LPmultimedia will soon be uploading videos, pictures, news, results, and more from the September 6-7 2008 Red Wing Hill Climb races. We have a ton of footage to go through and edit and we’ll post the very best. Keep checking back in this week because we have some great content to post. Including this:
Email all your friends and tell them to check out LPmultimedia this week because we have some great content coming up soon! Subscribe to my RSS Feed to get automatic updates and find out when new stuff is uploaded.
With the popularity of YouTube and other video sharing sites, people want to share their riding experiences with others. The GoPro Hero helmet camera is the answer.
Overview
Will the GoPro do the job? Yes. But don’t expect to get a great video on your first, second, third, fourth, or fifth time using it. But once you conquere the learning curve, you’ll want to show all of your friends your footage.
First Impression
For starters, the camera is hard to aim correctly. There’s no way to tell if you’re shooting your front fender or shooting the sky. It will take a few tries before you get the proper angle.
Once you get the proper angle, you might run into another problem - the battery life. This is my biggest gripe with the camera. A fresh set of batteries will run empty very fast. How fast? Expect to use a fresh set every time you go out filming. Granted, you might be able to get a few riding sessions in on one set of batteries, but to be sure that you are actually filming, you need fresh batteries.
Here’s the problem. Lets say the battery meter gets to the halfway mark, not a big deal, right? Wrong, get ready for random recording stops. Even though the battery meter says half, the camera will randomly stop recording in the middle of your shoots. I’ve had too many instances where I’ve hit record, rode the track for a few laps, and then found out that the recording stopped a few seconds after I pressed the record button.
The easiest solution to the battery problem is to buy rechargeable batteries. Then you won’t have to buy new AAA batteries every time you go out riding and you’ll have a fresh set with you for backup.
Filming
OK, so we’ve tackled the two biggest problems - camera angle and battery life - is it still worth getting. Yes. Here’s why…
You’ve heard this a million times, but it takes practice to do anything successfully. It’s no different with the GoPro. Once you get the right angle and start using rechargeable batteries, the GoPro is pretty easy to use. There’s two buttons, one to turn it on and one to start/stop recording (they also have other functions but that’s another story). It can’t get much simpler than that.
Once you’ve ran out of battery or filled up the memory card, its time to download to your computer. The camera comes with a USB cable, and your computer will recognize the memory card automatically - no need to install software. From there, its drag and drop to your hard-drive and off to the video editor or YouTube. The videos are 512 x 384 AVI files that work on both Mac and PC.
HITS
small, lightweight
decent picture quality
numerous mounting options
works on both Windows and Macs
strong, sturdy case (don’t believe me, watch
this)
video output to TV
MISSES
horrible battery life
clumsy interface with 2 button design
bad sound quality
small point of view
no LCD screen for video playback
did I mention horrible battery life?
Bottom Line
The price is right - it’s the best camera you can get for $170. This little device will do the job, it just takes some practice. The camera, simply put, is a cost effective way to capture video. If you’re a motocrosser who is looking to capture your rides and post to YouTube, buy it! However, I would not recommend this to professional videographers looking for high quality video. If you want better features found on other cameras, you’ll have to pay more.
LP Multimedia Recommended Settings
Set camera to ”Lo” mode
Have a partner around to tell you if the camera is on, off, recording, etc.
Angle the camera higher than you would expect to. Seriously, nobody wants to see your fender.
Buy a 2 Gig SD memory card
Buy some rechargeable AAA batteries
Keep the camera off until you want to actually start filming. It’s easy enough to hit the power button and record button while it s on your helmet.
Sample Videos
New Ulm Hillclimb LP’s crash - First video shot on HV20 and second on GoPro Hero
This is classic footage from the 1995 Fox movie “Terrafirma 2.”
Without a doubt this is one of the best motocross videos ever made, and one of the reasons for that is Jeremy McGrath’s opening montage. Jeremy McGrath was just becoming a moto-superstar and this was one of the most anticipated scenes in motocross history. Filmed at the Castillo Ranch, MC shows us his super smooth style, perfect timing, and bigger than ever nac-nacs and whips on board his famous Honda CR250 two-stroke.
I haven’t updated the blog since last Thursday and I apologize. I had 4 wisdom teeth removed on Tuesday - and I moved into a new house at college - so things have been really busy. However, things are settling down now and the LP Blog is back on track.
This past week, the LP Multimedia Blog experienced its best week ever (minus the Travis Pastrana whirlwind). The helmet camera crash video was bringing in people from all over the internet. Make sure you check that out. A lot of people were wondering if I was injured in the fall. Surprisingly I wasn’t. I knocked my head onto the ground pretty hard and tweaked my shoulder a little bit but nothing serious. Thank God. I gotta tell you I was nervous thinking about the next few rides that day. I didn’t want to eat dirt anymore and I knew the top of the hill was getting pretty rough. Luckily I had some straight lines and the top jump wasn’t a problem.
Red Wing, Minnesota will be hosting two hillclimbs this upcoming weekend on September 6th and 7th. The race starts at 10:00 AM both days.
LPmultimedia will be covering both races - with photos and videos - being uploaded next week. Plus, I’ll be posting some photos and videos from a private track near Red Wing. More on that later.
James Stewart won the 2008 Toyota AMA National Motocross series. James was absolutely perfect winning every race. That’s 24 perfect motos in a row. Here’s a Monday Conversation from Racer X.
If you are having trouble viewing this video, click here to watch the YouTube version.
I’m not sure what exactly happened at the top - but my back tire danced around a little bit just before take off. I landed almost completely sideways and smacked the ground immediately.
I gave the the thumbs up to the hill crew before I even knew if I was OK. Then I got up, walked around, and had to sit back down after seeing stars. After a few minutes I felt fine. I rode down the return trail and met up with my dad. He was all smiles and told me that I took the lead in the class.
“He had no idea that I just crashed up top”
Then I remembered that I was wearing the GoPro Helmet Camera. I checked to see if it was still rolling and sure enough it was!
Later on, I uploaded it to my computer and the footage turned out great. These GoPro cameras are tough!
