Video camera used?

[Phillipsart]

Hi. Was not sure where to post this, figuring most that post there trip reports here use some form of a video camera, so I decided to post on this topic.

I wish to start filming some of my hikes and posting video trip reports myself, ive tried one trip report using my digital camera video feature, however the quality was not that great and was only able to film 20 minutes before battery and SD card was full.
I'm basically after some advice on a suitable device, something light, compact and HD quality are my main requirements.

I started researching yesterday online and came upon the GoPro HD Hero 2. I like what I have read thus far and love that wide angle lens.

I'm going to take a look at one in the next few days, the nearest store that stocks them is over 5 hours drive away. I'll be passing by the store in the next few days on my way to a few overnight hikes.

Any suggestions or tips I should know about?
If I do purchase I will purchase a spare battery and I might get the tripod mount so I can attach to my hiking poles as I've seen here.

I've tried to find the weight of the kit, but not one site I can find that advices the weight of the camera including the waterproof enclosure.

[Redoleary]

Having done HEAPS of research and I just ordered a gopro hero 2 yesterday with my REI dividend and 20% off! woo hoo! I have no first hand experience with the gopro, but I am aware of some of its limitations, the most important of which is sound. When its in the water proof case you're not gonna get much sound. They make a skeleton case that has holes in it to let the sound in better but it's still limited. It also will not take good video under water w/o a lens mod to the case (gopro is reportedly working on their own flat lens case to address this, but there are plenty of after market mods that work well the one I'll likely do is Blurfix )
So the camera looks like it has a lot of capabilities but is accessory dependent and I'm alright with that. According to Amazon.com it weighs 5.9 oz I believe that's camera,battery,& housing. Looking forward to seeing a video from you.

[Shnick]

Got a hero for christmas, love it. Got it to record underwater inside a crab trap. recorded in the living room once and realized the sound wasnt great at all, but the image/video makes up for it.

EDIT: Shug has a Canon Powershot SD960 IS he uses for his youtube vids, he also mentions in one of his videos an attachment for connecting it to hiking sticks. Dont recall the name offhand but its tiny.

Shnick

[Pipsissewa]

...I have no first hand experience with the gopro, but I am aware of some of its limitations, the most important of which is sound. When its in the water proof case you're not gonna get much sound. They make a skeleton case that has holes in it to let the sound in better but it's still limited. ...

That's exactly what I've heard.

[gRaFFiX]

I've owned my GoPro for over a year now and I actually just weighed the camera, housing, tripod mount, and a battery. It all came to 6.5 oz. The sound is a problem if you are looking for high quality audio, but you can buy audio recorders for relatively cheap and dub the audio and video together in a editing program like Cyberlink Powerdirector (something you'll use anyway once you get into making videos).

The underwater capabilities are also a downfall, and the fixes exist and the best are somewhat pricey.Eye of Mine makes, in my opinion, the best focus fix for the gopro since I use it alot for watersports like freediving and snorkeling. For me, it has to be rated for more than a few feet. It really does make a huge difference in the quality, but the downside is you'll have to carry a seperate, designated housing for underwater.

The other downside is that you are unable to zoom with the Gopro, so you have to get close to your subject. When snorkeling it's hard to get close because the fish will swim away, but they won't if you get an extension rod like the X-Shot. Just be sure to dry it off because they corrode.

Really, though, these are only slight drawbacks and with the myriad of mounts possible for the Gopro, you are only limited by your imagination, seriously. For best results, I use mine in cunjuction with a Casio Exilim 12.1, but am looking to upgrade this in the future. This gives me alot of flexibility and is not a huge weigh penalty.

Also, purchase your batteries, and chargers, from ebay by typing in the part number. I get mine for alot cheaper and they usually have free shipping. Only purchase from the reputable sellers though or you may be waiting a long time for your stuff to arrive. I hope this helps, and if I can help you with anything else with the Gopro let me know. I look forward to seeing your videos in the future.

[Phillipsart]

Thanks all.
I don't think I'll be doing to many underwater shots. It will be used in the rain, if that makes any difference.

It's looking pretty good, that I'll most likely will have one in my hands as early as tomorrow otherwise Saturday.

Expect to see some videos in the next couple off weeks. I've got 3 overnight hikes planned starting tomorrow. One is for 3 nights another couple are overnights. Early June a one week hike followed with another 4 days. Than a 3 night hike soon afterwards, all in Australia, all in Central and south east Queensland.

I can see the GoPro will be used on the beach a lot.

I must look into a small, light sound recorder, something as light as possible for recording my voice.

I'm confident with software particularly on a Mac. I'll be using iMovie 11

[MedicineMan]

I studied gopro but went with a nikon coolpix aw100 instead.
I'd trashed my Kodak (doing underwater scenes) and looked at the options available.
Pics were just as important to me and the Coolpix does a decent 1080p (not i)...claimed waterproof to 30 feet. Camera even accepts a slick adapter for a polarizing filter.
After using it for 3 trips now I can say the video is better than the pics but the pics
are decent. The wide angle is ok (not anywhere near the gopro) but the 5x optical zoom (not digital) surprised me in how good even in video and I'd never seen a waterproof with 5x optical.
BUT audio is sometimes too good and pics up mechanical noises the camera makes.
The bottom line for me was wanting the ability to view/delete/etc. in the field.
Good luck with your choice.

[gRaFFiX]

It will be used in the rain, if that makes any difference.

It's looking pretty good, that I'll most likely will have one in my hands as early as tomorrow otherwise Saturday.

Expect to see some videos in the next couple off weeks.

Cool, I look forward to your vids. Even in the rain you should constantly monitor the lens dome tho because little drops tend to stick there and they become visible in your footage. just use a bandana or knleenex to wipe it down, and make sure it doesn't scratch the glass.

[Boomer]

I went with a similar option to MedicineMan. I'm really hard on my outdoor cameras (dunked one kayaking, full of water. Smashed one backpacking. Had another one fall on the lens when the tripod tipped over).

So, I got a Panasonic TS3 (they now have out a TS4, so you could probably get a discount on the 3). Read some reviews. I've taken it to the pool for uw kayak rolling. I get pretty good sound & photos. I can zoom in and then video in HD. You'll need a class 10 HD SD card so that the camera can keep up with the HD download from the camera.

But, I've also been looking at the Hero2...

[Phillipsart]

I read up on the nikon coolpix aw100. Nice camera with lot's of features but battery life is poor. would need to carry to many spare batteries.

The GoPro is claimed to last in excess of 2.5 to 3 hours per battery charge.

And the biggest plus with the GoPro for me is the Wide Angle Lens.

Just out of curiosity. How long does the GoPro take to start up and shut down?
for example from the time I hit the power button to the time it starts recording.