Looking for a thread on Cameras...

Gaoler

Gaoler

Well-known member
'Tried the search tool and received no joy...
Is there a thread 'round here about the different action camera's y'all are using... If any..?
If there isn't... What's good these days?
'Have a trip coming up I'd like to get some footage of so... Looking for something that I can mount to the bike or helmet...
I thought about using one of those Amazon "dash cams" designed for bikes, but I'm weary... 'Seems they're inexpensive, but... I wonder how good they record.
'Keep in mind I'm not a video expert...
I figure I need lots of storage and nice, crisp, clear imaging... What should I be looking for..?
 
if you want good footage you have to pay

the 360 cams are great because they capture all angles. if you want to cheap out, akaso 360 is a thing

dji also has a osmo 360 cam which is less expensive than the insta360 x5 or the go pro max2 versions, but i not all editing platforms are the same

on the other hand, i have a dji osmo action 3 which provides good footage for a regular action cam and should be at a more reasonable price by now, heck i think the osmo action 4 might be pretty affordable (currently theyre are osmo action 6)

I've owned cheap akaso ones and they arent great/worth your money...go pro hero 10 and above are great image-wise but they have had a few reliability issues here and there
 
Gaoler said:
'Tried the search tool and received no joy...
Is there a thread 'round here about the different action camera's y'all are using... If any..?
If there isn't... What's good these days?
'Have a trip coming up I'd like to get some footage of so... Looking for something that I can mount to the bike or helmet...
I thought about using one of those Amazon "dash cams" designed for bikes, but I'm weary... 'Seems they're inexpensive, but... I wonder how good they record.
'Keep in mind I'm not a video expert...
I figure I need lots of storage and nice, crisp, clear imaging... What should I be looking for..?
Click to expand...
The action camera threads are a few years old. Things change quickly. LP had some good points. Do you have a budget in mind? The 360 cameras are great but price is a lot higher than normal wide angle action cams. Keep in mind that some cameras are much better than others at battery life and/or waterproof operation while plugged in. If you want a timelapse of your 8-hour ride, I think you are restricted to cameras powered by a cable.
 
B uses a Nikon z30 on a stick usually with a 250mm lens. It’s very user friendly ( I think, I’m camera illiterate) but it’s a bit awkward and she scratches the Sidecar windshield all to hell. She has started using my GoPro hero 13 that I use for skydives. It makes amazing video and stills. And doesn’t scratch the windshield!
 
GreyGhost said:
LP had some good points.
Click to expand...

LP gave me a headache... LOL 😁

As far as budget goes... I guess I have to balance what I want against what I want to spend... Like with most things.
I'll have to do some more reading up on the tech and figure out what's best for my purpose
 
Using the dji action 5 I've had to carry 4 batteries each lasting 3-4hrs non stop if using a helmet. Power from your bike enables non-stop recording but the camera is now in a fixed spot. Audio is another can of worms.
 
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Can't go wrong with GoPro or Insta360.
I use to use a GoPro 7 with fixed AC power with USB off the bike so batteries were a non issue. But it's a fixed angle. A 360 camera would solve this.
I'm sure you can find lots of used models since some people like the latest and greatest, which might not be necessary since the improvements from year to year are pretty minor.
 
I've been through a few action cameras. Here's what I've learned and you should decide based on what your looking for. Only Insta360 for me, but I'm sure DJI and GoPro are great.

360 Cameras
These are great if you want to record and worry about "framing" later. The problem is, they require a load of computing power and storage space. I've had the Insta360 X4 and now own the X5. The X4 is great, you can still find it because it's not Insta360's flagship model. That would be the X5. The main difference between the two would be, the X5 has great low-light capabilities, changeable lenses (if you scratch or break them) and 8k recording.

Editing 360 Footage
You can use the Insta360 Studio app that comes with the cameras which is great for native video editing, but if you want to use a program like Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve (free), they are much more involved to get your framing right. DaVinci does not have native editing of Instsa360 files, nor does it have native framing built in. You'll need to get plugins to be able to frame the footage, and you'll also need to convert the footage into a format that DaVinci can read. The conversion needs to be equirectangular projection and this creates massive file sizes if you want to retain all your image detail.

Action Cameras
I currently have the Ace Pro 2 which is Insta360 flagship camera. There is only one lens so you'll be framing before you shoot which makes it much easier to edit in post. The file format is also recorded in .mp4 so no converting footages or transcoding, you can edit natively in any video editing software.

Audio
If you want good audio, and no wind noise, you'll have to have a wireless mic of some sort. If you're ok with the onboard camera audio then you can skip this. Insta360 released the Mic Pro like a week or so ago which as 32bit float recording (no need to worry about audio gain, it's like shooting RAW but for audio.) The SPL (Sound Pressure Level) for this mic is 130dB which is better than most other mics at only 120dB. The higher SPL will allow the mic to record louder sounds, especially for a motorcycle without the mic distorting. I've tried using other brands like the Zoom H2Essential for audio, but syncing it up and all that was a pain in the ass.

This may sound like an ad for Insta360, but for me, they have the best features, lots of sales, and just work.
 
Question.I have the Quik app on my iPhone, but I want it on my laptop. When I go to the GoPro site, there isn’t a any way to download it. What am I missing?
 
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