Step up from a GoPro Hero 2??
 

Hi Guys

What are you using for a wide elevated shot of the wedding that is better than a GoPro ?? I either put the cam on a light stand up near the front and let it run or in Churches, up on the balcony.

It works really well but I must admit I'd prefer something around the same price that had a small zoom for framing and even a neat LCD on the back so I don't have to fiddle with a tablet to check framing.

DSLR's are sadly out during to the limited record time ..some Catholic ceremonies run up to an hour and the Hero will run continuously for that time.

Who is using another alternative???

Chris

Re: Step up from a GoPro Hero 2??
 

I think that people use GoPros because they are so small & simple. Just press a button & it's running. No need to bother with focus or white balance or anything else. However while they are marvellous for capturing action when lashed to a surfboard or ski for a wide safety shot at a wedding they are not the ideal camera. There is that fish-eye look for a start & while the resolution is technically 1080 or more the image isn't that great compared to a proper camera or camcorder.

I think that for a locked off wide angle we are better off with a consumer camcorder or even my latest toy a Panasonic G6 which is a PAL model from Hong Kong with no recording limit. I will be using it for the first time at a wedding in a couple of weeks so will report back but I know that Noa uses one.

Re: Step up from a GoPro Hero 2??
 

Chris I sold my GoPro3 Silver and bought a black edition for the added 50p and 'improved' lower light capability - unfortunately since then I have had a run of dark church weddings so it's stayed in the bag - the low light just doesn't cut it for me.

Yesterday for a wide angle in the church and on the dance floor I used my VG20 with 16mm f2.8 pancake lens plus 0.75 wide adapter and got some nice clear shots. A tad pricier setup than the gopro though.

I'll still use my gopro for bright rooms and odd shots such as big groups (on the end of a monopod) and sometime on the hood of my car following the bridal car etc - I did use it for an arrival by helicopter recently so it has it's uses still!

BTW Nigel - can you give me a url for your supplier - that lumix without time limit is interesting!

Re: Step up from a GoPro Hero 2??
 

Hey Chris, I lock off a dslr, using magic lantern with the auto resume function. It will restart recording at the 12 minute mark and keep rolling the duration of the ceremony so long as you dont mind having say 4 x 12 minute clips.

Re: Step up from a GoPro Hero 2??
 

If you don't mind ordering from Hong Kong & taking a risk on warranty etc then you can purchase a G6 PAL model that doesn't have the 30 minute recording limit of EU models. There are also special prices on GH3 & GX7 (also PAL without recording limit) & a range of Panasonic MFT lenses. This is by way of Vitaliy Kiselev the GH2 hacker who runs the personal-view.com website gh3-notes:gh3-discount [Personal View FAQs Wiki].

I got the G6 with 14-42mm power zoom &if I hadn't got caught for £56 customs the price would have been around the same as buying in the UK but I am happy to pay that extra to not have a recording limit. Before I discovered that I could get a PAL model without recording limit I had even priced up getting an NTSC model without limit from B&H which would also have been about the same price as B&H arrange pre-payment of customs so there are no nasty surprises.

It's a really brilliant little camera with a far superior image quality & better low lite performance than a GoPro.

Re: Step up from a GoPro Hero 2??
 

Sadly Movie Restart doesn't work with ML on the 5D3. I have alerted the developers but nobody seems interested in even looking at it as they prefer doing far more exciting stuff with RAW video.

Re: Step up from a GoPro Hero 2??
 

Thanks Guys

Sadly what always seem to happen with DSLR's is if it does do a restart it's right at a critical point in ceremony footage so I only use my Nikons for stills now!!

My Hero 2 stills gives very useful footage indeed and clients seem to like the super wide angle for some reason. I found the wifi is somewhat erratic ...someone bumped the stand on Friday so I went to adjust the camera but the stupid tablet showed everything except the preview and the rest of the footage just cut a tint bit off the groom's head so it was un-usable!

I now have a 3.5" LCD mounted at the bottom of the stand and hardwired to the camera up top and that seems to work a lot better. It's really only for backup if everything gets blocked and my wedding the week before had 80 people in a tiny Church meant for 50 so the Hero footage was most useful.

I'll take a look at the G6 or even the FZ series that Roger uses ...those aren't a bad price either!! .. I will still keep the Hero ..it's great to suck it onto the front windscreen of the limo and just let it run!!

Chris

Chris