Recommendations, please, re GoPro

[TomP]

I’ve seen many GS/GSA riders on bikes with GoPro, or at least GoPro lookalike cameras fitted, but up to now, I’ve not been one of them. Since 2013, I’ve been using a Garmin Virb - not the “Go Pro styled” one, but the big, clunky Virb that went before it. Now, after years of reliable use, it’s given up the ghost after I dropped it on the garage floor. Garmin (unsurprisingly) can do nothing to help me, so I’m now beginning the search for a replacement camera.

First of all, I’d be grateful to draw on the wisdom of the Forum about what to buy. I’m looking at GoPros in particular, because of the availability of accessories, etc. Buying the best you can afford is something that doesn’t seem to hold for GoPro. My online research has confused me about what might be the best model. I want something all-weather, easily mounted, with good battery life, to shoot bits of my journeys, for personal/home viewing. But then, don’t we all, in the main!?

I’ve spent a good few years as a freelance stills photographer, but I’d describe my video needs as relatively undemanding, but I’m keen to re-equip with something with an accepted pedigree, that might see me through a few years of on-bike (1200 GSA) use.

Grateful for any replies.

Tom

 

[Barnoe]

I have plenty of experience with GoPros.
good but not perfect

Pros
Waterproof
robust
good quality images even when shaking off road!
plenty of accessories.

Negatives
When using a mic its NOT waterproof
When charging on the move NOT waterproof
Accessories are expensive such as the media mod and remote.
The built in mic is useless outdoors the slightest weak breeze will ruin your audio.
Image is grainy in poor light

I would say to try and get anything from a hero 8 onwards
When i bought my Hero 11 i was shocked how little the improvement was over my Hero 9
if i was to buy another today i would pick up the cheaper Hero 9 and save a few quid.

All that being said, there are work around for all the above and with these the GoPro is still the best out there.
customer support is good too.
When i got water in my Hero 11 on a recent European trip and lost all audio, I contacted GoPro and they replaced it.

 

[Redboots]

I cant recommend any in particular, but I just bought a used Insta360 One to play about with. Not a current model
Insta360

 

[TomP]

I have plenty of experience with GoPros.
good but not perfect

Pros
Waterproof
robust
good quality images even when shaking off road!
plenty of accessories.

Negatives
When using a mic its NOT waterproof
When charging on the move NOT waterproof
Accessories are expensive such as the media mod and remote.
The built in mic is useless outdoors the slightest weak breeze will ruin your audio.
Image is grainy in poor light

I would say to try and get anything from a hero 8 onwards
When i bought my Hero 11 i was shocked how little the improvement was over my Hero 9
if i was to buy another today i would pick up the cheaper Hero 9 and save a few quid.

All that being said, there are work around for all the above and with these the GoPro is still the best out there.
customer support is good too.
When i got water in my Hero 11 on a recent European trip and lost all audio, I contacted GoPro and they replaced it.

Really useful. Thanks.
Tom

 

[Akulaking]

I think it’s the 10’s that are prone to overheating?

 

[Hatcho]

Definitely look at offerings from dji and insta as well. I'm a big gopro fan, but their competitors have really upped their game in the action cam world.

 

[EKIMYRF]

I have plenty of experience with GoPros.
good but not perfect

Pros
Waterproof
robust
good quality images even when shaking off road!
plenty of accessories.

Negatives
When using a mic its NOT waterproof
When charging on the move NOT waterproof
Accessories are expensive such as the media mod and remote.
The built in mic is useless outdoors the slightest weak breeze will ruin your audio.
Image is grainy in poor light

I would say to try and get anything from a hero 8 onwards
When i bought my Hero 11 i was shocked how little the improvement was over my Hero 9
if i was to buy another today i would pick up the cheaper Hero 9 and save a few quid.

All that being said, there are work around for all the above and with these the GoPro is still the best out there.
customer support is good too.
When i got water in my Hero 11 on a recent European trip and lost all audio, I contacted GoPro and they replaced it.

Agree with all of the above just to add I have a gopro 6 that is rock solid has good stabilisation and produces good images
I also have a DJI osmo Action that is also excellent (prob a bit better than the gp6)
I bought both secondhand for buttons (well about £100) and have hammered the crap out of them in all weather

There are tips and techniques in Post/Editing that can boost the image quality but wont go into that here (but can if anyone is interested)

 

[Barnoe]

I feel wrong for calling GoPros when they are still my camera of choice.... but

It's just frustrating that since i bought my first GoPro and realised you have your USB and Mic port open to the weather when in use, i always thought it would be something GoPro upgrade in a future camera, They never have.

Its strange that a camera that is waterproof straight from the box, and i mean submerging in the sea waterproof, as soon as you plug a mic in, rain will kill it?

I can't speak for all cameras but i think they are the same.
My Nikon 7500 definitely doesn't like rain, and the Insta360 has the same issue as GoPro.

The only fix it seems is moldable silicone earplugs or a costly separate audio recorder.

 

[Ferrett2055]

I have 2 GoPros; a 12 black and an 11 mini. I toured Scotland last year in February and used the 11 mini on a chin mount with the GoPro power through door and connected it to the bikes usb via a quad lock waterproof charge lead. This has gaskets on the end which provide a waterproof seal on the way into the GoPro.
For the 12, a media mod provides some shower resistance, but I wouldn’t use it if it was pissing down. One advantage of the 12 is Bluetooth connectivity to an intercom unit although the sound quality isn’t great.
I run the 12 on a chin mount in the media mod without a battery, connected via a usb cable as with the 11. It’s lighter than with a battery and you don’t have to keep changing them when they run out.
I took out a subscription with GoPro which paid off after I drowned a hero 9. They replaced it, no questions asked.
I also have an insta 360 X3. I find the app a little awkward to use, but with persistence it’s not too bad.

 

[KMD]

I cant recommend any in particular, but I just bought a used Insta360 One to play about with. Not a current model
Insta360

Similar here, one X2 I think mine is.

 

[er-minio]

I’ve seen many GS/GSA riders on bikes with GoPro, or at least GoPro lookalike cameras fitted, but up to now, I’ve not been one of them. Since 2013, I’ve been using a Garmin Virb - not the “Go Pro styled” one, but the big, clunky Virb that went before it. Now, after years of reliable use, it’s given up the ghost after I dropped it on the garage floor. Garmin (unsurprisingly) can do nothing to help me, so I’m now beginning the search for a replacement camera.

I would first ask you (or myself) what is the use you are making of the camera?

Are you filming to save for later? Make something to show to friends/others? Dashcam?

My two cents on "filming for later":
I have a GoPro 7, usually attached to one of backpack straps and I have it running when on the bike (on more interesting activities). I also have a RAM mount on the GS' bars and an the steering plate of my HP2 for trackdays.
When on the backpack, the camera is hooked up to an external battery pack in my backpack, so I can essentially just leave it run undisturbed.

I've used it in mud, water, underwater, all conditions, still alive

I would say that, apart from the comments about the lack of an external microphone (that I agree with) above by Barnoe, it is still a pretty good camera you can get for cheap or just buy a more recent one. The issue with the microphone for me is: I do get A LOT of wind noise on the GS. The audio is normally unusable. But on the other hand is ok for what I do (fairly short "postcard" videos).

Now: do you want to spend a lot of time editing when home? It gets very boring, very quickly. And time consuming. Also, motorbike videos, especially road based ones, are very very very boring unless in some spectacular locations or riding at warp speeds.
Consider this before embarking in the venture.

I've been in the habit of recording when traveling in Europe (as above, camera just running undisturbed). Never really used any footage in the last few years. Most of the use was actually to "find" some specific small road I like looking at the GoPro's embedded GPS data - that's ace – and recently re-used the videos "as is" in some of the trip planning threads Wapping puts up, as examples for others of the type of roads one might encounter in the proposed routes.
I've also used the GoPro as some sort of "laptimer" for when on track, via a third party software. There is a lot of extra data you capture apart from video

 

[Urban Rider]

I've had a few Go Pros over the years, got rid of them as I found the editing to be a real pain and couldnt' be arsed with the time it took. Last week I bought a Insta 360 Ace Pro and very glad I did. Shoots incredibly well (up to 8K), horizon lock, waterproof to 33ft, selfie stick removal and the best thing about it is the editing on the 360 app. takes around 5 mins to stitch clips together, add music, stats etc... Highly recommend it..