Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Here at last :)

 After keeping a close eye on the availability of the new WiFi remote for the GoPro camera, and hunting for it at local stores that carry GoPro cameras and accessories, I decided to order the remote from GoPro directly.
On Monday morning I dropped by Fedex on the way to work and I finally have this great device in my hands.

I plugged everything into USB power supplies (the WiFi backpack, the remote, and the Hero HD camera), and on Monday night I updated all three to the latest firmware revisions, which is a required step.

Once I am satisfied that everything is in order and I can operate the remote easily while riding, I will begin planning this summer's project to document Montreal bridges as a service to motorcycle and scooter riders planning rides to this fair city.

I plan to show key information about the bridge, type and condition of the roadbed, helmet cam video of the approach, the bridge and the return to surface streets, speed limit, actual vehicle speeds, hazards, and anything else I can think of to help PTW visitors.

My first tests were during Tuesday's commute.  I hung the remote from the Vespa lanyard  that Bob gave me when I was in Vancouver and that seems to be to be best way to use the remote.  It's easy to find the remote, press the buttons and see the current operating mode of the camera in real time.  I had mounted the camera on a RAM mount on the right passenger grab rail.  I thought I had angled the camera sufficiently off to the right, but on examining the results, I need to swing it out further still.  It's really not intuitive at all.  The extreme wide-angle lens makes it really difficult to position the camera efficiently using guesswork.

On the home leg of my commute I had the camera angled out at about 45 degrees that looks a little goofy on the bike, but the results are much better. Thanks Bob. You were right. I really should never question your advice.

Here's what that test video looks like.

So far the remote is everything I was hoping for, and then some.  I highly recommend it to all you GoPro users out there.  Worth every cent.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

David:

you must be working very late as it looks like sunset. That is a nice ride along the water.

somehow after looking at your video I feel like a key chain ornament

bob
Riding the Wet Coast
My Flickr // My YouTube

Trobairitz said...

Ahhhh a remote. I think that is something Troubadour might need for his GoPro.

Good video. With the patches, cracks and bumps in the road I thought you were in Oregon for a minute.

Andrew Thomson said...

I'm really interested in getting one of these even though I have the older model (it is compatible, I just won't be able to use all the features). I like the idea of being able to operate the camera without guesswork...

Please keep us updated on it's performance.

David Masse said...

Bob, you're right about the long hours. If you were a key chain ornament, you'd be lurking between the legshield and my briefcase, getting beaten up, and taking out your frustration by trying to key the glovebox lid. Not that you'd ever do such a thing... but if you were a keychain ornament you might :)

Trobairitz, the remote really is very good because it lets you mount the camera wherever you want, say in a place you couldn't possibly reach when riding, and still not only control the camera, but be able to change modes, and see what mode you're in, and whether the camera is recording or not. You can even see how many bars are left on the battery.

Andrew, the remote really does take the guesswork out. With the older camera (the original Hero HD) the only functionality your can<t get is the iPhone or iPad app, and the ability to stream to the app. To be honest, I don't think that it would be good to watch your ride (or drive) while you're doing it. I can see for a professional production when the camera operator is perhaps in a chase vehicle with nothing better to do than operate the camera, but solo? Not a good recipe. One trick I'm definitely going to try, is with the claimed 600 foot range, you could set up the GoPro by the side of the road, with a view of a nice twisty, and then go back and trigger the camera when you ride by.

Dar said...

I think I am going to get my hubby one of these for his GoPro. Beautiful ride you have. The roads look like they need a little work though. Frost,ice and snow do terrible things to pavement . Video is great David!

David Masse said...

Dar, Quebec roads have earned a well-deserved bad reputation for good reason. Those seams you see are a kind of preventive medicine that's increasingly used, and actually they don't interfere with the ride. The real problem on that stretch of road are sewer covers that have sunk down. If you don't pay attention and you hit one, the suspension bottoms out in a sickening way and you also get launched a good few inches off the saddle. Those make me curse when I fall prey to them, usually due to a moment spent gazing at the lake rather than the pavement.

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