GoPro Camera ?'s

[dreamin_disney]

Anyone own this camera?? I would like your opinions on it or what other camera would be good. My 16 year old daughter is driving me crazy about getting one. She has about $160 saved and the camera is $199 plus tax. Its a lot of money to spend so I want to make sure its a good camera. She says it waterproof and suppose to be very cool. I know I can trust my Dis family to give a honest review if they own one

 

[aaarcher86]

We have the middle level one. It is water proof. We used it in Hilton Head in the ocean and pool going down the slide.

We use it more for videos though. Not so much as a camera for photos.

 

[dreamin_disney]

She wants it for videos to take when we go on trips
Are you happy with it?

 

[blondietink]

We have a GoPro. It is a neat camera, but very small and not easy to use. You are unable to see what you are taking a picture of unless you get the added screen back. All of the accessories add up. we only use ours in the ocean or on water rides/slides. She would be better to get a Fuji that takes both videos and pictures and is waterproof. Much easier to use and cheaper.

 

[aprilchem]

We just bought one to take to Turks and Caicos tomorrow. We took it to the pool last weekend to try it out and the pictures/videos were great! It's a fun little camera.

The accessories are available from 3rd party sellers on Amazon and are VERY inexpensive - I got all the available accessories for $25 total, including the chest strap, water strap, head strap, etc.

 

[dreamin_disney]

oh I didn't realize it needed extras like screen and the straps

 

[mum of two pirates]

I bought the new go pro for Christmas for my boys. I bought the one with the viewing screen already on the back. They used it for snowboarding this winter, I enjoyed watching the videos of them. The picture quality is really good. I wanted better pixels as I scrapbook and wanted to be able to use there pictures for my books. My 15 year old is on the sheriffs dive team here and he will be getting his dive certificate this summer. I wanted him to be able to use it to dive when we go on vacation also. He did his first dive in the pool yesterday but they said he cant use it being a newbie. So i'll just have to wait to see those pictures. go on there websight and look at the different ones they have out, then look at the ratings on amazon. I like the fact that we can hook it onto the front of our small 2 person speedboat (We have one that is the size of the mouse boats) or the kayaks, the atvs or there snowboards. You can get all kinds of attachments to use. We really haven't bought any yet but need to soon. I'll probably get used or off of amazon. I had bought two other brands for $100 each over the last few years and they wernt great as far as picture quality. I am very happy with there gopro. If I had to do it again Id spend the money and buy it. I am a penny pincher but I think it was well worth it. Now im going to buy the boys some accessories.

 

[Nanny oly]

We just bought one to take to Turks and Caicos tomorrow. We took it to the pool last weekend to try it out and the pictures/videos were great! It's a fun little camera.

The accessories are available from 3rd party sellers on Amazon and are VERY inexpensive - I got all the available accessories for $25 total, including the chest strap, water strap, head strap, etc.

Thanks for the suggestion, I had a gift card from returning a GPS we received over the holidays that we had sitting around and never used, decided to invest it on the GOPRO, we found a bundle for 199.99 on walmart that had a 30.00 gift card back did that plus earned off ebates....it offset the small difference we had to OOP, my hubby was looking at other accessories but I was dreading it due to how quickly everything would add up, I found a 34 piece kit with good reviews for 14.99 plus a few extra batteries and charger....I am on excited girl! Would have never looked at amazon! ( btw we went with the GOPRO hero 3 white- chose based on what we could get with the giftcard) it's in route now, will post once we get to play with it

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

I have a GoPro 4 Silver, and I am very happy with it. I have made several home movies with it since I got it a month or so ago, and I am looking forward to getting lots of footage at WDW and on our Disney cruise this summer. The model you are getting is supposed to be good too, but it doesn't perform as well in low light as the upper model GoPros. It is best used outdoors for optimal picture quality.

It is waterproof in its case only, so always make sure it is in its case and properly sealed when using it in water or you will have wasted a lot of money.

One other note: I personally don't care for the fisheye look, so I shoot in 1080p medium view.

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

We have a GoPro. It is a neat camera, but very small and not easy to use. You are unable to see what you are taking a picture of unless you get the added screen back. All of the accessories add up. we only use ours in the ocean or on water rides/slides. She would be better to get a Fuji that takes both videos and pictures and is waterproof. Much easier to use and cheaper.

I do feel that the controls took getting used to, but once I got past that, I find it very easy to use.

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

oh I didn't realize it needed extras like screen and the straps

You don't need those. They just enable you to shoot from different viewpoints, or in the case of the screen, to view what you have filmed immediately. If you have an iPhone or iPad, you can use that as a viewfinder for your camera as long as the GoPro model that you buy is equipped with Wifi.

 

[Kies99]

GoPro camera's are NOT waterproof. They come with a waterproof housing. This is a very important distinction. You will be removing the camera from the housing to charge, replace memory card, etc... and the camera itself should not be submerged in water. Also, there are many different types of housings and not all are waterproof.

Which GoPro version is she looking at? Hero, Hero+, Hero 3, Hero 3+, 4, White, Silver, Black?? Some come with an integrated screen and others you can buy an attachment (BacPac) that is a touch screen. At the price you quoted, I'm guessing you are looking at a GoPro Hero3 White.

Another thing to consider is you may need to do a lot of processing on your video's. Things like image stabilization and zoom functionality are non-existent on lesser models and you'll need to manage your files with software after the fact.

 

[Kies99]

Oh, and fyi...I have a GoPro Hero3+ Silver and generally I really like it. Took it for two weeks to Europe in April and used it a lot.

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

We have the black one and love it. It has been downhill skiing, on a mountain bike, on a kayak, scuba diving and just regular video recording of cities. As some said, the extra really add up. I think the video is great quality. On ours (and I'm not sure if this is just for the black or other ones) you are able to record and have it simultaneously take a still shot every 3 or 5 seconds. We use that feature a lot to get stills that I'd like the print for scrapbooking.

 

[JennysSeven]

We bought the Hero 4 for our 2 teen boys for Christmas last year, along with several of the accessories to mount it different ways, etc. I haven't used it myself, but they love it! They use it almost exclusively for videos, not for still photos. I think it's designed more for applications where a regular camera would be more difficult to use, such as in water or while doing activities where you can't hold the camera in your hands. If your daughter will be mostly using it as one would use a standard camera, I'd probably just stick with a nice point and shoot for that price range.

 

[tvguy]

We use them at work for special situations. Great camera, great HD pictures, horrible battery life.

 

[escapeartist]

I'm looking at the GoPro Hero LCD. It is $299 and comes w a "free" 32g sd card. Am I correct that this model has wifi and blue tooth and pics and vids can be shared without removing sd card or connecting it to computer via usb? Also, is it touch screen without buying the $79 backdoor thing?

 

[dreamin_disney]

She said it's the $199.00 on best buy website. I think it's basic one but trying to figure out which one would be best. She's a teen so she will figure out how to use it. Seems like teens figure that stuff out pretty quick. I still hv trouble with tv remote control to many button for cable lol!

 

[IamJBo]

First and foremost - is this a fad for your teenager? I purchased the Go Pro 4+ Silver ($399.99 retail) with the hopes of making it last for 2+ years.
If you think she'll get bored of it I would recommend the Go Pro Hero HD ($129.99 retail). I considered getting one in case I, myself was going through a fad but I've come to love my Go Pro. If she is set on the Go Pro HD Hero3($199.99) then note that the Go Pro 3 series has been out for awhile and will phase out soon. I'm also not sure if the housings on the older cameras are waterproof or not. I know the Go Pro Hero HD has a waterproof housing.

Another thing to keep in mind is that these things always seem to have some sort of special. I think I purchased mine at Best Buy $399.99 retail and it came with a 32GB U3 memory card, a 20$ gift card to shutterfly, and 50$ gift card . To top it all off I had them price match Target for $350.00.

Accessories are available although I would avoid the brick and mortar stores like the plague and get them for MUCH cheaper via Amazon. I would recommend an extra battery and either a selfie stick or a floating handle as one of your first purchases.

Also your memory card you select will also effect how your videos / pics come out. I would recommend a U3 type card for anything in 1080P or 4K.

 

[Tinkerbell8956]

We have a GoPro Hero 4+ Silver. LOVE it. We have made some really cool home videos of trips to the zoo, hanging out with our 2 year old outside, that sort of thing. Can't wait to use it at Disney! My husband bought it, but I believe he found a good deal on a bundle on Amazon. The controls did not seem that hard to use, but we did watch a YouTube video explaining everything before we got the camera. I think that helped.