Update 2: GoPro has released the GoPro HD 2 and it's possible that the HD Hero won't be manufactured anymore. They only offer it through selected retailers now. However you can still get it on Amazon and E-bay.
Update: It seems that you can get the best price for GoPro HD camera on Amazon.com. You can buy it at a price of $ 212.99 (this price will vary) and get FREE shipping as well if you chose the Super Saver Shipping option (and if you don't mind waiting up to 8 days for your parcel to arrive - I wouldn't!). Click here to see for yourself.
Amazon seems to move large quantities of product and that's why they can offer low prices for such a sought after product, like the GoPro HD Hero is. So if you're looking for GoPro HD best price, check out Amazon.com.
The same goes for the GoPro LCD Display. It's cheaper on Amazon.
Why they don't show the price right on the product page?
Here's a quote from Amazon's terms that explains it:
Because our price on this item is lower than the manufacturer's "minimum advertised price," the manufacturer does not allow us to show you our price until you take further action, such as placing the item in your shopping cart, or in some cases, proceeding to the final checkout stage. The steps required depend on the details of the manufacturer's minimum advertised price policy. Taking these steps allows Amazon to show you our price consistent with our goal of always offering you the lowest possible prices on the widest selection of products.
This won't require you to purchase the product. You can easily remove it from your cart if you decide not to buy it.
Today I've received my very own GoPro® HD Video Camera
Before buying it though, I wrote an email to GoPro asking them:
1 If they ship to Europe - Romania
2 Where can I buy one in Europe (online store)
They replied and told me: "Yes, we ship to Romania using Fed Ex economy (24$)" and one dealer for Europe is X-tremevideo.com.
I also wrote an email to another online store in Romania and I asked them why is there such a big price difference for the same camera between Europe and USA to which they replied: "If an item costs X dollars in USA it will cost the same amount in Europe but in Euros to which add other taxes and fees.".
So I eventually decided to buy the camera and a 32 GB SDHC Kingston memory card directly from GoPro Official Store and I don't regret I did so. The total amount paid for the gear + shipping + VAT + custom duties + handling fees was 389 Euros (or 557 $) and it's still lower than any price I could find here in Europe.
My first experience after shooting a few small clips was seasoned with disappointment BUT I came to learn that the problem was not in my camera but in my video player (or perhaps my computer - Dell 1525 Inspiron - Intel Core 2 Duo 2GHz, 2 GB RAM).
The default settings for video mode is 1280x960 pixels at 30 fps, which offers the most vertical viewing area of all resolutions. Later, when I played the footage on my computer, I could only hear the audio while the video came out like a succession of still images. I consulted a few online resources and found out about Splash Lite Player - designed to play all your High Definition MPEG-2 and AVC/H.264 camcorder clips and movies, incredibly fast, smooth and without problems. You don't need any additional codecs. Download, install, watch. It takes about one second to start application and High Definition video playback!
As the output file format from GoPro HD Helmet Hero camera is MP4, I said I have to give it a shot in trying this new player and see if there is any difference in rendering my footage. It was! My clip showed smooth and clean, audio and video being perfectly synchronized.
Now I need to see which video editor to use for HD. Can anyone help me with suggestions?
Looking forward to hit the mountains on clear skies! Cheers!
My first video shot with GoPro - lower resolution after compressing with VirtualDub
And here are more recent GoPro clips:
Winter Mountaineering in Fagaras Mountains
DIY Steadicam for GoPro Video Test
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