GoPro Hero 2

Since I started cycling, I have been looking for a video camera to record some of the trails I ride.  I tried mounting a regular video camera - its to heavy and the mount would move.  Tried using my Canon Point&Shoot camera.  I was met with limited success.

Most successful have been the "lipstick" cameras.  I have had 2 - a "Tony Hawk" camera and one from Oregon Scientific.  Had the best luck with the Tony Hawk camera.  The video file size was good for posting on my web site.  My problems was getting the camera aimed, the battery life, and memory card limitations.

I started to concentrating on my still shots.  My Canon PowerShot S95 will record both JPG and RAW.  It also does bracketed exposures (I am a believer in HDR Photography).

Over the last could years, more and more of my singletrack cycling friends have purchased GoPro Hero POV (Point of view) cameras.  This Spring, a friend of mine was looking to sell a GoPro Hero2 that he had as a demo camera.  We agreed on purchase of the camera and included mounts.

I have added the back screen and a handlebar mount.  Topped off my purchase with a hard case by UKPro for the camera.  GoPro cameras and mounts are available as several "big box" and local stores.  I purchase my UKPro case from Breeze Cycle in Omaha.  The photo above is on my GoPro in the UKPro hard case.

A couple days later, we got some decent riding weather.  After a false start (did not bring all of the required bracket parts), I attached the camera to the bike and headed out for Lake Manawa.  A couple times, I had to stop and tighten the various connections of the mount.

Downloaded the video from the camera when I got back to the house.  Doing something wrong because I recorded 8 segments of under 2GB each.  Also there were regular "jumps" in the video. Oh, the photo here, shows the GoPro mounted on my hybrid, post ride.

With some research, I found out that i needed to convert the file in GoPro CineForm Studio.  This created a stable AVI video, though still had to piece together the sections.  Tried to do that in my Pinnacle Studio 11.  The software did not seem to like the process.  Went to Best Buy where I saw Studio is up to version 16 and (the version they had on the shelf) was much more expensive than Adobe Premier Elements.  Bought that bundled with Photoshop Elements version 11.

The lower photo is of the camera mounted on my hybrid bike.  Ended up with a flash video and AVI movie.