My Review of GoPro Digital Helmet Hero Wide-Angle Camera

REI

Now in a scene-capturing wide-angle format, this incredible helmet cam from GoPro captures all your biking, boarding and whitewater action from the first-person perspective!

GoPro Digital Helmet Hero Wide-Angle Camera

Best money I've spent on a camera ever!

shawndoggy Reno, NV 3/31/2009

 

5 5

Pros: Lightweight, Simple Controls, Durable, Great Features, Great Picture Quality

Cons: Poor sound, Eats batteries

Best Uses: Fast Action, Snowsports

Describe Yourself: Photo Enthusiast

I've had so much fun with this camera. The video quality is surprisingly good, and it's very easy to post the videos to youtube (search my username there for an example with the cam stuck to the front of my snowboard).

To me, a video camera is only as good as how much it gets used. I've got a really nice Canon video camera that records in HD. Problem is, it's a real pain to download and edit movies with it. And it's expensive and fragile. In contrast, the GoPro fits in my pocket and is super durable. It is also a snap to copy clips to my computer and upload to youtube or facebook and share with friends and family. I use it all the time because it's so easy.

Yes, it does go through batteries quickly unless you buy lithium, and yes lithium batteries are expensive. That said, I've had decent luck with NiMh rechargeables as well, though I haven't tried them in really cold weather.

The other downside is sound quality. Because the camera itself is enclosed in a watertight case, it just doesn't pick up ambient sound like other cameras. That's clearly a tradeoff for the killer water tight case, so you get something for giving something.

All in all one of the best purchases of any kind I've made in years. This camera is so much fun.

GoPro Attached to front of snowboard

: Made with Product, Camera, HERO, Nevada, Snowboarding, Wide, Carving, Gopro, Flying, Bomber, Coiler, Mt, Trench, Alpine, Hardboot, Burton, Rose

screen capture from camera attached to snowboard

: Made with Product

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Railing the Cord

Yesterday morning's perfect corduroy at Mt. Rose. Had to come back for seconds!

More dancin'

More dancin'
Originally uploaded by shawndoggy

Shawn

Connor @ demo team practice

Connor @ demo team practice
Originally uploaded by shawndoggy

Shawn

Brandy

Brandy
Originally uploaded by shawndoggy

Shawn

Soccer practice

Soccer practice
Originally uploaded by shawndoggy

Connor @ soccer practice

Family at balloon races

Family at balloon races
Originally uploaded by shawndoggy

So happy to be at the balloon races

So happy to be at the balloon races
Originally uploaded by shawndoggy

Wow did Connor ever love getting up before sunrise today to go to the
balloon races.

Shawn

Democracy is a PITA

Caucused on Saturday here in Nevada. It was an interesting process all around, but sadly reaffirmed my belief that when you get 250 people together in one room, there are bound to be a few people you'd have wished stayed home. The first one being the person at the mic who makes some longwinded explanation of a point that nobody understands (nor do they need to) and then asks "any questions?," and the second through tenth being the people who raise their hands to ask questions.

Signing in wasn't easy and it was pretty clear that nobody had a firm grasp on what was going on, from the precinct captains to the attendees.

Nonetheless it was extremely heartening to see 200 of my neighbors (out of a little over 400 registered dems in my precinct) show up on a wintry Saturday in the middle of a 3 day weekend with 10 months till the election. If nothing else, it rejuvenated my belief that the American people (and god bless 'em, even the dumb ones) really do still care about the fate of our country.

powder

"Sometimes watching your kids do something is about 100000% better than doing it yourself."

-- Mom

Hit Mt. Rose on Sunday with the rest of the City of Reno, though we got up earlier so we got a spot in the parking lot. The kids were definitely leery of skiing on five feet of new snow, but from the first run, they were actually doing it. Nah, they weren't ripping the pow at mach speed, but they were skiing it without falling or crying or complaining. It was a hoot.

We were about 30 chairs behind when they opened the slide side, so we got a run of fresh over there too. Totally ungroomed, and the snow was literally bottomless. There was a time when I would've floored it to do as many runs as possible before the hill was tracked out. There are no friends on powder days after all. Instead, I worked with the kids to make it down. And make it down they did. Not the fastest, but they did it. When we got to the bottom I told them to take a look around in the lift line. To a person, adults, and 90% of them 18-40 year old powder jonesin' males. And here are my little 8 and 11 year old kids and they'd skied the same stuff.

Don't know whether the kids appreciated it, but I sure did.

294

Did 294 avg for an hour on the rollers on Saturday. I was watching 300 (da movie) so maybe that was the inspiration.

So what. Grinding out the threshold stuff all winter I can do. And do and do. The challenge for the past few seasons has not been putting together some early season fitness, it's been keeping it together to last the summer.

It's not that my fitness wanes, either. It's my motivation to keep on truckin'. Long days, heat, less sleep, the allure of a BBQ at the lake or a float down the river with the kids... all conspire to get me to say F-it come mid July.

Help me cycling brethren! What's the secret to keeping it together through districts?