Car Parts Reviews and Prices

Style: Motorsports

227 of 229 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of five stars Better than the Original HD, November 10, 2011
By Y. Yamamoto See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) This review is from: GoPro HD HERO2: Outdoor Edition (New Model) (Electronics) fast Summary:
Hero2 is obviously better than the original HD Hero in many regions. The price difference is justifiable though $300 was bit too much for my wallet. I’m still happy with the buy. If you’re picking between Original HD Hero and Hero2, I could get Hero2 for better low light performance. I could not use this camera for photos like point and shoot camera unless there’s lots of light and steady mount to take time lapse photos.

Pros Over the Original HD Hero:
Low light. Particularly at 60fps in low light, I see big difference.
Video is sharper. I’m not sure about 2X though.
Auto White balance is much better in low light.
The Running LED light on the back side. I don’t care about the top and bottom ones.
Motion is clearer and less motion blur caused by faster shutter speed I think.
Auto contact is more correct.
Improved dynamic range. I see good detail in shadow regions.
Config LCD is simpler to use.
120fps!
I can use the same protecting cases and mounts on Hero2.
And other neat features like 10fps photos and more.

Pros Over Other Action Cameras like Contour HD series, Tachyon HD series, Bullet HD series, Midland XTC series, and Oregon Scientific ATC 9K
Most action cameras use microSD card which is bit more costly and easy to lose. GoPro sticks with Full SD card. That’s great!
There are other action cameras that are on par with the original HD, but this Hero2 is one step ahead of other competitors. There aren’t better action cameras by video quality than Hero2 as of 11/10/2011.
As far as I have seen videos of other merchandise, Hero2 handles the best in high contrast scene and low light.
Rolling shutter issue looks controlled in comparison to other cameras.

Temporary Cons (Gopro says a new firmware will fix the following items):
No support for 127 and 90 FOV at 720P though that was particular.
3D isn’t supported still.

Cons:
Flimsy battery cover.
Built quality is good, but for $300, they can do better IMO.
No in camera contact modifications like Contour HD.
Config LCD is better than the original, but it’s still hard to change.
No underwater lens or case choice that fixes the underwater blur issue directly from Gopro. There are third party alternatives available, but they aren’t perfect. They’re either too big or have vignetting at 170. If GoPro is putting underwater footage on their boxes and the promo videos, they should supply many kind of underwater solution.
120fps is great, but you need lots of light. Well I guess we knew that.
As we know, this isn’t an indoor camera. Though video is pretty good indoor, photos are pretty noisy and blurry caused by use of slow shutter speed. For time lapse movies, slow shutter and motion blur are welcome though.
Audio is still the same OK quality as the Original HD Hero. There’s a stereo mic jack, but to use it, we have to purchase another special case that has a opening on the side.
Price. There aren’t other action/wearable cameras better than Gopro HD Hero2 now, so the price may be warranted. But, when I look at Panasonic TS3 at $260 with metal body, GPS, and the other features, huh. This is a pretty costly plastic camera that has only two buttons from China. I’m sure the profit margin on this camera is huge!

Wish list:
Standard 1/4″ 20tpi thread on the body could be nice.
Different color bodies. It isn’t a big deal, but I could like it in black or camu for hunting and fishing.
Electric or Software Image Stabilization: I see other cheaper video cameras have the feature. Any action cameras without it disparately need image stabilized, so viewers don’t get motion illness.
A small fitted LCD for liveview and playback could be nice. The LCD Backpac makes the camera too thick.
Could like to know how to shoot and edit a video like the Hero2 promotional video!

Non scientific Test:
I compared the original GoPro HD Hero@1080P/127 and Hero2@1080P/170 against Nikon D7000@1080P with 8mm Fisheye lens@F3.5 in low light condition. Original GoPro couldn’t catch most of the low light scene. GoPro Hero2 got it good, but it was bit noisier than D7000. Presuming D7000 has jerky motion at 24fps, in general I liked Hero2′s color rendition better than D7000.

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69 of 72 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of five stars Downgraded from five stars after using it for a month., November 1, 2011
By Richard C. Drew “Anaal Nathra/Uthe vas Bethod. (Oak Lawn, IL USA) See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME) () This review is from: GoPro HD HERO2: Outdoor Edition (New Model) (Electronics) I have had to change my opinion on the camera. The original review is more on down.

Update: 12 8 2011 there is a firmware upgrade available! It added missing features but reset all custom settings.

Update: 1 25 2012 Firmware upgrade messed up the video and still photo quality. Everything now has a tint, from cyan to magenta. Obvious in low light and on snow. Gopro states the new variant of the firmware corrects this problem (.58) but it doesn’t. It corrected the corrupted video on low battery problem, and the problem when the complete image had a strong cyan or magenta tint (looked like a colored film was in front of the lens.) But there is now an nearly rainbow color cast to everything. Not happy. Downgrading the review from five stars to 1. It is taking 3 4 BUSINESS days for tech support to answer back. Then I have to answer. And so on. A couple of messages nearly two weeks. Lousy support. What is worse, they do not read the message. I in depth the problem with the camera, and the fact that I had .58 of the update. The reply? I needed .58 of the update to fix the problem. I waited four days for THAT?!? To be honest, now I could gladly return the thing.

Update: 02 01 2012 Still NO answer from what Gopro jokingly calls “tech support.” Their web site brags “24 48 hours” for a tech support answer (they do not offer phone support.) 1st email to them on Jan 20th. I have had one answer in that time and all more emails to them have been totally ignored. They also ignore tech support or help requests on their Facebook page. Ask for help in their forums? They tell you to email them.

Underwater scam: The specifications have an remarkable “Waterproof to 197 feet.” Except the thing can not really shoot any usable underwater footage. How many snorkelers and SCUBA divers have bought this thing, only to learn that EVERY video and photo are totally out of focus? The curved lens cover acts with the water to create a second lens this shifts everything out of concentrate by about five feet! Since the camera has no manual concentrate, you are stuck. So all your underwater photos and videos will be nothing but blurs. Doubt that? Just check Youtube. Gopro will be offering an optional housing with a flat port to correct this problem and will charge another $75 or so for it! So you will be paying extra for a feature they brag is included underwater use. Of course you may be able to shell out $55 $100 for 2nd party changed housings or substitute lenses.

Buggy firmware upgrades: In their rush to get this to market by the 2011 Christmas season, Gopro released the camera missing many key features bud didn’t talk about this anywhere. When users started finding that features missed, Gopro declared that they could fix this in the next firmware update. What else may be projected from a company that brags the housing may be used underwater, but not really work underwater. The firmware that “fixed” the missing features presented some number of bugs. Video shot towares the end of the battery charge could be corrupted. Many videos could shoot in only one color cyan or magenta.

So the NEXT firmware update came out. It corrected those problems, but presented more bugs. All low light footage now has a observable color cast. Magenta on the outer quadrants, cyan in the center. The color cast is observable in bright light also, but not as evident. It is glaringly evident on snow. This is in all modes, all resolutions.

Unfortunately is appears that Gopro puts sales and profits WAY ahead of buyer support. They rush incomplete and buggy merchandise to market, can not seem to get it right in future updates, ignore buyer complaints and use false and misleading plans to suck in customers. To be totally honest, I’d return mine if I could I am that ticked off at Gopro lack of support and false claims.

If the problems are fixed and support improves, I will rate the camera higher but for now, no way. Just check the web you will find many complaints for “color shift” “yellow tint” “yellow tinge” “cyan tint” and the like. It is worse in lower light and lower light is supposed to be much improved over the last model.


Previous review

If you have used the original Hero, this updated variant will be a real treat. The menu is so much easier to navigate no more obtuse codes to decipher. You may be able to use the camera without ever looking at the user manual. Other enhancements include LED’s on top and bottom (as well as the front,) a more informative display, higher resolution for still pictures this of course will include time lapse, and a ten photo burst mode (the camera takes some times to store these out.)

If you are new to the Hero line, this beats the pants of any competitor. The vast array of mounting alternatives, both from GoPro and 3rd party vendors make mounting this puppy anywhere a breeze. The fact that it uses SD cards (class four or above) keeps the cost down. And the tons of alternatives make this a no brainer. There is a Streaming video back being released shortly yes streaming video! you may be able to add extra power using the USP port and any generic power supply (Aluratek, Belkin, or Tekkeon) for those really long shoots. The cheap substitute housing and parts are another big plus. I have seen this thing survive being tossed from a go cart doing 50mph (It needed a new housing, but the camera has been undamaged) and being knocked off a ski helmet and tumbling down a rocky mountain face.

The slo mo and new super slo mo are really cool watch those trick jumps and stunts in all their glory. You may be able to generally speed them up in most video editing software! When I 1st saw this unit online I thought it looked a little weird and was bigger than it really way. Once I really held one in my hands, I has been shocked by it is tiny size, negligible weight and range or mounting alternatives.

For the most bang for the buck, the motorsports variant is your best deal you may be able to buy the vented helmet mount for about 1/2 the price of the suction cup mount that is the major difference. That suction cup is a must have for vehicle shooting (unless you want to permanently stick a mount to your dash.)

In case you are not sure, it is the same camera in all three Hero sets (the original Hero) and it is the same Hero2 camera in all Hero2 sets. The differences are the included mounting accessories.

Special talk about goes to the anti shake/anti vibration the GoPro has. It is amazing. It cancels out 99 of the vibration from motor vehicles and rough ski runs! The camera is so light, many model helicopter flyer’s use it mounted to the chassis.

For many extra fun, you may be able to make a mechanical kitchen timer rotating base for 360 degree time lapse movies. The camera, as well as mount and housing, is light enough to make this work. Check out YouTube for samples and how to videos. One last tip the packaging has a base that the camera comes attached to. This base is great for clamping to surfaces, for use as a extra stable base, or for screwing to an outdoor surface where you will use the camera many. I will attach it to the starting house for our ski races so I can do many motion catch from the same spot and edit them together.

One last observation on the still photo quality it is using the video sensor, so do not expect it to be as clear or crisp as en equivalent resolution camera. The photos show many of compression artifacting and sound.

Update: 11 6 11 I have shot over a dozen time lapse indoors and out with the Hero2, both at max quality and lowest (wide angle.) The results were about the same. Decent, but not great. Indoor shots with varying light conditions tend to “blow out” brights are white with no detail and darks are missing detail. Outdoors is decent, in bright light. For short time lapse shots, you are better off with video and speeding it up in a video editor. I shot an estimated four hour bodybuilding show nearly 8000 exposures. In every shot, The stage was too black and the bodybuilders blow out and missing detail. I am going to attempt and batch change them in Photoshop.

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42 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of five stars WOW, there’s no competition for the best helmet cam, October 31, 2011
By Mike C. (tulsa, ok United States) See all my reviews This review is from: GoPro HD HERO2: Motorsports Edition (New Model) (Camera) The last hdhero was the consensus best helmet cam on the market and now with the hdhero2 there’s totally no doubt which one is best. They are just the imporvements that are relevant to me:

1. The screen is MUCH easier to navigate through and gives you many more information while filming than the last hdhero. Resolution, large angle/medium large angle, battery life, left over recording time on sd card, mode, and record time are all on the screen simultaneously.

2. The beeping is louder. With the last gopro if you had the waterproof housing on it was hard to hear. Not anymore.

3.New super slow mo choice. You may be able to now shoot at standard meaning at 120 frames a second which allows you to play back at very slow mo. On the last go pro the maximum was 60 frames per second. So you may be able to now go twice as slow.

4. If I am not mistaken this motorsports editin comes with more mounting hardware than the original hdhero.

Although this is advertised as having a lens that is 2x clearer than the original hdhero I really can not tell a difference. The hdhero had great 1080p quality, not much to enhance on there.

There was not much to enhance on over the last gopro and now there is less. I dont have idea what they’re going to do for the hero3. 120 frames per second in 720p I guess. GPS speedometer could be cool.

Anyway, if you may be able to pay for this, get this. Do not look at the other helmet cams. If you can not pay for this then get the last hdhero as it’s now on sale and is better than any of the other alternatives. The only helmet cam that offers something that hdheros do not is the contour hd with gps.

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