GoPro Hero2 at DVinfo.net

Phill Pendleton · November 6th, 2011, 10:10 PM

Greetings All
Just wondering what is the best (value) 32GB SD card for the Hero2. Have been shopping around and noticed the GoPro site sells the Class 10 card but a local supplier says the Class 6 is quite shock proof etc.
Any thoughts?
cheers
Phill Pendleton

Dan Passaro · November 13th, 2011, 04:42 PM

I've been using a Sandisk Ultra II 16gb with no issues. Packaging says 30mb/s, yep 30 instead of the usual 20. But it also says class 6.

I'm looking at 32gb ones though (and the BacPac) for a long video I'll be doing.

edit: Just did some low light this morning. It appears that a class 6 is borderline. Not sure if it was my computer but there were a couple of jumps in the video here and there when the low light came into play.

Roger Shealy · November 15th, 2011, 06:39 PM

How does the video quality of the Hero2 compare to a high level consumer camcorder in bright light, medium light, and low light? I'm considering buying one or two for planting in tight spots and unmanned footage for weddings, performances, and presentations as well as rougher situations that normally greet a Hero (say rain, water sports...). I thought perhaps with the new 3-position lens it might be good to put on keyboards, drums, or a wide angle for a musical presentation and just let it run the entire presentation for interest shots.

Good enough to mix with a TM900 or similar?

Ian Newland · November 21st, 2011, 06:15 PM

Roger, i cut the Gopro into GH1 (hacked footage) HD footage all the time, looks good, but the Gopro needs saturation adjustments in post, but sharpness wise awesome if you need small size and wide angle.

Roger Shealy · November 21st, 2011, 08:01 PM

Thanks Ian. I should have mine tomorrow to run through some tests. As long as it looks fairly good, I'll keep it for convenience, size, and the wide angle. I'm hoping it will perform reasonably well for concerts and such either up front and wide (unattended) or overlooking some of the performers facing towards the audience.

We'll see!

Dave Mercer · November 21st, 2011, 08:08 PM

Hey Ian.

I know it'll depend on settings on the GH13, but if shooting -1 saturation, how much work in post to get Gopro to match?

I've got GH2 (hacked).

Thanks!
Dave

Don Litten · November 22nd, 2011, 06:04 PM

It does take a little post work but it's not all that bad.
This clip involved three cameras, one of which was a GoPro and it wasn't worth putting in a lot of work on.

Roger Shealy · November 22nd, 2011, 07:30 PM

Neat little camera, but I don't think I'll be able to use my GoPro Hero 2 for what I had hoped. I wanted to use for wide angle - up close capture of entertainers on stage. Here are my first tests in fairly good lighting at home in my kitchen (2 40W spot lights directly over sink, 5 floods overhead around perimeter of sink, ceiling fan with 4 fixtures about 12 feet to right of sink) and then my daughter just below the 4 light ceiling fan in kitchen.

I've thrown in a two 7Ds image using a very non-exotic kit lens @ 17mm/f3.5 and 24mmf4.0 using auto ISO for comparison. Unfortunately I inadvertently reduced the level in tiimeline to 87% before taking .jpeg, so their slightly dark on 7D.

I didn't expect the Hero2 to match or even come close to the 7D, but I don't think I can use these two together at all for interior shots. I'll do some outdoor tests tomorrow in full sun and perhaps it will perform better with very bright light.

Roger Shealy · November 22nd, 2011, 07:45 PM

Decided to add same setup of moderate lighting with my Panasonic TM900 wide and med zoom for further comparison

Don Litten · November 22nd, 2011, 08:33 PM

GoPro's are light lovers Rodger. It's simply the wrong tool for interior shots, especially on stage.

Roger Shealy · November 22nd, 2011, 08:43 PM

Don,

I'd say you're right. Wasn't looking for dimly lit stages, just church performances with lights up and spots. In any case, full sun may be the prescription these cameras need. I still want to try them in full daylight and see how they do there.

Don Litten · November 22nd, 2011, 10:52 PM

Give em a little daylight and they love you:

Roger Shealy · November 23rd, 2011, 03:31 PM

So, having now used the Hero2 outdoors in 4:00 p.m.light:

- Wide setting returns a pretty decent image, still plenty of noise and pixelation, but very wide and the sensor begins to get enough light to function
- Medium starts to show more serious flaws in image
- Narrow looks terrible. Tons of noise, pixelation, just a bad image.

I love the wide lens, like the neat package and no-nonsense layout and really wanted to love this thing. The image, however, is at best comparable to the image from my point-and-shoot Panasonic ZS7 (720P). Neat Noise reduction does help quite a bit, but with the amount of processing it has to do it can lead to somewhat "plastic" looking images.

Roger Shealy · November 25th, 2011, 10:04 PM

Having now used the Hero2 for about 3 days non-stop, its growing on me. You have to realize its purpose and limitations, but its really pretty amazing if you:

- Realize it's footage is good, but won't rival your professional rig. It is what it is.

- Enjoy its incredible simplicity and ruggedness. It's nice to clamp a camera on the exterior of the car and film something without worrying about damaging an expensive lens or camera.

- Avoid shooting into bright lights. With its protective exterior "lens", shooting into the sun or even remotely into light can cause severe ghosting and "blooming" of color, especially white.

- I've found that I have to render at higher bit rates to avoid excessive artifacts. The compressed native file can take a beating if you render the the same settings you can get away with when using less compressed native footage.

- Bright light is essential to quality footage. It doess't like dim or even moderate lighting. Full sun is best and returns nicely saturated images.

- NEAT noise suppression software is worth its weight in gold with the Hero2. I haven't used it much since graduating from HDV footage, but it really cleans up the Hero2.

The wide and medium wide options are great. I've been able to capture some great shots on limited table space that otherwise would have been almost impossible.

November 6th, 2011, 10:10 PM	#1
Phill Pendleton Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Australia NSW Posts: 71	GoPro Hero2 Greetings All Just wondering what is the best (value) 32GB SD card for the Hero2. Have been shopping around and noticed the GoPro site sells the Class 10 card but a local supplier says the Class 6 is quite shock proof etc. Any thoughts? cheers Phill Pendleton

November 13th, 2011, 04:42 PM	#2
Dan Passaro New Boot Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Miami, FL Posts: 21	Re: GoPro Hero2 I've been using a Sandisk Ultra II 16gb with no issues. Packaging says 30mb/s, yep 30 instead of the usual 20. But it also says class 6. I'm looking at 32gb ones though (and the BacPac) for a long video I'll be doing. edit: Just did some low light this morning. It appears that a class 6 is borderline. Not sure if it was my computer but there were a couple of jumps in the video here and there when the low light came into play. Last edited by Dan Passaro; November 14th, 2011 at 12:56 PM.

November 15th, 2011, 06:39 PM	#3
Roger Shealy Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Fayetteville, GA Posts: 772	Re: GoPro Hero2 How does the video quality of the Hero2 compare to a high level consumer camcorder in bright light, medium light, and low light? I'm considering buying one or two for planting in tight spots and unmanned footage for weddings, performances, and presentations as well as rougher situations that normally greet a Hero (say rain, water sports...). I thought perhaps with the new 3-position lens it might be good to put on keyboards, drums, or a wide angle for a musical presentation and just let it run the entire presentation for interest shots. Good enough to mix with a TM900 or similar?

November 21st, 2011, 06:15 PM	#4
Ian Newland Major Player Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 319	Re: GoPro Hero2 Roger, i cut the Gopro into GH1 (hacked footage) HD footage all the time, looks good, but the Gopro needs saturation adjustments in post, but sharpness wise awesome if you need small size and wide angle.

November 21st, 2011, 08:01 PM	#5
Roger Shealy Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Fayetteville, GA Posts: 772	Re: GoPro Hero2 Thanks Ian. I should have mine tomorrow to run through some tests. As long as it looks fairly good, I'll keep it for convenience, size, and the wide angle. I'm hoping it will perform reasonably well for concerts and such either up front and wide (unattended) or overlooking some of the performers facing towards the audience. We'll see!

November 21st, 2011, 08:08 PM	#6
Dave Mercer Major Player Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Lake Atitlan, Guatemala Posts: 346	Re: GoPro Hero2 Hey Ian. I know it'll depend on settings on the GH13, but if shooting -1 saturation, how much work in post to get Gopro to match? I've got GH2 (hacked). Thanks! Dave

November 22nd, 2011, 06:04 PM	#7
Don Litten Major Player Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Richmond Va Posts: 400	Re: GoPro Hero2 It does take a little post work but it's not all that bad. This clip involved three cameras, one of which was a GoPro and it wasn't worth putting in a lot of work on. Untitled on Vimeo

November 22nd, 2011, 07:30 PM	#8
Roger Shealy Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Fayetteville, GA Posts: 772	Re: GoPro Hero2 Neat little camera, but I don't think I'll be able to use my GoPro Hero 2 for what I had hoped. I wanted to use for wide angle - up close capture of entertainers on stage. Here are my first tests in fairly good lighting at home in my kitchen (2 40W spot lights directly over sink, 5 floods overhead around perimeter of sink, ceiling fan with 4 fixtures about 12 feet to right of sink) and then my daughter just below the 4 light ceiling fan in kitchen. I've thrown in a two 7Ds image using a very non-exotic kit lens @ 17mm/f3.5 and 24mmf4.0 using auto ISO for comparison. Unfortunately I inadvertently reduced the level in tiimeline to 87% before taking .jpeg, so their slightly dark on 7D. I didn't expect the Hero2 to match or even come close to the 7D, but I don't think I can use these two together at all for interior shots. I'll do some outdoor tests tomorrow in full sun and perhaps it will perform better with very bright light. Attached Thumbnails

November 22nd, 2011, 07:45 PM	#9
Roger Shealy Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Fayetteville, GA Posts: 772	Re: GoPro Hero2 Decided to add same setup of moderate lighting with my Panasonic TM900 wide and med zoom for further comparison Attached Thumbnails

November 22nd, 2011, 08:33 PM	#10
Don Litten Major Player Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Richmond Va Posts: 400	Re: GoPro Hero2 GoPro's are light lovers Rodger. It's simply the wrong tool for interior shots, especially on stage.

November 22nd, 2011, 08:43 PM	#11
Roger Shealy Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Fayetteville, GA Posts: 772	Re: GoPro Hero2 Don, I'd say you're right. Wasn't looking for dimly lit stages, just church performances with lights up and spots. In any case, full sun may be the prescription these cameras need. I still want to try them in full daylight and see how they do there.

November 22nd, 2011, 10:52 PM	#12
Don Litten Major Player Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Richmond Va Posts: 400	Re: GoPro Hero2 Give em a little daylight and they love you: Gopro oversize filter test on Vimeo

November 23rd, 2011, 03:31 PM	#13
Roger Shealy Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Fayetteville, GA Posts: 772	Re: GoPro Hero2 So, having now used the Hero2 outdoors in 4:00 p.m.light: - Wide setting returns a pretty decent image, still plenty of noise and pixelation, but very wide and the sensor begins to get enough light to function - Medium starts to show more serious flaws in image - Narrow looks terrible. Tons of noise, pixelation, just a bad image. I love the wide lens, like the neat package and no-nonsense layout and really wanted to love this thing. The image, however, is at best comparable to the image from my point-and-shoot Panasonic ZS7 (720P). Neat Noise reduction does help quite a bit, but with the amount of processing it has to do it can lead to somewhat "plastic" looking images. Last edited by Roger Shealy; November 23rd, 2011 at 05:36 PM.

November 25th, 2011, 10:04 PM	#14
Roger Shealy Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Fayetteville, GA Posts: 772	Re: GoPro Hero2 Having now used the Hero2 for about 3 days non-stop, its growing on me. You have to realize its purpose and limitations, but its really pretty amazing if you: - Realize it's footage is good, but won't rival your professional rig. It is what it is. - Enjoy its incredible simplicity and ruggedness. It's nice to clamp a camera on the exterior of the car and film something without worrying about damaging an expensive lens or camera. - Avoid shooting into bright lights. With its protective exterior "lens", shooting into the sun or even remotely into light can cause severe ghosting and "blooming" of color, especially white. - I've found that I have to render at higher bit rates to avoid excessive artifacts. The compressed native file can take a beating if you render the the same settings you can get away with when using less compressed native footage. - Bright light is essential to quality footage. It doess't like dim or even moderate lighting. Full sun is best and returns nicely saturated images. - NEAT noise suppression software is worth its weight in gold with the Hero2. I haven't used it much since graduating from HDV footage, but it really cleans up the Hero2. The wide and medium wide options are great. I've been able to capture some great shots on limited table space that otherwise would have been almost impossible.