Gopro on Nanikore

Choosing The DJI Osmo Action 4 Camera

Sat, 25 Nov 2023 05:59:00 +0000

After a long time with GoPro 2, a 5, and the most recent was a 7 Black which lasted 5 years before succumbing to a broken power button and a small water leak through a seal whilst on an epic water slide in Thailand.

So the 7 was effectively dead, but at least I was able to get those last minutes of family footage off the SD card! So what next?

Generally I don’t follow many markets unless I’m actually looking to buy, and action cams are no exception. When I went to look recently there was a lot of choice, and it seemed to have shifted back upmarket - when I got the 7 Black, GoPro were pretty much the only premium player and there was something of a race to the bottom. Now there are offerings from GoPro, Insta360 and DJI at the top, and plenty of cameras OEM’d out of China at the cheaper end. There was also the very real choice between the classic brick action cam, or 360 cameras, and even small magnetic cameras. Wow!

I spent quite a bit of time reading and watching reviews, checking long term reviews to see how the longevity for these things were, and seeing what the reliability was like. Yes, when I’m putting down what I consider to be a fair amount of money, I put the time in.

My Usage Cases

I use my action cams in these main scenarios:

On my motorbike, helmet and bike/case mounted.
On the handlebars and other bicycle mounting points.
On my snowboard and snowboard helmet.
On (selfie) sticks for the above scenarios and in the sea.
Room recording some indoor/comedy events.

GoPro Mk.12

I’ve liked GoPro for a long time, which is why I’ve had 3 of their cameras, but I wasn’t sure about GoPro in 2023. My 7Black has captured some true memories for me, but I haven’t forgotton that for the first 4 months it would crash a lot, though one of the early workarounds did significantly mitigate that issue for my usage (orientation lock, since the change in orientation seemed to be a lot of the problem). Also, audio would sometimes just not be there.

Build quality was good, but wasn’t as nice as the 5 or 2 in my opinion. It would seem the firmware and some design decisions marred the 8 and 9 gens too. Also, GoPro seem to have really begun targetting the vlogger / social media audience, which I completely understand - it’s a massive market, but it isn’t me.

So in 2023, GoPro unveiled the 12. It has a lot of great features, ongoing great image quality, and many things which didnt exist 5 years ago, like the horizon stablizing features, log recording, a slightly larger sensor, new UI, built in feet, a whole raft of ’new’ things.

There were rumours the 12 would sport a 1" sensor, and people were disappointed when it didn’t. That was just a rumour though, so no negatives to GoPro for not having that.

The 12 did have Bluetooth mic support, which seemed like something I might use now and then, but the audio quality in reviews did not sound good.

It was clearly just an iteration over the 11, and maybe that was GoPro trying to nail down reliability. They removed GPS, but that’s in line with other action cams now, and it likely helped save on some heat and power.

For me, it was a little larger (and a small amount heavier than the DJI), and the main benefit was the 8:7 sensor. I know I just don’t do enough social media format videos to want a camera that can record for both landscape and portrait as a priority over having a larger landscape only sensor.

The GoPro Quik app had always been fine for me, and seems that’s still a decent piece of software.

GoPro also has quite a few fun modes - the TimeWarp hyperlapse functionality still seems to be smoother than anyone elses, and they’d added light trails and some others along the way.

DJI Osmo Action 4

Of course I’d heard of DJI and a quite friends have their drones. The only experience I’ve had with DJI was the Tello, a tiny indoor (mostly) drone they did some of the guts of, and which was sold by Ryze. I actually liked it - did what it said, very reliable, well built, and parts were cheap and plentiful, so I had a decent image of DJI.

I looked at the v4 of their Osmo action cam, and I liked its more sparse feel, the ’larger’ sensor, the utilitarian nature of it, the UI seemed fast, and DJI had a reputation for firmware improvements and reliable performance.

I also liked the lack of things I didn’t use e.g. HDMI slots, just a USB C connector. The DJI to me felt more like it was done by engineers and outdoors people, whereas GoPro felt more influencer designed, and that’s completely fine. Buy what you need.

The front touch screen is nice, since I have at least two usage scenarios for exactly that. Of course, coming from the GP7Black, any front video screen is a bonus.

Then there’s the mount connector. No more ‘fingers’ like the GoPro, the Osmo Action 4 uses a magnet and clip system which is so much quicker when switching mounts, such as when I take the camera off my snow/motorcycle helmet and put it on a stick. No unscrewing etc., which is never quick with gloves on. That’s a good feature.

Of course, most mounts in the world are GoPro style, so the DJI mounts do tend to end in fingers on the other end, so you need a few magnet mounts!

Like the GP12, it also promised more cold resistance - a real weakness on my old GP7, which had seemed less resilient than the 5 or even HD Hero 2! I’m confident from reviews this is indeed the case.

On the downside? The connecting app for updates etc. has to be sideloaded on Android. Why? Is there something it does which fails Android’s standards? It is reliable though, if a little slow.

osmo4-2.jpg" alt=“DJI Osmo Action 4 Helmet Mount” caption=“DJI Osmo Action 4 Helmet Mount” >}}

Insta 360

Insta 360, famous for their…360 cameras … also released the Ace and Ace Pro cameras very recently, very much in the GoPro format. I did look at them, and whilst they’re going to be serious contenders in the future, these versions didn’t have anything I’d need to mitigate their lack of field testing at the moment.

The Pro’s main trick is its ‘AI chip’, which can do interesting replacements and effects, but that seems to be mostly in post production with their app. It also has some smart shooting modes to use hand gestures and follow subject tricks - that’s nice.

It also has that flip up screen like so many ’normal’ cameras. This could be another big design direction for action cams, depending on how reliable that hinge is. Only time will tell. It’s also a little heavy and pricey, and with the Ace standard not having enough beyond the hinge, this time around it’s not the winner for me.

I don’t remember well, but I think 360 cameras were still quite niche 5 years ago, whereas they’re very normal in 2023. I think they’re great and I looked at the Insta 360 X2 & X3, and there’s clearly a place for them, but there was a few things which (this time at least) took them out of the running:

Not quite rugged enough.
I’m not sure I’d put in the post production time to orient the video etc.. It’s great it’s always there but in reality, I suspect that’s more unwatched footage on the server.
Requires a pole really and on my motorbike, unlike many vloggers, I’m not sure I want a pole sticking out.

Ask me again in a few more years though!

osmo4-1.jpg" alt=“DJI Osmo Action 4” caption=“DJI Osmo Action 4” >}}

So Why the DJI Osmo Action 4?

As I’ve suggested above, I have a decent idea of how I use action cameras, and of course everything is a trade off in priorities. In the end, it came down to the DJI being more robust in hardware and software, the larger sensor and just a focus on the type of stuff I do - landcape HD and 4K video, some stills and hyperlapse, and I want better low light if I can get it since I’m often out around dawn and dusk. I’m not a huge fan of the HDR look in some videos, so not having that wasn’t a problem.

If I want portrait video, the magnet/clip system makes re-orientating the camera quick n simple. It’s not as quick as just recording the whole 8:7 sensor like the GoPro, but again, I know I won’t use it that much.

That magnet clip system is a nice idea for sure, and having played with it, it does have an effect on ease of use.

The front touch screen is great for me too - I sometimes want to check the camera status and the easiest way is on the wing mirror of my bike - the front touch screen means I can check and alter something quickly. Nice.

I got the adventure pack which comes with 2 extra batteries in a charging case, and this is where I’d like to mention some engineering attention to details - you can charge the 3 batteries in it using a USB C based power source, but you can use that same cable to connect to another device like a smartphone and charge it from the batteries in the case. It’s a small but well thought out feature. The case also holds spare SD cards, which is nice too.

The unit feels solid, the interface is fast and is mostly intuitive. I’d like to be able to rename the presets, but that’s not a huge issue. It doesn’t have as many fun modes as some of the other cameras, like light trails, but it has a few timelapse presets for sunsets etc., and I might use that. Slow motion should also be solid.

The real deciders for me were the focus on a small, fairly light unit, the larger sensor (with lower pixel count) for good 4K recording. Stabilisation etc. is somewhat a given now, and horizon levelling is great. It doesn’t level at 4K through 360 degrees, but I can’t think of a time I’d need that? (If I was doing a 360, I’d want people to know it! The DJI does do that in 2.7K).

So there we are, 5 years on from the GoPro Hero 7 Black, I’ve bought a DJI Osmo Action 4!

I’ll do a review / update after a few months of actually using it.

p.s. On the Subject of Action Cam Reviews

Just a quick note here.

I don’t generally buy on specifications alone and not on ‘brand loyalty’ but on the whole package of a device, bike, app etc., so I like reviews who use things in the way I might.

In the case of action cams, what I noticed this time is that the people reviewing them often don’t seem to be ‘action’ people, but often general camera reviewers, social media vloggers etc., and that’s fine, but it doesn’t tell me how easy it is to use the camera with gloves, or in the water. Lots of channels talked about over-heating - very few talked about low temperature performance.

I’m not some uber X sports bro either, but I do stuff outdoors so I need a rugged camera I can use in those environments.

At least Kai Wong admitted he’s not an action man and still did a decent comparison. I did find some reviews from bikers and surfers, but I really had to look for them this time. A sign of the times.

osmo4-2.jpg" alt=“DJI Osmo Action 4 Helmet Mount” caption=“DJI Osmo Action 4 Helmet Mount” >}}

Current Cameras

Mon, 29 Mar 2021 02:18:00 +0000

I thought I’d do a very quick post about my current cameras. This blog did used to have more ’technology’ posts, but many of those are now private (or on brightblack) as over the last few years I’ve tried to focus more on outdoors and motorcycling here, though I thought for a change today, I’d do something about my current cameras.

Let me be up-front here though - I’m not a photographer, I just want to take photos to remind me of times I’ve had on the road, or wherever I happen to be. I’ll be honest - I have hundreds of photos of my bikes in front of beautiful vistas.

The ’larger’ camera

For many years I had entry-level Nikon dSLRs - a D40, then a D3200 - and I really liked both of them. I amassed a kit 18-55mm lens, an f1.8 35mm prime and a 55-200mm telephoto lens for them too. They were great value for money cameras and lenses.

Then in April 2020, I moved over to an entry level Fujifilm mirrorless camera system, the X-T200. I like taking photos but my skill level and disposable income for cameras doesn’t justify huge expenditure, so better to get a cheaper body so I can afford a few lenses down the road. So for the Fujifilm, I have the small and light kit 15-45mm, then a 23mm prime lens and a 16-80mm travel zoom I bought used. When possible I sell off old gear via online auction or more recently to Fujiya Camera, which is where I got that used 16-80mm Fujifilm lens.

As it’s a small APS-C based system, I find these don’t add much bulk or weight in a backpack or my topbox, so on days out I actually enjoy stopping, getting the camera out and looking around. And drinking tea.

Why the X-T200?

The X-T200 is light and small. It’s takes great photos, and like all Fujifilm mirrorless, has great colour and film simulations in JPG which is what I mainly shoot in. It also does very good video, which my previous dSLR cameras didn’t. The X series of cameras is being actively developed and I could move into weatherproof bodies going forwards, and there’s also plenty of weather sealed lenses - including two of the ones I have - which might not be a bad idea given some of the places I end up.

The Action Camera

My first action camera was a GoPro Hero HD2, which I thought was great, even with the required case, as it was a camera I felt safer mounting to helmets or taking snowboarding. After quite a few years, I sold it and got a Hero 5, then a few years later sold that when I got a Hero 7black as a gift. The 7black is great for video, especially it’s amazing stabilization. The downside was it was very buggy on launch (mostly fixed), and can be temperamental in sub- and near zero temperatures if care isn’t taken. I often use it for time lapse too, and I find it actually takes decent photos with a bit of patience.

Why GoPro?

Their hardware seems mostly well thought out and durable, which I think is where they lead cheaper brands and is mainly why I’ve stuck with them - I’ve never had one really fail on me. Their software and other business strategies seem to be all over though, which is concerning since I see action cameras as a niche and declining market as people just use water-resistant phones, or put the phones in waterproof covers. For example, their idea of charging 50USD to use an external mic is my favourite example of trying to make money where a lower margin would likely drive more sales. I even did a post about it. Again, well built cameras and better image quality if that’s really a factor.

The Smartphone

Yes, the best camera is truly the one you have with you. I don’t buy high end phones unfortunately, but I use whatever I have if I just need to take that photo. I used to have point and shoot cameras, like the small Canon Ixy range, but ultimately found I used the big camera more, and then the phone or the GoPro if I had them with me. Eventually the point-n-shoots never got replaced when they wore out. Currently I have a Google Pixel 4a, and yes, very happy with the photos.

A more flexible option?

Pricey, but I know a few bikers who swear by the Sony RX100 range, pocket sized cameras which take great photos and videos. There’s similar ones such as Canon G5 range that perhaps could be an option in the future. Who knows!

In Summary

Basically then I don’t have a massive number of cameras, but fairly specific ones I suppose, and I do like to take photos even if they may not be ‘good’ photos, I treat them very much as a way to trigger memories, or a way to share them with people - usually they’re a great aid when explaining something. So for example, when explaining how I stalled my bike on an inclined curve, and had to slowly lower it to the asphalt, I can describe the road, but I think this photo makes it a little easier to understand:

One Second a Day - September 2019

Tue, 01 Oct 2019 13:20:57 +0000

Amazing. No ’ one second a day’ posts for five years, and then two in three months? It’s true! The reason these two are so close together though is because I was a bit disappointed with the July one for variety and style. I should also say that this new one may not be better, but I do think it added variety.

The other main change is that instead of using my smartphone (an old Moto G5+) at 1080p 30fps, I used a GoPro 7 black, shooting 4K60 at its wide setting. It’s not a direct comparison, but it does show what a difference a choice of camera can make.

One Second a Day - September 2019 from Nanikore on YouTube.

Shonan Beach in July

Sun, 21 Jul 2013 15:04:50 +0000

Every now and then I’m around the Shonan area of Kanagawa, so in the Summer we may go to the beach, which is what the area is really famous for. After a day hanging around, getting into the ocean and walking around the beach you can also try oput some of the very relaxed cafes, bars and restaurants.

You can also get some really nice sunset shots if that’s your thing, and photos of all those people as they venture home.

Of course, if you’re in the water, take a waterproof camera (in my case an old GoPro HD Hero2). On this day in July, it wasn’t so busy, as the beach hut bars are often fairly crowded, so if you wanted to, you could get a beer and sit down for a bit.

Rusutsu Snow Trip 2013

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 15:50:20 +0000

In January, we took the family up to Rusutsu in Hokkaido for a bit of snowboarding and skiing. Yes, this post is a little late.

The resort feels very much like a bubble place, but essentially is a collection of hotels and a few chalets around three main mountain ski areas. We stayed in the Resort Hotel North, which is at the base of one of the ski areas. Is it really a bubble era hotel? Well, it has an animatronic talking tree, some animatronic bears (or dogs, perhaps), and a full double decker carousel in the foyer which you could ride for free every evening, so yes, it’s very much a bubble hotel, and there’s nothing wrong with that, as long as you aren’t paying bubble fees.

We went for an all in package with breakfast and dinner, especially as the food at the in-house restaurants was good - believe me, we’ve stayed at places where the breakfasts were awful, and yes, I’m looking at you, Yamada Onsen in Niseko! As I’ve learned, with kids, having a buffet with a decent selection is vital to keep the complaints down.

Rentals weren’t too expensive, and the kit was very good, as is pretty much standard here nowadays, and the staff were fairly multi-lingual given the decent number of Chinese and Australian guests - also pretty much standard here nowadays. The instructors were good too, and our eldest got some lessons in when she wasn’t skiing with me. For once I wasn’t renting ski boots, having picked up a cheap pair of Head ski boots in Jimbochou for Xmas last year, and it was nice to have a consistent setup for a whole trip.

Rusutsu’s got a good selection of courses too, and on clear weather days, some great views. I’m not sure whether I prefer it to Niseko, but it’s still got a decent selection of runs, and some hilarious tree routes. There’s a snow park, where I spent a morning. I’ve never been much into jumps and such, but I did actually have a good time in there, so next season I might invest a bit more time in the snow parks and see how it goes.

I also took my GoPro out, and got some great shots of the kids skiing, and us out on our snowboards. As I’m a much better boarder than skier, it was interesting to shift from trepidation on even easier intermediate slopes on skies, to double diamond slopes through the trees on my board, and just feeling challenged, rather than concerned I was going to break something.

https://vimeo.com/62940443

I tried the camera both mounted to the board, and a headcam, and actually, I think it works as both, but obviously you get a lot of snow blowing up onto the camera on it’s board mount. One note though, unless you have the anti-fog inserts, you’ll want to regularly open the casing to lot the condensation dissipate after about 20mins.!

All in all, we had a great trip, and even the flights and travel went fairly smoothly, so no complaints there.

Izu, Skylines and Odd Tea Shops

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 14:55:51 +0000

Over the last couple of weekends I’ve managed to get out for some morning bike trips for a change and got to see some great roads, and it has to be said, some odd tea shops.

On the first run out, I got some video together from the GoPro Hero2 mounted on the handlebars for a change - and even a reverse angle at one point! That’s almost cinematography!

I took in three main routes - Route #134, the Pacific Coast road along Sagami Bay, the Toyo Tires Turnpike, a twisty mountainous toll road from near Odawara up to the Skylounge Cafe, and then the Izu Skyline Parkway, another long stretch of twisting toll roads with some great views of the coastline as it snakes south down the Izu peninsula.

The Vimeo is below, and as you can see it’s a combination of time lapse, and normal video. I’m a bit of a timelapse fan.

https://vimeo.com/49389462

YouTube version here.

The second weekend trip I met up with my old friend CS, and his rather nice Triumph Daytona 955i at Lake Kawaguchiko. After a 100Km ride up via some fairly nice but normal roads and the fast but dull Tomei Expressway we meandered back homewards down the 413 Doushi road, another relaxing, scenic road through mountains and valleys, except this time we had to break out the rain gear as the dark clouds which had been threatening for a while fully opened up on us.

We also stopped off at Cafe Gout Temps which has to be seen to be understood - it’s a Japanese house with British castle and tea shoppe fascias bolted on, and crammed with authentic looking church pulpits, pub statues, doll houses and all manner of oddities. It serves a good avacado and mushroom pasta dish as well as some fine English tea as well. Quite why it has a seemingly French name, I’m still not sure.

3 Cities in 3 Minutes

Mon, 23 Jul 2012 16:31:26 +0000

On my last busy business trip I decided to take my GoPro with me and just record the world as it flew past via trains, planes and automobiles. The trip was Tokyo > Singapore > Hong Kong > Tokyo - 3 Cities in 3 Minutes - and was actually done in 5 days real time. (And yes, I got really lucky with the hotels).

https://vimeo.com/46233260

This is also a re-visit of an old thing I used to do, which was ‘60 seconds in [insert name of city]’ usually filmed from taxis and trains on the way to airports, but I thought I’d flesh it out a bit for this one.

Some of the edits are a bit rough - my first try at any travel videography like this and I obviously didn’t plan any of it. I was also wondering if a voice-over or such would help and decided to leave as is for now.

Music by Maco.

A few photos from April 2012

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 13:31:44 +0000

I’ve been a bit busy of late and so haven’t written any posts, and I think that’s going to be the situation for a while yet due to now being in the middle of a few things. However, I thought I’d update with a few photos from April 2012.

GoPro Hero 2 First Impressions

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 09:41:44 +0000

After thinking about getting one for quite a while, I finally bought myself a GoPro Hero 2 2 is often described as a ‘sports camera’, or a ‘point of view’ camera in that it’s a rugged design, comes with a durable waterproof casing, and is designed to be bolted to things, stuck to helmets, surf boards and such, to get closer to the action. It’s also different from a point n click in so far as it has a wide angle fixed lens (f2.8) thus no zoom, and is designed to be modular, allowing users to add to it as needed.

For example, I invested in the LCD bacpac (add-ons are usually suffixed with ‘~pac’ in the GoPro world) so I could view video as I go, set a shot up, or review the footage. The screen uses battery though, so I set mine to power down after 60 seconds, or you can just detach it after you think you’ve got the shot set up properly, reducing the weight, which is likely a key factor if you’re mounting it to a helmet or some other item where you want the least weight on you can get, and since you can’t see the LCD, there’s not much loss!

The accessories like the LCD also come with their own range of covers to attach to the supplied waterproof casing, so the whole unit profile is kept to a minimum but still waterproof. Some of the covers are also open to allow better airflow and mic sensitivity when you don’t need total waterproofing. My usage scenarios as really for my motorbike trips (on the bike or helmet), my bicycle runs, for the snowboarding and ski trips, and for down by the beach or swimming to get some more footage of the kids where I wouldn’t be able to take the point n click, which not only lacks a waterproof case, but is a bit unwieldy.

First off I tried some of the modes out; I wont go through all of them, but the ones I played with were the 1080p @ 30fps, 720p @ 60 fps, and 848*480 @ 120 fps all at the wide 170deg. field of view setting. The 1080p/30 looked fantastic, though this is the first camera I’ve had which supports it, and has a solid frame rate. The 720p/60 I think is where I’ll spend most time - it gave a smooth, slightly slow motion effect, and a solid picture even when moving. The 848*480@120 (WVGA) is good for when you really want some slow motion, which I tried out by running the shower at putting the GoPro in it’s casing on the floor, and seeing the droplets hit.One note for this is that it requires good lighting.

Overall, I really like the video performance - it’s h.264, and for me slots straight into iMovie, though GoPro do provide a basic editor called CineForm which isn’t bad at all for a free download, and allows you to convert the videos to other formats. Audio isn’t bad from the built in mic, but it’s very much secondary I suspect, though you can plug a mic in if you like.

The Hero2 also does stills at 5 or 11MP, and supports time lapse, and timed photos, which look very decent also. I put in a 32GB SDHC Class 10 which cost me less than 3,000yen, and complies with all of GoPro’s requirements for running 10fps still bursts, which are also useful. I bought the ’ Outdoor kit’ which comes with a lot of ways to attach the GoPro, including to handlebars, but have a look at the motorsports or surf kits if that’s more your thing.

Unlike the original GoPro Hero cameras, this has a more detailed front facing LCD which makes changing modes and settings much easier than its predecessor’s by the sounds of it, and has small LEDs on most sides so you can see it’s still recording. Another nice fringe benefit is that it charges from a mini USB connector, which is something I wish more cameras did!

I actually picked mine up on a business trip to New York, as the JP distributor’s price was 31,500yen after taxes, and I could get it for 25,000yen in the States - I think that’s a fairly generous mark-up given the exchange rate to be honest. Here’s a quick sample of some footage I shot straight off the handlebars of my motorbike. You’ll notice there’s a slight ‘fish eye lens’ look about it, which is due to the lens type. It’s rendered out at 720p/30 though there’s some loss of quality due to Vimeo’s encode and adding the player, here in SD, so it looks even better if you go to Vimeo to see the high definition version: [Update: April 2012 - I paid up for Vimeo Plus so this can be viewed in HD from here - at least until April 2013!]

https://vimeo.com/38397836

Overall then my first impression is that this is a quality product - image and audio is well above what I expected, and the build quality is very decent, so I’m looking for this to take some abuse and still get me some footage I just wouldn’t have been able to get otherwise.

If you want to see what the GoPro cameras are really capable of, search for ‘GoPro’ on Vimeo.

Original Comments

Comments from the original WordPress blog post.

Gen Kanai — 2012-03-18

If you want better audio for your GoPro videos, (and while I’m no expert, I do know that audio quality makes a big, big difference- in my experience it’s more important than the video quality) you might want to consider an external audio recorder like a Zoom H1. You capture the audio separately and then sync it to your video footage with an app like DualEyes or the new Final Cut Pro has this functionality built in. You get much better audio than using the mic on the GoPro.

gurahamu — 2012-03-19

Hello Gen,

I was just looking at that H1 (http://www.samsontech.com/zoom/products/handheld-audio-recorders/h1/) and realised it’s one a friend was talking about a few months back for a project he was doing. I’ll drop him a line and see whether he got it or not. Years ago I used an Aiwa MD recorder at live bars around Kanagawa to record some great gigs, and it’s certainly something I’d like to get back to, so maybe that is the way forward on that. (I’m pretty sure it was more than the 90USD the H1 costs!).

I think you’re right though, for the amount I’d spend on a mic on-site for the GoPro, I may well be better off getting the H1.