I’ve seen alot of older posts on this subject, but with technology advancing at the speed it does, it seems like we need to revisit this topic more often than others.
In previous posts, most sugguested the GoPro Hero 7 black for the stabilization capability, but I read the audio quality is the pits.
So in 2021, has anyone found a better camera for karting, as if so, good or bad, what has been your experience with it? I’m in the market, but I also realize you could write a book on every I don’t know. And I also conisdering the unknown cost of all the extras like mounts, tri-pods, etc. . .
Talk to me Goose! What in 2021 is working (or not) for you?
What are you goals with the camera? If you’re looking to make fancy 4k+ edits, you probably want something high-end. If you want to use it as a learning tool to watch your on-board footage and review your driving, something simple will do.
I have a Hero 8 Black which is great for high-def video and image stabilization and all that good stuff. But I also have a GoPro Session which is far simpler to use and works great for on-board analysis. I actually prefer the Session for on-board videos because it’s literally one button operation. No need to set up view ratio, lens, FPS…
Mounts are cheap. You can buy pretty cheap off-brand bundles of mounts, pads, tri-pods etc. on Amazon for not much at all.
Don’t sleep on the knock-off brands. You can grab a cheaper version of basically the same tech as GoPro offers for a fraction of the price. If you just want to use it as a self-analysis tool, that’s not a bad route to go.
Caddx Orca, RunCam 5 Orange, and Foxeer Box 2 are some cameras similar to the GoPro Session. They’re all made by manufacturers that are popular with FPV drone enthusiasts. Each will be quite a bit cheaper than the newer GoPros (~$100 for the above cameras vs $250+ for a GoPro) but still capable of 4k video with built-in stabilization. If I were in the market for something for simply reviewing footage but still wanted decent video quality I’d probably consider any of them.
GoPro 7-9 Black will still be the highest quality if you wanted to go the fancy 4k+ edit route one day. One note regarding the GoPro tiers - Black is the highest and is the only one with their hypersmooth stabilization which is a noticeable improvement over their other tiers, Silver and White. The others don’t offer bad stabilization, but if you’re going to go for a GoPro I’d just go straight to one of the Black versions. I actually own a Hero 7 Silver myself and wish I’d have gone for a Black just for the better stabilization.
Regarding audio quality, I don’t find karts themselves to offer great audio to begin with so I’ve never really been concerned with capturing the best onboard audio I could, but that’s just my opinion.
I’d echo what others said. I started with a couple sessions and have owned all of them except for 8 since hero 4 session.
Basically, buy the newest if you can. Failing that, buy the used generation you can afford. Never go below hero 5 Black. That’s where image stabilization begins.
Personally a hero 5 is fine. The 9 is awesome, though.
I got a used hero 5 black for $95. Works great. Depends what your budget and goals are but for what I need it does wonders. Heres a shameless plug that was recorded on my 5 black.
I believe this is the one I downloaded off the computer so it should reach higher quality footage. Front fairing mount right near the number plate.
“One note regarding the GoPro tiers - Black is the highest and is the only one with their hypersmooth stabilization which is a noticeable improvement over their other tiers, Silver and White. The others don’t offer bad stabilization, but if you’re going to go for a GoPro I’d just go straight to one of the Black versions.”
And here I was thinking the color was just the color of the case! Great info! I had no idea!
I have a session 5 and as TJ says it’s really easy to use and does a pretty good job. We did some back to back testing with my session 5 and my brother’s Hero 8 Black last year and the Hero 8 is a good bit better from a stabilization standpoint. That said I can’t force myself to upgrade just yet. If I remember correctly the microphone performance on the session was actually better than the 8 black from what I could only describe as the 8’s attempt at noise cancellation for the wind that ended up cutting out a good bit of engine noise at the same time.
Anyone use or have any experience the DjI or the Akaso? The DjI is interesting as they’re a drone company, not technically motorsports, but they deal with some of the same issues (wind, speed, vibration)
I’m not against the Gropro, but saving money would be nice because just getting into the sport I seem to be hemeraging funds like there is no tomorrow.
I got the AKASO EK7000. Yes it is a deal, but the built quality is significantly inferior than the gopro. I am yet to try it on the kart, but when I used it indoors the video quality and stabilization was far from what a GP gives you.
I managed to get a deal on the GP8 black once the 9 came out and I am super happy with the footage I am getting.
The most common places I see them mounted are on the front fairing, or near the left arm/shoulder by mounting on the radiator (if you have one) or using some RAM mounts attached to the left seat strut. The former gives you a full view of the track but you can’t see the driver’s hands, while the latter gives you a decent view of the hands but the right side of the kart and track can be tougher to see.
I have a mounting bracket kit that I got from Comet Kart Sales that works pretty well. Some people have made the sticky mount that comes with their GoPros work, but the contoured surfaces of the fairing can make that tricky.
Here’s what my camera looks like on the fairing of my kart:
My typical is the radiator or the fairing using half of a roll bar mount, I will put cameras in other places while testing though, and I keep a GoPro remote strapped to the steering wheel to control and sync them all.
