Considering GoPro9 for webcam and more . . . any insight/advice?

[Anthony Vito]

Ok, so not the only question, but I think boils down to what I'm considering.

I just started a new job where I will be working remotely for a while and engaging in more regular Zoom calls. I will be having to appear in Court at times by Zoom. I want to look and sound better, so I already have a better light and microphone. I've been planning on getting a dedicated webcam instead of using the laptop camera. I look at it like buying a suit - you buy a suit or clothes to look decent for work because it makes a difference in how you present yourself. If I look clearer and sharper, I figure it makes a difference, albeit a small one. It's just a way of presenting myself. (Although the ironic part is since I started the new job in the past two weeks, I've been on some Zoom calls in t-shirts.) I also have a part-time job that requires me to participate by Zoom, and it's one in particular that it makes a difference, so these upgrades are also business expenses (so not quite as expensive due to tax benefits). I was considering getting something decent or even springing for the good Logitech one.

The other part of this though, is that we're heading down to WDW in less than two weeks now, and I cannot find our camcorder, for the life of me - not that I use it a ton. We honestly don't use it anywhere nearly as much as we should, and now that our kids are 7 and soon to be 9 (August), I'm realizing we don't get nearly enough video. We do sometimes on our phones, but even that's not enough. But I've been trying to find the camcorder because we're staying at Copper Creek and I wanted to get some ambient-type video from our balcony, since I try to find those videos on YouTube and play them in the background on our TV all the time, and I thought it would be nice to actually just have my own videos for that.

Not finding our camcorder is driving me nuts (just had it two months ago, so I think it got put somewhere when cleaning up but can't find it for the life of me). I'm realizing though that the camcorder is getting old (Sony, but just looked up when we bought it, and it was almost 8 years ago!). This is making me think maybe we should look at replacing it with something that is more up-to-date, and we can use more with the kids and on vacation.

So now I'm looking at whether to get a GoPro. I know it's got far more than what we'd need (we're not action/adventure types), but I'm guessing having more will make it last a bit longer before it's completely out-of-date technology-wise. Since it can handle a lot, I might even consider letting the kids use it out riding their bikes - might get lucky and get some good video of them out playing that we actually can look back on in a few years (although I might decide against that completely out of fear of them losing it).

A big problem though, with all the features, I actually know little-to-nothing about photography/videography, etc., so I don't know if there will be too many features that might actually make it confusing to use, etc.

As far as using it as a webcam, I see that it's possible and not overly difficult, but from what I can find, it seems a true webcam would probably be better - I'm just not sure how much better. Am I actually not improving that much over my laptop webcam so I'm really just getting a video camera for the kids and trips, and I'm going to end up wanting a true webcam in the end anyway, or is it good enough for that use that I'm getting multiple benefits out of having it?

Sorry for the long post, but I didn't know where to begin and am not in any other forums where I'd even venture asking this, so I thought this board might have some insight.

Thanks.

 

[melissalovesfigment]

We bought a GoPro Hero 9 in January this year. Honestly, I can't believe we waited so long to buy it. We have 2 (going on 3) kids and our new years resolution was to take more video of them. Photos are great but videos are so valuable. It is very easy to use. We give it (with the carrying stick thing) to our 4 year old and love getting video from her POV, especially while swimming. My husband started out with no video skills but has gotten better with practice.

I know nothing about how to use if for Zoom calls so I can't speak to that, but if you want a fun little camera to get more video, I highly recommend it. Their ap is pretty easy to use to make videos to post to social media. We bought a generic external battery charger with 3 slots and 3 extra batteries. The batteries do drain pretty quickly if you are taking a lot of video so I recommend the extra batteries with the external charger.

So far, we have put it on our daughter's ski helmet which was cool. We also did a 2 hour time lapse of us building a sand castle at the beach. We have tons of video of our daughter learning to swim without floaties. A few minutes with the instruction manual will be enough to figure out these basic features.

We bought the base bundle directly from the GoPro website.

 

[eleven24]

Honestly, from someone who does photography & videography for a living... just use your phone. Especially if it's one of the newer generation phones. I'm headed to WDW in 2 days and bringing my iPhone 12 Pro and the LightchaserPro system from PolarPro. Sounds odd, but it's a case for the phone and a little grip that snaps on the case and lets you hold the phone very securely like you would a regular camera. Included is a shutter button on the top of the grip so you don't have to tap the screen. The kit also comes with variable ND filters, which allows you to take video in the blazing bright sun and have it actually look good.

Going off on a tangent here... point is, your phone will take just as good of video as the GoPro. Get the GoPro if you're going to be using the mounts and recording action video. Otherwise, use your phone or something like the DJI Pocket2 & a set of Freewell ND filters (again, for bright sunlight)

Hope this helps!