Gopro Hero2 or Replay 1080XD for General Use?

[Mike Beckett]

Nigel,

Wow, that's neat, I didn't realise you could mod the little Canons as well! Thanks very much for the link.

[George Kilroy]

Hi Mike.

I'm already doing that, the two at the side are Sony Cx550s. The centre stage one is a bit more difficult to place as even a handycam needs a tripod and although small is noticeable where as the hero can sit under the stage mic or next to a footlight without any appreciable intrusion or drawing any attention to itself. In fact even the theatre technician didn't realised that I place it or even what it was when I pointed it out to him. That and the place-and-forget battery and long period recording were what drew me to the GoPro.

I hadn't considered that PAS cameras had the short record time so they are out as even a brief stop and re-start would play havoc with my post work as I just like one sync point and I'm away, I wouldn't want to be re-syncing every 12 minutes.

[Nigel Barker]

Originally Posted by George Kilroy

I wouldn't want to be re-syncing every 12 minutes.

Neither would I which is why I would just let the software do it for me. FCP X does a good job all by itself but for other NLEs then PluralEyes works like magic.

[George Kilroy]

Nigel, are you using those Canon cameras in long form recordings?

As for Plural Eyes, I find it too long winded and convoluted to use with Premiere (my system). I usually have just one sync point (well one for each half) for a theatre show which I can do using an audio spike across four cameras almost as quickly as it takes to open the Prem project in Plural eyes, never mind the time it takes to sync it nd then import the synced folder. I believe in other NLE and now CS6 it is integrated plugin which I guess is more streamlined in operation.

[Nigel Barker]

Originally Posted by George Kilroy

Nigel, are you using those Canon cameras in long form recordings?

No, I just offered the Ixus HS 220 as an option as my wife has an earlier model (HS110) that shoots very decent 720p video in a body that's about the size of a box of Swan Vestas. The HS220 shoots 1080p & I have considered buying a couple to mount on gorilla pods.

Originally Posted by George Kilroy

As for Plural Eyes, I find it too long winded and convoluted to use with Premiere (my system). I usually have just one sync point (well one for each half) for a theatre show which I can do using an audio spike across four cameras almost as quickly as it takes to open the Prem project in Plural eyes, never mind the time it takes to sync it nd then import the synced folder. I believe in other NLE and now CS6 it is integrated plugin which I guess is more streamlined in operation.

For the real time portions of wedding coverage (ceremony & speeches) we just dump all the footage on the Premiere timeline then set PluralEyes doing its thing grab a cup of tea then open up the new sequence. It's not as slick as FCP X but is pretty quick & simple.

[George Kilroy]

Hi Nigel, even for weddings, or at least the ceremony/speeches I keep all cameras running, a bit more cutting in the edit but again only need to sync once. I've only used Pluraleyes a few times on the 30 day trial so I'm not very familiar with it but when I did use it it split the audio into two mono tracks doubling up the audio lines when I opened the new timeline. Do you know if that's usual when exporting/importing back to Premiere?

I realise I'm taking this away from the GoPro discussion, I should look for the Pluraleyes thread.

[Robert Turchick]

Originally Posted by Charles W. Hull

Robert, is there a way to do remote start/stop recording with the Replay? For me wire would be okay; wireless would be much better.

I don't think so. That would be a useful thing for me too as I mount these in aircraft. Some of the locations are a pain to get to and starting several cameras under the pressure of a flight going up sucks!

[Charles W. Hull]

Originally Posted by Robert Turchick

I don't think so. That would be a useful thing for me too as I mount these in aircraft. Some of the locations are a pain to get to and starting several cameras under the pressure of a flight going up sucks!

Same here, and I don't want the cameras running for a two hour flight to the shoot. Seems there's no perfect camera; I may stick with GoPro and Wi-Fi. I swap out the lenses on GoPro to get away from the fish eye look, which can be a pain, but this may be my best bet.

[Chris Harding]

Hey George

Thanks for the PM.

Seriously I wouldn't even think about using a GoPro in a theatre situation so you are very brave...I would, as already suggested, wait for the new firmware which will at least address your bitrate issue and probably a lot more. I don't even use mine at receptions!! only in fairly well lit Churches and outdoor ceremonies ... I would say that it's not designed to handle the high contrasty situation that you find in theatres!!

Chris

[Dean Sensui]

Originally Posted by George Kilroy

The centre stage one is a bit more difficult to place as even a handycam needs a tripod and although small is noticeable where as the hero can sit under the stage mic or next to a footlight without any appreciable intrusion or drawing any attention to itself. In fact even the theatre technician didn't realised that I place it or even what it was when I pointed it out to him.

What about making a "low boy" mount with a small plate, a bolt and a small ball mount? It might end up two inches high, quite unobtrusive.

[George Kilroy]

For anyone who may be interested or who has read my previous post regarding the use of a Hero2 in a theatre, I have had a play around with the footage and found that I have been able to colour correct the Go Pro footage quite well in Premiere.

The first/fourth image are the GoPro as recorded the second/fifth are the JVC as seen and the third/sixth are the corrected, not too bad I think. So the GoPro will come out with me again.

[Chris Harding]

Hi George

The low angle is interesting!! You can get a tripod fitting for the Hero and I have a really mini light stand (about 10" high) that has a 1/4"thread at the end so I can zap on a mini ball head and use the Hero low down. I must admit I haven't played around with low angle..I usually put the camera as high up as I can and try to create a semi- aerial shot at weddings .... I wonder which might be better for theatre??? If you talk really nicely to the lighting guy, maybe you could mount the camera directly over the stage..that would be a nice shot too!! There must be a few mounts that you could use for that shot.

If the cam is only looking at the stage rather than the stage plus the audience, then exposure will be a lot better as the cam doesn't see any really dark areas so the bright lit areas won't blow out.

I think I know why guys tend to buy more than just one Hero!! There are so many options to shoot where even a camcorder couldn't go!!

Chris

[Dean Sensui]

BTW, I'm selling one of my Replay 1080XD's. It's listed in the "classified" section.