Go Pro or something else?

Hey All,

Looking for an action cam, the Go Pro Hero 4 Silver looks ideal for what I want but sadly been replaced by the new models which are way overkill.

Should I try and source Hero 4 or go with some other make?

Thoughts

I've been looking at this exact thing. I want something with external mic support but none of the companies tell you unless you contact them direct. Total pain.

The problem with external mic support is finding a suitable external mic. I've destroyed two now

Have a look at the sj4000/5000 models. I have a sj4000+ and it's very good.

Here's a comparison for you

Have a look at the sj4000/5000 models. I have a sj4000+ and it's very good.

 

Here's a comparison for you

 

I think the SJ looks a lot better in that comparison.

These budget 4K dont seem to bad :-

My mate has a gitup git2 and that's very good. Some of the Chinese action cams are definitely go pro quality at a fraction of the cost, the Xiaomi Yi cameras have very good reviews too.

Decided to try an ACT74, will let you know what its like

It's a shame there isn't a comparison site for these lol. Even the lists on top 10 websites don't say what features it has, I.e external mic capability etc.

These budget 4K dont seem to bad :-

 

I recently bought one the chinese 'No Pro's', and it seems great to me. I especially like the fact I can use my phone to see what the camera is looking at, and control the recording

Plus I want care if a couple fall off the car while ragging the car on Dragonball

I have a Hero 5 and love it, stabilisation is great. Also I tested the car mount externally and it was still on at 155mph

Have a look at the sj4000/5000 models. I have a sj4000+ and it's very good.

 

Here's a comparison for you

 

Don't trust that comparison one bit.

I have had many Go-Pro's and not one of my videos look like that.

It should be here tomorrow hopefully, the ACT74 doesnt have connectivity for external mic which is a shame.

I recently bought one the chinese 'No Pro's', and it seems great to me. I especially like the fact I can use my phone to see what the camera is looking at, and control the recording

 

Plus I want care if a couple fall off the car while ragging the car on Dragonball

You can do that with a go pro too

You can do that with a go pro too

Yeah I know, but at a hefty price tag!

The ACT74 arrived yesterday, came with a complete kit of mounts, two batteries and a padded case.

It does 4K but I think 1080 or 720 at 60fps are the best for quality, also has slow motion which is 720 at 90fps.

I have a cheapo Chinese one, scj somthing. cost me £30 with all the brackets, has done a few trips to pod and performed brilliantly. IMO for the price they are great and near enough disposal price so if they do break who cares order another.

IMO Go-pros are great but over rated and carry a stupid price.

Yeah I know, but at a hefty price tag!

I don't care I didn't pay for mine

I have never been that blown away from stock footage taken from a Go Pro... colors and exposure have always needed balancing in Adobe to make the colors pop and to correct the exposure to give you that more "professional" look, however there is a reason for that...

It is better to have it that way then over saturated stock footage. Therefore the Go Pro is better for a professional environment, you have near to no pre processed colors from the CCD which makes it easier to work with in post production and maximizes the detail (and it is the DETAIL that you want) and with the new Hero 5 you have control over the exposure as well with some degree of image stabilization too.

If you want good usable footage without too much or Zero post editing work.. then probably the cheaper ones will do, they always whack the saturation up to compensate for the lack in quality/sensitivity of the CCD which also on the face of it makes the straight up non edited footage much brighter in a back to back comparison and therefore "better".

However in the real world a camera with a cheaper CCD and running a higher saturation also provides massive losses in detail, Which in turn makes it a nightmare for working on it in post production in a pro enviroment.

If you are doing footage professionally then I would say the GoPro is still the one to have due to its non processed footage. You can also make the quality/detail of the Go pro footage even higher by switching on GoPro's Pro Tune feature (which some of the cameras have) which increases the data rate of the footage etc, that said the stock footage of a Go Pro will actually look better than when its on Pro Tune mode but the Pro Tune DATA will be much better for post editing, which in turn makes the Pro Tune footage amazing once post edited (which is what you end up seeing in all the Go Pro adverts which is post edited pro tune work).

I would say if you are going to be filimg a track day, going on holiday, diving, using it for fun stuff then get a cheap one.

If you plan to work with it professionally then get a Go Pro as there is much more to it...

I have never been that blown away from stock footage taken from a Go Pro... colors and exposure have always needed balancing in Adobe to make the colors pop and to correct the exposure to give you that more "professional" look, however there is a reason for that...

It is better to have it that way then over saturated stock footage. Therefore the Go Pro is better for a professional environment, you have near to no pre processed colors from the CCD which makes it easier to work with in post production and maximizes the detail (and it is the DETAIL that you want) and with the new Hero 5 you have control over the exposure as well with some degree of image stabilization too.

 

If you want good usable footage without too much or Zero post editing work.. then probably the cheaper ones will do, they always whack the saturation up to compensate for the lack in quality/sensitivity of the CCD which also on the face of it makes the straight up non edited footage much brighter in a back to back comparison and therefore "better".

However in the real world a camera with a cheaper CCD and running a higher saturation also provides massive losses in detail, Which in turn makes it a nightmare for working on it in post production in a pro enviroment.

 

If you are doing footage professionally then I would say the GoPro is still the one to have due to its non processed footage. You can also make the quality/detail of the Go pro footage even higher by switching on GoPro's Pro Tune feature (which some of the cameras have) which increases the data rate of the footage etc, that said the stock footage of a Go Pro will actually look better than when its on Pro Tune mode but the Pro Tune DATA will be much better for post editing, which in turn makes the Pro Tune footage amazing once post edited (which is what you end up seeing in all the Go Pro adverts which is post edited pro tune work).

 

I would say if you are going to be filimg a track day, going on holiday, diving, using it for fun stuff then get a cheap one.

If you plan to work with it professionally then get a Go Pro as there is much more to it...

That's some good info there, I've learnt something new, thanks

I have a cheapo Chinese one, scj somthing. cost me £30 with all the brackets, has done a few trips to pod and performed brilliantly. IMO for the price they are great and near enough disposal price so if they do break who cares order another.

 

IMO Go-pros are great but over rated and carry a stupid price.

Got a link?

Got a link?

was bought a year or two ago but see if i can find the old link, there is loads on ebay though lots of the newer version to mine too.

was bought a year or two ago but see if i can find the old link, there is loads on ebay though lots of the newer version to mine too.

If it has external mic support I'm interested

If it has external mic support I'm interested

no it doesnt have that, its just like a gopro. looking on ebay there are loads the same as mine for sub 20 quid posted.