The high definition-helmetcam wars are heating up. We recently tested the
VholdR's sleek ContourHD 720p goggle-mounted shooter and definitely enjoyed it... but you know us: always looking for more. More is what the GoPro HD Hero Wide looks set to offer, with full 1080p recording at 30fps; a first in the extreme camera segment and not something frequently found in a device this small. Just as impressive is a 720p at 60fps recording mode, perfect for catching every detail of your aerials and varials -- and subsequent faceplants. We're still not particularly fond of the "cube on the head" look of the thing, but that cube will at least now contain an 1100mAh battery, said to offer a solid two to three hours of battery life. Quite a package, and while the expected package price of $299 is $100 more than the company's current offerings, it's still solid value. No word on when this will be showing up at the
supercross scene.
[Photo courtesy of
Freeskier Magazine, thanks
Chad]
posted Jul 23rd 2009 6:41AM
...Are those blood splatter streaks on the helmet?
All I need is a camera 720p, 30fps 4GB, massive battery
-For when I go bicycling to capture motorists who try to cut me off and then say that I did not stop at the stop sign/light.
(there are actually bicyclists that stop at every light and sign)
-put on my car dash so when the police come and the noob in the loser honda that jumped the light and I subsequently crushed with my Caprice Classic tank starts telling lies, I just bust this out. STFU nub!
Purfect for shooting hardcore POV pr0n
AAgh,
I just bought a helmet hero wide.... Damn
No mention of this on the gopro site. Would love to see some sample footage from it. I read somewhere else that there's a wireless mic option too.
And when those guys beat me down for looking like a stormtrooper in that helmet, I can film it! Ha!
I want that camera! It so awesome that it has a pristine red contour around it :D
These guys are here at the Outdoor Retailer trade show this week in Salt Lake City. They have sample footage from this new camera playing continuously on 10 HDTVs (42" - 63") and it looks FANTASTIC! One guy mounted it on the front of his surfboard, a paraglider had it mounted on his shoe, shooting himself and his chute, etc... I am very impressed with this tiny little camera. It also shoots 5MP stills every 2 seconds while you are recording. Memory is a SD slot (SDHC support). They have a chest harness ("the Chesty", which is my favorite mounting option), and a pole mount perfect for skiers and boarders shooting themselves in a terrain park.
The HD Hero is scheduled to ship in October.
To keep up on the latest news on the GoPro HD - subscribe to the RSS feed over at http://helmetcameracentral.com.
-chadical
Where's the mic? Motovlogging is taking off big time (see motovlog.com as an example), but one of the barriers is an effective and affordable helmet camera. If this can properly capture your voice, then its win, if not... ugh...
Also, a lot of these setups don't have image stabilization either, which IMO is a must... at least if you have a pencil neck like me! The other option is just to use any old digicam, mordeth style, like this: www.youtube.com/user/DumbDuck44
The built in mic is surprisingly good for its size and is more than adequate to clearly capture the user's voice. The mic also cancels wind noise better than anything that small that I have seen. Probably won't record your voice too well doing 50 mph on a motorcycle, but who needs that?
There is a radio frequency feature that can support wireless mics, but I am not sure on the details. I will swing by their booth at the show today and get some more info about it!
As far as stabilization goes, it is not needed! Based on all the sample footage I have seen (lots), connecting the camera to your body is all you need! Again, I prefer the chest mount option over the helmet mount for almost any application. I was surprised at the stability the chest mount video looked when the user was riding a dirt bike over very rough terrain and on jumps. Check out the current videos on their website, and keep an eye out for all the HD samples that are sure to appear very soon!
"Probably won't record your voice too well doing 50 mph on a motorcycle, but who needs that?"
@ Scotty T... uhhhh, all the motorcycle vloggers both on and off road out there as mentioned, or even just people that want a first person view of open cart racing or any aerial or skydiving footage. We need a mic in the helmet.
Can't wait to get my hands on the GoPro HD. Here's a popular video that we made (Freeskier) featuring Tom Wallisch on the Winter Dew Tour slopestyle course.
http://community.freeskier.com/videos/video.php?video_id=1421
Vibration on the GoPro really isn't a problem. These things are all over the skydiving community and do great even on "high contact" dives and less than perfect landings.
My only real complaints are:
1) The pivot point on the helmet mount makes it susceptible to bumps on the plane knocking it forward even when fully tightened down. I'd like to see a more robust mount that holds it in position even I smack it on the door of the plane on climb out.
2) There's no way to set the date/time. This means that every time I pull in footage to iPhoto I have to go through and update the date on the movies and stills.
Hello