Track Day Camera??

I got the cheapie GoPro like the one above for a trip to Almeria. This is just a quick upload to Youtube but its full HD is you watch back the original footage.



Easy to use, doesnt matter what it looks like on the bike, cheap and good video quality. Seems like a good deal to me

 

This is a drift non HD, as you can see it didnt like mixed and low light, needs to be se rahe than auto balance

 

And a cheapo £20 bullet ebay jobbie, cheap ones always have terrible sound

 

You are using a non HD video on youtube that is already compressed and doesn't run at the correct fps????? A real sensible comparison you are doing there

 

It was more to show how drift seems to struggle with changin light conditions, where the go pro doesnt seem to have an issue. Check out the drift stuff on BSB (the have just potsed one from an tbh its crap compared to go pro

But...it is easier to mount anywhere, more discreet and has handy remote

 

Gopro looks like this big cumbersome sail type thing or sleek ghost hd

 

Do you still have to change all the balance setting on a cloudy day? How does it cope with changing light?

 

I have the ghost s and it has none of the issues you mention, used many times in all weathers and light running 1080p at 60fps the quality is amazing.

 

The Drift does look good and I agree its much sleeker. Id say most cameras are similar for quality and realistically its not going to make that much difference when you're watching back footage to see where you can improve. Ultimately I was looking at them but couldn't justify spending several hundred on a camera that gets used for 10/15 days a year. When the £100 GoPro was released, it ticked all the boxes I needed.

Things I wanted :

Camera for HD video
Decent sound
Easy to mount
Easy to edit video

Things I didn't/don't care about :
4k video
Sleek looks
Blue tooth tethering/download
remote control

We all have different things we want from a camera at the end of the day. You pays ya money, ya takes ya choice.

 

so long since I got mine I cant remember exact,, think it is drg 650, ( front and rear cam, wifi . compact fitting ), it is a lot more than £85 more like 350 , but you makes your choice pays your money , gets you quality.

 

It depends for GoPro, if you want the best footage and are prepared to shell out then only the GoPro 4 Black has the 4K res (4xHD resolution) & you pay for it and it will gobble memory cards.

I have a 4K video cam (not an action cam) and the footage out of that, even when viewed on an HD monitor is simply stunning. I cannot explain that as the limitations of the monitor should mean you do not see the difference but you do by a lot.

If you only want HD then the field narrows considerably IMHO. I agree the comparison video between the Drift and GoPro doesn't show too much BUT remember YouTube compresses everything so comparisons mean a lot less. It helps if you up the res in YouTube to 1080 and watch in large or full screen, but even then you are not seeing what you would see straight out of either cam.

Any difference you can spot in a comparison for or against is going to be whole magnitude bigger when you view the files on a bigger monitor or HD television, its worth keeping that in mind. You might prefer the Drift footage over the GoPro there are no rights and wrongs.

If its just about posting to YouTube there will be a shedload of them out there that will do.

It comes down to what you want and how much you are prepared to pay. Is it just a one off? Will you use it a lot or for other things? Do you find it fun editing the footage and watching? These are choices only you can make.

I have GoPro as I think they produce the best footage for me, but I am quite into photography and use the cameras for other stuff too.

 

I tried a friends go pro on a trip. Bloody pain mounting it. I went for a Drift Ghost. Much prefer it. Far easier to mount, sleek and every bit as good image quality. Whack it on, rotate the lens and Bobs your mothers brother.

Sound does suffer From the wind as its front mounted mic but a plug in mic taped near the exhaust should do the trick. The remote is essential, and I do mean essential!

Interesting about the 4k for short periods of shooting and yes it will hold the quality if you zoom in...BUT
if you want to shoot a trip,or a lot of footage then forget 4k. That is full screen Cinema quality, your home computer just won't be able to cope with it, it's just too much information for them to process.

Personally I think the HD setting is more than good enough especially when you consider most broadcast TV in this country is far lower resolution than that and I do like a good quality image.

Hope this helps.

 

The reason I moved from Go Pro to Drift was battery life and mounting ease (flat camera, screen and rotating lens).
The GoPro I had was a Hero 3 I think and struggled to get beyond 20mins on the battery. I tried with numerous batteries and settings but 20mins was most I could get - so essentially 1 session at a track day.
Drift HD Ghost can last a full day on a track day without battery swap. I purchased a spare battery with the camera but I have never had to use it.

 

Go for the GoPro Hero 4 with the built in rear screen, £279 from Curry's at mo! Amazing piece of kit and when mounted with a RAM mount it's just perfect, RAM make some great stuff too for mounting cameras for all sort's of gear plus no messing getting the right angles with the supplied GoPro mounts. Must be honest and say I've not used a ghost HD so can't compare the two, all I know is my footage from Jerez/Cadwell on the iMac is perfect.......much better than my mates GoPro Hero 3 black by the way.
Agree about battery life tho it does seem poor, I just bought some extra batteries and leave em plugged in when out on track.

 

Made a quick vid of the trip to Wales over the long weekend. Drift HD Ghost...

 

Couple more vids. The GS bits are from my Drift and the Triumph ones from a GoPro.

 

I have had a few, both Drift's and Go Pros. Finally settled on the Drift (for occasional different angle views).
Better battery life, more ergonomic and better to mount but arguably the quality is not "quite" so good as the GoPro.

Or go a bit further and get an Aim Datalogger and Smartycam HD, fully automatic with real time overlays.

 

How about an old contour HD for about £50 off eBay. Or the SJ4000?

 

One top tip I've found useful with the GoPro is not to use the super wide settings for trackday stuff. I dont use the 4K either as its not really necessary, and I still have enough resolution to zoom in even on the lower settings and it's still plenty good enough for youtube.