Need a Camera Recommendation

[PuddleJumper]

So I'm not a content creator and idk the first thing about cameras outside of sensor size and type and MP rating. I want to record action shots of and on my Mojave but i don't wanna risk a 1200 dollar video specific camera to do em. I was considering a DJI ACTION4 and just hard mounting wherever i needed it. But someone showed me a OSMO POCKET3 and damn that thing is awesome, up until i realized it wasn't weather/water proof to any degree. I'd like to stay under 500 bucks for the camera. I want something more automated that i can primarily do the rest with my iPhone instead of a PC. My friend say i do too much cool stuff to not be recording. I've found the best ways to convince a buddy to buy a jeep and go camping with you, is with cinematic footage. Everyone seems to think I like roughing it sleeping on a pile of rocks and driving parkways to get coffee, when I say i like overlanding/offroad. The little bit of footage i have is low quality but always drastically changes the response. I also want to move to a camera so I can actually start having documentation on YT. TIA for any advice/tips/suggestions.

I'm not against a pocket 3 or a action 4, I'd just wanna see if anyone else has used and can confirm they are up to snuff.

Sponsored

 

[MPMB]

GoPro or Insta360 should work fine. That, a few suction cup mounts, and a handheld gimbal (DJI makes one, I'm sure there are others) that syncs with your phone should be enough, and all less than $1000 (no need to buy the latest & greatest GoPro/Insta cameras).

If you check the YouTubes, most of the creators will list their gear, or do a special vid just on their equipment.

 

[PuddleJumper]

GoPro or Insta360 should work fine. That, a few suction cup mounts, and a handheld gimbal (DJI makes one, I'm sure there are others) that syncs with your phone should be enough, and all less than $1000 (no need to buy the latest & greatest GoPro/Insta cameras).

If you check the YouTubes, most of the creators will list their gear, or do a special vid just on their equipment.

Ok gotcha. A combo of devices. I want something that can do 10bit color and D log if possible. That way I can throw on cheap ND filters which makes offroad recording so much easier when dealing with random light source movement. And recs on which device does that best?

haven't really found a creator that does the shots i wanna do. A lot of em just go straight drone use for moving shots and I don't want a drone. They are too involved for my taste. Half of my group runs em and I swear we stop every 5 min to deal with em. Only to get a whopping 30 sec of vid worth a damn. I'm also gun shy of GoPro. One of my buddy's has had multiple, and they seem to have a really bad habit of eating SD cards regardless of quality. They lose footage too often or at least what I've witnessed. That and they don't do temp extremes well despite advertising that they do. Same buddy didn't get any of our snow wheeling trip footage cus his hero 11 simply couldn't stay on even when plugged in for more than a couple minutes. Maybe he's just unlucky but it does concern me.

 

[rjley]

I would recommend the DJI Action 4 over the GoPro. GoPro has a heating issue with prolonged runtime, especially if it's not used in 'action' that would cool it down.

 

[PuddleJumper]

I would recommend the DJI Action 4 over the GoPro. GoPro has a heating issue with prolonged runtime, especially if it's not used in 'action' that would cool it down.

Ahh thanks for the heads up. I originally was looking a DJI cus the guys in my group seem to have nothing but trouble with thier GoPro heros all the time.

 

[Stuntman Mike]

Some times ago i bought a GoPro Hero 11 balck and so far I am quite happy with it.

Quality seems ok and I really like the mounting options like the suction cup or the bicycle mount.

GoPro Video

Shortly after purchasing the GoPoro I realized that I now also need a flying camera ...

But this is another story.

 

[MaximusTX]

I bought the GoPro Hero 11 and I have never had an issue with it eating SD Cards or anything like that and find the video editing very easy. The big issue I have with the GoPro is it overheats turns off and you don't even know it. This seems to be a common issue with them. I wouldn't recommend them just for that fact alone. I did switch and get a Insta360 X4 and had nothing but problems with 2 of them. The first one I got after filming for an entire day I could not pull the footage from the camera. It would not connect to my computer at all. The second one would connect but the footage was all choppy when trying to play on the computer but not on the camera. When looking at this issue it seems it was a common issue and that the released pc software version didn't support the x4 and you needed to search and download and older version for it to work correctly. I just didn't have time to mess with software and want something to work out of the box so I returned it as well. Looking at the DJI Action Camera now as I have heard nothing but good things about it.

 

[Dilly’S Willy]

I got a GoPro Hero 10 Black just before the 11s came out. It's the biggest POS of an action camera I've had to deal with! Between the overheating if recoding resolution above 1080p 60fps, the wifi refusing to let my phone connect at random (and more often when you need quick access), the damn thing just NOT TURNING ON without pulling the battery and doing a soft reset, or the fact I have to run a custom firmware just to get some of the features they advertised to work at all (and they no longer support this, so if I accidentally "update" it, i'm screwed), the original blue top batteries it came with were ALL defective (wouldn't hold charge longer than 20 mins on any mode at most, camera would immediately shut off, would tell me they're "not genuine" when they CAME WITH THE CAMERA FROM GOPRO DIRECTLY), the "enduro" batteries had the same issues (and they refuse to warranty them "we sent you batteries before and they didn't work, also we don't see the purchase of the enduro batteries so we won't warranty them...I BOUGHT THEM ON YOUR SITE WITH MY ACCOUNT!!!!).


FUCK GoPro, and the retards that hype them up.


I'd grab an Insta360 ONE x3 if you want those capabilities. They have quirks similar to GP, but once setup and working correctly, they're way more consistent than GP.

I'm not a fan of anything DJI, over priced, subpar stabilization on anything except top line products, and the video quality just seems lower on anything other than their top end products. Maybe I'm thinking of product from a couple years ago, but even then the reviews were hit or miss comparatively.


You need to decide what features you will utilize the most, and how much time/$$$ you're willing to spend getting the setup you need for the environment you want to record in. I personally from experience would get the ONEx3, but I enjoy having the ability to go into the recording at any time and see what was around me, vs having multiple cameras and editing the videos together.

FYI, you'll want a computer for video editing, nothing crazy really. But the apps are VERY limited with what you can do. Heck GP's app doesn't even give me the GPS data they advertise, which is why I had to use custom firmware, otherwise I couldn't access those features they advertised to be used out of the box...and still it doesn't always work.

Sponsored