Yes, I did test it out and the video is posted here. Make sure to click on the 720p option:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8x1M1_0cMIU
Several observations. The first is no, that is not my 20B FD, it's my Range Rover. The FD is down at Kilo Racing in Orlando undergoing a few final projects before DGRRX so the Range Rover will have to do. And yes, rides will be available at DGRRX
My initial impressions of the GoPro HD unit are positive with a few negatives. The positives - the unit is tiny, much smaller than I thought. It's the smallest HD video camera I have ever seen and its size surprises me. It might be tiny but it's pretty rugged and comes with some nifty connectors so you can mount it to almost anywhere on the car. The best mounting unit is the one I used for the videos, a suction cup device. This device has great suction capabilities and I can't imagine it would give loose. I tugged on it and am impressed. It is rated for over 100+ mph driving so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I know I will use this mount for the windshield and any external shots.
Other connectors come with 3M backing tape which means once stuck down, they too will not come loose. This good and bad. The good, they won't come loose and the bad, you can't use them just for track days and then remove the mounts which means they become a permanent fixture on the car which I don't want. My wife has suggested using the 3M tape product made for hanging pictures on the wall. The advantage of this if it works is you can easily remove it after use. Here is a link to the product:
http://www.buzzillions.com/reviews/3...um-1ea-reviews
We have used this before for other apps and it works great so I'll see if this will do the job and report back. My thoughts are to mount one camera clip using this tape to my rear strut bar so I can take videos from behind the driver pointing both forward and backward. Honestly, I don't think I have a need for anything else than this and the suction mounted device although GoPro must think differently as they give you a handful of mounting clips and doodads.
The actual video is pretty good, not the best I have ever seen, but nice. There are several different video angle capabilities built into the camera, from 170 degree wide angle to the one I used for the test, a 127 degree angle. The wide angle gives the video a "fish bowl" sort of look and I took some test video this morning using this angle and will post up later today. The 127 degree angle to me is the way to go as it is plenty wide and doesn't distort the pic. GoPro suggests this for in-car video. The test video is actually 1080p HD but YouTube only allows 720p so for posting, the 1080p doesn't matter. I guess at home it will if you have the proper TV - it does come with jacks for this.
The other positive is the unit comes with a rugged weatherproof case to protect the camera. I used this for the test video. The negative is the case causes the wind noise you hear in the video. However, after consulting the GoPro website, I note they recommend swapping out the back of the weatherproof case, for a slotted back to lessen wind noise. This comes with the kit and I used this for this morning's test video so we shall see if this fixes the issue.
The camera uses a lithium rechargeable battery which is nice as it allows 2.5 hours of camera use. The bummer is the only way to recharge the unit is thru a USB device that plugs into your computer. You can buy another attachment to allow you to plug into the wall but it does not come with the kit. As a Mac user, I have this adapter so it's not a problem for me but it should be included in the kit. I did purchase an additional lithium battery for $20 so I can swap them out as needed.
The negatives - the unit does not come with an SD card so you have to purchase this yourself. I bought a 16GB Kingston card for about $30 off of Amazon.com (Best Buy had them for $89!) and as I recall, this will give me about 2.5 hours of tape, more than enough for me. Again, for the money, this should have been included in the kit. Some vendors offer a bundle that includes a 4GB card which is okay, but for me, you need more storage than this.
The user interface on the unit is, how should I politely say this, less than par. I'm a Mac guy so it always bothers me when users have to hunt and peck so to speak thru an archaic "DOS like" menu system to change settings and unfortunately this is how the GoPro works. By pressing a mind-numbing series of the Power On and Shutter buttons, you can navigate thru the system, but as we say in the south, it ain't easy nor intuitive. Check out the manual for the steps involved:
http://www.goprocamera.com/files/HD_...ctions_v01.pdf
Fortunately I think most of us will use this in only a few modes but come on, how about taking a lesson from Apple on how the system should work? Or pay me and I'll help you techies figure out how a product should work for those of us that are normal
One feature is currently missing from the camera, an "Upside Down" option. I quickly found out to mount the camera you sometimes have to use it in an upside down position. I was pleased to learn from the manual the camera has this option. However, I couldn't find it anywhere on the camera's menu. No problems - the manual indicates you can go to the GoPro website and download a firmware patch for this option but guess what? There is no such patch listed on the website
I have sent an email to GoPro and we'll see what the answer is but apparently they have been telling customers the patch is in testing for multiple months now. Ah, this brings back memories of my healthcare IT company days! The point is, never never put something in your manual that doesn't exist.
So, you end up with videos that are shot upside down and you have to "rotate" them with an external program. iMovie does this for me so it's not the end of the world but it is an extra step.
I end this by saying that overall, I am pleased with the unit, even with the deficiencies I have noted. I think it is going to be great fun using the camera at DGRRX and I'll also make it available to fellow rotorheads for use.
Linear Mode
