If you're like us you go to trackdays looking to have a good time with your friends riding around a racetrack, challenging yourself, destroying knee pucks and getting that amazing photo to prove it. But what if you want more than just a picture? What if you want to show your friends who weren't there that amazing pass you made? That's what the GoPro Motorsports HERO Wide video camera is for.
For the longest time getting on-board video footage was a chore without some extensive setup, but the GoPro makes this once laborious chore a simple step. Measuring just 1.75 x 2.30 x 1.25-inches and weighing a measly five ounces, it can literally be carried in your pocket, ready to be taken out at a moments notice. The camera sits inside a protective watertight case that resists shock impact to the camera, helps reduce ambient noise (like wind noise when riding at high speed), and, yes, allows the camera to be used even underwater. Although we advise against trying to take your motorcycle underwater...
Video capture is taken in VGA quality at 30 frames per second, recorded via a CMOS sensor at 512x384 resolution and saved in AVI format, compatible with both Windows and Mac OS X formats. The camera is also able to take five-megapixel photos and can even be programmed to take snapshots of the action while filming via an internal timer. The "Wide" portion of the name refers to its 170-degree, wide-angle lens which is great for viewing all of the action, but at the expense of depth perception as objects appear further away than they really are.
The one downside we found with the camera is that it eats through batteries rather quickly. GoPro practically mandates that two AAA lithium batteries be used for best results up to three hours. While we haven't tested this ourselves, we've heard of lesser batteries giving up the ghost after just 30 minutes of recording. Because the camera records in whatever angle it's set to, GoPro includes a number of various mounting bases and extension arms to ensure it's laying flat and right-side up while recording. Operating the camera is rather simple: just press the power button on the face of the camera and press the shutter button on top of the camera. That's it. Of course, you'll also need a SD memory card to save this data (not included) and according to GoPro, a two gigabyte card lasts 56 minutes. Ours made it about 40 minutes before reaching capacity, so we'd suggest erring on the side of caution and getting the largest card you can afford. The beauty of the HERO is that the user can control what's being recorded while riding just by pressing the shutter button. For each segment of video a numeral will display on the LCD screen. The tricky bit here is not confusing the number "4" for a lowercase "h" as the camera inverts the numbers, assuming the rider is looking at it while riding and reading upside down (another task that we'd advise against). Also worthy of mention is that later Motorsports HERO Wide cameras like ours come equipped with a "Hi" and "Lo" audio function that can reduce the sensitivity of the microphone, making trackday footage without annoying wind noise a reality.
Overall we really like the GoPro line of cameras. For $199.99, onboard video footage has never been more accessible and easy to use. If VGA quality doesn't do it for you, HD-quality cameras are now available for just another C-note. We've taken quite a few videos from various events we've been to recently and will post them on www.SportRider.com as soon as we get them edited.