask here, so between us we work out what we individually want, then we look at if we can get that and what we can compromise on.