GoPro Hero 2

[rydawg011291]

The new GoPro is out!!! All I can say is whoa!!! Live streaming, what a great idea and not only that the camera itself will be 10x better than the last. I'm hoping to get ahold of one in the near future especially since the Contour hasn't been all that great due to some problems people have been haunted with.

Ryan

[rydawg011291]

Opps almost forgot the link.... http://gopro.com/cameras/hd-hero2-motorsports-edition/

[Pitcrew]

GoPro Hero 2 ready to capture extreme sports video

In the national paper today......

[Mark Filip]

It will be sweet when they release the wireless wifi remote that is much needed for us. It also says it will work with other models

Mark

[rydawg011291]

In all honesty I feel like this would help out the SCCA a lot! They could live stream in-car, also they could possibly televise over the television, maybe not with the GoPro but it could be a way for them to bring in more sponsors and more money. I was having this talk with my brother last night and like they say at the Runoffs its the Olympics for sports car racing. So why not get on TV and have even better ratings.

Ryan

[RussMcB]

So, does live streaming mean people can view the video almost real time? IOW, we can watch your race on the internet as you're racing? That's pretty impressive, especially for a $300 camera.

<snip> ... especially since the Contour hasn't been all that great due to some problems people have been haunted with.

Haunted? Maybe I've been lucky but my contour has worked great since 2010. I think it's the GoPro that has the uphill battle to overcome its bad reputation.

[2BWise]

Russ, I was reading up on the live streaming info and it sounds as though that is the case.

http://gopro.com/hd-hero-accessories...-remote-combo/

I've been lucky with my Contour as well. Other than a bit of vibration issues the first weekend on the Reynard its been fine ever since. I'm quite happy with Contour's product, but the live streaming just sounds too cool to pass on. May be picking up another camera and it may be a GoPro.

[Dick R.]

Live Streaming: I'm no expert but as I read it the Wi-Fi module will communicate via Wi-Fi to another device which actually has an internet connection. Can a smartphone maintain an internet connection reliably around a racetrack? This assumes racetracks don't have Wi-Fi all the way around the track within range of the cars.

Dick

[NPalacioM3]

First, it looks VERY bulky with the WiFi backpac.

Second, I cannot imagine how that signal is not going to carry all the way around a 2-4 mile long track back to the pits where you can watch it live.

If I go to far upstairs with my home laptop, I start to lose signal from my router in the basement....not sure what to expect with this.

[Tiago Santos]

I think someone up there had the right idea.. Link it via wi-fi to a smartphone with a 3G/4G data connection that could stream it to the web.. Still sounds a bit far-fetched, but I'm sure it could be done!

[Dick R.]

I think someone up there had the right idea.. Link it via wi-fi to a smartphone with a 3G/4G data connection that could stream it to the web.. Still sounds a bit far-fetched, but I'm sure it could be done!

That was me.

Seriously I wonder if the cell tower capacity could handle a bunch of cars "calling" with video and large number of crew and spectators viewing the video?

Hopefully GoPro isn't just selling something that has little or no real world "action sport" applicability.

Dick (who gave up on GoPro Hero wide for my car)
CM 85
85 VD

[rydawg011291]

The Wi-Fi is a serious problem especially at tracks that are in the middle of no where. I also know that the creator of the GoPro races an F1000, so hopefully they have been working extremely hard on the WiFi issue on tracks that don't have the best internet capabilities.

Ryan

[swiftdrivr]

Be aware, you must tether your GoPro above the design flaw that allows the mount to break and send your camera flying. There is no instruction to do this, or even a way to do it without modifying their case, but if you don't, they refuse to fix your camera. I've had a GoPro for a year, and not recorded a single hot lap. [Looking for recomendations for a better camera.]

[Bob Coury]

Jim:

I am hoping that this helps you record more than 1 lap with Go Pro. I just purchased one in August, and had issues with it recording more than 10 to 20 min at Daytona. It would shut down before the card was full. I also had some files become corrupt. Go Pro told me to use SanDisk cards and a another brand (Kingston???). I remarked to them that I thought a Class 6 SD card made by whatever company was the same as the next, and I was informed that they have had issues with some brand cards.

So- I reforatted my existing PNY card while in the camera, and set it in the house and let it run. It only got to around 25% capacity and shut down. I then purchased a Sandisk card, and did the same test. I filled the card to capacity before it shut off. I have yet to make it back to a race, but I suspect that the PNY brand card was my problem.

[Apex Neel]

We've completely dumped Go-Pros for our replay XDs. The cost the same and are superior in almost every way. They don't have a Wi-Fi module per se, but its easy enough to load videos from the Micro SD card to a laptop to transmit them...

-Neel

[carnut169]

The mounts appear to be the same and the last thing they need is more weight. That seems to be the heel of the GoPro. I also could not get the vibration out (looked like ripples on a lake) and my mount snapped off on the out lap. Pic quality was good off-track...

I've also swapped over to a Contour which appears to be a nicely built camera. I had it on the side of my MX helmet and took a fall and landed hard on the camera- nothing but a small scratch. We'll see how it does at the ARRC.

[NPalacioM3]

[Looking for recomendations for a better camera.]

VIO POV or Race Optics. Do yourself a favor, get one of these and be done with it.

[f500racer96]

VIO POV or Race Optics. Do yourself a favor, get one of these and be done with it.

+1 for Race Optics. I've been really pleased with the EvoHD system. It is really well made, easy to use, and comes with a very complete accessory package. Their customer support has been excellent too. It's showing at $450 but they put it on sale frequently.
http://www.raceoptics.com/evohd7.php

[Keith Carter]

By my reading it would appear that the Wifi component is for a live preview to a relatively local phone or tablet to the camera. The app would also allow the phone to be used as a remote control for the camera.

I can't imagine it being in HD for the live preview though let alone being able to reliably stream across the web in realtime even if it was over a cell phone data plan. At most tracks we go to, it's hard enough to get a 3G signal. I'm not saying that the technology won't get there in time, but that's not what the Hero2 currently offers from my understanding.

[DormaWerks]

I have the Hero 2 and it is just the same piece of junk that the first two versions were. It will not keep going more than a min or two after the car gets to speed. The 1st battery that came with the camera (fortunately I bought a spare) would not recharge after THREE uses - I am so sick of these idiot things! Their customer service is useless.

Can anyone recommend a real camera that can survie a formula car (FC Pinto) and maybe even have the 21st century luxury of being turned on and off by the driver????

[Keith Carter]

We were loaned a Contour to use and will be trying it for the first time at the Sprints, but if we didn't have that to use, we've heard some pretty cool things about the ReplayXD including a wiring harness that ties the video into your popular data systems. It's relatively inexpensive to boot!

[reidhazelton]

Chase Cam and Replay XD. Use the XD for the first time and it got all 3 sessions, which is 2.5 more than I got with the GoPro in 2 years. I've only used the XD one weekend, so I don't know if it will hold up but the Chase Cam is a tank. Never failed me yet.

[Richard Hybels]

It makes me chuckle to read about GoPro being junk cuz I've been reading it for years. I still have the original POS that would not work 10 minutes.
I have Replay now but and it has been OK but with al ittle shaking but a friend bought two brand new last weekend and they were both DOA.
I let him use mine and it then died. All mounted solid on the roll bar.
We'll see how responsive Replay will be.

[2BWise]

I have the Hero 2 and it is just the same piece of junk that the first two versions were. It will not keep going more than a min or two after the car gets to speed. The 1st battery that came with the camera (fortunately I bought a spare) would not recharge after THREE uses - I am so sick of these idiot things! Their customer service is useless.

Can anyone recommend a real camera that can survie a formula car (FC Pinto) and maybe even have the 21st century luxury of being turned on and off by the driver????

Now, I can say I completely understand a lot of users frustrations with any camera. My old Contour died (record button stopped working), so I replaced it with the ContourGPS as well as purchasing a GoPro. My first Contour was bullet proof. Took a weekend to get it to survive the vibration, insulated well enough, and it would always function. The new one, not so much. It died 3 times on grid this weekend, 2x without the car even running, and when it did work the file was corrupt. The GoPro, while it worked, vibrated way too much making the picture is a bit difficult to watch. I'll continue to fool around with these things, but the frustration is enbearable. Have a great race, or want to review something interesting, and you get nothing. Such a let down.

[NPalacioM3]

I am selling my VIO POV 1.5 in the classified section. It is not HD, but you will not have any of these problems with it. No vibration, clear sound. Below is a vid from last year at NJMP, I haven't had a chance to post anything from this year yet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aaarx5Jf33k