Is the 1080 worth the Extra £120. I like the idea of then new screen that you can get with the 1080 but does that justify the amount, you get 60fps on the 1080 also but how often would i be actually using this as normally it is for slow mo? Is this right?

Many thanks

I’ve got a 1080, tbh if I was buying again today it’d not even be up for debate, 960 gives you most of the functionality for not much more than half the price, win. You do still get a 60fps mode, just not the 720p 60fps mode- and you’re spot on, it’s really just used for slo-mo.

The backpack screen thing just isn’t needed, it’s a bit of a gimmick.

Cheers that is what I was wanting to here. No need to spend double the price then 😀

Is there anywhere you would recommend getting it from for the price and accesories, I would be looking to get helmet mounts, bar mounts (but i believe these both come with a camera pack) and also a chest mount.

Thanks

I’m a bit of a GoPro whore.I’ve got the 1080P plus today I got the BacPac screen thingy today.

If the 960 had been around originally, I probably would of got it.I very rarely use full 1080P because it’s a bitch to edit (unless you’ve got a very high-end PC/Mac).

60FPS is mainly for slow motion like you’ve said, which I have actually started to use a bit, if you’ve got the Twixtor plugin for After Effects, you can create some nice super slo-mo stuff.

I’d recommend the chest mount, got mine of ebay for 35 quid. The helmet mount seems to make everything look very flat…

Chest mount is the default angle really, gives the best feel of riding. Helmet cam’s good for group rides, since it sees what you see but the footage is so disconnected, not so good. You should get some sticky pads and a vented helmet strap with your kit, but not the bar mounts. The rollbar clamp is quite good as well as it can be used to clamp to stems, frame, etc.

I’ve got the 1080 with the bacpac and it is awesome – well worth the extra. Unless you are happy taking loads of footage only to find out the camera wasn’t pointed in the right place. Also the replay ability is great for checking clips while you are out. Get it from Jenson’s to save some money.

It would be nice to know where the camera is pointing but then it is another £80 for the bacpac but i am sure it is worth it, what does it cost in import tax for getting it sent from the US and how long would it take?
Thanks

Took me two days and haven’t had to pay any import duties, but I budgeted £50

Bushwacked – Member

Unless you are happy taking loads of footage only to find out the camera wasn’t pointed in the right place.

Doesn’t happen really… You can tell where the camera’s pointing by eyeball.

Cheers guys, think I might order a 1080 from Jenson’s and get the bac pac and mounts aswell, should work out less than a 960 with the mounts if I don’t get stung by the taxes and even if I do it shouldn’t be that much more than buying a 960 from here. Now to get the money together.

I should get good use of it anyway, mtb during the summer, tempted to get a kit to rig it up on a windsurfing board seen as it is waterproof aswell and then the snow sports throughout the winter.

bushwacked what postage method did you choose?

ps for highland

heres an accurate estimate for the camera with the chest mount

Total customs value: £224.16
Import duty: £10.98
Import VAT: £47.03
Total import duty & VAT due: £58.01
Total landed cost: £282.17 at USD/GBP exchange rate of 0.6141

Cheers alex, seem not too bad seen as the camera itself costs £300 here alone, think i might be waiting a month or so before I can order mine with my money situation atm, however would love to be able to get my hands on one before we go away to tignes in 3 weeks, Decisions, do I blow my money on the camera now or wait a month ish. I can see myself spending money on some other bike related object between then and now.
The list is never ending.

Will Jensons deliver it to the uk? Word was gopro won’t let them sell it outside the US

I think they are an excellent purchase, I really do. Great for memories and quality enough for editing with.

win win. I’d await to see who posted bushwacked camera thou as DHL have always charged me tax on my doorstep

Fed ex was the method I used. Not sure if it made any difference but I phoned my order through.

Northwind – I’m just talking from my personal experience. I want to make sure my clips are lined up properly so the edits I do look good. Nothing worse that losing a clip becuaze of the angle it was shot or something like shadow was in the way.. It just adds that level of control – bit like discs over v-brakes 😉

Here’s an edit I did recently just getting the feel for editing together different clips – when doing it this way it’s great to see what you are doing in case you need to take the clip again.

[video]http://vimeo.com/21055180[/video]

Spoke to Jenson the other day and they do ship to the UK (with Fedex) so no great problems there.

The 960 vs. 1080 question has been bugging me too, specifically because I think that the hardware is probably the same underneath, so it should be possible to shoehorn the proper firmware onto a 960p with the right fiddling. However, that’s a bit beyond me, and it would appear no one else on the internet has done it yet, so that’s out.

I still wonder whether going for the 1080p version is worth it… I mean, how much will I use 1080p? How much is 60fps in 720p going to get used? Realistically, will I just stick it on 720p 30fps and leave it there? I hate choice.

So, 960p version or 1080p version?

To be honest having thought about it a bit more last night, I have a feeling I might be going for the 960, as much as the bacpac would be nice. Do i really need it?I was thinking about buying a camera before I even realised that gopro do one on their 1080 model. Plus if i go for the 960 I may even be able to get my hands on it before I go away to france for a week of skiing. Which would be ace.

More thinking time is needed me thinks

Tell me about it… Been mulling over whether to go for the 960 or the 1080 for months now and _still_ have yet to make up my mind.

That said though, it seems that GoPro release firmware updates for the 1080p more often (well, one, recently), o any software problems should be ironed out more easily.

And then, there was the contour…

I survived without the BacPac for ages, you get used to knowing what angle to point the camera at anyway.

I’m starting to like the 60FPS option though, combined with After Effects & Twixtor you can get some really smooth slow motion:

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYIgS7uFwp8[/video]

Wow that slow is quality.

Robodan what software are you using?

I’m guessing After Effects and Twixtor? 😉

GOt my 960 in 4days from Jenson, memory card from UK source took 5!

CAm, bar and chest mount delivered for less than the price of the cam alone on CRC

@toons – After Effects and Twixtor 🙂

Has anyone here played with both the Contour and the GoPro and been able to decide which one is better? I’m still in two minds, but only because the GoPro would be better for anything that involves water. The Contour seems to be cheaper and have better battery support.

is the bacpac the chest mount then?

been wondering what to go for myself here.bit clueless though on these cameras.

all i want is the chest mount and camera in one package,not bothered about slowmo,just quality vids.

Blower- no the bacpac is an attachable screen which connect to the gopro camera, but this is only available for the 1080p

Think you would best with the 960 in that case, think I am going to go for that aswell.

I’ve also been debating the 1080/960 and also the contor and just cant make my mind up! I think I’ll go with the contor tbh as I like the helmet mount for group rides ect and the go pro on a helmet mount just looks well………kinda like you got a toaster strapped to your head 😕

whys the helmet mount good for group rides?

was thinking chest mount was good for following people.

yes 960 i may go for that,which model all HD right? and how do you get chest mount for it?

Helmet mount allows you to see the rider in front aswell as the track beyond them I guess. Whereas with the chest mount you would be looking at their back the whole time. Yeh both the 960 and 1080 are HD. The chest mount is sold separately but if you are ordering from Jenson just stick it in your basket, it is $40 but that is cheaper than buying them here as they are £40 from crc.

@Blower All the mounts use the same attachment system. You can get the Chest Mount from a few places, got mine from eBay. Not cheap though ~£40

Blower – Member

whys the helmet mount good for group rides?

It looks where you look, so if you (frinstance) stop to watch someone riding down a big rock and they land on their face, you’ll get it. But there’s a big tradeoff of quality of riding footage. I don’t use mine much any more but it’s good to have sometimes.

i had a atk5k before i bought my go pro 1080 (through pinkibike)

it was a brilliant choice

old tube style cameras are not mountable as chest cams (easily or neatly)

the at5k stuck up high on my lid causing the helmet to feel top heavy, mounted on the side it tilted the lid unless i did it up super tight wich then gave me head aches.

the angles changed as the helmet moved about.

the footage always looked ‘flat’ as it’s from the head, chest is best!

i’ve not used any of the other go pro mounts so my advice would be to get either the 960 (if you’re not bothered by the additional 1080 features) and a chest mount.

Absolutely brilliant bit of kit, made better with the new software (1080) allowing 1 touch recording.

remember CHEST IS BEST 😉

The Ride Hero mount is cool during group rides, it’s quite easy to mount to the seat post facing backwards.

You lot are _not_, repeat NOT helping me make up my mind on which one to buy.

I’d almost made my mind up on the GoPro, then you thrw in the 960 vs. 180 thing, then a mate offers to lend me his Contour and tells me that they are doing an iPhone app that uses bluetooth to link to the camera and allows framing and setting changing.

AaaaaaargH! too much choice!

Which one’s got the widest angle?

I think I’ve read that the 1080 Hero Wide is wider in its 960 setting, but what about the 960 model? I don’t think I’ve seen one branded as Wide?

And Northwind: you say “you still get the 60fps, but not at 720” what resolution is the 60fps on the 960 model?

Thanks!

edit: s’alright, found it:

960 HD Video Resolution Modes:
* 960p = 1280×960 pixels (4:3), 30 fps
* 720p = 1280×720 pixels (16:9), 30 fps
* WVGA = 848×480 pixels (16:9), 60 fps

Ned, all the HDs are Wide by default, that’s a bit of an old tag from the non-HD cameras where the older ones had a pretty narrow FOV. You get 60fps only at 840×480- still good enough for most use but starts to look less nice on a big screen.

<hah- fast, but not fast enough!>

Cheers anyway NW!

What’s the second hand market like for these? I’d imagine it’s not bad, but I haven’t seen many being sold on (which might underline the point!)

Got a big trip coming up which would be great to have one for, but I can’t see myself using it much after that. Most of what I do just isn’t that awesome.

Any ideas on how much might you lose on one after a month?

Got the 1080, just getting used to it. Ordered the bacpac yesterday and it arrived this morning. Will be having a mess around with it next week in Kaprun snowboarding

my friend rigged up a cable cam for his gopro last week, the screen was def useful for this as quite a few runs weren’t timed right…

[video]http://vimeo.com/21183443[/video]