Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 69 total)
  • PSA: Hitachi action camera (Go Pro ish) for £60 from Argos
  • geoffj
    Full Member
    eskay
    Full Member

    I was looking at these a couple of weeks ago. Anyone got one?

    moridinbg
    Free Member

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQTF4rRq74A
    This actually looks pretty good. Comparable to GoPro Silver for third of the price. Looks like there are even GoPro mount adapters!
    Tomorrow is payday and I am very tempted to give it a go!

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    DT78
    Free Member

    Tempted too for that price…

    cookeaa
    Full Member

    What’s the viewing angle? Frame rates etc…

    Argos seem a Bit light on on details.

    Ebay are awash with gopro clones and other helmet cams for £60 or less. But I’ve not taken a flier on one yet as you just can’t be sure of the quality of what you’re buying IMO.

    If this Hitachi is any cop I could be tempted. But I want more details about it.

    kimbers
    Full Member

    There’s a few Vids on YouTube search Hitachi action can , seems OK specs on a par with a low end go pro

    neninja
    Free Member

    These are some specs taken from an Ebay auction –

    – Full HD 1080p video
    – 5 Megapixel stills
    – H.264 video format
    – Wide Angle 127 degree Sports Camera
    – SDHC class 6 super fast memory card compatible [card not included]
    – built in 128Mb flash Memory
    – li-ion Battery
    – Waterproof Casing
    – Helmet Mount
    – Chest Mount
    – mini HDMI output + lead [included]
    – USB output + lead [included]

    Imaging Sensor – 1/3.2″ CMOS 5.0 megapixel sensor
    Active Pixels – 5.0 megapixels
    Built in 128 MB flash Memory
    storage media – SD card, SDHC compatible up to 32Mb
    Focus Range – 30cm > infinity
    formats – JPEG / H.264 (avi)

    Video resolutions;
    1080p (30fps)
    720p (60fps)
    720p (30fps)
    960p (30fps)
    WVGA (60fps)

    Dimensions 70.9mm (L) x 30mm (D) x 45mm (H)

    dh
    Free Member

    anyone tried it in the flesh? where is the link for the mounting bitties? quite fancy one cheap down at fork level…

    crashtestmonkey
    Free Member

    Hitachi = name used under licence for Argos own-brand stuff. Having had cold feet on a Pro 3 Black and returning it, been looking at the “pebble” SJ1000, several on Amazon for around £55, comes with numerous mounts, some (very) positive reviews and footage on youtube.

    rockhopper70
    Full Member

    I reserved one of these yesterday but didn’t buy. The footage might be ok but the mounting system appears unique to this one so might be a faff to connect to existing systems.
    I have looked at the sj1000 too but technomoan suggests that the purported 70fps is not.
    I’m waiting for the liquid image ego to come down a bit..that one looks like the best compromise between a known brand/mount compatability/performance.

    Mintman
    Free Member

    I took some video 2 days ago and although cinematically it’s pants, it shows the quality – I’ll try to post it up tomorrow.

    Mintman
    Free Member

    Here’s the video that I took using the Hitachi camera.

    The first 10 secs are taken using the handlebar mount and the rattly-ness is clear. Although the mount is firmly secured to the bars the plate that the camera sits on is a bit loose so you get the effect in the footage. There’s only a thin bit of rubber between the bars and the mount so little in the way of vibration damping/resilient mounting.

    The second bit of footage is taken using the chest mount and apart from the obvious flaw that its looking at the floor the quality is good enough for my exploits.

    You can also see the handlebar mounting arrangement in the second half of the footage. I didn’t get around to using “helmet-cam” as it sounds a bit rude and I didn’t have time. The helmet mount is an adhesive-pad arrangement to the lid of the helmet but I think i’ll back it up with some cable ties as an emergency camera-saving arrangement.

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    [video]http://youtu.be/LP1L7DWnhXQ[/video]

    geoffj
    Full Member

    Mintman that looks OK. Obviously the bar mount needs modding, but as you say, the quality looks reasonable.

    mtbtomo
    Free Member

    Is the chest mount adjustable? i.e. did you just not have it set up right (pointing at the floor) or is it fixed position and will always point to the floor?

    Mintman
    Free Member

    It might have been some operator error! The straps are all adjustable for length but I don’t think the mounting plate can be adjusted at all.

    I did have it sat really high on my chest so that might have something to do with it.

    mtbtomo
    Free Member

    Thanks Mintman, I think the Gopro ones have a quite a wide range of angle adjustment aside from the straps, but I suppose it might be possible to angle this one (maybe an angled block underneath the mount?) with a bit of home modification?

    Deveron53
    Free Member

    Very bad rolling shutter. I think even with the ineptness of the operator the camera is poo. IMHO.

    composite
    Free Member

    Never had any where near that much rolling shutter on my GoPro HD.

    What fps was it shot at?
    If you shoot at the highest FPS then it CAN reduce rolling shutter depending upon the exact way this particular camera works.

    Mintman
    Free Member

    I think this was at 30fps, I’m off to Bike Park Wales at the weekend so I’ll give it a thorough test in its different modes there.

    As for you Deveron53, that’s the last time I do you any videographic favours..!

    easygirl
    Full Member

    The clip was very pixalated on my ipad

    cookeaa
    Full Member

    From what I found on the interwebs it can be run at 720p / 60 FPS… would that would be worth trying to reduce the rolling shutter effect?

    720p is still plenty good enough for stuff that’s just going to end up on youtube…

    superfli
    Free Member

    Why not just get a hero hd off ebay? The original hd version is fine for most and you get the benefit of all the gopro accessories.

    Deveron53
    Free Member

    As for you Deveron53, that’s the last time I do you any videographic favours..!

    Don’t forget, that was self-admitted ineptness! I’ve played about and tested all sorts of cheapo helmet cams. In the end I got a Sony HDR AS15 which I will use soon when I have something interesting to film!

    The Sony is now available for around £100 and at this price it blows EVERYTHING away! The image stabilising works great, battery life is good. Buy one!

    Mintman
    Free Member

    I was at Bike Park Wales yesterday (which is much fun I might add) and used the camera all day. The best setting is indeed the 60fps mode and that’s what the video below was shot in. I chose this video as its got the open expanse at the top of the hill and then some woodland so you can see how it copes in both light conditions (although its not particularly dense woodland I admit).

    For some reason the playback from youtube is a lower quality than watching it direct from my PC. I don’t know why…

    [video]http://youtu.be/5dOEh8VDGTA[/video]

    My thoughts:

    The helmet cam mount sits quite high on a stalk so tends to wobble your head a bit so a more direct form of mounting would help there to further improve comfort and video quality – I don’t see this mod being too complicated.

    The chest cam is a better view point (imo) but it points at the bars almost all the time so the mount will need some packing on the underside to change the angle – no great drama but additional effort required.

    For £60 I’m fairly happy with it, its clearly not as good as a go-pro but good enough for me – I’m not going to be mass-producing gnarly videos anytime soon!

    Kato
    Full Member

    Where can you get the sony for £100?

    easygirl
    Full Member

    Still very pixalated here,

    simons_nicolai-uk
    Free Member

    Still very pixalated here,

    To be fair, the footage I took on a GoPro black looked pixelated as hell by the time I’d uploaded it. I had to compress it quite a lot to get it to upload.

    zeffir
    Free Member

    Thanks for posting the videos, I reckon that for the money that is pretty good- more likely to take that out and use it on the kids’ bikes than a gopro,

    easygirl
    Full Member

    Can you not upload to you tube at 1080
    Ive got videos on you tube that look cristal clear, or is it the camera?

    Mintman
    Free Member

    easygirl – Member
    Can you not upload to you tube at 1080
    Ive got videos on you tube that look cristal clear, or is it the camera?

    I’ll have another go later, the video played straight from my hard drive is much clearer than the one I uploaded so it might be me being a biff again!

    slugwash
    Free Member

    I came across this useful test whilst researching action cams…..

    POV Action Camera Comparisons

    I’m guessing that the Iron X is nearest in quality to the Hitachi, but I’ll probably splash out for the Sony as I need to film underwater and the quality ain’t too bad on that camera.

    Irish_AL
    Free Member

    Oh oh oh, I got one 😀 had it a few months now. Footage good, battery life also good, the mounts on the other hand are pants. I spent a few quid and modified it to work with the go pro mounts and it works a treat.

    crosshair
    Free Member

    I’m keen to find a good value helmet cam but tbh, that footage above is awful through my iPad- 5mm big pixels!

    Mintman
    Free Member

    crosshair – Member
    I’m keen to find a good value helmet cam but tbh, that footage above is awful through my iPad- 5mm big pixels!

    As much as I can’t prove it the footage quality is significantly better than the video suggests, I’m not sure what’s happened with the upload to youtube!

    ?..the mounts on the other hand are pants. I spent a few quid and modified it to work with the go pro mounts and it works a treat.

    Any advice on how you did that? I agree about the mounts!

    mav12
    Free Member

    i clicked on the link under the video and opened it in youtube is a lot better quality than clicking on the video itself on my ipad anway looks good

    dan1980
    Free Member

    There’s something a bit funny going on with this. Looking at your video on youtube in chrome on my PC, the 480p setting is much clearer, and has more detail than the 1080p version. I’m not sure that the video has been uploaded at the higher resolution, and I wonder if youtube is just making a hash of increasing the resolution.

    Screen grabs of the same frame below.

    I’d say that the 480p video actually looks pretty good.

    mtbtomo
    Free Member

    So,the Sony HDR AS15….how would you go about mounting it to a helmet or chest – it looks relatively huge and impractical for mounting somewhere whilst riding surely??

    moridinbg
    Free Member

    You mount the Sony to the side of the helmet, not on the front as with the GoPro/Hitachi. Chest I don’t see how you can do without the camera coming out of you.
    Argos has some very stupid policy of not allowing returns of cameras, due to privacy?! I wanted to test the Hitachi and return it if I am not happy with the quality, but this was a deal breaker. I remember something about EU regulations requiring any retailer to offer 7 day return period but I got a very sweet deal on used Black 3+ instead. And the awful rolling shutter.

    I am still interested in the camera as a gift, so can you please upload the original movies to Dropbox? You have a Public folder there and can share links to files in it.

    Youtube re-encodes and “optimizes” videos so is a really bad place to show sample footage.

    crashtestmonkey
    Free Member

    I remember something about EU regulations requiring any retailer to offer 7 day return period

    not heard of that, there is a 7 day cooling off period for internet/mail order purchases.

    LimboJimbo
    Full Member

    Well guess what Santa’s brought me! Slightly concerned the box says it requires Windows though. I’m hoping it refers to the editing software, rather than the video format and I will be ok with OS X.

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 69 total)

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