A little camera with a BIG punch!

I’m big into a lot of physical activities. I ride mountain bikes and weight train frequently and use to play softball twice a week as well. Lately, I’ve gotten back into wakeboarding and decided that I needed something to capture all the fun I’ve been having. I already have my Rebel XTi that I shoot a lot of causal photography with and I’ve been through several video cameras; however, I’ve yet to find one that was small enough to carry and durable enough to withstand the things I like to do. Well, I can’t say that anymore. “Say hello to my little (BIG) friend!”.

 
I just received this from an eBay purchase a little over a week ago; however, it’s traveled 1600 miles with me on a wakeboarding trip to North Carolina/Virginia, gone into the Tampa Bay to go wakeboarding, and gone underwater on some casual swims. Thus far, it’s done everything I’ve asked it to do and then some.
With it’s 5 video settings, this tiny cam will shoot various frame rates (30 and 60 fps) and change aspect ratios relatively easy. Users also have the option to shoot still shots on a whim, or in 1sec, 2sec, 5sec, or 10sec intervals.

There is no internal hard drive but uses a SD card for it’s output. I recommend a class 10 card (8, 16, or 32GB). Shooting 1080p will certainly eat some space if you’re not careful.

The camera comes with both a waterproof and a non-waterproof housing. Since all of my uses thus far have been around water, I have yet to use the non-H20-proof housing. Noise and sound is hindered because of the waterproofing; however, that was expected. Some sound is clear; however, I recommend muting the sound and adding your own personal soundtrack instead.

In addition, it’s nice having a computer with a SD reader. Popping out the 32GB card and throwing it into the laptop makes viewing the videos so much easier than plugging wires to connect the two; however, that is an option the GoPro offers if you so choose.

Other accompanying goodies include 2 straight-adhesive mounts, 2 curved-adhesive mounts, and the USB charging chord. I do recommend purchasing a chest strap for just a few bucks as that makes all the difference when you’re doing something that requires both hands. Also, additional batteries can be purchased which you might want to consider. I noticed that I got about 2 hours off the first battery (1st use) and the 2nd use lasted about twice as long. However, I did change the video setting from option 3 to option 5, which decreased the fps by half (60fps to 30fps).

So, if you’re looking for a really high quality video camera that can be used in various settings, GoPro might just be it. I know I love mine!

Cheers!

PS – check back for videos. I’ve got a couple cooking in the oven now!

Dynamic Views for Readers - Blogger Help

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StudyBlue Teacher Advocate

Anyone who was my student last year (2010/2011) knows that I found an amazing website called StudyBlue. Since the discovery, I have been asked to assist StudyBlue and become part of the large community to fuse technology and education. As a Teacher Advocate, my primary focus is to interact with key influencers in the education and technology world, making them aware of StudyBlue while addressing their questions, concerns or ideas. Together, with your feedback and support, we will impact our future...

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