GoPro dash cams

OrangeBuggy

OrangeBuggy

Active member
I bought a inexpensive dash cam to try and thought it was pretty neat. Not the best picture quality but still neat. Ok, what I want to know is what is the best GoPro dash cam to buy. The GoPro Hero 4's are out as White, Silver or Black models. From what I can understand is that the colors may represent better quietly, not sure about that or if its just what ever color you like. Know nothing about this stuff and understand even less. If you have any knowledge about this stuff I sure appreciate hearing what you think. We are taking the RTV on a little trip to play and kind of like to get one for the buggy.
Thanks, Harry
 
Doc

Doc

Admin
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
I was just talking to friends who have a go-pro hero. They really like it. So searching that and reviews I came up with this link which seems very informative and has some kewl cameras in most price ranges. Well written review helps you zero in on what you really need / want.
http://hiconsumption.com/2014/04/7-best-action-cameras/
 
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bczoom

Senior Member
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
I was looking for something similar but for the truck. It got confusing and since most seem to track what you're doing (e.g. what speed your driving and such) I decided against it.

Metsaman (member here) uses one a lot. Hoping he'll stop by this thread with his thoughts.
 
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travisd

New member
GoPro's aren't really ideal for a DashCam -- they have a loop feature, but it's not really ideal for that as I read it (I've got 3 Gopro's - 2 original HD Hero's without the loop feature, and a new Hero4 Silver.)

The 5Black supports 4k resolution at 30fps -- the lower lines don't support the same quality (4Silver dpes 4k but only at 15fps IIRC). But, the 4Silver has a nice LCD touch screen built in- -something you have to add on to other models.

Got an old smartphone? There's some good apps for it, and you can even add things on like a GPS app if you want. Find a good case for the device (weather resistant) and you've got something -- you don't need to to have cell service active on the device. I'm planning to do this with my old iPhone 4s soon.
 
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aurthuritis

Well-known member
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thanks travisd i didn't know that an old smart phone could be used that way. i have an old android that i might play around with. i gess all you have to do is remove the smart card?
 
OrangeBuggy

OrangeBuggy

Active member
bczoom said:
I was looking for something similar but for the truck. It got confusing and since most seem to track what you're doing (e.g. what speed your driving and such) I decided against it.

Metsaman (member here) uses one a lot. Hoping he'll stop by this thread with his thoughts.
Click to expand...

I believe we well be ok with the speed issue...:yum:
 
OrangeBuggy

OrangeBuggy

Active member
Thanks all for your replies. I went with the GoPro Hero 4 Black along with some accessories. Been playing with it here in the house for the last three days learning how to set it up and use it, think I have it now. Well stick it in the buggy and try it out tomorrow if all goes well.
 
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travisd

New member
On the GoPro, higher fps (e.g. 1080p60 vs 1080p30) will reduce the "jello effect" cause by vibration. The expense is higher (nearly double) file size. For routine stuff, 720 video produces very good quality, and file sizes aren't crazy.
 
OrangeBuggy

OrangeBuggy

Active member
travisd said:
On the GoPro, higher fps (e.g. 1080p60 vs 1080p30) will reduce the "jello effect" cause by vibration. The expense is higher (nearly double) file size. For routine stuff, 720 video produces very good quality, and file sizes aren't crazy.
Click to expand...

Thanks, well take all the help I can get, I have plenty to learn. One of the guys that is going has a GoPro also, so that should help. Went out for an hour or so today in order to see how it worked. I was impressed with quality of the video. Our upcoming trip well have a half dozen RZR's in the group and I'm pretty sure something "good" well happen in front of us from time to time. We well be riding old mining roads and such.
 
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travisd

New member
Battery life may be your limiting factor for trail riding -- you can get big memory cards, and at lower resolutions you'll get plenty of video, for as long as the battery lasts. If you have a roof and windshield (or can otherwise keep it all dry) you might want to look into a skeleton housing so you can feed it power from the RTV.
 
OrangeBuggy

OrangeBuggy

Active member
travisd said:
Battery life may be your limiting factor for trail riding -- you can get big memory cards, and at lower resolutions you'll get plenty of video, for as long as the battery lasts. If you have a roof and windshield (or can otherwise keep it all dry) you might want to look into a skeleton housing so you can feed it power from the RTV.
Click to expand...

Ordered a skeleton housing and a 64gb card for it. Should be here tomorrow. Have the auto plug-in for it along with two 32gb cards already. They are calling for rain, 80 to 90% for the days we'll be there. The buggy is a x1100c so it should be ok.
Thanks, Harry
 
OrangeBuggy

OrangeBuggy

Active member
travisd said:
GoPro's aren't really ideal for a DashCam -- they have a loop feature, but it's not really ideal for that as I read it (I've got 3 Gopro's - 2 original HD Hero's without the loop feature, and a new Hero4 Silver.)

The 5Black supports 4k resolution at 30fps -- the lower lines don't support the same quality (4Silver dpes 4k but only at 15fps IIRC). But, the 4Silver has a nice LCD touch screen built in- -something you have to add on to other models.

Got an old smartphone? There's some good apps for it, and you can even add things on like a GPS app if you want. Find a good case for the device (weather resistant) and you've got something -- you don't need to to have cell service active on the device. I'm planning to do this with my old iPhone 4s soon.
Click to expand...

You can turn the loop feature off. I did get the LCD Bac Pak along with the auto charger. I didn't think about getting the skeleton housing at the time so I could plug it in though. One is on its way.
 
Doc

Doc

Admin
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Please post some of your trail videos here once you get it working.
 
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