Should I buy a GoPro?

[Archie]

I love taking videos, and have a great digital video camera setup.  I like hunt videos enough that I even enjoy tagging along with a camera to film others' hunts and letting them do the hunting while I film.  I'm thinking of buying a GoPro Hero4 Silver to add some camera angles, but wonder if maybe I'm just letting myself get caught up in the hype.  

If you have one, what are you doing with it, and do you like the results?

If you chose against buying one, what were the determining factors for your decision?

[caligator]

X2.

Have been contemplating one for a long time.

[Archie]

I'm borrowing one right now from a fellow Tradganger.  It seems like it has some real potential.  I'm looking hard at the Hero 4 Silver right now.

Anyone have some current comments or experience with these?

[damascusdave]

My only experience with them was two people who hunted bears with us back in 2012 used them a lot...just amazing what they could do then and the new ones are likely way better...not sure how you could go wrong with one

DDave

[damascusdave]

You want to be able to strap them to your head so that you can be hands free...then you could run another camera too if you wanted...or you can video yourself shooting something

DDave

[mqqse]

I hunted with one this year for turkey but never got opportunity to film much.  I did record the walk back one day and will say it's a good idea to do a "trial run" before you go hunting.  I found that the angle of the camera on my head wasn't where I thought it was and had it been on while a bird was approaching, I probably would have a lot of unusable video.

[shreffler]

The main feature you have to keep in mind is that a GoPro has an extremely wide lens. This means anything over 15 yards away typically looks like an ant. Also, you're most likely using the waterproof housing anytime you're out in the woods, so that means no sound.

Aside from that, my biggest suggestion is that if you get one, seriously consider getting a remote for it. Once you set it up, you don't want to keep fidgeting with it just to turn it on when an animal comes in. A 16GB SD card will only hold about 2 hours of video, so you can't really just let it run, and it's really inconvenient to have to mess with the angle/turning it on every time you're getting ready for a shot and wondering if you're settings are right while it's on your head mount.

Overall they're great little camera's for supplemental angles. Clear footage, super durable, but without some of those other accessories like the remote, you're not going to get all you can out of them for outdoor usage.

[Brock]

One thing I considered and was reason I did not buy a GoPro...is I did not want to mess with tree arms for cameras...as during period of shot I dont want to have to worry about hitting RECORD or MOVING ARM so the animal stays in view.

I ended up getting the Sony ActionCam...mine is HDRAS15 last years model.  I bought the camera setup plus the head mount and waterproof container.  It has about 4.5 hours of record time with provided battery and 32gb micro SD using 1080p resolution.

Some other things....I could choose between 120* and 170* lense so could narrow it down from being extreme wide angle.  It has a built in SLOW MOTION setting with two chooseable frames per second modes...it has a special Underwater mode that changes focal point when using under water with housing....there are two housing...one is waterproof to decent levels but sound is dampened as expected...another has thin membranes for speaker to pick up more sound but is not really good for diving but if only used in rain would be great.  I went with the more robust water protection due to using it on jet skis and jumping off lake house but also with our high humidity in early deer season...wanted to take no chances.
It also has an App you can get through Google and Apple stores that syncs with the camera and lets you manage it and view a WHATYOUSEEISWHATYOUGET so you can ensure it is aimed appropriately and can control it somewhat remotely.  This works out great when using head mount as I can get it good most the time but all you do is select APP and you can see excactly through the cam real time.  Hold bow up and verify angle and viewing window contents.
The GoPro is the standard...but I was put off by the lense being on the long side like typical camera and how that would interfere with my bow and string while shooting...and how it would feel on my head if off to side.  The Sony ActionCam is pretty much a non-issue as it is so small and light and narrow...it is almost like made for bowhunters.

Now they also have a dedicated wrist worn remote that can manage and control 5x Sony Cams simultaneoulsy and allows video review as well.  The Sony cams use the PlayMemories Software for editing and management on your computer and is what syncs on your mobile device as well...so everything is fully compatible across the board.

 http://store.sony.com/action-cam/cat-27-catid-Action-Cam

[Brock]

I am going to upload some video from my recent bear hunt I took with it on my Youtube channel if anyone is interested in viewing it later.

[benny]

Ron
How does it do for still photos?

Thanks
Benny

[Crooked Stic]

ION is waterproof very compact. Really good res.

[Brock]

It does pretty good actually benny...I like the narrow compact design as I wear it on the head band on side of head so does not interfere with shooting bow or anything else like the flat GoPro.  Worth a look if you are not set on GoPro.

[Onions]

I just bought the Sony action cam as well. I have the HDR 100AS/V. I didn't go with the GoPro, b/c the Sony is suppose to be much better in low light conditions. Plus the guy at the camera store, highly recommanded it, and it was $100 cheaper then the GoPro.
I took it the field once, and the battery wasn't charged to it died quickly.
Did take a few still shots, pix turned out better then I expected.
I know the GoPro is a good unit, however, for me the Sony was a better buy.

chris <><

[wislnwings]

I won one at work and my wife picked up several different mounts for me.  I tried it out during turkey season with my daughter using the shotgun barrel mount.  I downloaded the app for it to my phone so I could use my phone as a remote.  Unfortunately we never got her on a bird to try it out.  The two biggest drawbacks to me are the wide angle lens leaves anything over 15 or so yards away looking like an ant.  The second issue is that there is not a way to silence it.  It beeps when you turn it on or off and I hate leaving it on all the time due to battery life.  If I had not won it, I probably would have gone with a different camera.  Since I have it I will use it though.  I can see where it would be good as a second camera to capture additional angles.

[Archie]

Well, I bought a GoPro Hero 4 Silver last week.  Took it on vacation and got some fun shots with my family.  Taped it to the top of my kids' remote control car and had a ball!

I went with the GoPro because I got a good price on it, and because the support and aftermarket accessories are based on them.  I was also looking at the soon-to-be-released Ricoh WG-M2, and may have like it better, but since the world has embraced the GoPro shape and size, I went with the GoPro.

I think it is going to be a fun tool.  I'd like to eventually get (or make) a crane jib, and make some mounts that will work with my outdoor interests.  I like the backpack-based over-the-shoulder mounts that some people have made out of PVC, and can also imagine some others that will work with my bow.

It also seems like a lot of fun to get a drone for some aerial shots.

[Archie]

Update on the GoPro Silver 4...

I still am happy with it, and have taken a bit of footage.  I edited together a short video of me and a couple of friends at a pistol shooting course, and used the GoPro and my regular video camera to get some great footage.

So far I've learned...

Get a lot of different mounts, for more versatility.  I bought a set of about 40 pieces on the big auction site for $22.99 shipped.

Keep the lens clean.

Keep it as stable as possible, not shaking around.

Watch lots of tips & tricks videos on YouTube.

By the way, I'm using Power Director 13 to edit and it suits my needs.

I hope it all helps me put together some good trad archery videos.