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05 Июл. 2015 г.Gopro hero 2 no sdWhile the folks at GoPro offer all sorts of very clever mounts for the Hero and there are a good number of third party mounting options in addition to that, serious GoPro users should also look at what's available from RAM.Early last month GoPro completed their annual October ritual of releasing a suite of new units. Like past years, GoPro doesn’t tend to make massive upgrades in their units, but rather works to add incremental features and performance bumps. In these cases I could then go through each photo to find the ‘best’ photo of the action. Had I just taken my usual three photos, I’d have far fewer choices. Aside from the smaller and lighter aspects of the change there are a number of other things that need to be considered particulary if you are upgrading from the 1 or 2 to the 3. That's why cameras designed to be taken underwater usually have special underwater modes that compensate for the loss of color. Finally, on the side you’ll have a small door you can pull off that includes the HDMI and mini-USB ports, as well as the MicroSD card slot. We are not done yet with the 3D GoPro video project and plan on reporting on it in more detail sometime soon. For that, you'd need selectable white balance modes or some sort of setup setting, or the camera would need to know how deep it is (which would require a pressure sensor). Note that Flux is all done after the fact within GoPro Studio, and is not something done on the camera itself. It does not require you do anything on the unit itself. If you intend to use the camera in all of the recording modes, you need a fix that replaces the entire dome. The LCD does need a new firmware version, which you can easily download from the GoPro website, put on a SD card, and then install. Standard waterproof housing is useless underwater because the curved dome lens makes for blurry video. As you can see – the shot still came out quite nice, it’s just that you lack the control over it. It also lacks the ability to compile the time lapse and night modes together, which can be incredibly compelling in the right situations. Sartek offers a full replacement housing with a elegant black replacement dome ring and a glass lens. But with these incremental bumps also came a rather unusual bump in price at the top end, while inversely dropping the lower-end unit significantly in price. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Starting with surfing and paddling, auto racing quickly followed, and that required different mounting. We experimented with a variety of video lights and torches, including Liquid Image head-mounts, Bonica dual video lights (shown in picture to the right), and a SeaLife video light. About 400 people work for Ambarella these days, 100 of them at the Silicon Valley headquarters. There's LOTS of mounting hardware in each of the three available packages (there are Outdoor, Motorsports, and Surf editions). Now of course while recording, you can use this to frame your shots ahead of time and then keep an eye on things while recording. By default it’ll shut off the screen shortly after recording to save battery. To begin you’ll find the boxes of the Black and Silver fairly similarly designed, with only the Base Hero slightly different with cheaper packaging materials to save weight and cost. What we found there was that the Hero2 did significantly better than the original Hero, but there are some limits and physical realities underwater that are hard to overcome. Next, when it comes to how many photos to shoot for each button press, I tend to go with three photos. That allows me a bit of flexibility in case I fudge the shot, and since sometimes they might be slightly-action based (riding or running), I can pick the best out of the three. So like past years, once again we saw a bump in resolution. This becomes important when trying to incorporate slow-motion video into normal HD programs. For example, colors disappear the deeper you go, and then everything starts looking just greenish. Then we have the new battery design of the Hero4 Black and Silver. It’s a bit thinner than the past batteries which were chunkier. The wondrous full 1080p HD video of today is already being surpassed with 60 frame per second 1080p, high-speed RAW capture of 16-megapixel images at 30 fps (Ambarella's new A7L system-on-chip can already do this -- see here), and 2160p video. And it creates the impression that as of now, for a company that is into extreme sports and makes a terrific product (AND advertises its housing for underwater use), GoPro is not very familiar with scuba. Note, however, that you can get very good color underwater if you use a video light to illuminate the scene (see picture of the moray eel below). Nothing else grips like it, and nothing else is as easy to adjust and versatile as the RAM mounts. There's also the Oculus flat lens; it consists of a flat plastic lens and a replacement dome ring. On the outside, the Hero2 looks almost identical, but a closer examination shows a number of subtle differences. The same is true of photo modes, allowing you to then change how many shots it might take, and the resolutions of those. It’s without question one of my favorite features of the Hero4 lineup. Next, the standard mini-USB plug that can be used to both charge the unit as well as download photos. Note that this USB cable (and your attached GoPro) can be plugged into any USB outlet on the planet. I have found that some retailers sell the same capacity Micro version for less than the standard size. The good piece is that both options are there (see table later in review for exact options per model), so you can do whatever you’d like. RAM's been making mounting solutions for computers, cameras, GPS systems, etc., for many years, and their patented rubber ball and socket system is absolutely the best. The glued-on fix is not pretty, looks more like a science project, and the acrylic lens is prone to scratching, but the fix definitely works and there isn't any vignetting in any of the recording modes other than a bit in 960p. Finally, we get to the camera itself, which comes in the waterproof housing. There is a secondary door (seen up above), that allows sound to be heard relatively clearly versus the fully sealed waterproof housing where it’ll be rather muffled. The second did silent 10 second digital video, the third had an SD card slot and 3 megapixel, the fourth, in 2008, had a wide angle lens, could do 5mp stills and VGA video. The thing is: These incremental bumps serve to stay just ahead of most of the competitors out there. It looks halfway decent shrunk to this small size, but the full-size version is totally blurry and out of focus. To take the whole assembly out of the front half of the housing you need to open three more screws, one of them quite recessed. There's a mini-USB port, mini-HDMI, a composite jack, one for an external microphone, and a special Hero expansion port. Anyway, with a solution at hand (the EyeOfMine housing), we took the original Hero on another dive trip to the Islas Coronados just south of the border in Mexican waters. Ultimately, the Hero4 lineup offers the most diverse options in the marketplace today when it comes to high speed frame rate offerings as well as higher resolutions at those frame rates. Have just taken delivery of new Hero 3 Black surf edition, this does not include a floaty back door. I’ve gotta say, when I first saw the marketing images of the screen I figured it’d be like the Garmin VIRB screen. In that while the VIRB screen was marketed to look like a orgasmicly colorful experience, in reality it was like 1930’s black and white silent film. Next, the middle child of the group, the Silver. As you can see below, the parts are nearly identical to the Black in the earlier section. Now let's hope some big company won't come along, snatch up GoPro, and then shut it down like Cisco did with the Flip. RAM has high-quality GoPro mounting solutions that work with just about anything and anywhere (see the RAM GoPro page), and their industrial strength stuff is the answer where the smaller plastic mounts won't do. Now you can see that the GoPro guts are quite complex, with three tightly packed circuit boards sitting on top of each other. From my own measurements this is correct and infact the Hero 3 silver edition that I have seems to be even lighter. You simply unscrew the dome on your housing, replace the stock dome lens with the flat one from AquaPix, and you're done. Oh, in case you’re wondering, I had them plugged into the wall via USB so they’d stay powered on. Ambarella specializes in low-power, high-definition video compression and image processing. For example, you might be mountain biking downhill and want to easily capture photos along the way (instead of video). Just plop it in time lapse mode and it’ll capture photos at the defined interval. However, with the February 2015 update for the GoPro Hero4 Black and Silver, it’ll now create that same video for you within the GoPro unit itself. I’ll discuss that in the next section. I have been using the Hero 3 for a few months now and the biggest improvement has to be the lack of weight compared to the 2. Eyeofmine does the modification and sells the complete standard or wrist housing good for 100 feet (US$79) or 200 feet (US$99). It includes a single Micro-SD card, as well as the default battery. You can see that the Hero Base is actually a fair bit lighter, interestingly enough. We analyzed everything, wondered what we might have done wrong, examined any possible settings, then tried again. But there’s a small catch: The computer you’re viewing this post on right now likely can’t even display 4K footage. This means that you can take 4K video and crop to a smaller portion of the image and then still maintain 1080p (or other lower resolution). We tried several more times, and, adding insult to injury, the GoPro's already somewhat marginal battery conked out, yielding no more than a few minutes per charge towards the end of the voyage. Our above-water video was excellent, but 20 minutes of recording giant mantas, pretty much once in a lifetime footage, was blurry and out of focus, all of it. We expect advanced technology to come in spectacular, expensive packages, yet the GoPro is anything but. For example, if you wanted to turn what would have been 4-5 seconds at playback speed into 8-10 seconds. In that case you’d lose so many frames that it might be tough to get smooth video. I really would have liked to know ahead of time that taking the GoPro to film one-of-a-kind shots of half a dozen giant mantas would not work. This means a sealed air space that's potentially subject to fogging, but SnakeRiver guards against that by including a rounded groove for ceramic desiccant balls. Then came the big step to high definition video and today's HD Hero 960 (960p video), Hero (1080p video), and now Hero2 (faster, more video and still modes, overall better). For now, a filter is your best bet, and some of the third party replacement case providers also offer filters. While GoPro inexplicably so far has failed to alert divers to the underwater housing focusing problem, they did show an optional flat lens housing at the 2011 DEMA show in Orlando. Now we're getting somewhere: The underlying Ambarella chipset of the Hero2 is two years newer, runs at more than twice the speed, and is entirely more powerful and feature-rich than the Hero's older A2S chip. The prototype shown didn't looked particularly elegant, but we haven't seen the final version yet.  In the below photo, the two lower doors allow touch screen operation. The left one is completely open, while the right one has a thin flexible plastic. We then took the GoPro along on our next product review dive trip, this time to Cancun where we dove the wreck of the 165-foot C58 mine sweeper in strong currents. We later found that the underwater housing that comes with every GoPro, and that GoPro says is good for depths to 200 feet, really cannot be used for underwater video. GoPro likes to keep things simple, and so their claim is that the new Hero2 has twice the processing power, more than twice the image detail, and its glass is twice as sharp. And many GoPros spend most of their recording time mounted on something, like a race cars or skateboard, where aiming isn't much of an issue. Once that is done, you don't only have a very nice 2-inch display with decent viewing angles and brightness. The Discovery Channel uses it for "Deadliest Catch" and "Gold Rush," and National Geographic and LucasFilm use it too, or you can watch incredible footage of a race car barreling up the Pikes Peak hill climb, setting a world record (see here), and so on. Fortunately, the Hero2 is similar enough that much of our original Hero review remains valid. Yes, they're still not telling divers that the waterproof housing can't actually be used underwater without a third-party fix or the soon-available optional flat-lens underwater housing, but anyone who can't figure that out probably isn't GoPro material to begin with. Which isn’t to say there’s no reason to do the previous photo method. The photo-driven method means you can take these super-high resolution time lapses and then crop portions for more advanced video editing, such as panning or zooming. It arrived very quickly and testing in the pool showed a huge difference compared to the standard housing. In lower resolution settings, the camera viewing angle is increased and the outer edges of the housing lens become visible in video and images. For example, below if I wanted just the fish from this GoPro image, I could crop to just the fish and the sea anemone. Doesn't it always work that way: we had compiled a very detailed review of the GoPro Hero and published it mid-October 2011. Inexpensive vidcams that could record at amazingly high resolutions had been available at Walmart and other low price outlets for years, but those products rarely managed to rid themselves of the reputation of being cheap gadgets with marginal picture and overall quality. Changing settings, though, is much improved with the Hero2 and you no longer have to have the instructions at hand to decipher cryptic codes as was the case with older Heros. The only difference in the box is the case doors. The Silver edition includes three doors (instead of two), and two of these doors are designed to allow you to operate the touch screen. Back from the trip we instantly went on eBay and ordered a real battery charger (the GoPro charges via USB cable, a notoriously unreliable charging method) and two extra batteries. With these higher frame rates at higher resolutions, you’re no longer having to make sacrifices in quality or frame rates for slow-motion footage. You simply replace the stock lens with the one supplied by Mako that's supposed to be totally vignette-free in the 1080p R5 setting. The little matte-silver plastic housing even of the latest Hero2 is very basic, with just two buttons, and no display other than a tiny black & white status LCD. With the camera powered on, all units have a front-facing LCD screen. This screen will show you which mode you’re in, for example, video, photo, time lapse, etc… You can simply tap the front mode button to iterate to the next mode. You cannot claim a waterproof case that's good for 200 feet and then neglect to tell customers that the housing will keep the camera from focusing underwater. The Hero2 does significantly better in low light, but it's really in the new video modes and when viewed on a big screen that the differences become noticeable. Snake River Prototyping offers the BlurFix adapter, the most professional looking solution of the lot. Note that the GoPro Studio offers the ability specify the exact moment in time that you switch from regular playback to slow-motion playback by simply splitting the clips. This allows you to keep at normal speed until just the moment of action, such as this where I kept it regular rates for the first few seconds, then slowed it down when she was mid-air, and then let it get back to half-speed towards the last few seconds. The name came from many a surfer's wish to "go pro," and "hero" stems from making people feel like heros when they could record and show their stunts. Like running 960p video at a faster 48 frames per second, or 848 x 480 WVGA at a blistering 120 frames per second for very cool slow motion video. There are, however, also rather substantial improvements, and so we'll use this review to both explain and highlight the concept of the GoPro Hero, and also how the latest Hero2 model differs from the original. First, you need two Hero or Hero2 cameras (and it must be two of a kind) and the special 3D kit from GoPro. The ready availability of mounting brackets and systems, combined with the small boxy form factor, meant that the GoPro camera was used in very innovative ways, which brought a lot of publicity, which made it even more popular in many high-profile applications. That solved the power problem (but only to some extent; eBay batteries are notoriously iffy, and we'd definitely recommend to buy the real thing from GoPro). We first took the GoPro on an 8-day expedition to the Islas Revillagigedos, a remote group of islands about 250 miles south-west off Cabo San Lucas on the Pacific coast of Mexico, and one of the most remote places you'll ever see. The GoPro was certainly much more handy than the big and bulky camera and video gear we usually take along. We offered GoPro to test a preproduction unit on a December 2011 dive product review trip, but they could not make one available. For now, suffice it to say that 3D is not trivial, and though there are now a lot of 3D movies and TVs, it's far from certain if the technology will really catch on. On a shallow, rocky dive site we were literally mobbed by curious sea lions, pups all, who darted all around us. The LCD module cleanly snaps onto the back of the GoPro, doesn't need any wires or anything, and even comes with waterproof and non-waterproof backdoors for both the standard and the wrist-mount housing. For example, the Hero2 has three additional recording lights (top, back, bottom) so you know when it's actually recording without looking at it from the front. Over the last month I’ve beat the crap out of the cameras, which I bought myself, to find out. From testing out the different new high resolution and high speed video modes to understanding the impact on battery life, I dive into it all. Let’s get started! Essentially they paved the way from legacy MPEG-2 encoding to the next-gen H.264 encoding technology. We explored the insides of a wreck to check low-light performance of the Hero2, and also how the white balance reacts. Mako offers the MAKO Flat GoPro Housing Lens for just US$21.95 for those who don't mind the do-it-yourself approach. For the video, GoPro Studio enables you to drag the photos into the software and it’ll compile it into a video. Not specifically designed to be used underwater, the Hero2 doesn't compensate for the loss of colors down there. Next, you’ll need some software to turn these all into a pretty video. Of course, if you don’t want a video, then you’re just done as-is. So for now, unless sheer image size matters, the 5mp wide makes the best Hero2 still images. Thanks to the wide lens angle that's not too much of a problem as one tends to get the proper footage anyway. Learning how to use the BacPac, though, still means memorizing which of the by now three buttons to push short or long. While the old one was a 5mp Aptina model, the new one supposedly offers full 14mp resolution. The kit includes a special dual-camera housing with a connection cable that synchronizes the video. In essence, what happened was a fortuitous convergence of a) CMOS sensors that have become powerful enough to generate decent high-resolution video, b) the emergence of SD and microSD cards with capacities large enough to replace large, bulky and expensive tape or hard drive storage, and c) efforts like Ambarella's that provided super-fast, efficient compression on the fly. My personal best is Hero 3 by far but haven’t checked on Hero 4 Black yet which I hear good reviews about. Alternatively, on all units you can enable a single button press mode (‘Quick Capture’) that will automatically turn on the camera in recording mode and start recording video as soon as it has started up. It's a precision-crafted aluminum adapter that leaves the GoPro housing's existing dome intact, but puts a flat-plate glass lens in front of it. In the first picture above you can see that the viewing angle is about the same, though with the Hero2 you get 11mp versus just 5mp in the original Hero. The good news for owners of the original Hero is that at least in this small size, you really can't see much of a difference between the two. The only items exposed to you are the USB port and the micro-SD card slot. There is no HDMI connection available here, nor removable battery. Now here's a headscratcher: we'd have expected the Hero2 11mp wide picture (right) to be the best and cleanest of all, but the 5mp Hero2 picture (left) is actually cleaner with fewer artifacts. With those basics covered, let’s get onto the Silver-only touch screen, and then I’ll cover many of the features individually. Smooth slow motion is a factor of how many FPS you can capture at, combined with the resolution you can capture. In general, each year the bar gets moved higher and higher for capture rates. The GoPro is sort of an unlikely success story that represents determination and innovation at its best, and the new Hero2 is better yet with its better lens, larger imager, and faster, more powerful processor. There is one undeniable advance, though: there's now a new "narrow" 90 degree mode in 1080p video, which means you can shoot without the wide angle fisheye effect if need be. Just undo four tiny Philips head screws holding the top and bottom of the plastic case together. The exact frame rates offered for each resolution I’ve included within the comparison table at the bottom of the review. All of this technology means that all of a sudden, a decent CMOS sensor, a lens, ancillary circuitry and storage all fit into a very small place at a very low cost, and it was capable of producing results that rivaled and often blew away what was possible with much more expensive conventional video gear. But while the GoPro is tiny, it isn't particularly elegant or high-tech, and compared to all those waver-thin compacts it's actually a bit stout. None of this is totally new; it's just that it took companies like Ambarella and GoPro to really make it take off. Gently flipping up the bottom part of the case reveals a jam-packed inside with three sandwiched circuit boards taking up all real estate. And since the BacPac shows the Hero2's hugely improved menu interface, setting up and using the camera is so much easier, and you also have playback. GoPro, though, was kind enough to make a second original Hero available to us, and so we recorded a bunch of scuba 3D video. So you get a 1080p HD video camera with plenty of accessories and an underwater housing good for 200 feet for less than you pay for a compact camera's underwater housing alone! Having resolved the blur issue with the EyeOfMine housing, we then took the Hero2 for a week's worth of diving to the Honduran island of Roatan. And while I could simply shoot more photos at once, I find that a bit of a pain in the butt later on trying to sift through photos after my activity.  |
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