VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

BWD, did you get the wide angle lens for the GoPro camera? I can't find it on their website, but I read somewhere that it was coming for 2008. I'd like to get your opinion on it.

No I never did get the wide angle lens. From what I've read it was supposed to be out in August, but you're right it's not on their website yet. Try sending them an email, they are pretty good at responding. The only thing I wonder about is if the wide angle will make everything looks too small. I was hoping for something just slightly wider than what I have now. I think the wide angle is a 170deg and it might be more like a fisheye?
Dave

Ah yes, that sounds too wide. I like the GoPro for price, durability (as you have shown), simplicity, and size, but for a POV camera I'd like a slightly wider lens. The standard lens does take good video of others sailing nearby though. This camera looks good http://www.vio-pov.com/ but is 4x the price and I'm not sure if the 1 m for 30 minute waterproof rating would be sufficient for CB surf. Maybe a small pack and a waterproof bag would help for the main unit.

There is always the Pentax W60 too. It has a 28mm equivalent lens, and a 13m for 2 hour waterproof rating. Not shock resistant though. And I'm not sure how well it would mount on a helmet.

Maybe this should be in a new thread...

I just found this windsurfing video on the Go Pro site. It shows how that 170 degree lens would look. Pretty nice! I really like the "clew camera". It is pretty wide, but I think I like it!
http://vimeo.com/1748065?pg=embed&sec=1748065

How does $189 sound for a price?
http://adrenalinefilms.ca/video-cameras ... egree-lens

Thanks for the info 4J. The new GoPro Wide looks great. It gives a better sailor perspective. I'm guessing it won't be as good for catching other people sailing with it mounted on the helmet, but for a boom/mast mount option it looks good. The $189 is the retail price so that's okay and it might be hard to find it any cheaper. I guess a person almost needs one of each.

Here's some info I got from GoPro when I asked about converting an old camera to Wide (their customer service is really good):
"Unfortunately the new Wide HERO is not just a lens attachment. It's a whole new camera with a fixed wide angle lens and an enlarged glass lens area on the housing to support the further protruding lens. We will be selling the Wide HERO expansion (camera and housing only) by the end of the month for $139.99. This is meant for all existing HERO owners who already have all of the necessary quick release mounts."

The Vio-pov link you posted looks good too, but expensive as you mentioned. I like the editing features of it and the size, but some reviews show the image as jumpy? Anyway, it's a lot more money. Hopefully more options will come out in the future.

For the size, cost and quality, the GoPro is a good first helmet camera to get.

I got a similar email from GoPro as BWD did. They apologized, but said that the optics just weren't good enough in the prototypes, so they had decided to just have an entire camera that way. At that price (and with the multiple mounts the GoPro helmet hero comes with) you could run two even on the same helmet. Nice that a company will stop their plans and spend more R&D time I guess!

There were a few questions regarding the new GoPro wide angle camera on this forum a month ago. I purchased the new GoPro wide angle camera ($110.00US) at the September, Interbike show in Las Vegas. I tried the camera for the first time on Tuesday, November 4, 2008 at Cook Street. This is the first time I have tried a waterproof camera while kiting. It is also the first time I have used an editing package so hopefully the comments will be constructive. As an initial outing the results are encouraging. With special thanks to Wullis for his launching and landing (as always) and to Kenny for his constant encouragement. The results can be seen at [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPyBrQISkfs .[/youtube]

http://vimeo.com/1718638?pg=embed&sec=1718638 Will give you a better image.

That video of yours came out great! I really like the wide-angle/fish-eye look. Great music too

Nice Video KayakDoc! I like how the wide angle bends the lines and warps the perspective. It looked like you were coming in for a landing at the beach from the air! And the lines look twice as long.

Nice Video!

After my GoPro went through the wash cycle for a few days at CB, the lens cover was a bit scratched, resulting in "stars" when videoing into the sun.

I asked GoPro support if they sold the lens covers separately, and they sent me one, free of charge!

I also mentioned that both my quick release clips have snapped. They replied and told me that there was a bad batch a while back. Two new clips were included in my package.

Thanks GoPro! There is something to be said for good support/service.

Just a quick note that may save you a few bucks. GoPro now offers a "basic kit" that you can add to your helmet camera kit, if you want a second camera, but not all the mounts. However, this kit does come with one of the flat stick-on mounts, so if you only plan to use the camera with one helmet, then this is all you need.

http://www.goprocamera.com/index.php?area=2&productid=4

Note that the webpage doesn't show the stick-on mount as included in the case.

You can also salvage a second mount from the [excessive] packaging. I guess this is intended, since they also include a spare double-sided foam sticky pad.

On a related note, yes, I got a second camera to lend out at the beach!

FYI GoPro owners, I just got my replacement bits in the mail. Luckily they broke on shore and I didn't lose my camera!

to me
show details Jul 3
Hi Dallas,

We're sorry to hear one of your HERO parts has failed.



Unfortunately it sounds like your kit may have been affected by a poor plastic resin mixture from a recent production run causing the brittle parts. We've recently become aware of this problem and have already rectified this for newer production runs.


Could you please reply with your mailing address, and let us know which model HERO kit you purchases (helmet or motorsports). As soon as we hear back, we'll get some replacements right out in the mail to you. Please be sure to toss out all of your old parts that you receive replacements for. Our apologies for the inconvenience.

Many thanks,

GoPro Support
http://www.goprocamera.com