Attention all action sport Bit-Techers I'm looking for comments and recommendations on sports/action cameras, seems a crap name but thats what they appear to be called - feel free to correct me. I've signed up for Tough Mudder next year and I'm looking to record the event for posterity and I'm considering using a video camera so I'm looking for something suitable which I can wear, my choices so far are:- First instinct was to look at the Go Pro range, I figure that it seems to be what you see the most of on TV for action shots and the military use them so they should be tough and reliable. Next on the list is the Drift Ghost, neater & cheaper than the Go Pro and already has a screen attached. Last of all is the Garmin Virb, I think this was the one that Tough Mudder used to endorse (or had a sponsorship deal with) but don't any more. All of the above have good and bad reviews, what surprised me the most was the opinions on Amazon saying that the current batch of Go Pro's are very poor compared to the previous models. I'm doing the event with my nephew who is into hardcore MBR and he has a Go Pro black and he says the Drift Ghost is the one he wished he had bought instead. So to all you camera users out there please share your experiences and recommendations with me, good and bad. For example, if I'm wearing a camera do I go head mount, helmet mount, chest/shoulder harness, etc? if I have a separate microphone will it be destroyed if immersed in water? How robust are the camera's? How secure are the mounts (this one is especially important as one of the events involve a 30ft drop into a big muddy puddle)? How easy are the cameras to use in a real world environment? I already know that the remote for the Drift Ghost isn't waterproof, is there anything else I need to know that the adverts don't tell me?
We used a cheap thing called a "liquid edge" on our first tough mudder and got literally nothing worth using because the mount kept getting steamed up. I recently went white water rafting and before that to Budapest on a 21st birthday weekend with a go pro and got amazing footage. I would say that with tough mudder there are two main concerns, mounting and cleaning the lens. Mounting: Head - it has to be on your head otherwise you'll not get anything usable. That means you'll need a decent head strap/hat mount but I would say try and mod it with an extra strap otherwise its not going to stay on very well. I saw lots of people that were getting annoyed by theirs on their head. I did see one guy just wearing a helmet with it mounted on which I thought wasn't a bad idea. My brother ran a 5k run with me the week before my TM and used his head mount, the footage was excellent and not shakey. You'd be surprised at how stable your head is when you run. I would also consider bringing an extending pole if you don't mind carrying it. This one we got Dean and its brilliant, but you would risk destroying it on a TM. Most of the footage on the video below was taken on this, especially the selfie footage. Clean lens: I've not had it personally but I saw lots of Go Pro's that had lots of mud on them last week. I would suggest carrying a bottle of water to keep giving it a quick spray if you see it covered as when the lens is muddy you'll be muddy too so won't be able to wipe it. Personally I wouldn't try using a mic, there is one on the go pro and if you shout/raise your voice you'll hear it through the casing but you're asking for trouble trying to get much more than that. Things not important: screen on camera. There is an iPhone/android app that means if you really want you can test the angle before you start, but you learn how to get the angle right after a few tries anyway. You'll just run out of battery if you have a screen running. Other tips, I would try filming on some training runs, as you'll learn the angle that the camera needs to be at, and how it feels when its in the right spot. Personally having now used a Go Pro 3+ (black and white) I wouldn't ever go anywhere else. On a separate note: For your training runs make sure you do lots of trail running, if you can hit the gym you don't really need any strength training its just the endurance of running through sticky mud that really hurts your adductor muscles. I've done two of these now and I ran a lot more this time and found it far easier. Reference for info: (Thats me in the background) 3.45 for the pool party. 4:50 for the wave pool, 7:00 for the beer bike.
Personally, I'd go with a GoPro. I have used one a number of times while out mountain biking (and 4x4ing) and it's basically amazing. Helmet mount/chest mount/roll bar mount is very robust, the quality of the footage is awesome, and it's very easy to use. I've only ever used a Hero 2 and a Hero 3 Black Edition, but both are ace. Get yourself an add-on battery if you go for one though, as I found that the in-built battery doesn't last as long as you'd like.
The GoPro, if not for the actual camera itself, get it for the sheer number of adapters you get with it. Do get a add-on battery though, as jinq-sea has said, it doesn't last as long as you'd like.
I'd get it from halfords and get the free suction mount and skeleton mount. The 30 extra gets you the skeleton mount which i think would be really handy having used it for a while.
Having had a GoPro 3 Black for a while now, and having abused it a good bit - I'd go with a GoPro too. I've had mine blown off a surfboard and through beach sand, had snakes strike at it and hit it (repeatedly - shoot we did), dropped it, had Cape Fur seals inspect it closely, dragged it through dune sand, and recorded live band shows (and my wedding) with it. The casing is still good. Just know that the mic is crap. but for Tough Mudder, I don't think the mic is priority...
Thank you to all who responded, at the current prices I'm going with the GoPro, especially since they've fixed the focusing issues. Roll on Tough Mudder next year!
Let me know if you need any training tips etc. It's a good laugh is Tough Mudder. Where are you based? Next time I'm considering running it twice. Either Sat/Sunday or twice in a day.
Here is one not to get: Sony HDR AS15. My mate has one and I borrow it from time to time (no idea why, tbh) - the lens fogs up internally and the internal mic is just dreadful
I'm in Glasgow but thanks for the offer. The TM website has lots of tips but I'm still in reasonable shape from my rugby days, I just need to work on some obstacle specific skills and get my endurance back so plenty of steep hill sprints, grip strength work and get my shoulders ready for the monkey swing. Throw in a few brisk cold water showers per week and we'll see how we do.
just incase you hadn't bought this yet I recommend this "clone" camera https://joovuu.com/gb/home/98-sj4000-camera.html I have one and its performance is great and you could have several of them for the same price as a go pro and it is able to use any accessories designed for go pros and comes with a huge box of its own accessories (or at least mine did) Check out the youtube videos, for its price the quality is fantastic, there are also other options on that website but I only have this camera so cannot give my view on the others.
GoPro vote from me too Bit late bit I've had them since the GoPro Hero 2 and I've never had a bad thing to say about any of them... only reason I sold my Hero 3+ Black was due to lack of use these days. You'll need to come back to this thread and update when you have footage
