GoPro Hero2 Type camera - Walkaround worthy?

Hi folks, long time no see!.. Life's gotten me busy changing careers, but finally settled in Healthcare and enjoying fresh air.

Still saving for a 7D or 5D Mk?, but came across these little amazing devices, de GoPro Hero2 cameras. The video features are very cool, but the photography aspect seems even better. The wide angle is literally no joke, and it even has intermediate view settings (full 180, 127 degs, and 90) at 11mpxls.

Question is, what do you think of that camera as a walk around device? Definitely an experiment, and the idea is not to capture the usual Canon-ical views, but rather explore the world and use wide angles and time captures to portrait the world around us.

One big benefit is that I will be able to venture many more perspectives and angles with this type of imaging device, use of tripods, mounts....

What's your opinion? Absolutely worthless? Worth a shot? onboard and want to see my results here very shortly?

Chime in!

best thing about these is the portability and mounting it onto places where you would not normally have a camera. making movies, random photos is probably more than sufficient.

there are probably a ton of samples on vimeo of good videos shot by go pro and the like.

Can't hurt, right? I haven't found it yet, but I am sure there is an internet hangout for those who use the Hero series for not just video, but rather all sorts of photography.

An entirely different type of photography (much like the Infrarred, or those who pride themselves in using simple cellphones to snap great images).

Part of me likes this thought, because it inspires me to focus on something other than just the equipment. Make sense? I have no gear today mostly because I got enthrawled into the gear race. The 20d wasn't as good as the 30D. And the 1Dmk 2 was great, though the 1D mkIII became a dream to shoot. Sometimes I think that had I stayed with a trusty 5d and kept my head low, history would have been written differently.

Regardless, spending a few months embracing this challenge should come with many lessons learned, increased motivation, new perspectives...

The consumer Canon T3 winked at me yesterday from the Store, while I studied the Hero2. Mmmh, it did become tempting for a bit. But I fear it would not be much of a challenge, and on top of that, probably inferior to the quality of cameras I did shoot through the years (45 focus points, etc).

Hence my thought to get an entirely different animal, the Hero2.

My gripes with the Hero 2 for photography are very visible noise even at lowest ISO in bright daylight, and inaccurate colours.

For a walkaround, I'd pick most any point and shoot camera over it. But for what it is; an "action" cam, its tough to beat.

I'm not sure about the Hero 2, but I've got the HD Hero (1), and it takes more than usable photos. It's shutter lag is incredibly long, though, and it doesn't do too well in low light, photo or video aside. Neither gopro is capable of doing longish exposures, so a slow shutter speed and delay from pressing the button would make low light near impossible.

In adequate lighting conditions though, it's kinda fun! IQ isn't exactly top notch, but you get a gopro for the field of view, not the quality. Like Sirrith said, it does what it was designed for exceptionally well.

Good thread, I ran into a guy with one these mounted on his surfboard in Hawaii. I'm thinking of putting on my board, he told me it's indestructible.

I tried the Hero 2 for a week.
I wasn't a big fan of the wide angle when using it for straight up pictures. Also, the exposure was not great.

I would pass on the GoPro for photography. It is an amazing action/sports camera for video but the images it produces are not that great. You can get much better results by maybe going with the Samyang 8mm for crop bodies and by getting a cheap intervalometer for timelapse stuff.

If you wanted to grab an image from the GoPro I would just use the video mode and choose frames from the video to save as images. This method gives you more control.

mrbubbles wrote in post #14772546
I would pass on the GoPro for photography. It is an amazing action/sports camera for video but the images it produces are not that great. You can get much better results by maybe going with the Samyang 8mm for crop bodies and by getting a cheap intervalometer for timelapse stuff.

If you wanted to grab an image from the GoPro I would just use the video mode and choose frames from the video to save as images. This method gives you more control.

i actually have one mounted on top of my 5d3 using a hot-shoe to tripod adapter, i also have the lcd back (This is a must for setting up shots) And i have now started using the wifi back so i can start and stop the camera using what is basically an oversize watch (there is a smartphone app that's is going to be released so you can use it as a wifi view finder )

This is SOC, but cropped,

I've just started using one for motorsports (and I'll use it for other stuff too).
I love it although it does have its limitations. If you if you accept that and learn to work within thos boundaries you'll get some great pics.