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GoPro Helmet Hero Wide
The GoPro Hero Wide does its job as a helmet cam better than anything else out there.
The crisp, wide-angle footage it produces is unmatched, in my opinion. I guess that's why I had to try this thing after seeing it at Interbike 2008.
What It Has: The GoPro is a very small, lightweight, self-contained unit totally enclosed in a shock-proof, water-tight clear container. There are no wires and it dumps its 512 x 384, 30 fps .AVI files onto a standard SD Memory Card (up to 2GB) for about an hour of quality video. The unit runs on two AAA batteries (bring extra). Downloads are via standard USB cable, or just pop out the SD card and take it with you. The GoPro is also a 5 megapixel wide-angle digital still camera with all sorts of cool auto shutter and sequence shot modes in standard JPEG format.
How It Compares: First off, the wide-angle feature lets in more light and lets you see more of the trail and surrounding terrain. Trees and rocks whiz by the wide-angle periphery, offering a more real sense of the moment. Although the actual video resolution is slightly less than other cams, the crispness and clarity actually appear better on the GoPro. And although the unit itself is not as ergonomically sleek as some of its competitors, its every bit as easy to use, and is, in fact, more versatile. The still shot features allow you to integrate panoramic scenery shots and post-ride group shots into the video. The viewfinder lets you mount the cam at the proper angle right away. Without this viewfinder, you may have to ride the trail twice before you have your shot set up in the right direction. The wide-angle is perhaps a bit more forgiving on this last point. The unit even electronically flips your video file if you need to do an upside-down mount for more stability on different parts of the bike such as the seat post.
The Best Parts: There are two things which set the GoPro apart. The first is the wide variety of very solid and secure mounting options for the helmet, handlebars, seat post and chest and arm straps. You set up your shot thru the viewfinder, clamp it down and forget about it. The second, and most important thing, however, is simply the fact that the video quality from this cam is better than anything else (unless you want to mount your Large DV Camcorder to your top and bound down the trail like some goofy bobble-head, which I have been known to do). With other cams, if I ride out of a heavily wooded area into an open clearing, the video image suddenly washes out because it cannot handle the light change. This is not the case with the GoPro. Also, I do a lot of riding in heavily wooded areas which tend to be darker, and I find that the GoPro produces better video than other cams in these lower light situations.
Below is a sample clip from the GoPro Hero Wide*
*Note: Although the GoPro Hero Wide produces higher quality AVI files, these clips were converted to compressed MPEG2 format for easy uploading to YouTube.
