airChris wrote:There's a some vignetting in that video.... is that from that aluminum case, or the filters screwed on to the front?

Chris

In my experience it's the depth of the filter stack that causes it.

I have an older 720p Drift which has worked flawlessly. It is a bit large but is far more reliable than my Hero 3+.

One major thing Drift did that is miles better than GoPro is using IR to remotely control the camera instead of the WiFi controls used by GoPro. The WiFi is a power hog and runs the battery down about as fast as actual video acquisition. The only good thing is there is not an hour of warm up taxiing and transit time on the memory card.

If Hero 4 and 5 still use WiFi to remotely the camera, I would expect the abysmal remote battery life to remain the same. I know one can purchase a larger battery but the technical issue is the power consumption of the WiFi "radio" running continuously.

GoPro is obviously designed with surfers, bikers, hang gliders, etc. where the camera is either operated a short period of time or is reachable by the operator.

The aviation world is not their prime market so don't hold your breath for them to change. There are other cameras out there and as soon as I can find a good replacement expect a used Hero 3+ to be in the For Sale forum.

TomD wrote:One major thing Drift did that is miles better than GoPro is using IR to remotely control the camera instead of the WiFi controls used by GoPro. The WiFi is a power hog and runs the battery down about as fast as actual video acquisition.

Use the gopro remote instead of wifi on your mobile device. Wifi itself isn't a hog, but using wifi via a mobile device puts the gopro into streaming mode, which is a huge pig. Using the gopro keyfob remote doesn't have that liability.

At this price if it falls off the wing you will not be crying too much. What do the experts think of these. Please do not bad mouth this camera just cus you paid 500 bucks for yours.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Black-Full-108 ... 0506.m3226

I am planning a long cross country this spring and am going to buy something.

Now I think that this is a better camera. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Full-HD-Waterp ... 0752.m1982

Tim

Tim,

I purchased a SJ8000 China clone off Ebay earlier this year. It's not a GoPro, but for the price it works well. Better picture than I expected and the features are easy to navigate. I couldn't get the RF remote to work well though.

I haven't had it on the plane, we used it for a Kauai vaca earlier this year and I wanted something the kids could put in the ocean without me fearing it would get destroyed.

MM

qmdv wrote:At this price if it falls off the wing you will not be crying too much. What do the experts think of these. Please do not bad mouth this camera just cus you paid 500 bucks for yours.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Black-Full-108 ... 0506.m3226

I am planning a long cross country this spring and am going to buy something.

Now I think that this is a better camera. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Full-HD-Waterp ... 0752.m1982

Tim

Tim, at that price I wouldn't hesitate. I bought a few of the LED lightbars from China last year and have been impressed at the quality and value.

I've figured out that I'm too lazy or selfish to share my life by posting videos or I'd be on that deal like a chubby kid on a box of smarties*.

Allan
*Canadian candy, similar to chocolate M&Ms

Have two China clones. Sj4000 and ipexeii. Both are less than 90.00 USD each. SJ has seen a hard life on motorcycle as well as in Cessna. Take ok pics and videos but is getting less sharp. Easy to use and can run off plane or bike power when not in water resistant case. Easy to download and wifi works, but eats battery time. Ipexeii is my strut cam. Better battery life. It has a remote that I have not had any luck with. Better pics and videos. Downloading is a real problem. Always start out with 00001 when the mem is cleared and the time stamp is not reliable. Have worked around this and is just an extra step I don't need to do. It will not work on plane power thinks it is going to down load photos. Cases and mounts are ok. Break mounts when moving cameras. Use most vids for Facebook so not a big deal about crystal clear. Imho
Have used brother in law's gopros. Better pics and videos but less of a lose when clone is damaged or lost.
ML

albravo wrote: I'd be on that deal like a chubby kid on a box of smarties*.

Allan
*Canadian candy, similar to chocolate M&Ms

YOU THINK WE YANKS DON'T KNOW WHAT SMARTIES ARE?

Zzz wrote:YOU THINK WE YANKS DON'T KNOW WHAT SMARTIES ARE?

Correct. The US has a weird smartie derivative that is no smartie at all. I don't even know if a fat kid would jump on a box.

From Wiki: Smarties are a colour-varied sugar-coated chocolate confectionery. They have been manufactured since 1937,[1] originally by H.I. Rowntree & Company in the UK, and are currently produced by Nestlé.

Smarties are oblate spheroids with a minor axis of about 5 mm (0.2 in) and a major axis of about 12 mm (0.5 in). They come in eight colours: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, mauve,[2] pink and brown, although the blue variety was temporarily replaced by a white variety in some countries, while an alternative natural colouring dye of the blue colour was being researched.[3]

Smarties are popular primarily in Europe, Canada, South Africa, Australasia and the Middle East. In the USA rights to the name belong to the Smarties Candy Company, which manufactures its own hard tablet sweet under the registered trademark name Smarties.

albravo wrote:

Zzz wrote:YOU THINK WE YANKS DON'T KNOW WHAT SMARTIES ARE?

Correct. The US has a weird smartie derivative that is no smartie at all. I don't even know if a fat kid would jump on a box.

From Wiki: Smarties are a colour-varied sugar-coated chocolate confectionery. They have been manufactured since 1937,[1] originally by H.I. Rowntree & Company in the UK, and are currently produced by Nestlé.

Smarties are oblate spheroids with a minor axis of about 5 mm (0.2 in) and a major axis of about 12 mm (0.5 in). They come in eight colours: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, mauve,[2] pink and brown, although the blue variety was temporarily replaced by a white variety in some countries, while an alternative natural colouring dye of the blue colour was being researched.[3]

Smarties are popular primarily in Europe, Canada, South Africa, Australasia and the Middle East. In the USA rights to the name belong to the Smarties Candy Company, which manufactures its own hard tablet sweet under the registered trademark name Smarties.

Ok, turns out you're right. I was thinking of those little chalky aspirin-like candys. I love them.

Hahahahahahaha!!!!! I was thinking the same thing, Z! I just didn’t open my mouth, hahahahaha!

Mmmmmmmm smarties, I especially like the smarties in the small boxes, you don't feel like such a fat kid until you end up in a pile of empty little boxes!

It would be great to see some comparison footage of these chinese camaras to a go pro if anyone has both? The quality footage would just have to be somewhat close for being strapped on the side of an airplane I would think. My go-pros annoy the f***k out of me so much I never use them, wifi stops 15 mins into a flight, turn off randomly, battery life, got a newer one and it was worse. Always seems I have to land, stop and fiddle with them to get any footage. Be nice to have a cheap option to get some footage to share.