I tried shooting a few skiing videos with steady shot turned off to see if I’d like the wider view better than the smoother video and realized just how well steady shot works.
The truth is I would have bought a GoPro to if it weren’t for my friend who works for Sony. I did the same thing most people do. I wanted an action cam so I immediately said “GoPro”. They’ve done a hell of a job building their name. My Sony friend asked if I had looked at any other cams and I just laughed saying “I don’t want a knockoff”. She was cool though, didn’t send me a bunch of Sony propaganda, just sent me some independent video reviews. That got me looking into it more and I ended up with the Sony over the Hero 3+. The other feature the Sony has built in that’s awesome is GPS data. Both speed and track are there but it doesn’t have altitude for some reason. Want a speedometer readout of your 1/4 mile run or street race? The data is already right there on the camera just waiting to be added to your video.
EX:
^ No GPS hardware was used for that, just pulled the GPS data straight off the camera memory card. Sony includes the software to make the video, though in this case I used DashWare because I’m more familiar with it.
I was looking at reviews yesterday and one said the GoPro has better under water video because of the flat waterproof case over the lens. You can get a similar case or just a flat door for the Sony, but it costs a bit more.
^^^ive used the stadard hero a bit and didn’t have any issues with the battery - interested in seeing this new Hero+ when it comes in the mail this week how that LCD screen effects bat life - i feel like that screen might be off most of the time for that reason.
I picked up the flat lens case for mine for $30. Only played with the briefly in the pool but the video looks prefect. I didn’t bother messing with stock case based on what I had read about how distorted the round lens makes underwater video.
I may pick up one of these for it next. Having the live view on your wrist would be handy. I’ve got the live view app for my phone but for skiing that’s a PITA.
I’d be fine if they’d just give me a watch with a red light telling me the camera was recording or not. I use a helmet mount and with my balaclava and helmet it’s hard to hear the recording “beep”. A lot of my videos start with me asking my daughter “Is the red light on”.
The live view on the phone was great for figuring out where I wanted to place the sticky mount on my helmet though. Guess too low and all you see is snow, too high and all you see is sky. With live view I just moved the cam around until I liked what I saw on the phone then pulled the tape backer off and permanently stuck the mount.
