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Garmin challenges Hero GoPro with new VIBR action cam

Based upon my past experience with Garmin products :)banghead) it would have to be at least eleventy-seven times better than the GoPro before I'd even give it a look. Also, the addition of GPS info to video I take is so far down on my wants and needs list that it's not worth any additional cost. Yeah, mine is probably a minority view.
 
GoPro:)

My GoPro has been great, well established unit 2nd edition. I cannot complain one bit about its quality and rugged uses I've put it thru. I find any comp out there has one giant leap to catch up! My GoPro battery could be better, with added run time being considered, but it charges quite rapidly off my GSA battery as I ride:). Randy
 
I will be waiting until they get released with more sensor or file type info and there's sample footage online to research before passing judgment. If the lens distortion correction, Digital Stabilization and low light capability are good then it could be a great option.
16MP still photos with 3 focus length options for time lapses could also be very handy, especially if low light performance is good. I've been very happy with my Garmin products overall and their excellent customer support when needed, the design of the VIRB looks great and the fact that I can control the VIRB with my Garmin Montana GPS is very attractive, GPS location for my videos would be cool too and save me the work to GEO Tag videos using my GPX files.
No need for a remote to charge, some add-on to buy or mounting something else to my bike. Trying to find a little button on a helmet cam while riding is so 2009, as is recording hours and hours of worthless footage. The software already on my Montana for the VIRB is simple and looks promising to give quick access to recording video or shooting stills, I can have the VIRB button floating above the moving map. I like integration and things that do more than one thing when moto-traveling.

I currently have a Drift Innovations action cam and would never, ever buy another GoPro, even if it's the best marketed AC out there.
I'm looking forward to having other options, I see this more as a direct competitor for the Drift Ghost than the GoPro due to obvious design and feature differences. Competition is good, I hope Garmin raises the bar.

http://sites.garmin.com/virb/
 
I currently have a Drift Innovations action cam and would never, ever buy another GoPro, even if it's the best marketed AC out there.

Interesting. I have the original Contour HD (720p version), a Drift HD 170, and a GoPro 3 Black. The Contour works as a camera but I can not connect with USB. I can use USB to charge the battery and I can use a card reader to unload the video. What I cant do is use the Contour software to adjust various settings.

The Drift HD is OK providing there is ZERO vibration. At some amount of vibration the camera will either power itself down or, if recording, locks up such that I have to pull the battery to reset. When that happens I lose whatever video is on the memory card. This is not conducive to mounting the camera on the bike, at least not when on rocky dirt roads. I'd really like to figure out why that happens so I could fix it. This weekend the camera turned itself off about 2 minutes into a ride. It was the forward pointing camera. I'd like to have had more than a couple three clips to work with.

The big GoPro 3 black limitation, IMHO, is battery life. Especially when using it with the remote. I run the camera in the 2.7k mode at 30 fps using protune. That lets me crop a 1080p or 720p image out of the total without losing resolution. I'm going to edit and color correct the video anyway, so I'm not adding any extra work. I've never used any of the earlier GoPros.

All of the cameras are better than I need as I am not a very good videographer/editor. That doesn't stop me from playing. My goal is to someday create a non-boring 3 minute video. Someday.
 
I totally understand what you're saying. Like most things moto related it's subjective.

Don't take me wrong, the new GoPro offers resolution nobody else does, I see them widely used on channels like Discovery, and all the time on gigs I'm doing. Dozens of them on stage. Industry standard POV camera. For professionals with lots of support. Also most marketed POV camera to lots of people who don't need 4K.
Thing is, for me, I'm not willing to put in the time or have the kind of support/computing rig to really make great video I'm not being paid $$$$ for so that extra resolution and horrible form function, for me, on a bike is worthless.
The videos on my site are fun for me, and took me less time than my ADD allows, (about an hour) on a 11" MacBook Air or iMac using iMovie to produce. If I start shooting pro-res and want to do it right I'll need/want a Mac Pro or two or three, then I'll need some thunderbolt RAID hard drives, maybe a 4K monitor or two, 2 or 3 or 5 GoPro's, more mounts, tripods, an audio package, etc, etc. To really do it right before long I'll have a truck and a cameraman following me RTW with everyone online bagging on me. Then spend weeks and months editing, cropping, coloring etc to make a 60 minute video.
I can't afford that, or am not willing to use what I have to utilize the potential. My passion for creating content while riding is in still photography, or when doing video I want simple to use, simple to edit video that's good enough for a free gig online to share.

I hope the new Garmin lives up to at least some of their marketing and offers more than the Ghost, if the files look good being able to control it via GPS will seal the deal for me. :thumb
 
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My friends and I love the Garmin VIRB GPS, accelerometer and altimeter data

I will be installing my Garmin VIRB Elite on my 2000 R1100RT soon but experience with track Mustang, street Windstar, friend's dragster and friend's Bonneville car says data and Google/Bing map overlay with MP4 greatly enhances the viewing experience. Maybe we are performance data junkies but plain MP4s are just that -- plain. Its a bit more work to read the data from the camera and assemble a composite view but the improved viewing experience is worth it.
 
Gopros have gone big in the camera markets and I think this is the future! I might have to get my brother one of these for his new found addiction, riding, this way he can capture his adventures and share them with us in HD quality. Which GoPro's would you say are the best for a helmet mount?
 
I've been using a Sena 10C for a Bluetooth headset and camera for awhile now. If it dies...I'll replace it with another.

The video on the camera is more than sufficient for my needs. I like how it is not much larger overall than the Sena 20S BT headset. I don't have a big box stuck on the top of my head. Vibration isn't an issue. The only drawback I find is one that is common to a lot of motorcycle cameras. The battery doesn't last all day. To get around that, I plug a cellphone battery pack into it with a USB cord. That works like a charm.

This November, Sena is coming out with the Sena 10C EVO. It'll be worth looking into for me.

Chris
 
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