We Got a GoPro!

Today’s post is actually co-written by the both of us! I think this is the first. 🙂

Thanks to a very lovely pair of Santa Clauses, we got a GoPro (Hero2) camera for Christmas. I know I know, yet another camera (more on our camera gear later)!  But really, until Christmas, we only had our point-and-shoot Olympus Tough c.3 years ago for any video. Not the greatest quality (480p) – served only to capture memories rather than any brag-worthy videos. So, upgrading technology was a desire, though definitely not a need.

There are some pretty awesome videos of travels and adventures done with a GoPro. Scuba, Skiing, Hiking, etc. We were really interested in a good quality video camera that was a) rough and tough, b) light, c) water-proof, d) good quality image, and e) could serve more than one purpose. While there are other cameras on the market, the GoPro was definitely a contender. Derek did research and decided on the GoPro Hero 2 was the best bet for our needs, best price-point for quality, etc.

We have enough cameras, but video is something we couldn’t do well, so something that is video first made sense. Out of all the various sports-cameras out there GoPro is THE standard to use. It is so prolific it is even used in many reality-tv series, such as The Amazing Race, which does speak well to it and its quality. Also since it is commonly used any attachments are easy to get, and as a consequence a lot of brainpower has been put into making products that are truly unique for the device (as can be seen here). It is also small, very light, charged via USB, can be used in pretty much any environment (and Derek can take it diving later) and the housing is replaceable if damaged. Between the 3 main versions of the GoPro, the Hero2 is a large step up from the first version. The newer Hero3 is much better in low-light and takes better sound, however at double the cost it couldn’t be justified. (it also has Wi-Fi and does much higher video quality, but the memory is still SDHC, limiting it to 32GB per card, so the Hero4 would be the ideal… whenever it comes out)

Here’s so far one of my favourite videos done with this camera. Yeah, it’s kind the advertising video, so it better be amazing, but it really is. My favourite part is a few seconds from the end where you witness a very crazy man + the Great Wall of China at Tianmen Pass [sadly that part of the wall is a 15h drive from Beijing, so while it would be super cool to see, not gonna happen].

That suddenly made me respect Redbull as a company. Personally not a fan of their product, but man they sponsor some pretty amazing stuff!

So, we have 3 months to be as awesome as that in terms of shooting ability, not in Xtreme sporting ability (never gonna happen!!!) Here’s our first attempt at a time-lapse composition. This was on our drive to Derek’s aunt and uncle’s place last Saturday.

Lessons learned:

– need a tripod or higher mount in our car

– stickies are helpful on bumpy roads to keep the camera from moving

– these are huge files!!!

Next video to post: tubing at a ski hill. This was the first video shot, but needs some major editing to take it down from 1h 45min to something remotely interesting and manageable.