Action cam / 360 / GoPro etc. thread

[Andrew Reid]

As there are too many separate threads and topics about cameras that have fisheye lenses and small sensors, i.e. anything that goes on the end of a selfie stick, I will combine them all here and anything that gets posted separately will be moved to this post.

[maxJ4380]

Sounds fair. Lot of peoples first forays into video begin with an action camera of some kind. 

[Emanuel]

The best cam is the one you bring and can shoot with. No other camera industry segment has so many upgrades as this one from so many sources. Finally, a place here where we can post it without feeling or sound intrusive in the middle of our sacred college of filmmakers.

EAG :- )

[maxJ4380]

Might be a bit embarrassing if everybody starts running amok with action camera footage... Lots of youtubes out there done with action cameras. Still i think that there are many possibilities that can lead to making more informed content available and should they outgrow it, their already at the right place to ask questions.

[Emanuel]

Usually, action camera footage is crap. This doesn't mean the device itself is. Neither the possibilities we can get from. 

The fact the lowest price the more wider the basis of the users' skills is. A bit like audiences. You extend the range you'll lower the quality of your outcome, no many options ;- )

- EAG

[Andrew Reid]

19 hours ago, maxJ4380 said:

Sounds fair. Lot of peoples first forays into video begin with an action camera of some kind. 

I just think action-cam stuff belongs on a different website, and a different forum.

EOSHD is about mirrorless cameras, cinema cameras and occasionally the odd smartphone.

It's not about extreme sports shooting.

[Geoff_L]

1 hour ago, Andrew Reid said:

I just think action-cam stuff belongs on a different website, and a different forum.

EOSHD is about mirrorless cameras, cinema cameras and occasionally the odd smartphone.

It's not about extreme sports shooting.

And what about gopro as odd cinema camera replacement to shoot dwarfs extreme barrels sports😬

[eatstoomuchjam]

3 hours ago, Andrew Reid said:

EOSHD is about mirrorless cameras, cinema cameras and occasionally the odd smartphone.

It's not about extreme sports shooting.

Your site, your rules, of course!

Though I would say that depending on the definition of action cam, I've used them on set any number of times - even more now that the Osmo Pocket 3 is so good. 

But even for the more GoPro style... Someone's going to open up an old wood furnace door and peek in?  Chuck in an action cam.  It gets covered in soot?  No biggie for an action cam.  Director wants POV of a fist hitting someone's face and their POV as they fall to the ground?  Action cam.  Director wants to get the wheels of a car rolling through the mud from up close?  Action cam.  Really, just about any shot that I think has a high chance of breaking a nicer camera or where a better camera simply won't fit, I'll just drop in an action camera.  Half the time, the shot never gets used, but the other half the time, the director loves it.

There's no way in hell I'd use any current model action cam (except the Pocket 3 if that counts) to shoot more than a cutaway/b-roll bit, but they keep getting better and it's easier and easier to match their footage in a way that's not too jarring.  There are a lot of creative uses - many of which are arguably gimmicky or hacky, but that comes down to a matter of taste.

[eatstoomuchjam]

That said, if a new one comes out, my YouTube feed will definitely let me know - and there's not a lot of interesting conversation to be had around a new action cameras.  "So this one is a bit better than the last one and still has an obscenely wide angle lens?  Cool.  Cool cool cool."

(That and since I already have a couple of 1" edition Insta360 One R's (upgraded to the RS brain), it's also really unlikely that I'll be in the market for a new action cam any time soon, not unless someone comes out with something crazy good - 5.7k not-so-wide angle with a "Leica" lens on a great big (comparatively!) sensor is more than enough for the above mentioned gimmick shots)

[MrSMW]

The only time an action camera piqued my interest was when I came across that company with Bones in their name, who modified the things with cool little lenses.

But then I realised I could get a small sensor such as the Sony RX100V.

So did and that was the end of that.

[maxJ4380]

1 hour ago, MrSMW said:

The only time an action camera piqued my interest was when I came across that company with Bones in their name, who modified the things with cool little lenses.

But then I realised I could get a small sensor such as the Sony RX100V.

So did and that was the end of that.

back-bones system. I looked at them too but for the price and the fact that you go from super wide to telephoto. From what i could find there didn't seem to be much in the middle. There's  a good chance my understanding could be wrong seeing as the gopro was a first for me at the time. Which put me off, and you had to send a camera in or buy one.

[eatstoomuchjam]

I got a couple of Back-Bones-modified action cams - one was a Hero 7 and the other, a modified Insta360 1" edition.  The one I should have got was the RX0 II since it's also a 1" sensor.  The main problem is that the tiny action camera screens are awful for focusing.  The Insta360 has no HDMI output so I end up monitoring with my phone and the connection has a lot of latency.  The image can be really nice once I get the focus right, but it drives me crazy to get there so I only rarely take it out.  It's too bad because the camera's a really nice match for C-mount and D-mount lenses.

The Hero 7 (or maybe it's a Hero 8?) does have an HDMI port, but the latency is even worse than the Insta360 over wifi.  Also the sensor is smaller which makes even wide angle C mount lenses into telephoto.

The RX0 II has a usable HDMI port, but after not really using the other two, there's no way I could bring myself to spend $1,500 for it.

I also had ripped the lens off of another old GoPro and got some M12 (or whatever size it is) lenses to use with it.  It had the same problem with being hard to use, though I liked the look of somewhat less wide M12 lenses a lot more than the one that the camera had some with.

[Katrikura]

I produce documentary and audiovisual work in the university setting. Until now, I have always used action cameras such as GoPros; I recently added the DJI Pocket 3 to film behind-the-scenes material. On more than one occasion, these cameras have saved me from a mishap. Not long ago, while recording testimonies from a prominent researcher in a humid environment, the main camera’s lens fogged up and the subject’s time was very limited. So I pulled out the DJI Pocket 3, placed it next to the main camera, and shot in 10-bit D-Log. They really liked the result. I also use it for B-roll, since I can quickly position it in hard-to-reach places, taking advantage of its gimbal stabilization and autofocus to achieve excellent results and save time.