I use an older gopro hd 960. You can pick them up cheap now on ebay used. Mount to jury strut with roll bar mount. Roll bar mount is kind of flimsy - it slips if you land hard.

I edit videos with mac iMovie - but the cameras come with editing software - cineform.

Battery and wifi do suck more I'm sure w/ the newer hero 3 - but the plus is you can remote view and remove shut on/off. My camera has great battery life - but you get no control when you are in the air. Often you just want sporadic shots. Editing hours of hd video is very time comsuming and the files are enormous.

I have a couple of questions for the Gopro 3 users.

When you say battery life sucks, how much life are you getting?

How much life do you get if you do not use wifi?

Lastly, with the remote, can you completely shut down the camera(to the point where no battery is used) and then power it back up with the remote? Or, does the camera have to be in some sort of a "standby" mode with wifi running and draining battery?

Thanks for the help.

Joe

I have set the GoPro Hero 3 Black to record with the WiFi turned off and it recorded about 100 min of continuous video before the battery died. I attached a battery bacpac and it recorded over 200 min of continuous video.

I do not have remote control access to the camera if it is fully shutoff.

My daughter sent me a Hero 3 Black for Christmas. I have been a Drift user for a couple of years. I was real excited about it until:

1. I tried to get it mounted under the wing. I was unable to get satisfactory results. The camera has to be in the supplied case for any secure mounting options.
2. I wanted to connect it to my intercom system to capture all the audio transmissions in the cockpit.
3. I went on a 3 hr flight and only got about 1:10 min of video before the battery crapped out.

I talked to GoPro about how to mount the camera and capture the audio while airborne, and they advised me to return the camera. They indicated there was no way to get the audio from the camera while inside the camera 'container'. They suggested that I look around on the web for mounting ideas.

I concluded the camera is good and would be great for water applications, but not ready for aviation applications yet.

I purchased the Drift Ghost and the video quality is better than the GoPro and improved over the Drift Stealth, the camera is easy to mount, the remote lets me know what the camera is doing (video, photo, photo bursts or timed photos), I can do some adjustments with the wi-fi and smartphone. I can grab the audio from the intercom to the camera.

I have found a bug in the wi-fi software and Drift is working on a resolution. The camera allows you to take still pics while recording video, but when in wi-fi mode the camera will hang up and stop working. A battery removal is required when this happens which is kind of a bitch when airborne. Also, not all settings are available by wi-fi (I don't consider this a big deal).

All of the functionality seems to work with the remote. I'm pleased with the Drift.

Rich

I have a question about the wifi. Doe sit require wifi to work, or is it a wifi connection between yoyr pho e and the camera. Up where I live there is no such thing as wifi internet, just available over the data network on our phone system. So basically wondering how these wifi remotes work and if I can even use them.

David

A1Skinner wrote:I have a question about the wifi. Doe sit require wifi to work, or is it a wifi connection between yoyr pho e and the camera. Up where I live there is no such thing as wifi internet, just available over the data network on our phone system. So basically wondering how these wifi remotes work and if I can even use them.

David

The wi-fi is between the camera and the phone.

rfinkle wrote:

A1Skinner wrote:I have a question about the wifi. Doe sit require wifi to work, or is it a wifi connection between yoyr pho e and the camera. Up where I live there is no such thing as wifi internet, just available over the data network on our phone system. So basically wondering how these wifi remotes work and if I can even use them.

David

The wi-fi is between the camera and the phone.

Ok. So you don't actually need to be in a wi-fi area? Cool beans. Thanks Rich.

David

Wi-fi is a radio device, and thus consumes more power, regardless what device, whether GoPro, iPhone, laptop. This is true especially if you're using the preview feature in the GoPro mobile app. The best way to extend battery life is to use the remote/app to confirm your shot framing, start the recording, then disconnect from the camera.

GoPro was designed for surfing, it is really a pain in the a$$ for filming from an airplane. But, that's all I have right now.

Just in case anybody is in the market sams club has the go pro 2 hero bundle with WiFi back for $199.00