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GEARBAG: GoPro Hero 2
GoPro cameras are used by more professional athletes, sports filmmakers and core enthusiasts than any other camera in the world.
The HD HERO2: Outdoor Edition is the most advanced GoPro camera yet. Wearable and gear mountable, waterproof to 197′ (60m), capable of capturing professional full 170º wide angle 1080p video. (Photo: GoPro)
While I don’t have any official statistics, I would feel safe in saying that 90% of all the two and four wheel motorsports, BMX bicycle, watercraft, and surfing videos that you see on You Tube, especially the good ones, were shot with a GoPro. Why? Because the GoPro Hero 2 is simply the best camera available for the job. Period.
In a timely coincidence, a few hours before I sat down to write this review, the movie Grand Prix, the finest auto racing movie ever made, was on TV. The opening scene was of the 1965 Grand Prix of Monaco. I’d seen a documentary on how that movie was made, and about all the special camera equipment that was designed specifically to shoot the in-car race scenes to get the realistic images of how those Formula 1 cars raced. The cameras were the size of briefcases, and the mounting structures were so big and heavy that they affected the aerodynamics and handling of the cars.
Today, a few GoPros, with helmet mounts, suction cup mounts, and driver chest mounts could have shot that movie with higher resolution, and from start to finish without stopping, and have provided even more astounding and exciting points of view than their then state of the art technology costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, (millions in today’s dollars). That’s how good this camera is.
Last summer, I tested two cameras while on my motorcycle trip to North Carolina and Tennessee to ride the Tail of the Dragon and the surrounding roads. The Cobra XTreme at $170, and the $189.00 Ridercam 30F. Both were serviceable and in most cases provided decent images, but neither compare to the GoPro Hero in the quality of the images, the ease of use, the variety of ways to use the camera, or any other way. Granted, the GoPro Hero 2 sells for $299.99, but like anything else, you get what you pay for, and you never can go wrong with buying quality.
Starting with the jewel case packaging the camera comes in, you can just tell the GP Hero 2 is a quality product. The camera itself measures approximately 2-1/4” x 1-3/4” x 1-1/8”. It comes with a waterproof clear plastic protective housing, and another changeable rear housing back door, which is open, and allows for better audio. Also included is the rechargeable Li-ion battery and USB cable for charging from a computer and to download the videos. A head strap, vented helmet strap, 2 curved adhesive mounts and 2 flat adhesive mounts, 3-way pivot mount, and other assorted mounting hardware are included, to allow you to mount the camera almost anywhere. GoPro also offers a variety of other mounts like handlebar, suction cup, and a chest harness mounts so that you can find exactly what you need for any situation. I’ve already taken videos with the top of the helmet mount, handlebar mount, and chest harness. All provide a unique and different view of the road in front of you, and I’ve turned the helmet and handlebar mounts around backwards to see the scenery behind me, for another interesting point of view.
The GP Hero 2 is all about options. It can take videos in several resolution modes. You can choose different frame rates per second, some of which are better suited for slow motion replay. You can also choose different screen resolution sizes for smaller data files; and you can even choose the 170-degree wide angle view or 127-degree view.
In addition to taking videos, the Hero 2 can also be used as a still camera, to take single photos. You can take “burst” photos, which means the camera will take 10 shots in one second, so you’ll get the opportunity to choose that perfect frame out of an action sequence. You can also set it to take time lapse pictures and choose 7 different time frames from a half-second to 60 second intervals. And last, you can set the camera on a tri-pod for the self-timer mode, so you can set up a shot, and get into position yourself before the photo is snapped. There are so many ways you can play with this unit.
The best thing about the GoPro is that it’s really quite simple to use. There are only two buttons to deal with. One to turn the camera on, which doubles as the button to move between the various modes described above, and the shutter button, which starts and stops the video, or snaps the photos in those modes. There is a small LCD screen on the front of the camera to let you know which mode you’re shooting in, and allows you to see which modes you may want to switch to. It’s pretty intuitive, even for a non-techie like me. Downloading into you computer is also quick and easy, and you don’t have to be a computer whiz to do that either.
The GP Hero 2 will accept a memory card up to 32GB (Class 4 or higher) and you can expect up to 2 hours and 30 minutes of video in the lower resolution of battery life, and over an hour in the higher resolution mode. Naturally, you can get extra batteries if you plan on needing more juice at one session.
Now the Hero 2 isn’t perfect. I didn’t like the fact that there is no viewfinder to let you see what the camera will be seeing. So there was some trial and error to get the camera set properly in the various mounts. But with such a wide angle, I didn’t get any really useless footage as I did with the other camera I’ve tested, where watching 30 minutes of blue sky, or black pavement was frustrating. And I would also have liked to see a red light on the back of the camera for those times when it was mounted on the handlebar, so I was sure I was recording. There are audible beeps to let you know when you power up or off, and when you press the record button to turn it on, and more beeps when you shut it off. But sometimes with the helmet on, it was hard to hear the beeps.
However, GoPro offers an LCD BacPac, which attaches to the back of the camera, and is a functional screen that will show you to watch what you’re filming, and allows you to see your video playback. It sells for $79, which is quite reasonable as it comes with several changeable rear doors for the protective housing to accommodate the added width of the screen. So you’re always going to shoot with the protective box keeping the camera safe.
In closing, I would highly recommend the GoPro Hero 2 to anyone who wants a small high quality rugged camera to take with them to shoot any adventure whether it’s on a motorcycle, bicycle, snowmobile, ATV, surf board, hang glider, parachute, ski slope, or any extreme sport you can think of. Sure, you won’t want to see two and a half straight hours of riding the Blue Ridge Parkway, but it’s great for taking 15 minutes every hour or so, or when you come to an especially scenic portion of your ride, to capture the moment and feeling of the ride. And remember, if you video yourself doing a Banzai run at 140 miles per hour on public roads, keep it to yourself, and don’t post it on You Tube. The local cops can get a hold of that, and come looking for you.
In a timely coincidence, a few hours before I sat down to write this review, the movie Grand Prix, the finest auto racing movie ever made, was on TV. The opening scene was of the 1965 Grand Prix of Monaco. I’d seen a documentary on how that movie was made, and about all the special camera equipment that was designed specifically to shoot the in-car race scenes to get the realistic images of how those Formula 1 cars raced. The cameras were the size of briefcases, and the mounting structures were so big and heavy that they affected the aerodynamics and handling of the cars.
Today, a few GoPros, with helmet mounts, suction cup mounts, and driver chest mounts could have shot that movie with higher resolution, and from start to finish without stopping, and have provided even more astounding and exciting points of view than their then state of the art technology costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, (millions in today’s dollars). That’s how good this camera is.
Last summer, I tested two cameras while on my motorcycle trip to North Carolina and Tennessee to ride the Tail of the Dragon and the surrounding roads. The Cobra XTreme at $170, and the $189.00 Ridercam 30F. Both were serviceable and in most cases provided decent images, but neither compare to the GoPro Hero in the quality of the images, the ease of use, the variety of ways to use the camera, or any other way. Granted, the GoPro Hero 2 sells for $299.99, but like anything else, you get what you pay for, and you never can go wrong with buying quality.
Starting with the jewel case packaging the camera comes in, you can just tell the GP Hero 2 is a quality product. The camera itself measures approximately 2-1/4” x 1-3/4” x 1-1/8”. It comes with a waterproof clear plastic protective housing, and another changeable rear housing back door, which is open, and allows for better audio. Also included is the rechargeable Li-ion battery and USB cable for charging from a computer and to download the videos. A head strap, vented helmet strap, 2 curved adhesive mounts and 2 flat adhesive mounts, 3-way pivot mount, and other assorted mounting hardware are included, to allow you to mount the camera almost anywhere. GoPro also offers a variety of other mounts like handlebar, suction cup, and a chest harness mounts so that you can find exactly what you need for any situation. I’ve already taken videos with the top of the helmet mount, handlebar mount, and chest harness. All provide a unique and different view of the road in front of you, and I’ve turned the helmet and handlebar mounts around backwards to see the scenery behind me, for another interesting point of view.
The GP Hero 2 is all about options. It can take videos in several resolution modes. You can choose different frame rates per second, some of which are better suited for slow motion replay. You can also choose different screen resolution sizes for smaller data files; and you can even choose the 170-degree wide angle view or 127-degree view.
In addition to taking videos, the Hero 2 can also be used as a still camera, to take single photos. You can take “burst” photos, which means the camera will take 10 shots in one second, so you’ll get the opportunity to choose that perfect frame out of an action sequence. You can also set it to take time lapse pictures and choose 7 different time frames from a half-second to 60 second intervals. And last, you can set the camera on a tri-pod for the self-timer mode, so you can set up a shot, and get into position yourself before the photo is snapped. There are so many ways you can play with this unit.
The best thing about the GoPro is that it’s really quite simple to use. There are only two buttons to deal with. One to turn the camera on, which doubles as the button to move between the various modes described above, and the shutter button, which starts and stops the video, or snaps the photos in those modes. There is a small LCD screen on the front of the camera to let you know which mode you’re shooting in, and allows you to see which modes you may want to switch to. It’s pretty intuitive, even for a non-techie like me. Downloading into you computer is also quick and easy, and you don’t have to be a computer whiz to do that either.
The GP Hero 2 will accept a memory card up to 32GB (Class 4 or higher) and you can expect up to 2 hours and 30 minutes of video in the lower resolution of battery life, and over an hour in the higher resolution mode. Naturally, you can get extra batteries if you plan on needing more juice at one session.
Now the Hero 2 isn’t perfect. I didn’t like the fact that there is no viewfinder to let you see what the camera will be seeing. So there was some trial and error to get the camera set properly in the various mounts. But with such a wide angle, I didn’t get any really useless footage as I did with the other camera I’ve tested, where watching 30 minutes of blue sky, or black pavement was frustrating. And I would also have liked to see a red light on the back of the camera for those times when it was mounted on the handlebar, so I was sure I was recording. There are audible beeps to let you know when you power up or off, and when you press the record button to turn it on, and more beeps when you shut it off. But sometimes with the helmet on, it was hard to hear the beeps.
However, GoPro offers an LCD BacPac, which attaches to the back of the camera, and is a functional screen that will show you to watch what you’re filming, and allows you to see your video playback. It sells for $79, which is quite reasonable as it comes with several changeable rear doors for the protective housing to accommodate the added width of the screen. So you’re always going to shoot with the protective box keeping the camera safe.
In closing, I would highly recommend the GoPro Hero 2 to anyone who wants a small high quality rugged camera to take with them to shoot any adventure whether it’s on a motorcycle, bicycle, snowmobile, ATV, surf board, hang glider, parachute, ski slope, or any extreme sport you can think of. Sure, you won’t want to see two and a half straight hours of riding the Blue Ridge Parkway, but it’s great for taking 15 minutes every hour or so, or when you come to an especially scenic portion of your ride, to capture the moment and feeling of the ride. And remember, if you video yourself doing a Banzai run at 140 miles per hour on public roads, keep it to yourself, and don’t post it on You Tube. The local cops can get a hold of that, and come looking for you.
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