Drift Ghost 4k

[Matt Leech]

Doesn't do 4K60 does it?

Nope, according to spec sheet:

• 4K (4096 X 2160 17:1) 25 FPS
  
  
• 4K UHD (3840 X 2160, 16:9) 24 / 25 / 30 FPS

I'll check later whether full 4K has 30fps on latest firmware.

I did a track day yesterday, my first one

I have a video at 1080 60fps from all three Ghost 4K cams (lid, rear, handlbars). Shall I post the video here? Nothing exiting, just the single sighting lap in procession. The interesting thing is that the handlebars cam struggles/fails to stabilise the video at high revs/speed.

 

[Hippo-Drones]

I did a track day yesterday, my first one

I have a video at 1080 60fps from all three Ghost 4K cams (lid, rear, handlbars). Shall I post the video here? Nothing exiting, just the single sighting lap in procession. The interesting thing is that the handlebars cam struggles/fails to stabilise the video at high revs/speed.

There is a trackday section where you can post your trackday videos. What track allowed you to head-mount the camera?

 

[Matt Leech]

What track allowed you to head-mount the camera?

It was at Donington Park, but I wasn't aware that head-mounted cams were not allowed, and the organisers didn't spot it until I was about to go out for my second session. I had to remove the Sena 20S too.

The handlebar and rear cams were allowed after a check of their mountings.

 

[Matt Leech]

Can't put my video on the Track Day section as I've only make eleven posts on the forum.

...oh, twelve now

 

[Lurch]

Odd, as you posted a vid here, but when you can post there do, and link the post back to here

 

[Matt Leech]

Spent lunchtime donating platelets and reading/replying here on the forums, so now I have my twenty posts

Track Day video: Donington Park, Single Sighting Lap, 3 X Drift Ghost 4k Cams

 

[PlanZ]

Are Drift 4K owners using the stabilising feature routinely?
Mine has just arrived and in a walking test I'm happy with video and audio but the stabilising seems to try and hold one spot then lurch in a way which is disturbing to view.
Need proper on-bike test to decide if it wants switching off
The 1080p has much higher bitrate than 1080p on Ghost HD and looks very good if a tad oversharp.
I'm disappointed how few advanced settings such as White Balance and sharpness are adjustable - and a proper flat profile for grading would be nice.
The Low filter setting is good out of camera though.

Oh and it crashed once already after changing settings, but the previous Ghost HD needed battery pulling to unlock it plenty of times.
Hero 4 is good at that too so no panic yet.

 

[PlanZ]

One other goofy thing - the remote which you'd usually wear over a glove has such a short strap it's in the last hole on me if worn direct on my arm like a watch.
It's hard to believe they made such a fundamental mistake.
If you have a more chunky arm it wont fit at all.
Popped out of the strap holder it does have a point you could thread a keyring or wire through one corner.

 

[Hippo-Drones]

I'm not a drift owner but I only use stabilisation when mounting on the bike rather than helmet.

 

[PlanZ]

Having used the Ghost 4K a couple of times I can now comment.
The Field of View is 140 degrees rather than 160 on the Ghost Hd - that alone is not a great difference, but if you turn on stabiliser it crops about 15% off the frame all round by the look of it.
The stabilising seems to try to hold one viewpoint then lurch to the next, enhancing the feeling you are looking down a big tube or something.

You also get a disconcerting feeling of floating as you go over minor humps and bumps on faster roads.
In short with stabilising on the footage is close to unusable though if riding smoothly on straightish road it does stabilise very well - too well if anything, perhaps future firmware could somehow tone it down.

Otherwise the results are good. Colours are a little garish but it's easy to reduce saturation slightly.
Resolution is considerably improved, bitrate at 1080p is about double the Ghost HD.
Dynamic range is much better too so you can see detail in bright sky but tall buildings in shadow still have good detail.

Audio seemed to be a problem on earlier firmware but now seems better than Ghost HD if anything.
I may be wrong but there seems to be some noise cancelling going on, or perhaps it's just you now have gain setting that actually works. #3 seems about right.

Battery life surprised me it seems better if anything than ghost HD and you might expect to get up to three hours though less at higher resolution.
There is an option for higher capacity battery to clip on.
This brings us to another niggle in that Drift have apparently decided to copy gopro by making it awkward to attach a mic as you have to use the Mini SD charging port. At least they supply an adapter and its discrete - not like GoPro which is a block half the size of the camera.
But this means you can't charge from powerbank while riding if you want the external mic plugged in.
Must say with the Ghost HD I never actually did that but had a second battery and that was rarely needed but youd want more than one if out all day or touring.

Then which settings to use.
4K is not that suitable for scenes with a lot of movement.
It works best with camera held still, recording more expansive scenes with lots of detail like people walking about and elaborate buildings behind.
The file sizes are very large and even basic editing and rendering will be slow even on a higher end computer.
You do have useful options like being able to crop into frame by more than half and still get very good 1080p output.

2.7k is more manageable and you can record at 60fps there too.
It's probably worth using for anywhere a bit special rather than regular commute type recording.
Recording at the higher resolutions and downscaling to 1080p when rendering will potential give a better quality video as you have more information to start with.
On youtube very few people are routinely watching higher than 1080p and even on a larger screen e.g. smartTV 1080p is usually "good enough" provided you rendered with high enough bitrate and youtube didn't mess things up some more.

 

[Lurch]

I thought the on board battery was tiny? The HD Ghost was pretty good on battery life, and higher bit rates and resolutions take their toll on energy consumption.

 

[lupin]

Ive found the battery in my ghost S hardly lasts when its cold.

In the morning the 30 min ride to work and its in the red, on the way home its only 1 bar gone.

Might be time for a upgrade soon I think.

 

[Undead MV]

Looks pretty cool, but expensive, out of my league

 

[TeapotOne]

Hi, I'm testing a new Ghost 4K for Drift just now, but it seems almost all of the issues already spoken about are still evident with this unit. It's VERY temperamental, the software/firmware must be a mess. The remote is infuriating as I am constantly having to repair it with the camera for no reason, and as has already been said, the strap is just plain ridiculous. I've tried it with the image stabilisation on at 4k 25fps and the footage is unuseable, made me sick just watching it to be honest as it was all over the place. The sound quality when set at level 3 (minimum) is pretty good though, but at 5 it is distorted, even off the bike and just talking to camera.

All in there's not a chance I'd buy one of these with my own money. The Ghost-S has been absolutely superb for me, the only reason I'd change is for 4K footage as it's undeniably better for production value. I used a TomTom Bandit today for the first time too and was pleasantly surpirsed by it. Incredibly easy to use, and the 4K is not too bad at all.

 

[PlanZ]

Hi, I'm testing a new Ghost 4K for Drift just now, but it seems almost all of the issues already spoken about are still evident with this unit. It's VERY temperamental, the software/firmware must be a mess. The remote is infuriating as I am constantly having to repair it with the camera for no reason, and as has already been said, the strap is just plain ridiculous. I've tried it with the image stabilisation on at 4k 25fps and the footage is unuseable, made me sick just watching it to be honest as it was all over the place. The sound quality when set at level 3 (minimum) is pretty good though, but at 5 it is distorted, even off the bike and just talking to camera.

All in there's not a chance I'd buy one of these with my own money. The Ghost-S has been absolutely superb for me, the only reason I'd change is for 4K footage as it's undeniably better for production value. I used a TomTom Bandit today for the first time too and was pleasantly surpirsed by it. Incredibly easy to use, and the 4K is not too bad at all.

With the remote I think you have to pair it every time when you switch the camera on if you are planning to use it.
I know this seems pretty odd but fairly simple once in the habit.
You don't have to go into any menu just press a button (on remote) during the first minute or something.
The wrist strap is so ridiculous there must be a market for a replacement or extension on ebay.
I'm no muscle hunk but it's in the last hole on a bare wrist.
An astonishing mistake to make.

 

[TeapotOne]

With the remote I think you have to pair it every time when you switch the camera on if you are planning to use it.
I know this seems pretty odd but fairly simple once in the habit.
You don't have to go into any menu just press a button (on remote) during the first minute or something.
The wrist strap is so ridiculous there must be a market for a replacement or extension on ebay.
I'm no muscle hunk but it's in the last hole on a bare wrist.
An astonishing mistake to make.

I was out yesterday with it and tried to connect the remote on startup just by pushing a button on the remote, but 4/5 times it didn't work. The camera also had major software glitches causing filming to periodically stop, then start, then stop - almost like it was on a phot-timer basis, yet it was recording video?

I think I've had enough of it now to be honest, Drift aren't going to like the review, but then they shouldn't have a camera with this many issues actually out there on the market. It needs way more testing and development.

 

[PlanZ]

I was out yesterday with it and tried to connect the remote on startup just by pushing a button on the remote, but 4/5 times it didn't work. The camera also had major software glitches causing filming to periodically stop, then start, then stop - almost like it was on a phot-timer basis, yet it was recording video?

I think I've had enough of it now to be honest, Drift aren't going to like the review, but then they shouldn't have a camera with this many issues actually out there on the market. It needs way more testing and development.

It sounds like I need make an effort to test mine more while under warranty, but haven't had any glitching like that so far.
I suspect further firmware updates will resolve some problems, but it has been out a while now and review have been a bit mixed.

 

[TeapotOne]

It sounds like I need make an effort to test mine more while under warranty, but haven't had any glitching like that so far.
I suspect further firmware updates will resolve some problems, but it has been out a while now and review have been a bit mixed.

Just out of curiosity, do you use the staboilisation when you are out riding? I tried it yesterday just with some simple walking shots and the footage was horrendous, nearly makes you sick when you watch it as it's that distorted and wobbly?

 

[PlanZ]

Just out of curiosity, do you use the staboilisation when you are out riding? I tried it yesterday just with some simple walking shots and the footage was horrendous, nearly makes you sick when you watch it as it's that distorted and wobbly?

I did last time but won't again.
I didn't turn it on first test and was quite happy except I had camera angle wrong so never uploaded any of that.
On youtube search drift 4K latest and my video is next to yours (Goth Weekend)
It's funny I was just watching your review earlier today and saw you also posting here.

 

[TeapotOne]

I did last time but won't again.
I didn't turn it on first test and was quite happy except I had camera angle wrong so never uploaded any of that.
On youtube search drift 4K latest and my video is next to yours (Goth Weekend)
It's funny I was just watching your review earlier today and saw you also posting here.

Wow your footage looks WAY clearer than mine, and a hell of a lot more stable? Mine is literally like an epilectic is holding it!

Nice vid, it almost looks like the Drift is in a gimbal at times, the footage is so smooth. But you're right, the stabilised footage just doesn't look right as a helmet cam for vlogging does it, almost like you're detached from it all.

Cheers for your feedback.