Action cameras

[Gaetan]

From what we see in some post some people have very nice pictures
I would like to know what tipe of action cameras are you using.
Gopro ,garmin,or what?
I have not seen any with zoom?
Your comments will be appreciated
Gaetan

[kgarrett9999]

I use a GoPro Hero 3 Black for skydiving, bicycling, snorkeling, etc. Picture quality is fantastic and generally speaking the wide angle lens works for the types of videos that I do. I can grab high quality stills from it, do time lapse and lots of other fun stuff. I have other cameras but they all gather dust now that I have the GoPro.

[sabconsulting]

We've previously discussed my waterproof camera (Nikon AW100), but I didn't point out that it does have a zoom lens. It is still a compact camera, not designed to be attached to a motorbike helmet, but if you are looking for something you can film / photo with by hand rather than attached to a vehicle or helmet then that class of waterproof / shock proof compact camera may be worth considering.

Steve.

[rickeoni]

I use a GopPro hero 3 black edition, when I remember to take it. Also have a Canon Digital SLR that takes amazing pictures, but most of the time I wind up using my cell phone as I always forget to take the camera 🙂

[Bumpyroad]

Gaetan wrote:
Bumpyroad,
What would you buy, what are you using
Gaetan.

my DSLR is a Nikon D5100, with lenses from 8-16mm up to 600.
my best pocketable is a Sony RX100II which has a large/good sensor but costs $700. they now have a III for $800 which adds a viewfinder. these are probably the best truly pocketable ones out there.
my multipurpose small one is a Nikon coolpix S9500 with 22X zoom, wi-fi and GPS.
My latest/best cameras are in the ILC Sony NEX line, Nex 7 is the best
with a couple of 3s. these have APS-C sized sensors and the ILC mirrorless are rapidly replacing DSLRs.
I have a bunch more but these are the primary ones.
the only real choice IMHO would be to buy a ILC Sony and the choice would be full frame or APS-C.
If you want to discuss in depth, please PM me.

bumpy

[Buzzcut1]

I use a go pro silver 3, or a 10 mp point and shoot in rugged areas and a nice Panisonic DM50 with a 30-410 zoom for quality stills and video from a stationary vantage point.

[Eric_Lisa]

I have put my GoPro on my bike handle bars, stuck it to the side of a boat, gone snorkeling with it, and just this week tied it to a quadcopter. Just can't do that with a regular camera!!

So get a GoPro if you are the action, or the camera is in the action. Get a regular camera if you are simply taking pictures of the action.

[ace44]

I use a Contour for video and occasionally pull a still from the video, but 95% of all my pictures come from a Cannon EOS rebel, that way I can adjust exposure and aperture.

[Gaetan]

Bumpyroad,
What would you buy, what are you using
Gaetan.

[Camp__Forrest__]

At my university. we use GoPro for videos at sporting events, student housing events, concerts, etc. For still photos, the resolution is so good that we just crop the photo and blow it up for zooming. For video, we have external zoom lenses that we can attach, but I believe the GoPro video editing software has a zoom feature.

Our guys always use one of the newest cameras, I think they are on the GoPro Hero 3 Black right now.

[Bumpyroad]

GoPro and similar units are fine for clamping on bike handlebars, mounting on helmets, etc. but for "nice" pictures I would certainly spend that money elsewhere on a much better camera.
bumpy