New Toy Doubles as Excellent Dash Cam

Not sure if this is the right section but I thought for some this could be related gear. Feel free to move as required.

I bought a new GoPro HD2 camera. If you haven't seen these around you will start seeing them now. They are everywhere and the cost is reasonable. I bought one for a lot of reasons such as motorcycle video, I bought two picatinny mounts from Strikemark that should result in neat persepective video. Search strikemark and gopro for some good ideas (link to one). They are waterproof and the suction cup is good to 150 MPH.

Back to the topic. For the cost of a flat mount when this new "toy" is not in use it can be in service as a very good HD dash cam. Below are a few examples of the various Fields of View (FOV). It will shoot out to 170 Degrees FOV but that doesn't add any additional value in my mind. It charges off of an existing USB port I have. The Battery (Li) is good for 2.5 Hrs. There is one video showing how quick it is installed. With a 32GB SD card it will record 4 Hrs 45 Mins.

The audio is very good in the cabin and is more than sufficient. I have a friend who is considering getting one for fun and his job. He is a locksmith who does a lot of roadside calls and like many in customer service he has unfounded complaints lodged. I recommended one of these with a cheap wireless lapel mike. Two SD chips in rotation and some hard drive space he could keep a period of video for backup.

I've been testing it for about a week now and am really satisfied and wish I had had this mounted on my last family trip where a semi doing ~40MPH cut me off with barely enough room to avoid hitting him on the highway ( I ran off on the rumble strip at 70) I would surely have snipped that segment, posted it and email the link to the owner of the truck and maybe FHP!

Quick Connect Video

Dash Cam 1080P 127 Degree FOV Medium

Dash Cam 1080P 90 Degree FOV (Narrow)

Night Time Dash Cam 1080P 90 Deg FOV

Is there a way to connect the charger to my cigarette lighter?
I like the idea of easy video recording. It makes 'remembering' important things way easier.

Back when I was driving a truck I would loved to have something like that.

Nice. Brings lots of ideas to mind as a shooter, motorcycleist, and driver. I did a quick search and found a car adapter that looks like you could keep it running for a long time. I wonder what happens if you record for 5 hours, does it retain only the last 4 hours and 45 minutes or does it just stop at 4:45:00?

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Originally Posted by CanuckQue

Is there a way to connect the charger to my cigarette lighter?
I like the idea of easy video recording. It makes 'remembering' important things way easier.

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Google is your friend :smile: https://www.google.com/search?q=GoPr...8b538c23bb4e18

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CanuckQue

Is there a way to connect the charger to my cigarette lighter?
I like the idea of easy video recording. It makes 'remembering' important things way easier.

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they make usb chargers for the car

"belkin usb car charger" - Walmart.com

GoPro Official Website: The World's Most Versatile Camera

It does not loop the recording, so it stops when the card is full. Depending on your needs it also does time lapse starting at .5 seconds on up for various settings. Here is some test time lapse I took at my daughters school event the other night. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz7GCaLmYV4 May do a sunset or ice melting or the clouds next... thought since it is waterproof a time lapse of a Florida lightening storm may be cool on fish eye (170 deg).

The unit will run from the micro USB so as long as it has drive space it'll record. I am product development manager and I will say this is a well thought out, well engineered very modular unit.


Soon they will come out with a Wi-Fi back pack that will allow you to control multiple cams and stream the video to your smart phone.

The ideas are limits. On the gopro forum I was perusing before it came in I saw a guy made a bobber (1 foot neon cylinder) put the cam on it (you can flip the video in the menu) and threw it in the river while he canoed. Put one on the boat, you etc... When it comes to editing you can have underwater random video..

They have a mount where you can use two and sync them to make 3D video.

Not affiliated just found a lot of uses for them to include dash cam when not in use otherwise. I just format the card when full or copy the segment. I can carry it in my pocket.

I picked one up to supplement my audio recording services with basic video. It is small enough that I can put it on my 16' boom or a hanging square of plexiglass at center stage and it doesn't obscure anyones view, and the multiple fields of view are great for getting the whole stage in the shot. Picture quality is awesome, I always scrap the audio it takes. I'd like to get some first person views once I pick up my AR, but I'll have to buy the head mount since I got the motorsports kit.

I'm really excited for the wireless remote and bac-pac iPad app that are supposed to be released this summer. Rigging it is kind of a pain when it is 15' in the air.

Time-lapse might really be the way to go. It will collect a serious amount of information, and (when it matters) enough information to make a difference.

LEO:I stopped you for running the stop sign
Me: didn't do it
LEO: I see you have a "tell on me" camera
Me: yup
LEO: hit playback
Me: dangit
LEO: sign here and have a nice day

So don't run stop signs?

Coolest go pro video ever... YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

Opens my mind. Thanks for the post. It tells your speed also, but again, not a problem if you don't speed.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CanuckQue

Time-lapse might really be the way to go. It will collect a serious amount of information, and (when it matters) enough information to make a difference.

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In use on construction projects for many many years:
Contractor: I had fifty double barrel Ukes running when we dug up Noah's Ark and had to shut down for unforeseen site conditions.
Owner: Hit play button.
Contractor: Actually that was the day we had a wheelbarrow and seven lawyers on site. My bad.