GoPro or ... ?

[Longboarder]

Originally Posted by LiM3y

Dear Kettle,

Yes, looking at your video, it is amazing how careless people drive through mall parking lots. You see folks, speeding through a farmers market with kids and people behind minivans, hard acceleration in a busy lot, crossing the the center line, rolling through STOP signs, cutting corners...all sorts of poor, aggressive driving. And that is all in one minute! You are lucky to get out of there unharmed! Fortunately, you have it all on film in case something happens...

Keepin' it real!

The Pot

Beat me to it.

[pcload1etter]

Originally Posted by zslow6

not to hijack your thread but i was looking at go pros and some of the other shock proof/water resistant cameras and was curious if those can over lay with a solo dl? While i was looking at the GoPro's they had an aviation one that was $100 less just curious what the difference was between that and the motorsport one?

dunno if you got your question answered, but there's a program called... dashware which will overlay data from just about anything I believe.

[Drifty//]

Originally Posted by WillC310

Also the GoPro does 960p@60fps so you really wouldn't miss out on too many lines of resolution.

1280x960, which is 4:3. However, 16:9 is really the aspect ratio I want. I'd even go wider, if I could.

Also, I think GoPro's HD Hero2 doesn't have optical zoom. The zooms are all digital, meaning some tradeoff in quality.

[WillC310]

Originally Posted by Drifty//

1280x960, which is 4:3. However, 16:9 is really the aspect ratio I want. I'd even go wider, if I could.

Also, I think GoPro's HD Hero2 doesn't have optical zoom. The zooms are all digital, meaning some tradeoff in quality.

Sounds like the GoPro isn't your thing then.

[Drifty//]

I have done some preliminary street testing with the Sony CyberShot DSC-HX20V point-and-shoot camera, and the results are extremely promising. I also tried it in my A4, which has a much stiffer suspension. I could easily believe it's got one of the best image stabilizers out there.

It's not magic. If you go over a large bump, the view will shift (usually downward) and take a second to return to neutral. But it is astounding how well it keeps the horizon locked during normal driving and over smaller bumps. It even works well at night!

Exposure seems good, but not perfect. On a sunny day, trying to maintain good exposure for both objects inside and outside the car is understandably challenging. The sky is often a bit washed out; sometimes the roadway, as well. Exposure adjustment between shade and sunlight is prompt but fluid. I haven't yet tried driving into the sunset/sunrise (i.e. sun visible in frame).

Focus is good. The speedometer is usually focused enough to be readable, when it's not underexposed. There's only a touch of blur on street signs as the letters begin to approach a readable size. I haven't yet seen it hunt for focus, even at night!

No problems with the rolling shutter. Not even at night. You wouldn't even know it had one!

The biggest issues are aliasing and wind noise. The aliasing is only visible on high-frequency details (again, somewhat distant road signs provide a good example) and not more than I expected for such a device. The wind noise is not surprising, for an internal mic, on just about any camera. Although it has an electronic wind noise filter, the wind is far too heavy for it to handle. A mechanical solution will be necessary. As the camera does not have an external mic input, I'll probably end up taping a bit of foam or thin plastic over the mic holes.

Final thought: the video does look a bit floaty, sort of like you're gliding over the pavement, with the car bobbing around in the foreground. A bit like a video game, in fact. Although you can use a more conservative image stabilization setting, I'm pretty sure I'd prefer this look to the alternative.

I only tried the 1080p/60 video mode and max stabilization settings, since I'm not interested in using any camera that doesn't give me smooth video at that framerate & resolution. I'm just basing this on a street test, but if Sony uses all of this technology in their upcoming GoPro killer, it might be just that.

The mount used was a CruiseCam, at max extension, attached to the driver's seat.

I will post vids, but I might not get to it until next week. The good news is that I should have some track footage, by then.


The two mods I'm currently planning are for the microphone and to somehow attach a polarizing filter.

[Drifty//]

Originally Posted by WillC310

Sounds like the GoPro isn't your thing then.

Not in its current form, I think.

The advantage of trying an alternative that's a point-and-shoot camera is that I can upgrade to a HD Hero3 (whenever it comes out) and still use my CyberShot as a pocket-sized superzoom still & movie camera.

Of course, the DSC-HX20V just might be so good that I won't bother upgrading. We'll have to see how well it handles at the track.

[Keik E92 M3]

The HX30 is a amazing camera as well. 1080p/60.

[Kenny@VS]

We use Go Pro and Aim's Smarty Camera on our Race cars, both are great cameras. But we love the overlay that is available when hooking up the Smarty Cam to the Aim unit.

[Drifty//]

Originally Posted by keikdasneak

The HX30 is a amazing camera as well. 1080p/60.

Everything I say about the DSC-HX20V should apply to the DSC-HX30V. The only significant difference between the two is that the 30 adds wifi. I just didn't need the wi fi, and the 30 would have cost me nearly $50 more.

However, if you step down to the DSC-HX10V, you give up 1080p/60, among other things.

I took a hard look at the DSC-RX100, which has a bigger sensor, but it's much more expensive and (most importantly) seems to have inferior image stabilization. Also, it's still on pre-order, yet my first track event (in the M3) is this weekend. This way, if I crash, at least I'll probably have it on video!

[demonshin]

I bought a GoPro back Dec '10 for snowboarding and it was great and I got the car mount and you can stick it anywhere on your car. When GoPro 2 came out I purchased it and very nice improvement with menu response and the LCD screen is great addition.

I have not tried any other camera as GoPro has yet to fail for what I need. Plus the fish eye lens effect is awesome!

Here is a vid I took with my GoPro 2 on my first ever track event.

[sc_tr0jan_m3]

i've never had any issues with the quality from my go pro in any of the vids that i've taken. i couldnt be happier with the device.

a few of my in car views...

[Drifty//]

Originally Posted by sc_tr0jan_m3

i've never had any issues with the quality from my go pro in any of the vids that i've taken. i couldnt be happier with the device.

I'm glad you like it.

a few of my in car views...

I prefer a more narrow field of view. In the second video, you've got so much stuff mounted below the rearview mirror that I can't even see what's coming up. Also, the exposure is way off, further reducing the ability to see outside the car.

[dapopa9]

Originally Posted by sc_tr0jan_m3

i've never had any issues with the quality from my go pro in any of the vids that i've taken. i couldnt be happier with the device.

a few of my in car views...

Om the first video where did you have the camera mounted?

[paradocs98]

Originally Posted by LiM3y

Dear Kettle,

Yes, looking at your video, it is amazing how careless people drive through mall parking lots. You see folks, speeding through a farmers market with kids and people behind minivans, hard acceleration in a busy lot, crossing the the center line, rolling through STOP signs, cutting corners...all sorts of poor, aggressive driving. And that is all in one minute! You are lucky to get out of there unharmed! Fortunately, you have it all on film in case something happens...

Keepin' it real!

The Pot

I thought the same thing...

[sc_tr0jan_m3]

Originally Posted by Drifty//

I'm glad you like it.
I prefer a more narrow field of view. In the second video, you've got so much stuff mounted below the rearview mirror that I can't even see what's coming up. Also, the exposure is way off, further reducing the ability to see outside the car.

well beggars can't be choosers...

this was the wide angle setting on my hero2. you do have the option for a narrower FOV.

Originally Posted by dapopa9

Om the first video where did you have the camera mounted?

i use the amt mount. i found it to be the most sturdy and well built option out in the market. i'm incredibly happy with the product. this link can show you an idea of how it's mounted.

http://www.amt-engineering.com/products.html

[Drifty//]

Originally Posted by sc_tr0jan_m3

well beggars can't be choosers...

Again, if you're happy with it, then I'm happy for you. I was simply pointing out some aspects where I hope to do a bit better.

this was the wide angle setting on my hero2. you do have the option for a narrower FOV.

True, I've read all about that. I don't like some of the associated compromises. It's essentially like a digital zoom.

i use the amt mount. i found it to be the most sturdy and well built option out in the market. i'm incredibly happy with the product. this link can show you an idea of how it's mounted.

http://www.amt-engineering.com/products.html

I have the cruise cam mount. I think it's actually better than a stiffer, more rigid mount, if your camera has good image stabilization.

[Drifty//]

Finally got around to posting this. See the video description on Youtube for details.

[docsdoc]

Originally Posted by LiM3y

Dear Kettle,

Yes, looking at your video, it is amazing how careless people drive through mall parking lots. You see folks, speeding through a farmers market with kids and people behind minivans, hard acceleration in a busy lot, crossing the the center line, rolling through STOP signs, cutting corners...all sorts of poor, aggressive driving. And that is all in one minute! You are lucky to get out of there unharmed! Fortunately, you have it all on film in case something happens...

Keepin' it real!

The Pot

yup

[adc]

I find that the Contour HD has a more natural fov than Gopro. I only have some rainy vids so far, but I'll be back on track soon.

[jkman510]

Here's a sample of my gopro setup.

Mounted on cruisecam mount and remote microphones in the trunk.

Ignore my nooob driving.