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Tech Diaries: GoPro’s Helmet Hero

Busy shooting in Cannes, between the odd champagne, Brooke Hemphill found the GoPro ideal for hands-free filming.

I’m currently sitting in the south of France – glass of champagne in hand – while my GoPro hangs over the edge of my villa balcony capturing still images of the Cannes street below.

I’m having a conversation about the visual artist Keith Loutit and his incredible tilt shift videos of Mardi Gras and the cliffs of Bondi that will inspire me to stay up for hours in an attempt to recreate the style with my GoPro footage.

When you get over my blatant European boasting – believe me the thirty-five hour journey to get here knocked most of the initial thrill out of me – let me tell you about the nifty little GoPro camera.

The camera’s first feature, and my standout favourite, is obviously the ability to shoot time lapse. Whether you want to take a snap every five, ten or thirty seconds, a few button presses and she’s ready to go. Over the past couple of weeks I have shot many time-lapse clips with varying degrees of success. My main gripe would be the inability to control the exposure as the end result for some has been sections of the photos overexposed. But by the time I hit the south of France, I had improved exponentially. As with much of the equipment I trial, seventy percent is knowing the capabilities of your gear and thirty percent is experimentation.

In order to know your gear, you need to do your homework and it’s fair to say that the bane of my product testing experience is camera manuals. Every time I get my hands on a new model, I’m forced to sift through pages and pages of useless jargon and confusing instructions before I get to play with my new toy. Not so with the GoPro. This little marvel has a one-page (admittedly double-sided) manual –  as well as the world’s easiest menu to navigate. Set out in order of appearance, the instructions guide you through the clever features of this pocket rocket step-by-step and you’ll be playing in no time.

The model I’m given to test is the GoPro Helmet Hero and it comes equipped with all the gear you need to strap it to your head and so the review would not have been complete without doing so. A few weeks before I found myself in France, our office was invited to compete in a ping-pong tournament. And so along we went with my colleague Alice sporting the GoPro over the top of her beret. Although it looked like an unfortunate cyborg growth – and apparently hindered Alice’s performance in the tournament (despite her winning two out of three matches, our side was defeated in the second round) the GoPro caused quite a stir, attracting much attention from onlookers. Even though I was yet to master the settings, the footage came up surprisingly well.

Back here in France, I’m finding the tiny inconspicuous GoPro is ideal for walking the streets of Cannes, shooting cutaways and general b-roll. It’s small enough to throw into an evening bag, or man bag if you prefer, and shoots pretty darn snazzy footage that’s on a par with the much larger camera that will have done my back out after lugging it about for the next week.

Priced well within the general punter’s price range, the GoPro makes a handy addition to any video kit and I reckon I’ll be purchasing one come time to send the test model back.
Cost: RRP $399
Score out of 10: 10
Who’s it right for: Anyone and everyone. From the extreme sports enthusiast to professional camera operator, the GoPro is in anyone’s price range and a great addition to your camera arsenal.

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