[Closed] Talk to me about the latest GoPros

I'd argue that if you CBA to use a 4, then a 7/8 won't solve that half of the problem.

I'm the same, used them loads for work, have 3 at home, rarely use any of them. You need a reason to want to record stuff. If it's just to watch yourself back later, you'll do it once, and be bored. Make a hobby out of editing short (and keep them SHORT!) videos and uploading to YouTube.

Stabilization needn't be an issue that makes it unusable, as a general principal you want to secure it as well as possible. A wobbly mount on a wobbly object don't cancel each other out, it's not a tuned mass damper! Attach it to the bike and experiment with mounts to get the most rigid setups. And aim for something static in the foreground. The further away something is, the less it appears to shake. Good ones are things like under the saddle looking at the bars, on the down tube, rear stays, seat post looking back over the rear tyre etc. What you don't want is the usual chest mount bouncing view of toptube-sky-top tube-sky-toptube-sky.

I went from a Session 5 to a 7 black with the new stabilisation and the quality is miles better, so much so that I use it more than I ever used my 5 and the 3 plus before it as it's so much nicer to watch back

i went from a 4 to an 8 at Christmas. It was the first one that on paper did features better than the 4. The stabilisation is amazing - walking along filming my daughter it looks like its on a gimbal. The biggest plus points for me though are the lack of needing any other case, and even more - the 'workflow'.

The way that the media auto offloads to my phone, and also the GoPro plus cloud account makes it so much easier to be bothered to edit footage into short and snappy clips.  The GoPro app is smart enough to be able to automatically edit clips together, needs a little extra work but is not too tricky.

The GoPro plus seems a bit of a gimmick, but the camera will upload footage to the cloud when on wifi and charging, this means i can then pull down what i want onto the app / pc etc to work on . I do keep the footage on a local hard drive, but it can become painful transferring the files back and forth.

Other stuff such as being able to automatically level the horizon in clips in the app seem handy - although i haven't filmed any 'action' footage as yet.

Overall, i'm pleased with the upgrade, but its the ease of use and stabilisation that really make it better for me.

I’m toying with getting another after I tried a 7 black and sent it back due to flakey software.

Really like the stabilisation, although don’t like wearing a chest mount.

Anybody tried one of the newer ones simply fastened to a camelbak strap?

Or, is there such thing as a non full face helmet that will fit a go pro under the visor?

How good are they as stills cameras? I can't see myself shooting much video but I've been thinking about one as an easily pocketable, weatherproof, camera for riding/skiing/holidays.

Now they've got a screen this seems a lot more viable than it used to when it was 'point and hope'

I have had a chinese copy, a 4 silver, a 7 black and now the 8 black.

The 8 black is superb, so simple to use and tune.

The footage is unreal for a handheld cam.

Here is some footage from last week:

Select the highest res, if it's still a bit blocky, give it an hour it's only just uploaded.

Id love one of these if only i could edit and post a video within 10 mins with zero faff....

You can pretty much do that with the app, upload a couple of clips to your phone, tag some highlights, tweak some settings, add a sound track and export and share.

As Tom says, you can put together a decent Quik vid in minutes.

I'll have to google Quick Vid, admittedly I don't know much about all this.    But if its as you say, I'm in the market for a birthday toy 🙂

@nwmlarge your mate needs to turn using his feet and the board, not his shoulders 🙂

On another note I found hreat success using a go pro on multi photo every 30seconds mode, some real surprises in there 🙂

I went from a hero 4 silver to hero 7 black.
The stabilisation is ace. Although not great in low light I've found, but latest firmware update has helped with that issue.

If I want to take photos I just video stuff and take a snapshot in the editing software later. Or burst mode for action shots.

I've used time lapse mode to record a family party last summer and some of the images were brilliant natural photos that you just wouldn't normally get.

The way that the media auto offloads to my phone, and also the GoPro plus cloud account makes it so much easier to be bothered to edit footage into short and snappy clips. The GoPro app is smart enough to be able to automatically edit clips together, needs a little extra work but is not too tricky.

The newer software very very seriously sucks on apple devices to the point of being unusable. I'd love ANY way to bypass their apps and just be able to get the photo's direct to the iphone/ipad .. as it is you have to download into a hidden GoPro only directory then export every clip individually so that you can use any non-GoPro editing software.

New hero8 here, can't get the bloody thing to connect to android, so it's not just IOS!.

The newer software very very seriously sucks on apple devices to the point of being unusable. I’d love ANY way to bypass their apps and just be able to get the photo’s direct to the iphone/ipad .. as it is you have to download into a hidden GoPro only directory then export every clip individually so that you can use any non-GoPro editing software.

i am not finding that at all. I find the easiest processing is straight into the app on iPhone then make a quick auto edit. If I want to use iMovie then I just open that and select the GoPro media folder as I would any other media

edit - apologies,I take back the above!just tried it and I see what you mean. Was sure I did that the other day but it must have been on laptop.

What do you find makes it unusable?

Had the same issue with mine. It connected initially but then when I went to 'Control my GoPro' it came up with an error message as it couldn't reconnect.
I went through the process on the Gopro FAQ and it now connects every time.
Changed WIFI Network rating Provider from Google to None and changed to 2.4Ghz from 5 GHz.

I'll try that keando, cheers.

Are there any copies, like the SJ4000 that have decent stabilisation?

No. The Hero 8 is in a league of its own for this. It really does look like its on a gimbal. In fact sometimes you have to dial down the stabilization if you want a more handheld look to the footage.

Don't overlook the new interface as well which makes it much easier to customize the touch screen. That might not sound like much but when its crap weather or seconds count to get a shot its so much easier.

I also thing the new built in tabs are fine - mine don't wobble and if you hate them that much you can just go and buy an aftermarket frame anyway. But the non removable lens sucks and I bet that will be reversed on the next one.

Overall though its an awesome camera and nothing else on the market comes close despite the glitch ridden app (show me software that isn't rubbish?)

8 black owner here. Im having big problems with wind and background noise whilst using it in a protective case. I also havn't got my head around short videos yet. I think its great but its the first action cam I have owned. Also finding video editing a steep learning curve.

I set up my GoPro in the corner of the room for Christmas morning, nice little time lapse of the room steadily disappearing under wrapping paper.

flyingpotatoes

I’ve used time lapse mode to record a family party last summer and some of the images were brilliant natural photos that you just wouldn’t normally get.

I like that idea, I'll be trying that one out. It'll make good use of the gorilla pod I've bought too.

Im having big problems with wind and background noise whilst using it in a protective case.

Does the case cover the microphone? If it does then take a drill to it and cut a decent sized hole over the mic.

Then you need a windshield, at the cheap and nasty end a bit of fake fur from hobbycraft, cut into a ring shape to leave the holes in the case uncovered and stuck on with double sided foam pads. At the expensive end Rycote, Ursa etc sell them in packs of 100 for lavaliere / lapel mics (the idea is you rip them off and replace them as soon as they get mucky).

I love my Hero 7 but find it really buggy. I am constantly having to reset it after it hangs. Is it just mine?

Do you update it David?

Are there any copies, like the SJ4000 that have decent stabilisation?

Try the Akaso V50x . Very good stabilisation and easy to make good video with . The sound recording is pretty pants but I generally put a music track over my videos .Plenty of reviews out there but here's a link to one of them

The DJI Osmo is generally reckoned to be on a par with the Hero 8 for a bit less money but gets a replaceable lens cover which you don't get with the Hero 8 so if you scratch the lens , which is easily done , then your £400 camera is goosed .

Bear-uk The quality of your videos is nowhere near what it should be with a Hero 8 even if you are filming in 1080 . You Tube must be seriously crushing your quality or you are doing something wrong when uploading . I thought perhaps it was this site that downgraded the video but I followed the links look at your other videos on you tube and they are the same . I am not criticising the videos themselves just the quality of the end result which should be much higher .

I've got a 7 and 8.

We did a thread a while back. Generally 7 is still damn good and 8 improves some areas. Stabilisation on boost is too much to be honest and the new built in mount as lots of play.

They work best with lots of light. So record in 50fps to get more light into the camera. You can then get slowmo and normally speed derived from 50p, and the best stabilisation.

They're okay for stills. A specific too though. Always shoot in flat colour/protune and base afterwards.

Not had too many issues with bugs to be honest.

See earlier thread for pros/cons of the 8 over the 7.

"The DJI Osmo is generally reckoned to be on a par with the Hero 8 for a bit less money"

Where on earth did you hear that?   The Hero 6 perhaps.

Plenty of reviews out there , opinion seems pretty divided on which is best but you can get the DJI Osmo for well under £300 so quite a saving on the Hero 8 .

Tested a Hero 8 and the DJI Osmo action and went with the DJI, i felt the stabilisation was better though you do lose some of the wide angle that the Hero 8 has. Starts up/records quicker and I like the on screen menu etc, easy to add ND filters, there is very little between the 2. Pro's and cons to both just depends what you want.

I bought the wife a hero 8 black for Christmas. Does the job nicely, mainly photos while out on the water, but the images are much better than a phone camera, so she tends to take it with her in the fells if there's any chance of rain/water.

I was initially going to get the hero 7 black, but if you send in an old camera when you buy the hero 8 black, you get £100 knocked off RRP. So £280 for a brand new hero 8 black direct from GoPro. The camera I sent in was knackered and wouldn't turn on... I still got the discount!

Here it is - Clicky

Thanks for the microphone advice I will try it. Youtube downgrades the videos when it processes them before publication. Apparently they alter the quality later but I did notice a viewing control that lets you watch in a higher quality. Mine were taken at 60 fps in 1080p with stabilization turned on.
I did the above and got a broken camera for £5 localy and sent it off without any problems.

matthewlhome

edit – apologies,I take back the above!just tried it and I see what you mean. Was sure I did that the other day but it must have been on laptop.

What do you find makes it unusable?

Mainly just that... it's adding a pointless (to the user) step so they can suck you into the Pro account and try and strongly encourage you to use their software.

I might get a 20 min clip for example and only want 2x2 mins to combine with 1 min of phone video or photo's but I just want to transfer it once, delete 16 mins... but then I still have to go back into the GoPro App to delete the original.

In real life I usually have a whole bunch and I have to identify which ones and which parts..and use the fiddly interface (often being shaken about in an uplift)

It's all possible but its simply extra faff and steps that add nothing to the process.

I tried a Hero 8 on holiday and the stabilisation was great; but I ended up with a Hero 7 Black.

The stability is 95% there, the wobbly 8 mount was not the great leap forward I thought it was going to be, and the new 8 battery is not the same as the older models which is an irritation.

The trade in price of the 8 is currently awesome, but the Hero 7 second hand is still much cheaper.

I've used it snowboarding and it's tremendous.

I still use Garmin Virb software for editing on my desktop as I find it easier than the GoPro one!

I might get a 20 min clip for example and only want 2×2 mins to combine with 1 min of phone video or photo’s but I just want to transfer it once, delete 16 mins… but then I still have to go back into the GoPro App to delete the original.

Forgot, to add to that I might want to add/merge edits with some footage from my £20 SJCAM etc.
This is a fairly normal situation TBH.

Had a 5 black and upgraded to a 7 black, g/f has my old 5.

7 is a little better in image quality and has good stabilisation but crashes occasionally.

Won’t change up for a long time if batteries Don’t work on newer ones (the lack of replaceable lens cover On the 8 is a disaster).

I may still get shut of my 8 as the voice activation isn't as good either.

The new improved menus and 100mbps recording are the actual stand-outs.

I coulda/ shoulda have bought the hero8 when amazon was selling the 'holiday bundle' for £329 on Black Friday weekend, last year.

Or maybe this is the 'one' to usurp it's status?

so. Amazon price, and most other place £329

There are a few online sites that show up in a google search with a bundle for the same price - tripod/grip, head mount, memory card. Amazon want another £50 for that.

Are they scams? Device Monster was one, can't find the other right now. both seemed to have a similar layout and captcha on landing which makes me suspicious.

Anyone care to expand on the GP8 vs GP7 vs Dji Osmo. I can get a gp7 for 300 Francs or an Osmo for 280 or spend the extra 100 and get a gp 8. Is there another thread somewhere with a discussion or comparison?

My gopro 8 black was around £270 with the old camera exchange offer.

Is there another thread somewhere with a discussion or comparison?

Google - I found some comparisons on other sites. From memory 8 has integrated mount (so doesn't need a frame) but has non-removable screen (though you can buy protectors), new battery. Feature wise seems to be a bit of a debate as to wether the new stabilisation is actually much of an improvement (but it now works on all modes). Biggest plus side on the software seems to be the new favourites which make it quicker and easier to use.

Any other offers for the 8? I don't have an older model to upgrade from

@ramsey-neil

Bear-uk The quality of your videos is nowhere near what it should be with a Hero 8 even if you are filming in 1080 . You Tube must be seriously crushing your quality or you are doing something wrong when uploading .

If you right click on the video and open up the "stats for nerds" you'll see the codec is avc1. This is youtubes poorer codec of the 2 available, the other being vp9. It's typically selected for uploaders with small subscriber counts. Part of the reason for the quality is that it has a really long keyframe interval which is really unsuited for moving images. This in turncauses the foreground to turn to mush.

To force the vp9 codec to be used, I upload at 1440p.

Any other offers for the 8? I don’t have an older model to upgrade from

You don't need an old GoPro, you just need any old camera. So long as it cost more than £100 when new, they will block it in against a new one. It's a good deal.

If you are in the NW, the Bolton branch of Cash Converters has a boxed 8 Black for £244. It mings bad in there though....

The new mount is well convenient, but it is really wobbly. The new battery spec irritates when you have a few spares that can't now be used. The lack of replacement lens may be a deal breaker but I've never had to replace a lens on any action camera.