GoPro Hero 4 and another Motorcycle trip up Khao Krajom

[BBJ]

This trip was also a comparison between the Gopro Hero4 silver and Drift Ghost - S built-in mic sound and picture quality.

On the way up the drift was used on the helmet while the Gopro caught the rear action. On the way down they were reversed.

With my new Gopro Hero 4 silver and a new set of Pirelli MT60s Corsa my friend and I decided to take another trip for me, but a first for him on his Dunlop Sportmax up Khao Krajom. We decided to camp for the night. The original plan was not to reach the peak but to take a right turn before the water-crossing not knowing where it would lead. After tackling the first section of bumpy rain carved mounds scattered with baked dust we reach a resting point and took a minute to enjoy the scenery before taking on the first ruble and rocky section.

Video Here:

Skip to 9:00 for the Morris Dance

[BBJ]

After about a 40 minute run we reached what is about the halfway point of the climb. The original plan was to go no further and take a chance on a right turn just before the water-crossing through the jungle which I spotted on my last trip here. Not knowing where it ventured to we took a chance rather than the steep climbs that lay ahead.

As we trailed through the arched jungle trees that formed a tunnel, I rode a narrow path with a drop to my left about 30-40ft into a rocky stream. Their wasn't enough room to put the stand down so I lay the bike on it's side on a banking as I didn't want to ride any further before inspecting the path ahead. We both decided it was too risky for these bikes and weight and decided to go back but their was no room to maneuver the bike, so we lay down on its side and spin it around before Luke was attacked by a Dtuar Thor Bee which are nasty big fookers. Luke in retaliation did what only can be described as an attack by a Morris Dancer on acid! I pissed myself when I saw the video. After a quick chat we decided to head back to the water-crossing to take on the rest of the climb!

Fortunately, the rainy season was over so the obstacle facing Luke was the shale and gravel with the limited grip he had, but taking things steady and a bit of team work we knew we could tackle it easily. After crossing a broken footbridge with mountainous and jungle views, we plodded on.

We continued for about 30 mins more. I plowed up the hills and through the gravel with ease. The MT60s really did their job and a massive improvement on the Scorpions. Luke was a little more apprehensive on his Dunlops. Letting out 10-12lbs of air helped but not much but he did a great job getting up, and more difficult, down.
We eventually reached the top after a good run from Bangkok and a 2 hour trip up the mountain with breaks. We were greeted by a few 4x4 enthusiasts and a couple who cooked us dinner and attended to Luke's bee sting. Dark was coming fast so we set up camp.

Made a change to have a clear view of the stars. Cassiopeia above.

[BBJ]

We woke to the next morning from the fresh and cool night before. The sky was just breaking with a red tint in the clouds.

But as the sun started to break through we realized how high we had climbed with the view of the lower mountains as the clouds covered the tops like a cotton blanket

Tired, with no sleep from the snoring of my neighbor next door, we headed back down.

Good trip, but much more to explore around the area.

[DualSportBiker]

Looks like fun. I've only done that run in a Landy - the final rise was so rutted i bottomed out with 33" tires!

[ll2]

nice photos and trip. thanks for the posts.

[AllanB]

For the tiny amount of difference in quality, I bought a 1080 sports camera (available for a number of suppliers) for £35 (about 1750baht) meaning I could and will buy 4 for the same moneyas the Hero and there is a reason for this.

Mounting a camera on the helmet makes for some pretty boring footage, but shooting from a number positions, including some vulnerable locations, can make for some exciting footage. Close to the ground will give a much greater sense of speed, close to a rotating tyre will give a greater sense of action, all tips I learned from a TV company I worked with a few years back.

When you come to editing the rushes you will have a lot more and varied footage to work with.

With great action footage the 2% loss in quality is, IMO, irrelevant.

[BBJ]

For the tiny amount of difference in quality, I bought a 1080 sports camera (available for a number of suppliers) for £35 (about 1750baht) meaning I could and will buy 4 for the same moneyas the Hero and there is a reason for this.

Mounting a camera on the helmet makes for some pretty boring footage, but shooting from a number positions, including some vulnerable locations, can make for some exciting footage. Close to the ground will give a much greater sense of speed, close to a rotating tyre will give a greater sense of action, all tips I learned from a TV company I worked with a few years back.

When you come to editing the rushes you will have a lot more and varied footage to work with.

With great action footage the 2% loss in quality is, IMO, irrelevant.

You mean like at 17.57 on my video using the Mobius which is the same price as the SJ1000 which I have, but unfortunately the SJ100 are terrible when it comes to mounting them. Wheel action 22.26

Incidentally, this was my trip up in the Pajero using 4x SJ1000 cameras. I used Fat Gecko bracket but the cameras are cracking for the money. There's wheel and water action too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX6BMlO1OCg

I have the drift, a couple of the Mobius and a few Sj1000. After using the GoPro, despite its price, the small differences in picture and sound quality are well worth it.

The Drift is a much more positives, more useable and easily positioned in many places with it's rotatable lens and you don't look like a member of telletubbies when it's on your head, but I'm well chuffed with the GoPro!

Now all I'm waiting for is my AirDog.

Edited December 11, 2014 by BBJ

[AllanB]

But are you willing sacrifice or risk your expensive GoPro camera to get that special bit of footage? And if you do and trash it what are you going to do for the rest of the trip?

I agree the SJ brackets are flimsy, so I use sticky back Velcro, and the video picture quality is excellent.

I have never used it for stills and never will, horses for courses.

[Shurup]

But are you willing sacrifice or risk your expensive GoPro camera to get that special bit of footage? And if you do and trash it what are you going to do for the rest of the trip?

I agree the SJ brackets are flimsy, so I use sticky back Velcro, and the video picture quality is excellent.

I have never used it for stills and never will, horses for courses.

All the GoPro cams, starting from their 1st models come in a clear bulletproof case, GoPro isn't supposed to be used by itself. I still have their original HD model and it's still going strong, the case is all scratched up but the lens (replaceable) is clear. It's been with me on many off-road adventures and I've taken it down to 35 meters below water surface, you can't "trash" it unless you do so in a purpose.

[AllanB]

But are you willing sacrifice or risk your expensive GoPro camera to get that special bit of footage? And if you do and trash it what are you going to do for the rest of the trip?

I agree the SJ brackets are flimsy, so I use sticky back Velcro, and the video picture quality is excellent.

I have never used it for stills and never will, horses for courses.

All the GoPro cams, starting from their 1st models come in a clear bulletproof case, GoPro isn't supposed to be used by itself. I still have their original HD model and it's still going strong, the case is all scratched up but the lens (replaceable) is clear. It's been with me on many off-road adventures and I've taken it down to 35 meters below water surface, you can't "trash" it unless you do so in a purpose.

That camera falls off your bike at speed it aint going to survive unscathed and if you don't notice it's gone it is a write off. This camera is 8 times the price of the SJ1000 and the tiny amount quality difference isn't reflected in that price.

Plus you are missing the point, it is interesting action needed when shooting a video, otherwise the only person entertained is the guy who made the film, like 90% of the stuff on Youtube, guys with SOA cameras stuck on their helmets for safe keeping.

Put 3 or 4 cameras all over the bike and catch everything and no one will notice the 2% loss of picture quality, they will be too busy laughing, crying or cringing at the stuff you manged to capture on film.

[Shurup]

Allan, when I bought my GoPro, it was the only action camera on the market at that time, no alternatives, and I bet it will survive a fall at a high speed, that polycarbonate housing is really tough and the worse that could happen is you scratch the lens and would have to replace it. But I agree, if it's lost, it's lost. I also more than likely would buy something different if I was shopping for an action camera these days.

I don't make any videos these days but I use my GoPro as a dash cam, in case there's an accident or whatever, so I have a video proof of what actually happened, just need to remember to stop and erase a memory card every few hours.

I also like mounting it at a lower point on my bike, it makes for some interesting footage.

[BBJ]

As good as the cheaper cameras are, they suffer terribly from jello affect at high speed, especially on a bike. Neither my Drift or Gopro have this. I agree about losing them and the cost, but I strap mine down in case it comes of the bracket. To be honest, the only reason for the purchase is I'm waiting for my AirDog to arrive, who have just since announced the Sony mini cam is compatible which I prefer. Th GoPro is for other projects and right now it is boxed up as I prefer the less obtrusive look of the Drift and mobius.

Incidentally, I dropped the Drift from a tree while filming some bees. It has gone flying off my bike when I came off when I was trail riding. I dropped it and kicked it under a car and there isn't a mark on it!

[AllanB]

The point I am making is that the content of a video is far more important than the reproduction quality, given that these cameras are all so close anyway.

Extreme example, I would rather watch a good old film, even in black and white, than a crappy "dime a dozen" new film and most would agree.

I think we have become obsessed with technology and lost what is most important, that of substance.

Youtube is full of HD rubbish.

That said the stills above are very nice, which is kind of a by product here.

Edited December 12, 2014 by AllanB

[darkian]

For the tiny amount of difference in quality, I bought a 1080 sports camera (available for a number of suppliers) for £35 (about 1750baht) meaning I could and will buy 4 for the same moneyas the Hero and there is a reason for this.

Hmm, sounds like you've been misled about (and not used) a GoPro Hero 4. The difference in quality between the Hero 4 (and even the earlier GoPro cameras - I have the Hero 3) and cheap cameras is massive. Image quality and sharpness, stabilisation, colour processing and durability for a start. The GoPro isn't highly priced just for the name - they are designed, developed and tested by people taking them to the limit. GoPro aren't shy about strapping them to enduro riders, ice climbers, BASE jumpers and cave divers because they know that the camera won't fail to come up with the goods.

I fully agree with the idea of having more than one angle - it can get boring watching head-cam only shots (I actually haven't done anything with hours of footage from riding through the Himalayas for this reason). But I would rather have one GoPro and move it around me/the bike than any number of £35 ones.

But are you willing sacrifice or risk your expensive GoPro camera to get that special bit of footage? And if you do and trash it what are you going to do for the rest of the trip?

Chances are that if my GoPro has been broken, then my trip is already over and a broken camera is the least of my worries. In the protective housing properly mounted, they're pretty indestructable. And really, if you're taking a bike off-road and filming something worthwhile, 'what ifs' are best left at home. Each time we go out we risk our bikes, our kit and ourselves. No point buying a GoPro if it's going to stay indoors. Again, mine went through freezing conditions, snow, river crossings, heat and sun, dust storms and monsoons, and it's fine.

[AllanB]

Here is an example of what I am talking about, "putting all your eggs in one basket" and taking one expensive camera. The footage in the vid is pretty good quality, I will admit, but there is only 8 1/2 minutes of usable footage, in 500 days of riding, covering 131,000 km.

He must have missed a ton of stuff on that epic trip and IMO for two reasons, he has only one expensive camera and wanted to safeguard it to the end. Had he taken 4 or even 6 cheaper cameras, he would have had a lot more usable and almost certainly more exciting footage.

I bet he is disappointed, after a year and a half busting his backside in the saddle, being hit with rain, snow, sleet, wind, heat sweat and crap.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmX8pGBJyvo

But well done on doing the trip.....

[Shurup]

I don't really get it. Do you wish to see all of his 500 days of riding? I'm sure I won't, I'd fall asleep after 30 min no matter how exciting the footage is. Ok maybe 1 or 2 hours if it's really exciting...

Surely his video is a compilation of the most interesting stuff.

[AllanB]

I don't really get it. Do you wish to see all of his 500 days of riding? I'm sure I won't, I'd fall asleep after 30 min no matter how exciting the footage is. Ok maybe 1 or 2 hours if it's really exciting...

Surely his video is a compilation of the most interesting stuff.

Do you wish to see all of his 500 days of riding? You realise you said that out loud?

But there is nothing there and why? He had an hour of filming each day, tops. less on HD and that assumed he was able to recharge the camera at the end of the day, exhausted after a day on the bike. And how did he work out when to start filming? And what if he wasted that hour in the morning and in the afternoon something really interesting/exciting happened? That moment lost forever, to everyone but him.

If he had 6 cameras it would give him a huge number of options, an hour here and hour there and on something he knew was going to be interesting/dangerous, he could fit and run 3 cameras and then do it. 3 different angles of the same action, like they do at the movies, typically on one-off stunts. A slightly grainy, even shaky shot of something stupendous is worth it's weight in gold when you are editing. 8 minutes of 3 second highlights is what you end up with one camera, including repeats.

Content is everything and sometimes that slightly shaky shot can be better that the posed perfect, look at how good my camera is footage. It is the video equivalent of poetic licence, indeed they do it deliberately at the movies, try watching the Jason Bourne action films.

32gb Micro SD cards cost peanuts now and weigh nothing, 6off SJ1000 cameras weigh naff all...the downside..editing will take longer.

[Shurup]

We got it Alan, you'd buy 6 cheap cams instead on one expensive. You don't need to repeat it over and over.

Your arguments regarding his 8 min compilation are weak at the least.

One hour per day? Really? Memory cards are dirt cheap as well as the GoPro spare batteries and external charger aren't very expensive either. I can bet that he was shooting more than an hour per day when it was worth it.

I agree his compilation would probably looked a little better if he was shooting from a few different angles and I'm sure that a guy who can take off on a year and a half long trip can afford more than one GoPro if he wanted to. If it was me going on that trip, the trip itself would have been a priory and and not making the movies, I wouldn't want to mock around with more than one camera and I definitely wouldn't want to edit 2-6 times more video material. I hardly ever take stills, let alone using my old GoPro, just because I'm too busy doing what I'm enjoying doing. I seem to never have time anyways to sit and edit hours of my video adventures.

P.S. I only finished watching the 1st minute of the video you posted (internet is too slow), but if you watched it yourself, you would have noticed that he has more than one GoPro (between 0:53 and 0:58 it shows one cam on his chest strap and another one on his windscreen), so what was your argument?

[Shurup]

I'm almost at the 2 min mark but I can say that his video looks fine to me, me the regular guy and not a video pro as yourself.

[BBJ]

Anyway, the cheaper ones are a little unreliable in the event of an accident. When I've tumble off my bike, the SJ1000 has crashed the recording made unrecoverable. The Drift didn't and that took the harder knock.

But anyway, the video was for my friends and I, some who couldn't join regardless of how boring or unprofessional the video may be to some. It was simply put here in case anyone was interested in the GoPro 4!

[AllanB]

We got it Alan, you'd buy 6 cheap cams instead on one expensive. You don't need to repeat it over and over.

Your arguments regarding his 8 min compilation are weak at the least.

One hour per day? Really? Memory cards are dirt cheap as well as the GoPro spare batteries and external charger aren't very expensive either. I can bet that he was shooting more than an hour per day when it was worth it.

I agree his compilation would probably looked a little better if he was shooting from a few different angles and I'm sure that a guy who can take off on a year and a half long trip can afford more than one GoPro if he wanted to. If it was me going on that trip, the trip itself would have been a priory and and not making the movies, I wouldn't want to mock around with more than one camera and I definitely wouldn't want to edit 2-6 times more video material. I hardly ever take stills, let alone using my old GoPro, just because I'm too busy doing what I'm enjoying doing. I seem to never have time anyways to sit and edit hours of my video adventures.

P.S. I only finished watching the 1st minute of the video you posted (internet is too slow), but if you watched it yourself, you would have noticed that he has more than one GoPro (between 0:53 and 0:58 it shows one cam on his chest strap and another one on his windscreen), so what was your argument?

In your very last posting, in your opening statement you said you didn't really get it, now when I clarify my point you complain about my repeating myself, you can't have it both ways.

True, I didn't notice that he had two cameras at one point, but in a way it kind of reinforces my point that you need 6, putting them in vulnerable positions to catch the action. Remember this was a trip of a lifetime, when he encountered every kind of weather condition, different people, terrain, etc, etc.so it is hard for me to believe that nothing happened in 500 days on this trip. Perhaps one camera was lost, broke, or was stolen, perhaps both, the GoPro Hero looks expensive to a thief, the SJ1000 less so.

Taking 6 cameras ready set up is much easier than messing around changing batteries, plugging in chargers and worst of all winkling out tiny and awkward microSD cards, at a time you are on you own, in bad weather, wet, cold, perhaps you have fallen, whatever. Preparation is much preferred to messing around en-route.

£250 is a lot to risk and if it is your only camera on such a memorable trip even more. However, I would concede that if you are going places you can go back to easily, (unlike the video) perhaps the fun part is more important that the filming. For me I don't do that, my plan is to do the Indian Himalayas next summer, if the body holds out and I won't be going back, so the filming will be very important.

Solo, even two man expeditions are notoriously difficult to film, so you need to make it as easy as possible. If like the Jock and Limey you have a BBC film crew following you about, it is a whole lot easier.

So it depends on the circumstances, I am merely pointing out other considerations when choosing an action cam.

[ll2]

1 best is better than 6 worse.

[Shurup]

1 best is better than 6 worse.

I agree but each to their own. Some people prefer 2 cheap Chinese phones to one brand name phone, others prefer a few cheap chinese bikes to one brand name bike and Alan prefers 6 cheap chinese dash cams instead of GoPro. Each to their own...

[ll2]

1 best is better than 6 worse.

I agree but each to their own. Some people prefer 2 cheap Chinese phones to one brand name phone, others prefer a few cheap chinese bikes to one brand name bike and Alan prefers 6 cheap chinese dash cams instead of GoPro. Each to their own...

of course.

[AllanB]

1 best is better than 6 worse.

I agree but each to their own. Some people prefer 2 cheap Chinese phones to one brand name phone, others prefer a few cheap chinese bikes to one brand name bike and Alan prefers 6 cheap chinese dash cams instead of GoPro. Each to their own...

It is not same thing at all, there is no reason for a normal person to buy two phones, but I can see I am wasting my time with you guys, you don't want a serious record of your rides that you can share later. Instead, just sit around and discuss which of your unimaginative headcam videos has the clearest picture.

Just like the "Brand Name" girls.

PS The SJ1000 is not a dash-cam Technomoan describes it as the best action camera under $100 and that the picture quality is very good. I agree.

The GoPro is like Macdonalds, overpriced to pay the big marketing bills.

[darkian]

He must have missed a ton of stuff on that epic trip

I bet he is disappointed, after a year and a half busting his backside in the saddle, being hit with rain, snow, sleet, wind, heat sweat and crap.

Doubt he missed anything, we're the ones that missed it. Doubt he was disappointed either. I went to India and Nepal, shot a load of footage with my single GoPro that I never even looked at after coming back. I assure you, I missed nothing and did not come home disappointed.

[BBJ]

^Well, as I have the SJ1000, Mobius, Drift and Gopro I can disagree with you.

When played back on the pc or TV the Gopro is way above the others. I've always criticized the GoPro followers and I must confess to still not liking the look of it. But sound and picture is far superior.

But lets face it. The more you pay the gains decrease. It's the same with audiophile equipment. But the small gains can sometimes be well worth it.

Edited December 15, 2014 by BBJ

[ryanwiley]

I bet he is disappointed, after a year and a half busting his backside in the saddle, being hit with rain, snow, sleet, wind, heat sweat and crap.

I've seen a lot of disappointed people in my life...that guy is not one of them!