GoPro Alternatives

[The Don]

I didn't want to shell out all the money for a Hero, so I bought one of these tiny cameras for my Phantom: http://www.hobbypartz.com/86p-988-dice-minicam.html. The picture's fine, but the battery life is DISMAL. Tonight it died after only one minute and eight seconds! Has anyone else tried to use this thing? I'm thinking about returning it.

Regardless, my question is this: what is a good alternative camera that doesn't cost as much as the quad itself?

 

[MikeEvangelist]

You can get a refurbished Hero 3 (White Edition) for about $145 on Amazon. If you can afford that, you'll get far better results than that little camera.

 

[martcerv]

There are some alternatives around but no action cam has yet to match the image quality of the hero3 black. There are other options around but your not going to get anything great for a much cheaper price. For the size and weight of a gopro its hard to beat and thats why no other camera maker has beaten them yet, sony has a few good options and most brands are coming out with something and there are some cheaper knockoff type cams you may also want to look at. But if your lo9king to save money buying cheap cams as experiments may end up making the gopro more expensive if you buy a few other cameras that end up not working as well as you want.

GoPro has some new cameras coming in October most likely so the current cams have all dropped in price and possibly may fall further or you could get a used cam cheaper once the new ones hit the market.

 

[The Don]

You can get a refurbished Hero 3 (White Edition) for about $145 on Amazon. If you can afford that, you'll get far better results than that little camera.

That's a reasonable price, but I couldn't find it on Amazon. Could you provide a link?

 

[The Don]

But if your lo9king to save money buying cheap cams as experiments may end up making the gopro more expensive if you buy a few other cameras that end up not working as well as you want.

That advice hits a little close to home. I paid $40 for the little dice cam and $90 for a camera for my Fat Shark system. I'm already out $130 and unsatisfied. Considering the GoPro Hero 3 White edition is only $200...

 

[martcerv]

But if your lo9king to save money buying cheap cams as experiments may end up making the gopro more expensive if you buy a few other cameras that end up not working as well as you want.

That advice hits a little close to home. I paid $40 for the little dice cam and $90 for a camera for my Fat Shark system. I'm already out $130 and unsatisfied. Considering the GoPro Hero 3 White edition is only $200...

Thats the problem with experimenting unless you get something cheap proven to work quite well your likely wasting money on the cheaper stuff. Youve already spent $130 and if you get a hero3 white that means you would have spent $330 and at that price could even get a black edition now retailing for $329 on the official site. http://gopro.com/cameras/hd-hero3-black-edition

 

[MikeEvangelist]

That's a reasonable price, but I couldn't find it on Amazon. Could you provide a link?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/ ... dition=all

There's a couple refurbs near the bottom.

 

[discv]

The Drift HD 170 Stealth is creeping up my wish list- it would seem to be an alternative to Gopro white @ the 150 GBP mark.

Slightly heavier.
No wifi transmission to worry about
Its own LCD
Slightly narrower lens- which suits me
Cheaper accessories

And I've seem some stunning footage from this camera

 

[discv]

Re the Drift camera, I've dug out this bit of video=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... NNsbJN_Qvo

 

[syotr]

You might have a look at the JVC adixxion. It has built in image stabilization, LCD screen, and is inherently waterproof without a housing.
http://adixxion.jvc.com/

 

[rilot]

The JVC is very heavy at 135g compared to the 75g of the GoPro Hero3

 

[syotr]

The JVC is very heavy at 135g compared to the 75g of the GoPro Hero3

Depends
If you need the waterproof housing for flying over water or some mechanism to reduce vibration, then the JVC looks comparable. It's also cheaper.

 

[martcerv]

The JVC is very heavy at 135g compared to the 75g of the GoPro Hero3

Depends
If you need the waterproof housing for flying over water or some mechanism to reduce vibration, then the JVC looks comparable. It's also cheaper.

In camera stabilization isnt going to help much in terms of jello on a cmos sensor camera, you will still need a vibration isolation mount on any camera you use. Even if you were using a CCD sensor camera that doesn't get jello you want to minimize vibrations to get a clear image.

In camera software stabilization is only good for basic hand shake not high frequency mechanical vibrations, I fly with the naked gopro as the rest of the gear isnt waterproof either so I do my best to avoid landing in water. Its a bit more risky but I also use a srp adapter and nd filters for shutter control and also give some lens protection plus the housing is heavier then the gopro itself so best to avoid it if you can.