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.

[Emanuel]

On 5/8/2025 at 11:11 PM, eatstoomuchjam said:

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.

Absolutely! : ) When not dizzying... 

I appreciate Andrew is opening this thread for this topic anyway.

They can be different things... It's the shooter, folks! ;- )

[Emanuel]

WTH of a combo! 56 grams + 1/1.7-inch CMOS sensor delivering 4K video at up to 120 frames per second...

https://dlmag.com/dji-osmo-nano-leak-reveals-ultra-compact-action-camera-set-to-revive-modular-design/

 

[maxJ4380]

On 5/9/2025 at 4:56 AM, 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.

Red bull might have something to say about that, It would seem to me that they have made a truckload of money off the back of extreme sports shooting as well as selling a few more cold drinks in the process.  I suspect its also kept a few camera men / editors in a job as well. It may not be your "thing" and definitely its a niche area but it still videography and worthy of a thread i think.

Like eatstoomuchjam and Emanuel have said, your house your rules and we appreciate that you opening up this thread. No idea where the next david lynch or Spielberg is coming from but there's a good chance one of his / her cameras  will be an action camera of some type to cut their teeth on. 

I was blown away by Chris Benchetler' chasing el nino series from like ten years ago. amazing scenes of winter  wonderlands, great skiing and huge jumps with alot of gopro footage. Inspired enough to buy a gopro anyway lol. In hindsight i suspect there was probably a film crew with your typical camera gear doing all the normal stuff with a few skiers wearing gopros. If i was more cynical i'd say very clever marketing by red bull and gopro, however still very impressive visually.

I dropped and cracked a two day old iphone 13 pro max while documenting the local roads after the last big storm / flash floods we had. Really wish i'd gone out that day with the gopro... 

 

Hats off to anyone who gets out there and does stuff.   Be it a wedding, forest trail or car show and I'm brand agnostic, so use what you got.  

[Andrew Reid]

EOSHD is about mirrorless cameras, as a forum, as a website.

It isn't that I don't think extreme sports and drone operators aren't filmmakers.

It's just that the gear doesn't belong here.

You have to draw the line somewhere.

Should we also be about how to train ponies?

[eatstoomuchjam]

9 minutes ago, Andrew Reid said:

Should we also be about how to train ponies?

I think this YouTuber already covered Pony usage very well.  😉

 

[eatstoomuchjam]

11 minutes ago, Andrew Reid said:

It isn't that I don't think extreme sports and drone operators aren't filmmakers.

It's just that the gear doesn't belong here.

You have to draw the line somewhere.

Joking about ponies aside, the line can be a bit fuzzy sometimes.  Does the Osmo Pocket 3 count as an action camera?  There's some crossover in that use and using it for filmmaking.  The RX0 uses the same sensor as the RX100 V and a 24mm equivalent rectilinear lens.  The Insta360 One R 1" edition has a sensor of the same size and also has a 24mm rectlinear lens.

Obviously we're not dumb and can easily tell an action camera from a non-action camera so I'm not trying to make that case - just making the point that as the years go on, they're increasingly capable filmmaking tools and increasingly useful to have on set.

[BTM_Pix]

This is not so much about the quality of the image but more to do with the quality of the posts on here.

Historically, the action cameras have produced a LOT of spam on here either directly from new members setting up accounts to pimp them or some very suspicious stuff from existing members.

Having a single repository for them makes sense to me in the same way that there is one for lenses.

If people have an interest in new developments (as indeed I do myself) then there is a specific thread to subscribe to without numerous individual ones popping up that then have to be curated and assessed.

Of course you could argue that this could then be true for a lot of topics but the historical context of dubious spammy shite for those is different.