Anyone Using a GoPro

[DaveM]

Well Amazon was very good and I got a refund for the GoPro that they could not deliver because it was damaged. The interesting thing is with the fluctuation with our exchange rates I did however lose R100 bucks.

 

[Rocky]

Yeah, you never seem to come out even internationally.

 

[CarlS]

Darn, i am sorry to hear that you do not get it.

 

[RECMECH]

Darn, i am sorry to hear that you do not get it.

We hope you meant "did" not get it

 

[CarlS]

Yep. my typing skills are lacking

 

[DaveM]

Well today out of the blue without even ordering it a GoPro 7 Hero Black arrived from Amazon. This is just like the one I ordered before and had to be sent back because it was damaged in transit and they could not deliver it. I got a full refund for that one and was just going to purchase one locally but never got around to doing that. To send this one back that I never ordered would cost around R1000 ZA so it is really not worth it.

From the time I first ordered this the GoPro 8 has come out so the price on the 7 has dropped drastically

So here is my very first video using the GoPro 7 Hero Black.


View: https://youtu.be/n_B8n6lW7go

 

[Rocky]

Puddy tat likes it

 

[DaveM]

Yes he always has his nose in everything

 

[Qship]

Looks good. When we going to see the bike ride vids now?

 

[DaveM]

Looks good. When we going to see the bike ride vids now?

I need to get the bike out the shed and up and running again.

 

[DaveM]

Today I tested out the GoPro 7 Hero Black as a dash-cam. I am very impressed with the windshield sticking pad and how easy it is to attache it and then remove it when you done. The video quality is outstanding and it has voice commands to start and stop as well as mark a point in the video.

The down side is the battery duration and one battery not really giving me enough time to do a return trip when I drop the wife off at work. You are able to plug it into an external power source but once it is in the case that attaches to various attachments you need to remove the USB door or cover. This is also an easy operation but once it is off then it is no longer water proof until you put it back on. So in the car this is not a problem but on the bike it could be.

I have two batteries right now but can only charge them in the camera itself, so I am now looking at a battery charging bay. There are two types that both take two batteries at a time and they the same price. The normal charge one also comes with a battery and it takes around two hours to charge. The quick charge one does not have a spare battery but apparently really charges the batteries fast (not sure on the actual time here yet). So I will be looking at getting one of these not sure what one yet either.

Anyway here is a short video of it being used as a dash-cam.


View: https://youtu.be/MAY6cmHqHcE

 

[Qship]

Sure takes nice video.

 

[Greyfell]

I have to agree, there is something "a step better" about the GoPro.

 

[DaveM]

I also got the accessory pack so I have attachments for just about everything. If you purchase the GoPro accessories locally they are expensive. The battery charger bay is double the cost here compared to if I get it fro the GoPro store.

 

[DaveM]

I have been reading up on the battery life and how to extend it. It seems the more features you have enabled the shorter it is. So I have been through all the settings and tuned it the way they suggested. I was possibly not even getting 40 minutes the way I had it setup. This is what the article had to say on it.

https://clicklikethis.com/how-long-does-a-gopro-battery-last/
The battery in the Hero7 Black is removable. This means that you can bring extra batteries and charge your dead batteries while you're shooting with fresh ones.

The battery in both the Silver and While are built in. This seriously limits shooting time on each adventure.

• GoPro Hero7 Black: 45 – 90 minutes
• GoPro Hero7 Silver: 106 – 146 minutes
• GoPro Hero7 White: 107 – 146 minutes

As you might expect, shooting at high resolution, high frame rates will consume your energy faster. Here's an overview of how the resolution affects battery life in the Hero7 Black.

• 4K60: 45 minutes
• 2.7K120: 30-45 minutes
• 1080p60: 85-90 minutes
• 720p240: 85-90 minutes

 

[CarlS]

Good videos and I love the puddy tat!

 

[DaveM]

Well after tweaking the setting and turning off a few options that I really won't be using much this has increases the battery recording time to almost double to what I had before. I have not times it but looking at the battery usage indicator I get the impression I should get around an hour per battery.

Having a 64GB SD card inserted gives me around 2 hours recording space and having a spare battery this would match them up to be about the same.

 

[DaveM]

Last night was the first time I have used the camera at night so I was really looking forward to seeing how it reacted to this. I was really impressed at the quality of the video considering there was also a light rain at the time.


View: https://youtu.be/lSgV8xH_XfM

 

[Rocky]

If you watch any of the TV car repair and restorations shows, as well as bikes racing, you will notice they often use these cameras and use the footage as part of the broadcast.
That should tell you something about the faith they have in the quality of the units.

 

[CarlS]

It did a really good job at night.