Assuming the performance is brightly lit, how good are these little cams at capturing footage from creative angles and editing alongside prosumer Sony's?

The Hero3 is vastly improved over the Hero2 in terms of image quality and responds well to good lighting. Your exact application of course may or may not benefit. Rent one for an event and try it out.

I HAVE found that they tend to stop recording somewhat at random based on my experience thus far.

In the interests of full disclosure, the Russians can do it :) ...

GoPro video from the tail of the MiG29 and Su27 cockpit on Vimeo

Cheers.

i filmed a stage performance with 3x 5d mk ii's recently and put a gopro hd heo 2 up high facing out to the crowd expecting not to use the footage but I was surprised how good it looked and how often I went back to it. As you say it really is all down to lighting though, it needs to be good or the HD hero 2 falls down. Getting a 3 soon so will hope thats considerably better in low light

Here's one that I didn't shoot, but did edit and mix:

Outta My Head - Daughtry - Kansas City School of Rock - YouTube

The cameras were four 5D's, one 60D and three HD Hero 2s.

The Heros were shooting up between the toms on one drum kit, overhead on the other drum kit and clamped to the end of the keyboard. I was shocked by how good the HD Heros looked, and I picked up a couple to add to my kit. I haven't used them for a shoot yet, but I plan to do the drum kit mount, as it is always tough to get good shots of the drummer.

They look better than the DSLRs to me. (Is that blasphemy?)

To put it another way: clear, (reasonably) stable, interesting compositions beat shaky, out-of-focus, underexposed, badly composed images with rolling shutter problems, despite difference in price point, and despite shallow depth of field.

They look better than the DSLRs to me. (Is that blasphemy?)

To put it another way: clear, (reasonably) stable, interesting compositions beat shaky, out-of-focus, underexposed, badly composed images with rolling shutter problems, despite difference in price point, and despite shallow depth of field.
Yeah, as I said, I edited and mixed it but did NOT shoot it. It was a shoot for a web series that didn't get used, and my client received the raw video and audio files and I did an edit and mix job. Believe it or not, these are the most stable shots (which is why I had to keep going back to the shot of the drummer). The rest of the footage looks like it was shot by ferrets.

Great little cameras (for the price). I am a TD for a small TV sports network in southern Kansas. During basketball games we mount them behind the baskets as "slam cams" and route them to the EVS machines for some awesome replays.

I will admit, they are difficult to match (white balance) with the much more expensive cameras we use to cover the games. But as a "Flavor" shot with their super wide angle lens they are pretty amazing.

I will admit, they are difficult to match (white balance) with the much more expensive cameras we use to cover the games. But as a "Flavor" shot with their super wide angle lens they are pretty amazing.
Which model are you using? Hero 2, Hero 3? White, Silver, Black? Are you using them in "ProTune" mode?

Chris, we have Hero2's

I wish they had a manual white balance option, but based on the things they have added already, it may appear at some point in the future. I have the GoPro App on my Android Galaxy Tab tablet, and it is so much easier to set options on it than the painful process of navigating through menus with only two buttons.

I haven't tried it yet, but I understand the ProTune option extends the record quality and dynamic range of the cameras, but would probably not be of much use if you are using them live as a component source.

Since it's release I have read quite a lot about the 3 version stopping randomly during recording, would that still be the case? That's one of the reasons why I have not bought it yet, if I can't trust it to record safely as long as the battery powers it I don't care how good the rest is as that won't matter if you have no recording at all. Second is that in Belgium it's expensive (the black version costs 650 dollar here)

Don't know. I only have Hero 2s like yourself.

Shot my first show with the GoPros this weekend.

They worked, but the wi-fi link is NOT reliable in real-world usage. I was able to start them, but once started, the preview disappeared and I was not able to get it to come back. to ensure that I still had the image. I really need the update where I can have multiple cameras on one wi-fi link.Dropping one wi-fi connection and trying to make another to switch camera views is a major pain. If I had known that I was not going to be able to preview, I would have set them up to record in ProTune more.

All that said, I did get the full show on both cameras.

Most of my work is theatrical - so here's a clip under normal stage lighting.
Gopro in the panto car on Vimeo
https://vimeo.com/63601183

As far as I can tell, Preview doesn't work during recording - at least on my Hero2. So it's not something you're doing wrong. I assume the processor can't cope with transmitting video as well as capturing it.

The gopros look better because everything is in focus and sharp - which gives the impression of extra clarity. The defects then get overlooked.

As far as I can tell, Preview doesn't work during recording - at least on my Hero2. So it's not something you're doing wrong. I assume the processor can't cope with transmitting video as well as capturing it.
Preview works while recording - if ProTune is off.

The Wi-Fi works fine in my home, but messed up in a venue. I was getting a preview while recording when I was on stage with my tablet, but as soon as I moved back to where the sound board was, it got flaky.I had a picture for a while, then I tried to get to the other camera, and I wasn't able to get back. Then both failed.

Luckily, both actually continued to record. But the current system is untrustworthy.

If anyone from GoPro reads this thread, I have 23 concert shoots coming up. I'd be very happy to beta test the revision that adds linking the cameras to a wi-fi network.

Preview works while recording - if ProTune is off..
I just used my GP3 for the first time last week. I had Pro Tune off and was unable to get any
preview at all while recording. I was using the phone app. What were you using to preview?

With my iPhone or iPad, the GoPro app won't show me a preview either in ProTune or normal modes. This is with a Hero 2.

I just used my GP3 for the first time last week. I had Pro Tune off and was unable to get any
preview at all while recording. I was using the phone app. What were you using to preview?
I have 2 Hero 2s and am using a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1.

Hi Mike

I assume you have a WiFi back on the camera? I have no issues on the Hero2 and can get a lagged image on my SmartPhone and my tablet without any problems...If nothing else the preview is useful for framing at least. I shoot my weddings with the Hero on a stand next to my main camera about 8' in the air and 90% of the time I'm delighted and use the ceremony footage ....We had a really soggy and humid day yesterday and even my Sony viewfinders were misting up but in the skelton housing I had no fogging at all.

I would check the Wifi back ... that might be the issue?? The app definately works .... does your phone/Tablet recognise the wifi from the camera and can it control it??

Chris

What screwed up everything was having the cameras on two different wi-fi networks at one end og the room, and having to swap from one to the other to change cameras. They can't introduce the option to put all of them on the same network soon enough for me. I have a wi-fi hotspot program on my laptop, and it works well. I'll put both cameras and my Galaxy Tab on it and be able to monitor both.