Does anyone use a GoPro HD?

[Mariomark]

I have been trying to use a non-HD GoPro camera system for some time now. The only place I can mount it out of the way is on my roll hoop. I thought I had a bad camera at first so I bought another one and I can't get it to record also. They work fine on my shifter kart, passenger car, my kids head while tubing, but for some reason they do not work on my FF. I do not know if it might be vibration or some kind of electrical interference from the distributor. I always use new high end batteries, double check the settings, and make sure that it is on and running before I climb in the car. I've tried maybe twenty times and it never works. I'd appreciate some opinions before I spend another 300 bucks on a camera that will not work. Any help would be appreciated. -M

[RussMcB]

Use Google. There is a lot of info out there about problems and solutions. I don't have the URL, but there was a guy (handle = "Rambo"?) who hosted a good site with lots of recommendations.

Does it consistently turn itself off at a certain time, such as when you go onto track, or a certain RPM?

You certainly have a lot of patience if you've tried to record 20 times and it's never worked once.

Maybe try putting it on a completely different part of the car, like the nose. They have stick on mounts that you can mount anywhere on the bodywork, so you shouldn't be limited to just the roll bar.

I had a couple of Go Pro cameras and got some good video (on occasion). I sold them on ebay. Going to try the ContourHD 1080P next.

[Dick R.]

I haven't tried a GoPro HD but do have about 4 autocrosses with a GoPro Wide mounted to the roll hoop. The kent engine has a significant vibration mode at "mid revs" (maybe 4k to 6k that are common in autocrossing). The camera never shut off using Duracell rechargeable batteries but the vibration really impacted the picture quality. (Note it also impacted the data on my MaxQData that was originally hard mounted to the frame via velcro). Go Pro told me to mount to bodywork or use a soft mount to the roll hoop. Soft mount to the roll hoop didn't work in the shop. To get the height I want so that I can see hand/wheel movement I tried using the suction mount on a strong flat area right behind the roll hoop. I added a couple of their "extension" links to have enough height. The difference in the shop is substantial. I have not tried it for real yet.

FYI, for the MaxQData I soft mounted the unit in soft foam in a plastic box secured in the nose (great for autox, not for road racing obviously).

Go Pro user forum. I haven't searched for info on the HD but it was fairly useful for info on my Wide.

http://goprouser.freeforums.org/ques...ations-f4.html

Dick
CM 85
85 VD RF85

[Mariomark]

Thank's, I just ordered an HD camera from Hoyt technologies which has a wired remote start/ stop switch and a viewing screen close to the same price as a GoPro HD camera. The remote switch will be very handy when I'm strapped in and on the grid. I'll let you know how well it works after the races. I think it is a lesser quality HD image than the GoPro HD and it is water resistant instead of water proof but once I saw the remote switch I was sold. I can also draw power from the car battery if I need to. -M

[RussMcB]

I agree that a remote switch is a great feature. It's disappointing that very few inexpensive cameras offer it (but that's probably what helps keep them cheap). Before cinching my belts, I could *just barely* reach the GoPro start button(s), but could never tell if I actually started recording.

The old LANC camcorders were great. The remote had a red LED to indicate mode.

This Hoyt camera isn't going to look very aero sleak on a high speed formula car, though.

[jmw76]

HI Guys,

I hate to barge in, but. I have also tried to get a GoPro normal def camera to work reliably on my little formula car. I also found that mounting the unit close to spark plug wires caused random problems and not very good results.
More recently I have started to play with very low cost (disposable) key chain cameras. You can pick them up delivered to your door for under $20.
Go to Facebook and search for Team Swinburne. Have a look at some of their videos taken with the camera.
The unit is so small you can simply velcro it inside your camera. It weighs less than a pair of glasses.

Search on eBay for key chain cameras.

No HD ones though (so far).

Good Luck.

Peter.

[Mariomark]

My car has never been known for high speed.

[openwheel]

I had zero luck using the Go-Pro on my FF. The vibration and electrical system of the FF do not play well with the Go-Pro. I think it comes down to how and where you mount it to isolate those problems.

[Bob Devol]

I run a GoPro Wide Angle on my SRF and it works fine.

I use the GoPro rollbar mount that features some vibration isolation.

If there is still vibration with that, try a piece of dense foam between the mount clamp and the rollbar.

As for electrical interference -- RF suppression wires like those made by Moroso?

[Mariomark]

So far I am not impressed with the Hoyt camera. I had contacted the manufacturer about the roll bar mount and asked a simple question about the warranty they answered two e-mails about the mount but both times ignored the question about the warranty. I do like the mounts. I'll let you know when I test the camera on my FF or shifter kart. The camera is huge compared to the GoPro. I'm thinking it will be best suited for inside my windshield on track days in my passenger car. I already have a camera for that and it is called a Flip. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss1mWr-QfGU

[2BWise]

Researching these things really sucks. I've spent a lot of time reading reviews and watching video before making my purchase. The one thing I have decided is that I've heard about too many issues with the GoPro to even bother with it. I've got a ContourHD on order. I'll have it out next week and will report back with my findings.

[carnut169]

I've heard the Go-Pro HD is miles better than the older version. I'm planning to use mine for the 1st time this weekend (rotax kart) and will post a video clip next week.

[mike g.]

Researching these things really sucks. I've spent a lot of time reading reviews and watching video before making my purchase. The one thing I have decided is that I've heard about too many issues with the GoPro to even bother with it. I've got a ContourHD on order. I'll have it out next week and will report back with my findings.

Any field report on the ContourHD yet?
Saw a smartycam in action this past weekend, and it is fantastic. And has a price tag to go with it...

[Matt King]

Comparing the Smartycam to a GoPro or any other camera-only device isn't really fair since the Smartycam incorporates GPS and other data logging capabilities. Add a data logger to the price of a GoPro and the Smartycam starts to look like a pretty good deal.

The ContourHD looks pretty cool for the price. Interested to see some field reviews too.

[2BWise]

Any field report on the ContourHD yet?
Saw a smartycam in action this past weekend, and it is fantastic. And has a price tag to go with it...

It arrived last night! First impressions after screwing around with it is that it is very easy to use and pretty intuitive. I didn't get an extra battery, so battery life for the entire day may be questionable, but my truck has an outlet so I should be able to charge it if necessary. The mount is stable and the camera isn't likely to move. One concern is the lens. Its capable of spinning 180 degrees but around center there is a fair amount of slop. Hopefully the vibration doesn't cause it to wander. There are a few tricks for reducing the wind noise and I plan to give a few of them a try. That seems to be the only real downside is that at moderate speed the wind noise becomes significant.

I'll be at the track on Sunday and will post up some video afterwards.

[carnut169]

Only remember to hit record once all weekend. Geez.

Great little camera- I installed on a radiator which on a kart does see a bunch of vibration...
100% happy with it!

[2BWise]

Of course video link first
http://www.vimeo.com/11220724

Review: ContourHD 1080p
Overall this is a great camera. It ran flawlessly all day compared with a friend with a GoPro who had it running and then right before heading out on track had it quit for the day.

I spent most of the day with the camera mounted on my helmet pretty close to eye level (maybe an inch or two higher). It was very easy to operate even belted into the car as long as my glove was off. The power button is easy to reach and the lights are bright enough that I could see them in the mirror. The one complaint though is that the power button is on the battery/data card door and you have to be careful not to accidentally slide the door open. Once on recording is extremely easy. The record button is a slider on top and beeps when recording. Even with the engine running I could hear the beep and knew is was recording. When you stop recording it beeps twice so there's no doubt.

The flat mount is surprisingly sturdy and the provided double sided tape is VERY strong. Once it was attached I had no worry it would be there when I returned to the paddock. Considering the possibility of hitting the camera on the roll hoop I was a bit worried about knocking it off at the start of the day, but afterwards was confident in its strength.

The only potential future issue I see is if I mounted to mount the camera on a surface that is not level with the road. The flat surface mount I used (the other provided mount is a goggle strap mount) must be level to actually record in the direction you'd want. The GoPro's articulating suction cup mount is definitely better in that respect.

The picture is great as expected (recorded in 1080p at 30fps and 720p at 60fps) in either recording mode. Using a computer you can change the settings for HI and LO which is provided thru a switch near the battery.

Originally, the reivews I read complained mostly about the sound that the wind noise was too high. Where I mounted it the engine noise is strong and the camera picked it up very well. There is a fair bit of wind noise but not as bad as I had expected. I've read some tricks for minimizing the wind noise and will try those next time out to see how much I can reduce it.

[mike g.]

Bill,

thanks for posing.. that is really nice video - can only imagine how it'd look out from under that Michigan fog ya got there.

Is it legal in SCCA to stick that on your helmet? I never thought of that - but I imagine the vibrations at your helmet are about 10% of what they are hard-mounting to the rollbar.

Regards,

Mike

[captaineddie1975]

Maybe it is my computer but the video seemed jerky starting and stopping frequently and the engine noise starting and stopping caused my wife sitting in the other room to say that the engine didn't sound healthy. Was that the camera or Vimeo ( You Tube seems to do better video) or my old Windows XP computer?
BTW I did not have a problem with the Photobucket video of the Go Kart

[2BWise]

Most likely the computer. My home computer has a hard time playing the video as well. With the higher quality output the computer demands go up. I've watched on my work laptop and burnt it to DVD and have had no quality issues what so ever.

[RussMcB]

Review: ContourHD 1080p

.....

Thanks. Good stuff.

The Contour has various mounts and lens accessories available:
http://vholdr.com/contourhd/accessories

[red986s]

Wow! Very cool. Loved that point of view. Felt like I was driving a Vee. Thanks for sharing!