GoPro HD-> Final Cut Express-> iMac

[grayhghost 0]

I am trying to design a complete tandem hand cam setup.
Does anyone have any experience with this setup?
GoPro HD capture, Final Cut Express editing and iMac DVD burning.
I like the GoPro over the CX 100 because the footage should be editable without conversion, making for a quick turnaround.
I don't think the quality difference between the CX 100 and the GoPro will be painfully evident in standard DVD output.
The fixed super wide-angle of the GoPro shouldn't be a problem because it will only be used and a hand cam.

Thoughts? Experiences? Warnings?

thanks!

[parachutist 1]

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I don't think the quality difference between the CX 100 and the GoPro will be painfully evident

That quote makes me smile... it's a pretty accurate description. The difference is definitely there and CX100 wins in my book, but customers can be really happy with a vid from the HD Hero. I've been playing with both CX100 and HD Hero as hand cams on tandem dives.

My impression so far: The Hero relies on TI technique to make it look good. CX100s do a better job at image stabilization, so the TI can be more sloppy with it and still get a good video. Hero, on the other hand, has no vignetting ring, so its image looks a little better filling the screen.

We've been using Sony Vegas to edit & DVD Architect to burn

[skydance1954 0]

Does the GoPro have a firewire hookup?

Mike Ashley
D-18460
Canadian A-666

[grayhghost 0]

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Does the GoPro have a firewire hookup?

No. Hopefuly longer transfer time will be offset by not needing to convert the footage.
There may be a FireWire card reader available, the one I use is only USB

[PharmerPhil 0]

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...Hero, on the other hand, has no vignetting ring...

Are you implying that the CX100 does have vignetting? If so I am sure it is because of the use of an incompatible wide-angle lens. Although I don't have a CX100, I have never seen (and can't imagine) a Sony camera having vignetting out of the box.

[skydance1954 0]

A few folks at our DZ have CX100s, and I've yet to see any vigenetting on any of them.

Mike Ashley
D-18460
Canadian A-666

[DSE 3]

If you put a .025 on the CX (and most any other camera) you'll likely see vignetting. Please bear in mind that this topic is HANDCAM.

I feel bad for anyone using tapeless and FCP, expecting a fast result. It simply isn't possible. "fast" is relative. 2 mins is "fast."

[PharmerPhil 0]

Well there's just another reason to not like hand-cam.

Ditto for 0.25 lenses...

[grayhghost 0]

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I feel bad for anyone using tapeless and FCP, expecting a fast result. It simply isn't possible. "fast" is relative. 2 mins is "fast."

I agree, two minutes is way fast! So, Final Cut is the bottleneck? Would iMovie to iDVD be a better solution? Does iMovie play nice with the MP4 files the GoPro produces? Or is Vegas running in Parallels the better way?
Thanks for the responses so far.

[DSE 3]

Vegas running Parallels, but you'll find that even Parallels won't pass HD video very well.
I'd recommend simply putting Bootcamp as a separate boot for windows and avoiding the OSX environment altogether.
Tandem vid isn't about cool tools and dressing sharp. It's about getting it in/out very fast with the best quality possible.
I'm turning DVDs burned in about 5 mins. If the DZ had faster blanks, I could speed it by another 10% or so. They bought screened 4X discs.

[faulknerwn 36]

I actually disagree there. It takes me 15-20 minutes to put out a DVD on Imovie/IDVD but with all sorts of built in cool shit. The standard intro from IDVD has their skydive morphed into a photo album and they LOVE it. Our typical Mac Transitions have pages of a photo album flipping though - it looks cool. Many of our tandem students have said they sent friends here because of how cool their video was - and it wasn't because of spectacular video-flyer-heroics - it was the cool shit that Mac stuff does out of the box.

I am trying to get a green wall done here soon because Imovie does a great green screen effect with no effort and it would be cool on the videos. The standard response I get from tandem students is that our video looks more professional than others - and in all honesty its the software which does insanely cool stuff built in.. The nice thing is - I can do all that fancy shit and the actual editing time (not import or burning but actual editing) is 2 minutes on a slow day, 1 minute on a fast one. Its made so easy. The burning and such takes time, but the video guy can be moving on to the next thing, and tandems don't really mind hanging out for 15 minutes after a jump cuz they're so excited...

[DSE 3]

You can do all the fancy here, too. And still do it in under 10 mins. No transcodes, automatic cuts, music sync, photos synced to music...All the same thing. All automated. And some "really cool shit" too.

But 20 mins to deliver a DVD? Never gonna happen at the size of DZ's I'm working with. No matter how cool it is.
Greenscreen is great!!; if it's lit well, shot correctly (key work is a huge part of my work in the "real" world). If you can pull a great key using DV or AVCHD...you'll have something the rest of the world (professional or otherwise) will pay serious money for.

[mircan 0]

Do you have any uploaded tandem video?

dudeist skydiver #42