so a complete newbie to camcorder GoPro whatever Looking to purchase one, but no idea what I'm looking for Best cam Best place to mount Memory cards Battery life Any help appreciated Thanks
Get a GoPro Session 4. Awesome image quality. Super simple design and operation. Because of the size, cube design and the frames it comes with you can mount it anywhere (I mount it under the visor of my dirt bike helmet) and it doesn't create and wind drag. Has image stabilisation which gets rid of heaps of road vibrations. 64gb memory card will hold hours of footage. The battery is sealed in the Session so you can't carry a spare and change it over when it runs out, unlike the bigger GoPros. Plus side is you don't have to have it running on standby when you're not recording. Hasn't been a problem for me because I only record for short amounts at a go. If I'm doing big trips I take a battery bank and charge the camera when I stop for lunch.
I really like SJ-Cam. Its a high quality GoPro alternative with the same performance but less features that you might not need (like a screen) for 1/3 of the price of a GoPro. Don't bother getting the one with WiFi. Its a waste of time. Because you have to download the videos over WiFi to your phone to view them. (There's no preview) and its slow. Much better to just pull the microSD card out, put it into your phone or use a USB OTG microSD adapter if your phone lacks a microSD slot, then instantly flip thru all the videos. Be careful you don't buy a Chinese knockoff of the SJ-Cam. The knockoffs are sh1tty quality. So buy from a reputable site like amazon and check the reviews. Generally the knockoffs will copy the branding in 1 or 2 places but not all places, and generally when you look at the firmware version the knockoffs don't show SJCam there. Same applies with GoPro copies I guess. What's also much nicer about SJCam vs GoPro is it comes with all the mountings and attachments included. So its a huge saving vs buying a GoPro then still having to spend on overpriced plastic mountings and cases. Some of the SJCam models have Panasonic lenses and image processors. My GF and I bought one of the bigger ones with the screen and took it snorkelling (free diving for me) in Permuteran, Bali. Unfortunately we didn't mount it onto something bug and heavy or get a blue filter (red coloured lens) so the underwater shots were shaky and all blue. But all the other videos we took from scooters etc were awesome. Its got image stabilizing. The issue is swimming under water holding your breath fighting your natural buoyancy kicking and paddling with 1 hand and holding the cam in the other, free hand, and doing it only once... Haha it was disappointing to see the result.
I'm watching this thread with interest. I would like to get a small camera, maybe helmet mounted. Seen some good stuff about the Sena Prism Tube https://www.sena.com/product/prism-tube/
I've a cheap cam for sale if anyone's interested. It's a bit basic, but takes 2 AAA batteries and an SD card, although I'll throw in a 16Gb SD card. £15 delivered as I rely on my GoPro now.
For what it's worth, the Polaroid Cube series get good reviews and they are about £60 from Argos. If you really want to push the boat out, the 360Fly is about £300-350 but records in full 360 degrees. I am contemplating the latter, because if god forbid something bad happens, I'm more likely to catch some evidence.
If using for Track days I can recommend the Garmin VIRB Ultra 30 its very similar to the GoPro but with one big advantage in that it records GPS data at 10htz. So its very accurate at recording lap times With the VIRB editing software you can add the track layout and gauges.
I have a gopro 3 silver edition and albeit a bit old now and strange shape the quality is still first class, I have heard good things about the Drift Ghost HD also, great picture quality and good shape especially for helmet mounting. Baron von Grumble on youtube uses them.
Just bought a Go Pro Session 4, don't really need the 4K version. Get more than 2h battery life and more than than on a 32gb card running 720p. Just experimenting with the position, top mounted on the helmentat the moment, excellent footage and don't notice any wind buffering.
