Gopro HD Hero 2

    I just looked over the comp sheet, the 2 looks like the ticket. I esp like that it has an LED on the back, that will come in handy for my sling cam and help reduce missed footage. I like the idea of a more narrow FOV to make the footage more realistic.

    okay, first chance to mess around with the camera and some observations.


    the images is curved to accomodate the better optics, but fisheye effects are visible in every setting.


    the FoV adjustment is only useable in 1080, so as Harry recommended, 720 w 90degrees is not an option. this is annoying because you cannot use the 1080 in 60 fps.
    the 1080 setting can be used in 170,127 and 90 degree. the 90 is the most realistic but it still warps the image at the edges, this is all without the curved housing lens and I imagine will be worse with the curved lens


    i suspect that the majority of spearos will go for the 1080 /90/30fps mode but some may exchange the FoV for higher fps and go with the 960x170x48fps or 720x170x60fps
    i have some concerns that this camera may distort the images too much but I will wait to do some daylight underwater shots before any conclusions are drawn


    the camera is MUCH better in low light...while it still loses definition fast, the indoor shots at night are visible now as opposed to worthless as before.


    I love the led's all over but I still find myself looking at the front to start all the vids...habit i guess.


    more to come once i put it in a housing and get it in the pool, hopefully tomorrow or thurs

    i like to spear fish

    Quote from LunkerBuster

    okay, first chance to mess around with the camera and some observations.


    the images is curved to accomodate the better optics, but fisheye effects are visible in every setting.


    the FoV adjustment is only useable in 1080, so as Harry recommended, 720 w 90degrees is not an option.


    Are you sure?


    According to this you can change the FOV in 720p


    1280×720
    Wide (170º) FOV
    medium (127º) FOV*
    narrow FOV (90º) FOV*
    30fps
    60fps


    Product Comparison: HD HERO2 & HD HERO Cameras


    I hope we dont have to wait for software/patches to get these settings

    In the camera menu and literature it does not have the option. In 720 when you go to the fov menu it only has wide. Same for 960. In the booklet it lists the camera modes and only 1080 gives fov. I hope it is a setting I missed or a software update

    i like to spear fish

    here are two pages from the manual, they both say that the FoV adjustment is only for 1080 mode (red box) but the FoV info is wrong as it only lists two choices when there are in fact three in the camera menu (red and blue box)
    I hope this is just a software issue, but the camera clearly does not have that feature now

    Come to find out the gopro2 had a misprint on their web. They are supposed to correct it several days ago. It still shows incorrect info.


    Product Comparison: HD HERO2 & HD HERO Cameras


    That is so lame. Now, an upgrade is not necessarily worth it. Yes, the HD2 is a better camera but HD1 is still very good.


    The camera can only do all the FOVs in 1080p. That is very disappointing. Gopro is pretty lame for posting incorrect info (not correcting it right away) on what the camera is capable of doing. I know I would be extremely pissed if I bought the camera and those options were not available to me.


    From what I read, a firmware update is not going to fix that issue.

    Quote from LunkerBuster

    I have emailed them and voiced that concern. We will see what they say....


    I read that someone already did that. And I am repeating their answer to email. It was a web mistake.


    If you ask me, I think they did it on purpose to boost sales and called it a mistake. I find it hard to swallow that nobody on the gopro team saw that mistake, and it has still not been corrected.

    I remember noticing other oversights on their website that should've been corrected a long time ago. Those mistakes were not misrepresenting a product for gain, more like typos and outdated info. It can happen even with a big company. I can tell you they're very busy with something new going on all the time, feels like they're always trying to catch up. Figure it's been this long and they still don't have their own flat lens solution. I would've made that top priority. Not that I'm complaining :)

    Quote from greekdiver


    That is so lame. Now, an upgrade is not necessarily worth it. Yes, the HD2 is a better camera but HD1 is still very good....


    ...The camera can only do all the FOVs in 1080p. That is very disappointing...


    Agreed. If buying new, I'd get the 2, but I don't anticipate upgrading from my current set up.

    reply:




    "Hi Judah,


    The differing field of views for the 720p resolution are not currently enabled. They will require a soon to be released firmware update, as described on the product pages specs tab. We apologize for the inconvenience, and please be sure to be on the lookout for the update shortly. Please let us know if you have any other questions.


    Many Thanks,


    GoPro Support "



    answered:


    thanks for the prompt reply. do you have a timetable for the fix?

    i like to spear fish



    Good news but i think the firmware update will take forever. I remember people on the goproforums where waiting for an update for so long for the HD1.

    Here's a link for quick firmware update instructions http://spearfishing.world/unde…2-firmware.html#post59387


    I didn't get very deep into the functions of the original Hero HD, so some of what I say may be redundant, but here are my first impressions of the HERO2 which are all positive.


    I don't know if it's my imagination but the beeping sound for on and start/stop record seems louder. This will make it easier to distinguish underwater.
    Flashing record lights all around.
    More user friendly display, and intuitive menu.
    Easier firmware update procedure.


    Can someone please tell me at this point which is the best video mode for our purposes. Needless to say it should have no vignetting with the Pursuit flat lens.


    the update didnt fix the FOV problem. Best option right now will be the 1080 @ 127 FOV just like the HD1.

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