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This is what i wanted to tell you but couldn't.

GoPro, makers of the infamous Hero Wide line of cameras announced some astonishing news this week. Yes, that's right, 1080p (1920 x 1080 resolution) on a freak'n helmet cam, how awesome is that?

The GoPro HD still has the killer 170 degree wide angle lens and will have three recording resolutions: 1080p (1980 x 1080), 960p (1280?960, so it's similar to 720p but at 4:3 ratio), and 720p (1280 x 720). What's even better is the camera can record 720p at double speed 60 FPS for buttery smooth high-def slow motion deliciousness. Here are the full video specs with bitrates, please note bitrates may change in final production version:

* 1080P 1980?1080 30 fps @12 Mbps
* 960P 1280?960, 30 fps @ 10 Mbps
* 720P 1280?720, 30 fps @ 7.5 Mbps
* 720P 1280?720, 60 fps @ 15 Mbps

The GoPro HD has a completely redesigned power system. The new power design includes a 1100 maH Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery pack. This provides greatly improved battery life over the original GoPro Wide series, especially in cold weather and cold water environments. This new battery pack should provide 2-3 hours of record time, and you can always pack extra batteries as well.

The camera will accept up to a 32gb SDHC card, which is good knowing the massive file sizes that 1080p video will produce. The video compression format is H.264, a great universal format for HD video.

In addition we've heard rumors of a wireless remote. There will also be an LCD "backpack" that you can clip on to the back of the camera and a battery attachment for increased recording time.

Exciting stuff, the only downside is longer editing time with the HD footage but will be worth it. The 1280 x 720p 60frames per second is what excites me.

Price is being touted as US$299.
Should have a pre-production unit for testing soon.

Cheers Rambo

PS - i can finally share the firmware upgrade for the 4gig+ SDHC card recording, but please only use it if you really need to. Firmware upgrades always come with the risk of "bricking" your camera so use it at your own risk.

PM me if you want it. (file and instructions)

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THIS IS A 50 INCH LCD SCREEN SHOT FROM THE NEW CAM

DJ, I'm asking the same question. They're saying "Fall" which is Sept to Nov in USA. So some time after that i'm guessing. At least we know it's coming and the bugs are usually ironed out by then.

Cheers Rambo

Fantastic news Rambo. Thanks for passing that info on. I too am looking forward to the smoothness of 60 fps and the bigger memory card capability and longer battery life will be awesome.

Any idea on the new resolution of the still frame photo mode?

Casso,
Looks like it is going to stay at 5Mp.......

"The awesome 5 megapixel photo mode has returned as well. You can snap 5MP photos on the fly, or configure the camera to automatically snap photos every 2, 5, or 10 seconds. In addition, the 1080p video mode is equivalent to 2 megapixels, so you could get a high quality frame grab from the video footage as well!

In addition we’ve heard rumors of a few cool accessories in development including a wireless stereo microphone and wireless remote. There will also be an LCD “backpack” that you can clip on to the back of the camera and a battery attachment for increased recording time."
Ronnie


I wonder if this will work with the FCS centre fin plug like the GoProsurf model?
Lastly, just a bit of GoPro Surf footage (not mine)

Casso said...

I too am looking forward to the smoothness of 60 fps

The 60fps will only be of value for down-cranking to smooth slow-mo and big screen playback. Most video online host sites down convert to 15fps (youtube) or 24fps (vimeo) after upload. But 720p (1280 x 720) on youtube will be awesome online playback in their new HD format.

R

Reflex Films said...


there is no way that 1 video frame grab will be equivalent to 2mb..

divide the data rate by the frame rate and you will get closer to reality...

... in my excitement i typed mb instead of Mp for megapixel.... forgive me.

Look, the 1080p is most likely an interpolation or a pixel shift technique of a smaller sensor size than true 1080p, but it's going to be heaps better than a still from the video of the current version camera at 512 x 384.

As i pointed out, the current video is Mjpeg at 512 x 384 which an excellent still can be extracted from but the new cam video will be 1920 x 1080 so the quality has to be heaps better even allowing for the format change.

Who wants stills anyway ... i wanna see Casso rippin' in HD MOOOOVINg pictures....
This still a SUP forum right??? ...hahahha

Cheers Rambo

boarder paul said...

Can it be mounted on a gath helmet??

Yes.

DJ

Is there any more word on delivery dates to this new version.

The GoPro will be available through the Seabreeze Store
www.seabreeze.com.au/Shop/Scripts/default.asp as soon as stocks become available.

Just a correction on the actual size of the new HD model. It is identical to the old STD wide except the new battery cover takes up the recess where the old one was and the new lens is recessed into the camera body further. Perspex Cases are reported to be identical, so should be interchangeable.

Wouldn't it be good if you only had to buy the new Camera without the case, be a cheap upgrade. Not sure GoPro will go that way.

R

$99 + GST Available Now. Ahhh im dreaming again.

How is it mounted laurie? I presume the Dent puller type.

Skimnur said...

I'm thinking of getting the Pentax W80 but the drawn back is it can only record a clip that is 2gb in size so in full hd whats that like 8-12 min. I guess its ok if you don't mind coming in landing kite and start recording again. Any one have one that can tell me cheers. Currently have the Olympus MJU8000 which can record 19mins on the highest setting (640 x 480 30fps), kind of annoyed thought it also took stills on a time interval but was sadly mistaken.

I got good results with the old Pentax Optio W20 - 4GB with almost an hour of video. 8GB can not be handled by the cam.

I read the W80 can handle 32 GB SDHC... My W80 will be here in a few days - I'll keep you updated...

Sven


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