Looks quite nice to me.

 

BE WARNED! I've had this Hero camera for several MONTHS and it will NOT record more than a few seconds of video then shut down! What's really bad about this camera is that they REQUIRE specific rechargeable batteries - and yes, I've tried them all.

I love the mounting kit and casing, but the camera is CRAP. It will not record more than a few seconds, then shuts down (completely off). Yes, it can take stills, but I bought it to shoot video.

Again, the concept is great, the camera is just CRAP. Does anyone have an suggestions for a small video camera other than a Hero ??

I really want to record some of our PCA fun runs....

 

using the right batteries is a big help here !

You HAVE to use recharable lithums AAA like those available from radio shack, or the lithiums you can buy at safeway or you local grocery store. copper top duracells just dont have the ability to keep the voltage up for the current draw needed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGCPvtXCn_8

The cameras work great and i use them for my rear cam video for my races . ive even put the cameras in the air in a remote control plane!

mk

 

I'll concur with that opinion. I bought one a few weeks ago. It does take videos, and is small, but that is all. The video quality is low and with action it seems to skip frames. Exposure control is very poor. The microphone has two sensitivity settings. One setting is too sensitive and the sound inside the car overdrives the input. The other setting is so insensitive you can't hear anything. If all you want is a video, and don't mind spending some time setting it up, and fiddling to get the mode you want, it'll do that.

 

the video is AVI quality, and to the level of the resolution which is near broadcast quality (or more like VHS quality) anyway, it shouldnt skip frames and is , from what i have seen and I have probably more experience than most with the camera, a true 30fps.

Now, i have to agree that the sound is not the greatest and is actually a weak point. the only real setting to use is the "low" sensitivity, like i use with my rear -cam videos and you have to use the housing. alone, the sound gets saturated.

Again, look no farther than my videos to see the quality. its not as good as my cannon 950, but it is small and cheap enough to stick out there in some remote places on the car. I have even done "suspension-cam" with this.

Here is a better quality video of the Sears Race. i dont see any skipped frames, and you can here the audio quality. Its better quality due to a better mpeg encode. the actual video is better from the camera, uncompressed. watch it on high quality mode on YOUTUBE. as a side note, i had the camera near the upright of my wing. the ratting around is a required safety strap, and there is a good amount of air flow around it. i might have it down near bumper level next time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4wFVDm3uxM


Mk

 

Kelly, it's a shame you've had such a bad experience with the Hero. Many of us have had a very different experience. Either you are doing something wrong or there is something wrong with your camera. Are you using a 2GB card. Without the card you will only have a few seconds (15?) of record time. With the card you get almost an hour.

I've used mine on the track and on fun runs and I'm blown away by the quality of results for such a small uncomplicated devise.

My only complaint is sound and since I never intend to use it in a wet environment I drilled a hole in the case where the mic is, and that seemed to help.

 

You might look at the this for a helmet type camera. www.vio-pov.com
It is more industrial grade and takes higher resolution pictures. More versatile, easier to use, and a lot more expensive. However, I view my GoPro Hero as money not well spent and I'd rather have used that $$ toward something like this.

No affiliation with the company, or anyone connected with it.

 

Mark - I am using the right kind of batteries! I've tried several brands of lithium rechargables - no go! I've tried about EIGHT PAIR of various brands of lithium rechargables!

Charley - Yes, I am using a good 2GB card.

It's the VIDEO people! The stills are fine....but I didn't buy this camera for stills, I bought it for video. Five seconds of video is not good enough for me.

I like the idea of the Hero product and I like the packaging (mounting and accessories), but the camera is crap. Maybe I have the lemon, but everybody (including the manufacturer) is SCREAMING it's the battery, it's the battery, it's the battery! NO, it's NOT!

 

Louie - thanks, I'll check it out.

 

Either it works and you have it set on the right settings or it is defective. If it is defective, you need to send it back. in a couple of days, you will have a new one. You didnt need to buy $100 worth of batteries. one set of lithium batteries would have be sufficient. However, I got a camera with a card from Gopro. the card had some issues, but just plain didnt work. a new 2GB card was sent out and it worked perfectly, as seen by my hours and hours of video with no issues with use of 3 cameras.

mk

 

the setting I was refering to is the one with 60, 120 or 300 or OFF as the selection option. is it coincidence or does the 5 mins you get for video recording coorespond with the 300 seconds of the setting. if so, turn that function "off".
(if you havent checked that possibility)
mk

 

I have read some reviews on helmet cams and a lot of sport bike riders like
the ones from extremerecall. They have a neat web site to check out. I have
no affiliation with them of course. Here is their link:

www.extremerecall.com

 

Mark - thanks for the replies, but you're not really reading mine. I'm not getting 5 MINUTES of recording, I'm getting 5 SECONDS! of recording. Your 60,120,300,off setting is of no relevance whatsoever. But, to answer your question, I've tried it in all settings.

As for a card, they don't even ship them with cards....I had to buy my own. Sandisk. I tried THREE different (new) cards.

I'm certainly sending this lemon back.....and I'll give them one more chance.

Robert - thanks for the link. They seem to offer a great product, but at $700 + must have your own video camera - that's far too expensive. For $700, they should give you an HD video camera...

 

yes 5 seconds, 2 sets of batteries and that thing should have been in the mail to be returned the next day. thats ok, never say die, right?

send it back and you will get a new one that works. use the lithium rechargables for 1 hour of recording. or, if you use the coppertop duracells, you will get about 15min.

mk

 

I posted an update here:
https://rennlist.com/forums/6088000-post30.html