Video Recording your bush walks.

[John Sheridan]

Just wondering if you do this and what gear you use, I was wanting to do this if the camera is pretty light and also it must be in decent quality HD.

I have seen those clip on camera you can clip on to hats or helmets, I don't think a normal camera will be much good, only for static vids when your stoped at your destination i would think and to take snaps once there.

My other concern is battery life, would like a camera that does not chew though batterys ina few hours as some of the bush walks I want to take have 5 hours of so tracks and I might be out there for a week at least.


Cheers.

[ninjapuppet]

last year, I bought both the GoPro Hero 1080 HD vs Contour 1080 HD and compared them here: http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=6507&p=79547#p79547

The contour won by a mile in terms of ease of use, video quality and sound quality. With the batteries, dont be fooled and go buying the real contour batteries for $30. they're basically the rebranded nokia phone batteries!!!
Check on ebay and you can get the BL-5C for $4 to your door. get 5 of them for $20 bucks and you're set mate. With goPro, aftermarket batteries die too early while original ones cost too much.
changing batteries on a countour is way more simple than a gopro.

A friend had another brand which costed $300. had decent video quality but wayyy bulkier than gopro/contour. it had a nifty remote control watch where you could start/stop recording via the buttons on the watch.

However, keep in mind that latest offerings may be different as both of these have now been upgraded.

[ULWalkingPhil]

What about the GoPro HD Hero2 Outdoor Edition: Just been reading up online, looks pretty good. Great Specs, Love the wide angle lens on it.
Might check them out while I'm at Brisbane next week.

[stepbystep]

I have used various cameras while walking and have settled on a GH1 DSLR. I've used GoPro's and still do, but they lack any operational flexibility. The GH1 allows me to take quality stills and high quality 1080P HD video.

The GoPro is great for helmetcam or clamping to bikes/surfboards etc. I clamped one to a helicopter skidarm last week, fantastic! With waterproof housing and LCD back a very cool unit. The Hero2 is an improvement in picture quality but has the same limitations as the Hero. They take a reasonable time lapse and sit nicely on mini tripods.

But for bushwalking purposes when presumably you have more time to play and wish to capture detail and texture as well as landscape scenes the GoPro doesn't cut it. There are smaller HD video cameras that have zoom and manual focus features but in general fall short on stills quality, hence the GH1. I can't justify carrying 2 bulky cameras.

DSLR's with good quality video are the Canon 5d or 7d, the Panasonic GH1 and GH2. The main advantages lie in the ability to play with ISO, focus, zoom and interchangable lenses and filters.

Plenty of happy snappers like the Panasonic FT3 take reasonable quality video but have limitations, such as poor zoom control, fixed lens and auto focus.

However I'd like one of these http://www.red.com/store/epic/product/epic-m along with half a dozen lenses and someone to carry it all for me

[ULWalkingPhil]

My old job was a Photographer for a magazine, done some freelance: I've got the Canon Digital Cameras with interchangable lenses etc. It's great to have all the bells and whistles etc. My favourite is Macro lenses and dedicated Macro flashes, taken some great Macro images of spiders over the years. Used to carry all this gear with me on my hikes.

In the past year, I've hardly touched my Pro camera outfit, choosing to carry a cheap lightweight Canon point and shoot at only 150gram including battery. I don't bother with manual mode, choosing to just point and shoot. It's worked well for me over the past year.

I'm looking at updating it with something I can use to video as well as images. Don't want anything with all the bells and whistles on it. Just want something I can turn on and film. I think the GoPro has more than enough features for me, and I love the wide angle lens at 170 degrees angle, that will give a different perspective in the video's.

I'm just past the day's of mucking about with settings on a camera, after doing this for so many years, I'm over it. For this reason I think these GoPro's are ideal for me. I like to play around with the images when I arrive back home and not out in the field as such.

Also want something I can attach to my hiking pole.

[stepbystep]

Horses for courses Phillip, comes down to quality and flexibility for me. You'll be happy with the Hero2. My advice is to get the LCD back if you want to be able to frame a shot moderately accurately.

[Earthling]

Ive got a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS3 which Ive found great for my first waterproof camera. Takes HD and zooms to 5x (I think...). However, not so good in low light (focus and pixalated). Extra batteries weigh little.
Im wanting a more dedicated waterproof video and currently on the hunt, however my limited research has found little that has zoom, HD and lightweight. Will be interesting to see what else this thread comes up with.

[ULWalkingPhil]

The more I read on the GoPro HD Hero2 Outdoor Edition the more I like.

I might buy one this weekend. I'm going to check them out in person, One thing I have not been able to find out is the weight. Not one site has the weight listed.

[frenchy_84]

I have a GoPro Hero 2 and its got its limitations, battery life is poor and the lens is really wide angle, with major distortions. We even did some experimental photogrammetry with them and the fisheye distortions in the lens are huge. For action sports like rafting, snowboarding they are good but wouldnt bother for bushwalking. Even doing something like snowboarding takes alot of time editing the video to get it to something not so boring and worth watching bushwalking would be far worse.

[PiniPowPow]

I've been using my GoPro HD for the past year and have found it to be an awesome and versatile little camera. I have used it for skiing, hiking, snorkelling and as a general video camera if your subjects are close enough. I used it for some hiking in Italy. I have also used it for stills and it great for time-lapse stuff.

Negatives are that you can end up with a heap of footage that takes time to edit, the wide angle has its limitations, it can be awkward to have handy and it can be really overexposed in the midday sun.

Latest vid skiing in Japan showing some time-lapse and alternate angles (and some dance floor) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAqVPKZAGxo

If your really keen, more at http://www.youtube.com/user/PiniPowPow

[PiniPowPow]

...should add that most good cameras these days have great HD video functionality. My Canon 60D takes some great video. However, battery life and capacity are greatly reduced.

[ULWalkingPhil]

Looks like you had a lot of fun PiniPowPow, thanks for the link to your videos shot with the GoPro. Love the video called "That Day at Rusutsu" with the side ways footage.

I'm aware most SLR's now come with HD video built-in. There just to bulky and heavy for me to take hiking. I've passed those days of carting 5kg of camera gear with me. My body is not like how it was in my 20's.

[icemancometh]

IF you're doing this for happy snaps and for your own memories great but I've shot and seen climbing/running/skiing/flying homemade/POV cams and most are boring to everyone but yourself. There's often not a lot of action or perspective and there is the fish eye effect too plus there's not much (interesting) audio

So while it looks great in flashes in adventure films I would only bother if you were shooting it for memories' sake. Battery life is definitely an issue with most dedicated helmet cams requiring a power source to charge the Li battery that comes standard. Spares are pretty expensive too. Then it comes to all the time spent trying to shoot a good film when you should just be enjoying yourself!

Anyway, have fun if you do decide to get one to play with.

Edit: without a helmet, the weight of the camera will feel weird on your head in terms of COM/balance and watch out for that tree, George!

[Explorer_Sam]

@Phillipsart, the GoPro HD Hero2 Outdoor Edition looks fantastic! After researching, I found that it weighs 3.3 oz.

[ULWalkingPhil]

I purchased the GoPo HD Hero 2 camera last week and been putting it through its paces for the past week. Yesterday I returned from overnight hike in the Gold Coast Hinterland. I've not had a chance to view the footages on a computer or TV thus far, I've saved them onto my iPad and from what I see on the iPad the footage are sharp with good colours. Yesterday I done 12 creek crossings with fast flowing waters, camped on the banks of a creek in my hammock. Big climb back to vehicle after the 12 crossings. Will post a video report if anyone is interested when I return back home.

[ULWalkingPhil]

Taken with my GoPro in photo mode

[photohiker]

Jeepers Phillip, your pack has shrunk!

Considering the GoPro has no viewfinder or review screen, that's not bad at all. What do you do, just click and hope? Does it focus, or is it one of those 'everything is in focus' cameras?

Also, where did you get your Patagonia shirt? I'm on to my last two MD lightweight poly SPF50 shirts and they don't make them any more.

[ULWalkingPhil]

Jeepers Phillip, your pack has shrunk!

Considering the GoPro has no viewfinder or review screen, that's not bad at all. What do you do, just click and hope? Does it focus, or is it one of those 'everything is in focus' cameras?

Also, where did you get your Patagonia shirt? I'm on to my last two MD lightweight poly SPF50 shirts and they don't make them any more.

Yes, I've been changing my gear to lightweight gear of late. Happy with all but the pack is not comfortable for me. I think it's to short for my back. And I have sore shoulders and upper back pain today, never had that with my Aarn pack.
Im thinking about purchasing a new Aarn pack, the load limo I have is to big for me now.

The GoPro has such a huge view of angle it's hard to not be in the frame, plus I found I could see reflection of myself in the lens. I'm not sure how it focuses.

The Patagonia Capilene I purchased from Paddy Pallin

[whynotwalk]

DSLR's with good quality video are the Canon 5d or 7d, the Panasonic GH1 and GH2.

Agreed Dan - and would add the Canon 550d, as used for this short video while walking in NZ.

http://youtu.be/VNxsPKsMgQI

cheers

Peter

[ULWalkingPhil]

I'm having some fun with my GoPro camera. So far I've taken it with me to the gold coast hinterland and climbing up mt Walsh.

The quality is great. Sound not so great, particularly with the camera inside its waterproof housing. There is a supplied door in the kit that is not sealed that can be used to pick up sound. To overcome this, I've purchased a pocket digital sound recorder from dick smith on sale for half price, and dub the sound onto video using my video editing software. I have not tried the sound recorder thus far, but have a friend that does this all the time. Works great with improved sound quality. He also owns a GoPro.

Yesterday i purchased a flat lens upgrade for my GoPro called a Blurfix. I can now attach a 55mm screw on filter. And the flat lens upgrade improves the quality of underwater footage and images.

[tasadam]

I found a cool video here, thought I'd share...
http://intelligenttravel.nationalgeogra ... en+canales

[whynotwalk]

That's brilliant Adam. Ben Canales, the photographer, also has a useful Vimeo clip on how to do still photographs of the night sky. http://vimeo.com/16833554

Very good for beginners like me

cheers

Peter