Drift HD or the GO PRO HERO 2

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MotorBiker2012

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Which i better, the drift hd of the go pro hero 2 because i have a drift hd but the light contrast is not very good compaired to the drift hd170 and ive seen some footage from the the go pro hero 2 and it looks really good compaired to the drift hd and it would be good to get some feedback from the gro pro hero 2 as i might just get rid of my drift hd for the go pro hero 2.
 
Hi Matey

I have a GoPro HD Hero 2 (in fact im going to pick up my second today) i haven't done any vlogs with it yet but have filmed with it and i am very impressed with the quality of the camera, i cant give a comparison with the DRIFT as never had one and never will, im sticking with the GoPro all the way.

All the best.

Simon
 
black-rider said:
Hi Matey

I have a GoPro HD Hero 2 (in fact im going to pick up my second today) i haven't done any vlogs with it yet but have filmed with it and i am very impressed with the quality of the camera, i cant give a comparison with the DRIFT as never had one and never will, im sticking with the GoPro all the way.

All the best.

Simon
if you check out some of my videos you can see the quality of it isn't perfect and i won't be vlogging anymore but ile be posting videos of trips, meet-ups, snowboarding, bike walkarounds, bike tut, how to and etc.. but i am heading in the direction of the go pro hero 2 after i pay my insurers £1200
 
black-rider said:
i cant give a comparison with the DRIFT as never had one and never will, im sticking with the GoPro all the way.

How does that make any sense? Maybe the Drift is better? I think he was asking for a comparison, you are just stating the obvious by saying the GoPro has good quality. They both have good quality... Im pretty sure it all comes down to your video style and which one you like better.
 
ive just been looking at some videos of the drift hd vs gopro hero 2 and the go pro hero 2 has a more professional picture quality than the drift hd but i have to say both camera are good in there own ways, so for the go pro the camera is better for clearer/ sharper footage while the drift hd has a lcd screen and a wireless remote, but both cameras are easy to use and can shoot great videos but i would recomend the drift hd170 rather than the drift hd as it has clearer footage.
 
If you're looking for better video/picture quality, go with the GoPro.

If you're looking for an easier interface, and more accurate colors* (*some have stated the Drift's colors are more "true"), then go with the Drift.

It seems the microphone situation has worked out for more people on the GoPro than it has on the Drift. Both nice cameras.
 
Toast is right, but there's a few other things to bear in mind as well.

The GoPro 2 has pretty awesome low-light/nighttime picture too.

I've heard GoPro users complain about being able to feel the camera on the side/top of the helmet and that it's heavy, uncomfortable, and that they can feel it dragging on their helmet. That makes sense, it's about as aerodynamic as a brick. The Drift on the other hand isn't as heavy (that I can tell) and is much more streamlined, I've never seen a Drift user complain about feeling it in any way. Only time I know mine is there is when it bumps my shoulder when I do a shoulder check.

The mic issues with the Drift are pretty well noted, and it seems that part of the issue may be in the mic itself, as someone on here recently commented that they used a different mic and got pretty good results.

Then there's the price. At $300 the GoPro (motorsports edition) comes with a couple mounting bits, the camera, and the skeleton case. To vlog with it you have to buy the microphone seperately. If you want to be able to review your vids or easily check the angle of the camera with the GoPro you'll also have to buy the little LCD backpack thing at $80.

Or you can go with the Drift. The drift will run off USB power while recording, I don't know if the GoPro will or not. That means your recording time is limited only by your memory card. It takes a little effort to set up on a bike, but if you do it right it's pretty sweet. The $320 package deal from MyPOV360.com (may be available elsewhere, I dunno) comes with all the mounts you need, the remote that has a 50/50 shot of working properly when you hit the button, and the microphone which may or may not work out for you. The camera itself is reasonably waterproof (I've ridden with my stealth in blinding rain with the rubber boot on it and it came out fine,) has a much easier menu system to read and understand, a rotating lens so the exact placement of the camera isn't terribly important, it's very easy to fix (and screw up...) the vertical alignment, and an onboard LCD display.

Personally I think that yes, the GoPro has better picture clarity, but that's the only benefit to using it. It costs more to get a camera that's bulkier, more noticeable to the rider, and has a limited recording time.

If all you care about is how clear the picture is (day and night), go GoPro. If you don't have money to burn, or actually care about whether or not the colors are correct, or want a camera that's easier to use as well as less draggy, go with the Drift.

It should also be noted that a $15 -10db pad and a cheap extension cord for the mic will erase all audio issues with the Drift at the expense of something a little bigger than a AA battery that needs a home in the helmet.
 
It's also worth noting that any wires coming out of the GoPro come out of the side, further complicating the mounting and adding even more drag to the whole deal.
 
I wanted to be discrete with the Drift HD, the gopro goes in the opposite direction to that, kinda funny that in this day and age they are still making cameras like bricks.
 
WibblesHD said:
I wanted to be discrete with the Drift HD, the gopro goes in the opposite direction to that, kinda funny that in this day and age they are still making cameras like bricks.

Agreed. Every once in a while I get asked "What's that thing on your helmet?" Where as with the GoPro it'd undoubtedly be "Cool, you've got a camera on your helmet!"...from a mile away.
 
Haha well done for asking the most controversial question on motovlog, but seen as I'm here in time for the party:

GoPro's are the cameras used by most professional media/tv companies, and I applaud GoPro for not sacrificing picture quality for style.

People who think it's too heavy need to visit a gym, it only weighs the same as a mobile phone.

Come on, don't disappoint me, I'm expecting some 'lively debate'! :lol:
 
gpzDave said:
Haha well done for asking the most controversial question on motovlog, but seen as I'm here in time for the party:

GoPro's are the cameras used by most professional media/tv companies, and I applaud GoPro for not sacrificing picture quality for style.

People who think it's too heavy need to visit a gym, it only weighs the same as a mobile phone.

Come on, don't disappoint me, I'm expecting some 'lively debate'! :lol:

It's not that it's heavy it's that with it's shape it makes it impractical in quite a few sports.
 
If you want to keep your sanity get a GoPro HD2. My biggest regret is getting a Drift HD and my dumb ass bought 2 of them. They have sapped all the fun out of motovlogging for me and turned a hobby that I really enjoyed into a major chore. I never know if the footage I shoot while I'm out is going to turn out to be useable or even if I'm getting any footage at all.

Here is a list of problems that I've had with mine.
1. I've had major audio issues. The fix was to put a very large foam piece over the microphone because the lowest setting is still to sensitive and creates major hissing and cracking

2. Major problems with exposure. Nice blue skies with puffy white clouds turn out looking overcast with white skies. I've tried every exposure setting but they all suck. Drive under some trees and back out again and the exposure is all over the place. I've noticed the GoPro HD 2 doesn't do this. My original GoPro HD didn't either.

3. The remote control sometimes works and sometimes doesn't and there's no reason for it. I have the remote in the same place every time so its not the distance or something interfering. It just doesn't work sometimes. This is the main reason I bought them to begin with.

4. Today I sat down at my computer to take the videos off my SD card and noticed several files that are 0KB, which means they're corrupt and unusable. I'm using class 10 cards made by PNY and these cards have never given me trouble in any other cameras or devices.

If you want to enjoy motovlogging do yourself a favor and don't buy a Drift HD. They're worthless. I don't even know if I'm going to bother complaining to Drift about my latest problem. I notice they replace a lot of cameras. It's great that they'll do that but customers shouldn't have to send the damn things back so often. They should make a product that works.

I beat the crap out of my GoPros over the years and they work flawlessly. I baby my Drifts and there's always something wrong with them.
 
Interesting post Kryten.

WibblesHD said:
It's not that it's heavy it's that with it's shape it makes it impractical in quite a few sports.

Fair point, but IMHO although it is a bit bulky it's fine for motovlogging.
 
Here's the best comparison I've seen yet.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBOqX74HdqQ[/youtube]


The Drift contrast doesn't adapt quite as well as the GoPro, but I've never had any problems with blue skies being blue and fluffy white clouds being fluffy white clouds. 808's videos and Halfthrottles videos don't seem to have many issues with them either.
 
Maybe both of mine just came from a bad batch. I don't know. I hear people talking about how great they are all the time and always just assume they have lower expectations than me. Mine have horrible exposure problems, bad pixelation and embarrassingly bad audio. I would say about 90% of what I've shot with them has never been seen mainly due to the fact that I wont upload the horrible crap they produce.
 
Sounds like there's definitely something wrong with them then. Mine, granted it's an HD170, doesn't pixelate, the exposure is better than almost every other camera I've ever used, and the picture clarity is pretty good.
 
That's a good comparison video, they're both good cameras, shows the GoPro with better detail and the Drift with better colours.

I still prefer the picture from the GoPro, yeah yeah GoPro fanboy... :roll:
 
A couple things about the GoPro-2:

You can record and charge via USB, so you are only limited via the SD card capacity.

If you can mount the camera on your helmet's chin bar, you won't really notice it once moving. Mount it aka Teletubby and yeah - you've got a parachute dragging you down.

The Hero2 menu is pretty easy to operate and understand, unlike the original version's funky hyroglyphics.

Prototype remote control has been tested and shown at recent shows, and is due out this summer with the Wi-Fi backpack. It's only a matter of time and you can preview the video via Android app for phones, and probably Apple as well, or as mentioned, you can purchase the optional video screen backpack.

To answer the original question - the person operating the camera has more to do with the end result than brand. :D
 
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