Go Pro Hero 4 or Session

[iaingsx1300r]

Just wanting some feedback/advice from people using or have had experience with either or both cameras pros & cons etc. Was lucky enough to win a gopro price pack recently, so have $1000 to spend on a camera and accessories. Have had a search though the forums and have a fair idea what i want in the way of suitable mounts. Was thinking bar, helmet, chest, and rod mount when I'm fishing instead of on the bike. The two I can choose from are the Hero4 and the Hero4 Session. Should get a remote bar mounted to switch on and off as I'm not picking up the bill? Never had or used a gropro type device before so pretty much flying blind here.

Is that you Daniel?

[awa355]

I recorded 1hr 20 min with the wireless wifi operating on today's ride. Recorded in 720p x 50 fps. Usually I use the 720 x 25 mode and without the wifi on can get over 2hr 20 mins. I used the skeleton door and the wind noise was barely audible. Less wind noise than all my playing around with various external mics.

Actually, I think the remote might have shut the camera down before the battery was drained. I'm using a 1180hr battery, the original is a 1050 mAh. I carry both batteries but have never needed the second one. From today's ride I have kept about 10 minutes video for my own files, and included one still in today's ride report.

I find that recording at 25 fps and then at 50 fps doesn't seem to make a lot of difference. I'm tempted to use the NTSC format and see if the extra 10fps make a difference.

[Toymotor]

Good info guys thanks.

Decided to swing for the Hero4 Silver, as people were saying, and reviews were it of better quality than the cube. A few other things like non swappable battery, no bacpac addons, were also a deal breaker. Probably would have even swung for the black, but there was only the silver session and original(?) on the cards, and i'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth Was able to fit a few accessories into the budget given. So sprung for the battery bacpac, a black case to help keep it more stealth on the bike, and several different types of mounts, so play around with and find out what suits me best.

[Toymotor]

Is that you Daniel?

Oh hey Iain! Fancy seeing you round here. You'll have to make your new ride you profile pic, as you say the zx looks better

[Toymotor]

came out with decent footage , on side of my helmet , but when on the motorway you can really feel the drag catching the gopro .. im abit paranoid of the sticky pad they give falling off but so far still staying on ..

Cool as, a good run through the traffic. Did get the side mount over the top mount as thought it would suit me better, but time will tell. Yeh i can imagine it would create a bit of drag, hence considering the session. Got some tethers in the pack too which will come in useful. Wanting to mount it round the forks somewhere first like awa has done. Off topic, but whats the actual law surrounding bike lanes, can we legally use them? I don't ride in town much so i haven't really encountered them.

Extra battery(s) would be a good idea, plus extra cards. I carry Battery Power Packs that I can charge on the bike and use them to recharge the battery and remote on the go.

Got the battery bacpac, and i read they charge up at the same time. I brought a usb/12v kit for the bike the other day, just have to wire it in, then the only thing that would hold me back would be storage

Will be buying the smart remote kit at some stage for ease of use

[george formby]

I have sticky mounts for the go pro all over the place. Anywhere that does not wobble on the bike. I use a tether or cat strangler as insurance should the worst happen but thus far those 3M mounts are going nowhere.
Helmet cam is boring, don't put it online. It's not the camera, it's the editing.

I stopped taking vids when I failed to edit. Must have another go.

Enjoy riding then getting home and watching the ride again. I do, it's perverse. 2 hours bike, 2 hours telly with commentary. Weird.

[awa355]

For me, I have never bothered adding commentary. I run the gopro simply because I might get something interesting happen or to highlight a neat piece of road. As happened yesterday, I kept 90 seconds and deleted the rest of the 8gb of recordings.

Nothing worse than watching a head mounted cam that is moving all the time (especially before they get moving,edit that out). You use a camera for your own satisfaction. Almost anyone else couldn't give a shit about your bike ride. The best video's I might watch are some of the South Island off road rides, country I wont get to see or ride over. I do add a song or music to some videos and they can be fun to watch on the tv screen.

[ir0nslash]

well my video was the first , so edit will be rough and video can be boring ,

but as some people think riding videos are boring some people have 330,000 subs , not saying ill get there im just saying you have to start some where
https://www.youtube.com/user/DOITWITHDAN/about

[awa355]

well my video was the first , so edit will be rough and video can be boring ,

but as some people think riding videos are boring some people have 330,000 subs , not saying ill get there im just saying you have to start some where
https://www.youtube.com/user/DOITWITHDAN/about

As I said, if you make and publish videos because it gives you some enjoyment, that's the main thing. If it is what you want to do, then do it. I have several videos on you tube, (almost nobody views them but I don't give a toss). It's all good fun.

[ir0nslash]

cough whats your channel ill watch them :P

[pritch]

cough whats your channel ill watch them :P

Yeah, I thought I'd take a look but it seems to be a secret.

A someone said editing is important. I went to a friend's one night and someone else turned up with footage of a boat trip. No editing, just seemingly endless footage of the boat trip as it happened. What an ordeal.

Have never felt brave enought to try and make a movie, I still struggle to get one frame right.

[awa355]

cough whats your channel ill watch them :P

This video should lead you to my vids. Many are from the Yamaha 100cc scooter I had for a while. Still good to watch if you're not in a hurry.


Actually this might be the link to my videos.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2Z...TjXJF2K1YqP55w

I have just tried my gopro in the NTSC format as opposed to the PAL format. The playback (normal speed and slow motion) seems smoother and it plays on both the tv and laptop okay. Is there any reason for not using the NTSC format?.

[R650R]

they need to sort out that weird focal distortion auto adjustment, in and out, like the lens is flexing

Its a technical issue known as rolling shutter and will always be present on low end (compared to DSLR or better) devices, especially with the wide angle type lens these small cameras have.

[R650R]

Is there any reason for not using the NTSC format?.

Yes unless you want to piss of everyone in the world watching who is not American. I guy I was following in Scotland was shooting some cool heavy haulage stuff but theh he started doing everything in ntsc and its vertically distorted on any screen not in or set up to American style. You might have a flash display that is auto compensating but most people wont. NTSC is also more of a square image than widescreen style.

[awa355]

Yes unless you want to piss of everyone in the world watching who is not American. I guy I was following in Scotland was shooting some cool heavy haulage stuff but theh he started doing everything in ntsc and its vertically distorted on any screen not in or set up to American style. You might have a flash display that is auto compensating but most people wont. NTSC is also more of a square image than widescreen style.

Been reading up since I posted the question. I'll stick to PAL.