GoPro model choice

[BestGear]

Guys

Quick question...


I am going to get a quadcopter soon, and possibly it will be a Phantom.

Looking at GoPro';s, there appear to be several models from old to new.

Are the older (and readily available used) models any good for this application or will the vibration kill them?

Any advice or experience most appreciated.


David

[flybywire]

Vibes are bad for any camera, or airframe for that matter, but you';ll never get rid of all of them, if you did, your craft';ll likely drop out of the sky!!
I';ve found that a gimbal helps, obviously you';ll need to balance your props first.  I don';t have a Phantom myself, but from footage I';ve seen on the web, they look pretty stable & vibe free OOTB.

Hope you get something decent, and maybe post some pics of the beast & video';s.  Doesn';t seem to be many Phantom owners hereabouts, maybe because of the negative publicity that they have attracted due to the ';instant accessibility'; of flying a brick around the sky without any kind of startup background. 
I';m not implying anything of the kind towards yourself of course!! 

As for Go Pro';s, I have the Hero 3 White, which is fine, but would kill for a Black edition  ::)  Just take a look on the Tube at footage taken by all kinds of gopro';s and other micro HD cams, let your own eyes be the judge, it';s all pretty good.
What';s your budget here?

ATB & good luck!
Andy

[mutley2]

I use a gopro black filming 1920x1080p with 48FPS, would be better with a gimbal but this was filmed with said set-up last weekend
The Mountain

[flybywire]

I use a gopro black filming 1920x1080p with 48FPS, would be better with a gimbal but this was filmed with said set-up last weekend

Do you know what mutley2, I kind of liked the ';motion'; of the gimbal-less flight, it seemed to add to the footage, as oposed to detract (by making the craft appear more ';vulnerable'; maybe)?  Just my opinion of course.
Great whatever!

Andy
N.B as I use a seperate fpv cam, the quad bobs about all over the place when I';m flying it, so feels much more ';alive'; than when I watch it back on HD from gimbal mounted gopro (in the comfort of my own ';Scorcese'; director';s chair of course!  :huh)  I find myself say ';why didn';t you get closer there?'; and stuff.  Do you know what I mean?  Or do you use one cam for both?

[Biffa]

Do you know what mutley2, I kind of liked the ';motion'; of the gimbal-less flight, it seemed to add to the footage, as oposed to detract (by making the craft appear more ';vulnerable'; maybe)?  Just my opinion of course.
Great whatever!

I am a bit like that and prefer to see a flight where the film leans with the aircraft as you get a sense or realism that you don';t when done with a gimbal.

[mutley2]

Yep, see where you';re coming from, "God damm it", need to buy another quad now hehehehehehe sorry for the off topic.
All the Gopro';s are good but the Black 3 is rather good IMO, had mine for about 6months now and very pleased with the results so far

[HowDoIfly]

Makes you wonder what the soon-to-be-released GoPro4 has to bring to the table

[flybywire]

Makes you wonder what the soon-to-be-released GoPro4 has to bring to the table

Que? 

[Biffa]

I would like to point out that I bought my GoPro for one reason, it';s square! And thus uber easy to shove on a quad, especially one with a frame designed around fitting it.

To be honest it';s not the best quality raw footage I have seen from a camera (silver version 3 here) and you can easily find much cheaper cameras with better out of the box performance, but they will be harder to mount due to the shape, less resilient and some more susceptible to jello.

The Mobius Action Camera takes very good footage and costs a lot less, one thing to also consider if/when you have a crash

[Jimbodiddly]

Gopro 3 black for me, first Gopro for me but impressed with it, mines on a tbs discovery, no gimble and jello free.

Jim

[flybywire]

I would like to point out that I bought my GoPro for one reason, it';s square!

Lot to be said for square..!

[xxpitt]

I have a bike like that for going up and down stairs 

[flybywire]

Sorry, just had to add this one!

[simon]

I';ve just bought and started using a hero3+ Black edition.
Used the 2.7k setting today for the first time and omg!
Still have the 4k setting yet to try!

[BestGear]

I use a gopro black filming 1920x1080p with 48FPS, would be better with a gimbal but this was filmed with said set-up last weekend

That was really appreciated... I want one!

This hobby is going to cost...

[BestGear]

So, trying to safe cash here... are the first Hero and I beleive Hero HD (second model or are they the same?) worth buying given they are at £100 or even less these days?

[BestGear]

Having a read of gopro specs.. am I right in thinking that I can watch live gopro foottage via wifi on my phone with the Hero3?

Now that is worth buying!!!

[flybywire]

Having a read of gopro specs.. am I right in thinking that I can watch live gopro foottage via wifi on my phone with the Hero3?

Now that is worth buying!!!

Yes, but with a 4 second lag!

[mutley2]

Until last weekend I only had the Gopro on my Disco, I used it to film and live feed for FPV';in at the same time (have a look at any pre "The mountain" vids and the were all shot using this method). Some people might say there are problems with either lag or quality, neither of which I suffered from. I would say that the Gopro made a far better FPV cam than the sony cam I';m using now and the only reason I';m sticking with it is because I';m going to fit a gimal. If you buy a Gopro I would say bite the bullet and get the Black cos if you ever want to sell up you will get rid of it in a heart beat, people just want um. 
(PS I was not using wifi but 5.8GHz ::) ::) ::)

[simon]

Yes the hero 3+ black edition will transmit to your phone via wi fi. I bought a Joby gorilla pod for phones that mounts to your contoller. There is a lag via wifi though. Its more useful that you can control the go pro I.e take photo';s and swap between photos and video. You also get a wifi key fob remote which is the same lcd screen on the front of the go pro I';ve never used it  the free app is better.

[flybywire]

I';m glad folk can get decent live AV feed out of their GP black';s, as I never could with my basic white version.  The thing was dogged from day one with issues caused by firmware updates.  In fact, for the first month or so, all it ever did was run for 10 or so seconds, then just lock up, still does now on odd occasions. GoPro did acknowledge that it had an issue, after making me do every single test known to man on the thing.  After they returned it, (or replaced) I did get a live feed out once or twice, but it was fiddly, in that it didn';t ';just work';, you had to go into the menu, and turn some stuff on, sometimes it worked for a while, then locked, sometimes not at all!
Now, you know from my motto ';likes: stuff that works';, I';m not going to faff with stuff for long, if it';s not working its out the window matey!!
I always use separate fpv cam, as is advised elsewhere on the blogosphere, no fiddly menus to faff with, just works straight off, always.

As I say, I know others do rely on GoPro';s for live out (I think the pre USB v 1 & 2';s were less firmware glitchy and may have been more reliable?) so it may just be just the black edition that works without glitches perhaps due to better processor onboard.

Please chime in here if you have had similar experiences to me, if only to reassure me that my next GP would be a goodun! 

Edit: Yes, of course I tried several memory sticks of different brands, spent a b***** fortune on them, almost wrote a thesis on them as well by the end!!
GoPro themselves even said ';please do not buy any more memory sticks or video out cables!';

[powerlord]

you can';t beat the gopros - they are the defacto standard for action/adventure/pov now.

I';ve been with em since the first HD. Which I still have and use.

I';ve got 4 of em:

Hero HD,
Hero 2 HD
Hero 3+ black*
Hero 3+ black

*this was a gopro hero3 black, but the usb broke and gopro offered me 40% off a new 3+ so I took em up on that (but already had also bought a 3+ so have two now)

nothing can touch them for quality of constructions, lens, video quality, bitrate, cases, and accessories.

I';ve got 3 remotes, an LCD backpack,numerous different mount and cases, spare batteries, extension poles, etc.

they are the mutts danglebells.

[BestGear]

they are the mutts danglebells.

So you like them then??? 

Having seen so much quality footage generated by them, I dont think fo rthe money you can go past them.

I see the 3 Silver on the bay for £170-£180... so its a question of paying extra for the black... which by the sound of fit is worth it....

How far does their WIFI extend? I expect with low power in mind, even with LOS, it may not be far..?




David

[flybywire]

I did use it once to trigger the shutter, and before i got my fpv gear, range prob 80-100m los.

Oh, get the black, sod the expense..

[BestGear]

Oh, get the black, sod the expense..

Found some 3 black on the bay...for much cheapness... bare.

Is an "old" 3 black still worth it at their current price or should I stretch to the 3+black?

I am not sure I would gain much in real terms....

Having said that.... if you buy "the best" do you ever look back!??!?

[Biffa]

Having said that.... if you buy "the best" do you ever look back!??!?

You will do when you crash camera first into the dirt, then you will look back and say I wish I bought a Mobius

Having said that, I no longer even think about the £250 camera sitting on the front any more - I just fly

[flybywire]

Is an "old" 3 black still worth it at their current price or should I stretch to the 3+black?

I';d say a cheap (new boxed) v3 black would be a sound investment, firmware/hardware is proven so to speak.  THat';s the only reservation I';d have (I';m in the market for one myself at mo) gopro have a habit of releasing stuff that';s not fullt tested to stay ahead of the market, although they';re certainly not the only manufacturer to do that!
Have a look on the forums for problems, should be a few out there by now in daily use?

[xxpitt]

I';d say the old black 3 is worth it if your just after a camera for pisting on youtube. I believe the black3+ can record in 4k but youtube only goes upto 1080. If your after it  for a more professional reason then maybe it is with the stretch for the 3+

[BestGear]

Thanks for the advice guys.

I will go shop for a black at the right price...

Regarding wifi etc, I have read many places about using wifi being a poor choice given the shared 2.4 band, but not read anything with real life horrors of doing so.... but...is it worth the risk...probably not...

Parking the wifi, are there any "recommended" video tx/rx pairs around for a sensible price?

I know there are many very cheap offerings at the bottom end of the CCTV market... wonder if they could be pressed into service?

David

[quadrix]

Hi guys, been reading this thread with interest.  I am a newbie looking at buying a Hero 3 Black.  My question is how do you get live video (albeit delayed) when recording. I have downloaded and read the manual but can';t see any reference to this feature.  Clearly, it can be done as I have seen many references to people using this camera for FPV.  Can anyone enlighten me?
Thanks
Quadrix