I am contemplating a multi use video camera for use in the mini and also for vacationing and I am somewhat satisfied that I want a Go Pro camera, but not sure which one I want. I am contemplating a suction mount for use in the mini and using other mounts if I am cycling, hiking, etc. I appreciate any input on the differences of quality between the base model and the silver and black models, or if there are other systems that work better in the mini and offer versatility in use. It may work better if I posted this in some sort of camera forum, but I don't want to get hung up with a technical forum on cameras. Basically, I want a great little video camera and I would appreciate any input from someone that has some first hand experience.

 

I have been happy with the Hero4 Silver. Can't help other than that because I don't know all the technical stuff. It works for both AX and vacation vids.

 

Thanks, how do you have it mounted in the mini?

 

I have an ASX ActionPro 4K camera that I purchased in May. It works with all GoPro accessories (except for the camera housings themselves) and was a fraction of the cost (I paid about $70 and it included a bunch of mounts and accessories). The pic and video quality is excellent and it is a very solid little action cam.

 

Thanks, I am off to check it out now.

 

GoPro suction cup mount outside. If you zoom into this pic you can see it.

I then run a mic cord all the way to the back (super easy) and get the sound of the exhaust.
It came with a waterproof case and such so on vacation you can take it just about anywhere.
I like the GoPro suite to upload and edit as well as it is pretty user friendly for just an average tech guy.

 

Cool, I think I will go with the Hero 4 after I watched a comparison video of it with the 3 on the water and shade to light and I noticed a distinct difference in the saturation and hues. I had not considered an outside mount, and the microphone closer to the exhaust would be a hoot! Thanks, for everyone's input on this I have been reading all the reviews on Amazon, CNET, et. al. and Ask The Teach really helped here with his recommendation as it led me to a plethora of camera options. This will hopefully be a birthday gift so pooling of funds may help with the increased expense. Camera shopping is like car shopping with so many different offerings!

 

For what it's worth, I borrowed a coworker's GoPro Hero 3 Black for a track day this spring and was very pleased indeed with the quality of video. The 4 is an improvement but if cost is a consideration, but you want the GoPro (perhaps for its Mini Connected link) the 3 remains a really excellent bit of kit!

 

Great video, thanks I really enjoyed it. How did you get all the information on the video with your speed G meter RPMs, throttle, boost, etc.? It is very impressive. You obviously are significantly more tech savvy than me!

 

I'm mildly savvy but this is well within reach of the average gear head!

For track video I used the GoPro Hero 3 Black, mounted on an adhesive base at the forward edge of the dash, as close to the windshield as I could get it.

For the driver video, I used the selfie cam on my iPhone 6+. (Side note: the 6+ makes a terrible primary car video source with its back camera; something about the image stabilization hardware makes the image swim weirdly. Selfie camera is fine.)

I used a PC to set up the GoPro wireless network, and joined the iPhone to it.

For the engine data, I used an Automatic brand OBD-II Bluetooth dongle (works with iPhone and androids). I got it for about $70 on sale; it usually runs about $100. I used to use a generic $15 Bluetooth dongle that required a jail broken iPhone, but it was unreliable as heck. Spend the money on the brand name.

Everything is tied together with Harry's Lap Timer; it has a track map, uses the phones GPS to track location on said map; it connects to the Automatic OBD-II adapter to get engine data (it logs much more than is shown on the video, including engine temperature), and it starts and stops the GoPro.

The annoying part is getting video from the GoPro to the iPhone for post-processing to create that cool video. Newer GoPros (4 series and the little cube) can transfer their recordings directly to Harry's, albeit slowly; the Hero 3 I used is not so capable. I ended up pulling the video from the GoPro onto my MacBook, then using iTunes to send it into the Harry's Lap Timer app. Once that was done, I could tell Harry's which videos to use to create the composite you see on YouTube. Then I used iMovie to add titles and some stills.

One thing you definitely need is a LOT of free space on your iPhone. The videos are HUGE and Harry's will need free space equal to about twice the final video size for the processing. You also want a fast iPhone for this.

Due to the free space problem, I actually took another approach — I transferred the lap data and videos all to my iPad, which had a lot more free space, and did the processing there. Took about half an hour per video. But so long as you have sufficient free space, you can do the entire process on your phone.

It definitely took some fiddling to get everything going; I made sure to set up everything and be sure it was working at home before the track day.

Serious track guys add an external high-speed GPS unit to this setup (and maybe another camera). The Dual XGPS160 seems to be the unit of choice; it provides location data at ten fixes per second (vs the iPhone's 1-per-second rate). I kinda want one but can't justify it to myself

Hope this helps!

 

Thanks, but I am seriously past being the modern gearhead. I don't even own an iphone, I traded in my armored Casio flip phone last year before going on safari in southern Africa and only did that so I could have international calling in case something/someone set off the security system in our home or if one of us was seriously injured and needed and air ambulance out. I grew up with points and condensors, etc. Although we do have a couple of imacs, and an ipad. We really seriously underuse them technically. Now, I am content to drive and fly our toys,but not by wire. I am an old stick and rudder guy. I do appreciate the time you took to explain all of this to me. I do have a heads up display on the corvette and I have some tracks that will show in it, but the F56 JCW is pretty much a plain Jane version that I ordered specifically that way as I did not want to attempt to learn all the electronics. I thought it would be fun to map some of our twisty routes with it to share with our fellow miniphiles that like twisties and we could use it for trip preparation.