head cam which one ?

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 drsdave 31 Jan 2013
Hi people,
now has anyone got an suggestions/recommendations for a head cam. It needs to be light and good at vids and good with audio. I'll be using it for climbing oh and it needs to be shock proof and water proof - think scotland

many thanks
d
 David Reid 31 Jan 2013
In reply to drsdave:

gopro hero 3 seems to be the choice of most, white edition has only got a 5mp picture facility, where as the silver has 11mp and you get the pivot mount with it, only thing the black edition has extra is the wifi remote but for the money not worth it in my opinion, silver should be suffice
 tomwheeler 31 Jan 2013
In reply to drsdave: Ive used a GoPro Hero 1 and 2. Both have insanely good video quality. The Hero 2 is a little bit easier to use. If you are only going to use it as a helmet camera (on video mode) then go for the Hero 1/2 depending on budget.

Though a friend has just bought a Hero 3 and he says it is incredible, if you can afford it. For climbing, it is lighter and smaller which is amazing. Also they work with your iPhone/Android so that you can use your phone as a viewfinder/remote, which is pretty cool.

Contour cameras are pretty awful video quality from what Ive seen.

TLDR: Buy the newest GoPro Hero that you can afford.
 mikemartin 01 Feb 2013
In reply to tomwheeler:

Contour footage is not awful. See this for example:

youtube.com/watch?v=N1glN7aZyEQ&

All the helmet cam and boat footage was shot with contour cameras. I've got a contour roam, cheap, dead easy to use and waterproof without an extra case. I've also got a gopro and a drift hd. Each camera has its own set of merits.

After all it's really not small differences in the quality of the footage that matters its what you do with the footage in the first place that counts. Its all in the edit. Spend your money on some decent software.
 koolkat 01 Feb 2013
In reply to drsdave:
another vote for the contour i have the roam and a drift both i think good quality and waterproof to 1m i allso have a case for the contour to take to 60m a link here to my vids shot on 960 not full hd for a wider shot 170 deg

http://www.youtube.com/user/iamkoolkat/videos?flow=grid&view=0
 rallymania 01 Feb 2013
In reply to drsdave:

horrible answer, but most of the branded Point Of View POV cameras are pretty good

but as someone else already said... the editing and variety of angles are what makes your videos interesting (see bold eagles recent one for a great example)

the horrible truth is POV alone isn't great for climbing.

(i come down on the gopro side for this type of thing, there are just so many different mounting options)

have a look for user forums and see what other people are doing with theirs

gopro one is here http://goprouser.freeforums.org/index.php
 BALD EAGLE 01 Feb 2013
In reply to drsdave and rallymania:
> (In reply to drsdave)
> but as someone else already said... the editing and variety of angles are what makes your videos interesting (see bold eagles recent one for a great example)

Why thank you rallymania for your kind words and as I'm here this is my latest which is being referred too!
youtube.com/watch?v=I4-bJWAJ-HE&

>
> the horrible truth is POV alone isn't great for climbing.

Yep I totally agree and mostly use a Panasonic HDC700 on a good tripod (and bribe my long suffering partner with chocolate and cava to film!) with small amounts of POV added using a GoPro2 to hopefully end up with something watchable...
OP drsdave 01 Feb 2013
Thanks to all replies, now for the research. Safe pursuits people
d
 Camm 02 Feb 2013
In reply to drsdave:
In my opinion go pro have only just got decent, there was a lot of hype, but I don't think they make great cameras for climbing, the contour on the other hand seems pretty decent for climbing, I can set it up in the car or hotel/tent then it's ready to go, all I need to do is slide the switch forward to record and then back to stop, it bleeps to tell me it's recording, it has a laser aim to see where you are recording. The battery lasts plenty long enough and I can charge it via usb power pack or cig lighter. It's fully waterproof. I've got a permanent mount fixed to my winter helmet which came in the box.

youtube.com/watch?v=4XPFS2uaVjU&

This is my vid, not on the highest settings but also the video maker software reduced the quality some what but you can see the camera does the job.
 Carolyn 02 Feb 2013
In reply to drsdave:
We use contours with the rescue team, and they certainly seem to survive the weather fine - we don't treat them particularly carefully!
youtube.com/watch?v=9Oen0DzAulQ&

This one's mainly shot on a decent video camera, but you can spot the bits of head cam stuff (running into the 3 min mark) for comparison:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=784rkluNmy0&feature=relmfu
 rallymania 02 Feb 2013
In reply to danrock101:
> (In reply to drsdave)
> In my opinion go pro have only just got decent, there was a lot of hype, but I don't think they make great cameras for climbing, the contour on the other hand seems pretty decent for climbing,
> This is my vid, not on the highest settings but also the video maker software reduced the quality some what but you can see the camera does the job.

i agree, it does the job... but what does it do that the hero hd 1/2/3 doesn't do that makes you say it's better?

you see my point? nothing wrong with the contour, but i don't see how it's better (or worse for that matter) than the drift or HD heros other than users individual opinions.

(now i probably sounds like a fan boy... urrgh)


 ChrisJD 02 Feb 2013

Having owned Hero HD, Hero2 and now the Hero3-Black, there has been an very marked step up each time.

The Hero 3 Black really is the pick of all the active-cams at the moment (and is very different to the Hero 3 Silver, so Dave Reid is wrong to say the only difference is the wifi remote: it shoots 2.7K natively for a start, 1080P at 60fps, can do up to 120 fps at 720p for slow mo; and it can shoot 4K!(gimmick but cool!)).

http://gopro.com/product-comparison-hero3-cameras

You can get a feel of what the video community think of the Hero 3 in this article (about the Phone App, but tells you a lot about the buzz the Hero 3 is causing).

http://www.eoshd.com/content/9399/a-look-at-the-new-gopro-hero-3-iphone-app...

The Hero 3 is much smaller than Hero2, has more red lights (if you've used a Hero, you'll know how good that is) and the phone App is great to set them up. The lower distortion lens is also much better and less of a fish bowl experience!

The only major downside with the GoPros and their tough outer case is the poor sound they deliver.
 Camm 03 Feb 2013
In reply to rallymania:
I prefer it for climbing because it's easy to use with gloves on, I can flick it on and off whilst climbing and I can press the button to see where it's aiming with the laser and easily adjust, all whilst climbing.
 TheSooper 03 Feb 2013
In reply to drsdave:

Also consider the "Nilox Foolish" from Italy http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Nilox-Foolish-Cam-1080p-Action-Camera_58474.htm A new kid on the UK block and very comparable with the GoPro Hero3 white (maybe a slightly better spec), plus an attractive price.
 David Reid 03 Feb 2013
In reply to ChrisJD:

im not one to geek out on things Chris, have done in the past and its taken too long to purchase what I need, the silver edition would suit me fine, however I have just heard about the new Sony HDR AS15
 ChrisJD 04 Feb 2013
In reply to David Reid:


Sony doesn't come out that well against the hero3 black

http://www.digitalrev.com/article/gopro-hero-3-vs-sony/Njk3MDQ3MDg_A


The silver has similar specs to hero2, so is a great camera, and would serve you well. But the black is better
 rallymania 04 Feb 2013
In reply to ChrisJD:

in adition if you buy the silver and then at some point buy the remote, you've spent as much as you would have on the black... and you get the remote in the box

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