New gizmo

My GoPro (Hero 9 black) has been giving me a lot of grief lately with it deciding on the day whether it wanted to record or not and for how long.  I persevered with it (even when it lost what would have been some sensational video of us blasting out of the Nevis in Colin's buggy) and tried different cards and what not, but it sucks when it dies halfway through recording a hyperlapse of the NI800 and things like that.

Over Labour weekend there were all sorts of sales on and there were deals on GoPros and others, so I decided to go for it.  I had already decided that if it was going to be a GoPro that it would be a 12 rather than a 13 as I didn't really see any benefit in the 13 over the 12 for my basic uses but then I saw the DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro on a site - then the umming and arring really started...

With the Action 5 being dearer than the 12 but cheaper than the 13 and me loving the video and photo quality from my DJI drone, I really needed to do some research.  Naturally, there were plenty of differences to mull over but in the end, it came down to memories of past issues with other GoPros (as well as the current one), the apparent build quality of the DJI and nearly double the battery life that had me going for the DJI.  The two OLED touchscreens are nice but really just gimmicks - one rear screen would be fine.

It's actually a whisker smaller (height) than my 9 but very solid little sucker and it came with the protective cage and quite a sexy mount that of course is compatible with all my GoPro mounts.  Ali-Express and Temu seem to have plenty of accessories for it too...

Apparently the DJI App for editing video on your phone is pretty good (and I've edited drone footage pretty easily on the phone too) but I'll be using the computer mostly for this.

Anyway, it needed a trial run last Sunday.  I only recorded in 1080 and then Youtube stuffs the quality anyway, so you'll have to believe me that the video looked good on my computer.  But most importantly it worked on the day...

Another blimmin camera!

Yep, I slipped on the left mouse button while browsing Trade Me...

There had been a number of emails from GoPro offering deals on cameras and I got a little twitchy.  But then I noticed that they were still pretty dear.  A wee browse on Trade Me brought up all sorts of things including a Garmin Virb Ultra 30.

I'd played around using the Garmin Virb software a few times using GoPro footage and tracks from my Zumo to overlay data but it was a pretty tricky process matching the data to the video.  Grabbing a Virb camera with its own GPS sounded like a much better idea.  And second hand it was less than half new price and cheaper than a newer GoPro.

As you can see it's roughly the same size as my GoPro 3 and the neat thing is that its case is compatible with all my GoPro mounts...

And its got a screen - a touchscreen too!

Different knobs on top.  Flicking the lever on the right (and it worked with my gloves) starts the camera up and recording.  Pressing it takes a photo.

Time to mount it up and go for a ride.

Inside its case

Still get the same buttons through the case

Ok, so I got it on the bike so it was time to test it.  The camera is capable of 4K video but I don't have that fancy fast internet for uploading gigabytes of video so I recorded in 1080 and then after the Virb software created a huge file I processed it again down to a more manageable sized file in 720p.

Sunday was another hot day and I sweated my way at very ummm, sedate speeds over the Track and Saddle before puttering home to edit the video and add some data overlays.  First attempt:

Not too bad eh?  I'm a bit unimpressed with the interference at the start of the video where I give the Connie a couple of revs but I've had similar on other cameras - GoPro's seem to not have this problem.

On one write-up I read that the image stabilisation on the Virb is not marvellous.  I didn't have it on for this ride but I'm wondering how the camera will fare on the Tenere when we're pounding gravel?  I wonder how I can find out that...

Anyway, just for a giggle here's a bit more video showing what it's like to ride the Saddle these days...far too many vehicles on my track...Some nice views though.

Snapping

Righto, so yesterday I was complaining about taking the wrong camera and getting crap pictures again as a result so maybe I need to start looking again...

But first, my current selection.

This is my first ever digital camera and cost a fortune over 12 years ago.  It's a mere 4 mega pixel but comes with a 10x optical zoom and it still takes very good pictures (well, to a very amateur photographer anyway).  It cost me plenty back in the day...

This is yesterday's offender.  I bought it when I started out adventure riding as I didn't want to wreck my little Olympus - either in a whoopsie, bad weather or bouncing around in a topbox.  I think it's about a 12 mega pixel and cost less than half of what the Olympus did.  Oh, and I've dropped the Olympus on concrete and it's survived...

This is my "good"camera and I always take it on my big trips or when I know I want good pictures.  Can't remember how many mega pixels it is but it takes a nice picture and I like the GPS function along with the 42x optical zoom.  And yes, it cost less than the Olympus...

Then of course there are my GoPro's which actually take nice pictures occasionally...

So, I'm sick of the crappy shots from the Fujifilm but still want something small to stick in the tank bag.  And I'd still prefer water and shockproof.

What to get?  Help please!

BTW: I can't quite bring myself to potentially kill the little Olympus doing this job.