DGP9999

I bought the Hero 5 Session (little 1" cube) and wow what a POS. First it would loose connection all the time with the app on my phone and without that you have no way to see or save videos. Then there is GoPro support that tries to blame the customer for everything that goes wrong (not to mention language barriers). Then after owning it for only 3 days it won't hold a charge even sitting in the power off condition.

Expensive and unreliable and no totally non functional. In three days I got one video successfully.

Now my question is: What camera to get besides another lemon from GoPro?

Thanks,

Dave

enine

We got a session also and it sucks, battery life is maybe 30 minutes.

I'm happier with the Garmin Virb

DGP9999

Anything Garmin says expensive but I guess that is what I may have to do to get reliable and even usable.

Dave

enine

It was kind of expensive but about the same as the equivalent GoPro.

KraneXL

If you say that you need to provide an example so we know what you're talking about. It could very well be the customer. Was there a specific reason why you chose the session? Actually, Gopro created the action camera and is now geared more towards pro/enthusiast than any of it competition. If its a "lemon" as you say, why not simply return it for a replacement or refund? Finally, it would appear you've learned a lesson here: ask for suggestions and/or advice "before" you buy.

DGP9999

I just figured they are sort of the standard or benchmark of the industry, apparently not. And I did return it, the tipping point was the crappy customer service and the attitude I got from them. I work for a fortune 50 doing product development for many many years and I can't imagine releasing a product that had such a poor user interface and if we did we would be shown the down by a security guard. Minus the battery dud and the UI, it would not stay connected to the Android device. Just so many issues.

It is unfortunate that one has to carry cameras on-board just because of bad behavior.

Dave

sdmc530

KraneXL

We're cyclist, so that would be your city/town/etc. Show us a portion of your ride: the good, the bad, and/or the ugly.

canklecat

My Ion Speed Pro was affordable, around $50-$60, and reliable for two years of use on almost every ride. Self contained, weather resistant, no need for a weatherproof housing. Runs about 90 minutes per charge. It can be run continuously from an external USB battery, for as long as the media card will hold. But it requires removing the weather sealed rear cap to access the USB port, so be careful of the weather conditions.

Some folks use Moebius dash cams but those aren't weather resistant. Good values and better image quality than the Ion.

SHBR

I've had good luck with my Sony AS50.


Its a low end (1080P 60FPS) action camera, but it gets the job done.


My wife dropped it on the concrete a week ago, chipped the lens, I was definitely non-plussed, however I was able to replace the lens myself, for a whole 8USD.


I also discovered that the factory lens was ever so slightly out of focus, and the new lens is even better. (with many lens options, everything from zoom, to super wide angle)




Most Sony action cameras are similar in construction, almost every part is replaceable.

sdmc530

Here is my youtube channel. I have put the rides mostly vacation ones on there but there are some from my local trail. When I can I get out to the Black Hills/Mt. Rushmore area to ride...that is a blast.

A couple of years ago I had an incident with a homeless person who was well drunk as a skunk. He stepped out in front of me and had a collision. Nothing really bad but the video was a great tool to give the PD. I wish I would have saved it instead of giving my memory card right over the PD though. I bet it would have been entertaining as heck to watch. I started using the gopro way back when because a runner got robbed on the trail, I rode right by the SOB and if I would have had my camera I could of helped ID him. I didn't know it when I rode by he was the suspect. So I started using a camera.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9j...ow=grid&view=0

KraneXL

Great! That's what I'm taking about. Also, when you get time you might even want to add the above lines of where the footage was taken to your video. Don't be shy.

sdmc530

pdlamb

I've got the Cycliq Fly12 (newer version is at https://cycliq.com/bike-cameras/fly12ce/ ). It does a pretty decent job, although I don't have much that's worth posting to youtube. When I remember to charge it, and remember to turn it on, I figure it's another level of lawyer-proofing.

KraneXL

Gopro is the industry standard with form, function and ease of use. Why else do you think so many others have copied it? You should also not let one bad example determent your view of the entire organization. Do you go to the forums to see if others had similar problem?

I personally am no fan of sealed batteries (since you're tied to the manufacturer) but that's the price you pay for the convenience of such a reduced form factor. I don't think there any other manufacture that makes a similar product that does as much in such a small package.

enine

Garmin, but at the same cost as the Gopro

IvyGodivy

Contact this place: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/

KraneXL

Garmin doesn't offer a Session type camera (but their cameras are good too). However, I did check further and Polaroid does makes the Cube. Its as compact as the Session, although still not nearly as feature filled or waterproof.

Cyclist0108

That's good to know.

My daughter dropped mine in the Pacific Ocean. It is on the bottom. Somewhere.

prathmann

Our bike club just did a group buy of the Cycliq Fly 6CE and 12CE models after a few members reported good experiences with them. They have some specific features designed for recording potential accidents: automatic recording stop 30 minutes after excessive acceleration or a flip (i.e. crash) so that the crash record will be preserved; overwriting of the oldest memory with new data so you don't have to manually erase rides where nothing happened; and longer battery life than most competing units. Haven't received mine yet so no personal experience, just good reports from some of our club members.

Cyclist0084

I guess the Hero4 Session cameras were of better quality. I've had mine for over three years now and it works just as well nowadays as it did the day I bought it. Could the internal battery life be better? Sure, but I connect my Session to a 10000mah external battery and can get well over five hours recording time with it.

ElJamoquio

Hey, I found a camera on the Pacific Ocean bottom! Do you want me to mail your camera back to you?

Cyclist0108

Seriously??

This was at the "toilet bowl" in Santa Cruz.

ElJamoquio

Wrong one. But next time I'm in Santa Cruz I'll look for your camera! Or an otter posting selfies.

KraneXL

They were built like a tank but it wasn't nearly as feature laden.