GoPro HD 2 Released - See What's New - Video

GoPro, the famous action sports camera manufacturer released the new GoPro HD 2.

The original GoPro Hero HD already made history so it was time for an update. And what a cool update this is!

What's also cool, is the price of the previous camera model being lowered. You can now get the GoPro HD, much cheaper. Update: no longer available in GoPro store (I guess they stopped manufacturing it).

What's new in GoPro HD Hero 2 

The best thing (in my opinion), is the ability to shoot video in 120 fps in WGA resolution (480/848 pixels).

This means you get super-duper slow motion action footage, twice as slow than with the first HD Hero. All this without any plugin for your video editor (such as Twixtor which allows you to render in extremely slow motion regardless of the original fps of the video - works only with Adobe After Effects, Sony Vegas and Final Cut Pro)

CEO of GoPro - Nicholas Woodman - talking about the new cam

Check out the side by side video comparison between GoPro HD and GoPro HD 2 from Olivia (she's hot isn't she?).

Notice the smoothness of the video in the second part of the clip - that was shot either with a camera stabilizer or the cams were mounted on a car. Here's a version of a GoPro steadicam that you may like.



What else?

The way the put it - Twice more powerful in every way:

• Professional 11MP Sensor
• 2x Faster Image Processor
• 2X Sharper Glass Lens
• Professional Low Light Performance
• Full 170º, Medium 127º, Narrow 90º FOV in 1080p and 720p Video
• 120 fps WVGA, 60 fps 720p, 48 fps 960p, 30 fps 1080p Video
• Full 170º and Medium 127º FOV Photos
• 10 11MP Photos Per Second Burst
• 1 11MP Photo Every 0.5 Sec Timelapse Mode
• 3.5mm External Stereo Microphone Input
• Simple Language-based User Interface
• Wi-Fi BacPac™ and Wi-Fi Remote™ Compatible (coming soon)
• Long Range Remote Control of up to 50 GoPro Cameras
• Wi-Fi Video/Photo Preview + Playback + Control via GoPro App
• Live Streaming Video and Photos to the Web

GoPro HERO2 HD Hands On Review

I've seen this video shot with the new camera and I can't say I'm particularly impressed. Maybe coz the TechCrunch video player doesn't allow you to switch to a higher resolution, as YouTube does.

Anyway, the official GoPro HD Hero 2 video looks much better:



A red LED on each face (front, back, top) allows you to actually see if your cam is recording, no matter where you are. No more sticking your face in the lens to see what's going on. That's neat!

Knowing exactly how much time you battery will last is also another cool new benefit. This allows you to plan your shooting much better, especially if you try to produce videos where every aspect counts:

• particular natural lighting in a particular part of the day
• events that develop in a limited time frame
• doing long time lapse takes
• etc.

Anyway, if you ran out of battery power, you can charge your GoPro with this small portable solar panel. It will take about 5 hours in a sunny day. 

11 fps burst photo mode, at 11 MP is more than most DSLR's can do. Sony HX9V takes only 10 pics per burst. This is impressive! And you'll be able to do some nice sequences with those pics when you'll edit GoPro HD clips - cool overlays and what not.

The microphone input allows you to shoot scenes with much better audio which means you can use the footage even for TV shows where properly captured voice sound is important.

A friend of mine uses the footage we shoot in our cliff jumping trips for a short TV show but he never uses the original sound where we ask participants question like Why do you come here? Why do you like climbing? etc. 

The sound in Hero HD just wasn't good for broadcasting footage with voice, especially when it was recorded holding the camera in the case. Now, this problem looks like it's solved. All you need is a good microphone with a good wind muffler.

Plug the mike and shoot that interview!

A remote and a Wi-Fi sender/receiver by which you can control up to 50 HD Hero 2 cameras (to be released later). You'll be able to control your camera with your smartphone/tablet as well - you just install a free app - that's cool.

This means a lot for the serious video producer, who has lots of cameras deployed in the field.

But it can be quite useful even when you're wearing your cam on your helmet. Instead of taking the helmet down to check the status, you just look at your remote display (or your iPhone). Then you can switch between shooting modes, start recording, stop recording, shut down camera - all without actually touching the cam.

Conclusion

The improved sensor promises better image in low light and that's another exciting thing about this new cam.

I'm curious if the sensor itself is actually bigger than the first version or it has the same size and they somehow crammed more mega pixels and extra sensibility there...?! Can anyone tell me?

Underwater video, multitude of mounts, fish eye lens, compact and solid.

Will I buy it? Hell yeah!!! :-)

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