yakass

** This thread discusses the content article: War on Fish season 2: behind the scenes **

I have a GoPro HD camera, and it's definitely waterproof, no question about that. But... (isn't there always a 'but')... it does have its limitations.

1. It's wide angle only. That's it. Good for the close-up stuff, but forget filming anything in even your near (as opposed to close) vicinity.

2. Crap sound. To be expected, I guess, since the camera is sealed inside a waterproof case. If you wear it (using either a head or chest strap), yes, you'll pick up some audio, but stick it on the yak even a metre away, and forget it!

3. Low light - nyet! An overcast day results in pretty poor quality, let alone those magic twilight scenes. See what I mean with my first video attempt:



So just what can it do? Well it does take HD, and in a couple of modes, it also does 60fps, handy if you're into slow-mo.

It's neither expensive nor cheap at around ~$400, and I've yet to decide if it was a good buy or not.

So I for one will be very interested to see how the Sony stacks up.

Max, that 60fps is a feature I want partly because of what it means to slow-mo. A lot of the stuff I catch on cam often works better at reduced speeds, but having to make the viewer suffer through 15fps is a bother, and major editing limitation. A few cheap cams can do 60FPS at 640x480 (including Xacti I believe) and for youtube use, thats definitely the way to fly. But it makes the footage subpar for bigger screen viewing, especially screens capable of HD... but I'm sure you know this.

The 60FPS will also make for much better quality DVD footage, which is one of the most common requests I get. Not just thinking of youtube specification with season 2.

Cams like the Xacti are great for what they are and I highly recommend them for yak fishing videoing for anyone who wants an easy to use, relatively carefree cam that is great value for money, but they can't go where I want to go next.

I liked the track in that clip. Very cruisy!