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GoPro vs Wingman
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joethewindsufa



Joined: 10 Oct 2010
Posts: 1190
Location: Montréal

PostPosted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 5:35 pm    Post subject: GoPro vs Wingman Reply with quote

got myself a GoPro - one of the first ones for good price
then discovered there is a WingmanHD for about $200+ that has almost ALL aspects covered - display, tripod mount ++ all included

anyone here tried the Wingman with windsurfing ??
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joethewindsufa



Joined: 10 Oct 2010
Posts: 1190
Location: Montréal

PostPosted: Fri Dec 14, 2012 8:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

anyone ??
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manuel



Joined: 08 Oct 2007
Posts: 1158

PostPosted: Fri Dec 14, 2012 12:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

150° wide angle lens, gopro's is 170°, it's important when the camera is close to you.
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Fri Dec 14, 2012 12:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Not me. But my GoPro has lain on a shelf in its box for two years since I saw what its 170 degree wide angle lens does to big swell (shrinkage on steroids), so while the Wingman's 150 degrees would be an improvement, it may still depict serious $#!+ as mere doggy doo. The only impressive GoPro action shots I've seen were taken from a fellow sailor nearby so the viewer can compare the sailor's size to the terrain, not by any GoPro mounted on the subject's gear. Serious fisheyes get great shots of the rider's nostrils, footstrap screws, or harness lines, but virtually remove terrain and maneuvers from the equation altogether. So far, it comes down to which is more important ... width of view or fidelity ... and that varies with what's being photographed and where the camera is mounted and aimed.

There's room for orders of magnitude improvement in these things. I've heard there's already software to mitigate the fisheye distortion, but it's just frame-by-frame last I heard. It would at least help WSing videos to employ some editing software to fixate the display onto the horizon so a loop looks more like the rider did something besides getting hit by a BIG bucket of tumbling water. The next step might be to anchor the display onto a distant fixed reference point so a slash or jibe or off-the-lip or bottom turn looks like a change of direction rather than just a stage hand bumping into a backdrop.

Better yet, find a friend with nothing better to do than follow you around all day and looking right at you through his helmet-mounted cam. Even if you return the favor, that's a friend and a half.
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manuel



Joined: 08 Oct 2007
Posts: 1158

PostPosted: Fri Dec 14, 2012 1:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I like my gopro, great viewing angle:

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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Fri Dec 14, 2012 2:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

manuel wrote:
I like my gopro, great viewing angle

Yeah, but something (other than its appearance in the picture) tells me your terrain was over ankle high. Heck, it might even have been windy for all we know. I had hopes that a viewer could tell the difference between cruising back and forth on flat water in 15 kt breezes and serious action in 6' swell and 40 mph winds, but, alas, it all looks about the same from helmet or clew camera perspective due to the fisheye effect. The primary distinction between mild and wild, to me, is splashes and horizon tilts and fixed object sweeps, all of which which could be achieved easily accidentally or deliberately in 15 (or 5) kts on flat water.

Not complaining ... I'm glad I tried it out and may find other uses for it ... but anyone whose GoPro comes out of their kids' food budget might want to try one before buying one.
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manuel



Joined: 08 Oct 2007
Posts: 1158

PostPosted: Fri Dec 14, 2012 3:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree with you on the flattening of the swell. Difficult to realize wind speed and swell height.

This is how much it was blowing all day:



And this is what it looks like with the gopro:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1zqG3NV8ps

isobars wrote:
manuel wrote:
I like my gopro, great viewing angle

Yeah, but something (other than its appearance in the picture) tells me your terrain was over ankle high. Heck, it might even have been windy for all we know. I had hopes that a viewer could tell the difference between cruising back and forth on flat water in 15 kt breezes and serious action in 6' swell and 40 mph winds, but, alas, it all looks about the same from helmet or clew camera perspective due to the fisheye effect. The primary distinction between mild and wild, to me, is splashes and horizon tilts and fixed object sweeps, all of which which could be achieved easily accidentally or deliberately in 15 (or 5) kts on flat water.

Not complaining ... I'm glad I tried it out and may find other uses for it ... but anyone whose GoPro comes out of their kids' food budget might want to try one before buying one.
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Fri Dec 14, 2012 3:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

manuel wrote:
This is how much it was blowing all day ...

NOW we can imagine what you were experiencing! I'm guessing the swell a km offshore was bigger than those riplets at your feet.

And, MAN, what a venue! Flat topography, a clear and sloped sand beach, clean sideshore winds ... only one or two out of 75+ Columbia River launches even come close.
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manuel



Joined: 08 Oct 2007
Posts: 1158

PostPosted: Fri Dec 14, 2012 4:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

isobars wrote:
[...] I'm guessing the swell a km offshore was bigger than those riplets at your feet.


The upwind swell was 3' to 4', no way to get to the swell downwind because we kept being blown off all the way upwind being so overpowered!

Note: The gauge was in knots.

isobars wrote:
And, MAN, what a venue! Flat topography, a clear and sloped sand beach, clean sideshore winds ... only one or two out of 75+ Columbia River launches even come close.


This is a nice spot for sure, a little flat, might not be shallow enough.
It does require driving down a 15-mile road to get to!

Lake McConaughy is even nicer but doesn't blow nearly as much.
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rigitrite



Joined: 19 Sep 2007
Posts: 520
Location: Kansas City

PostPosted: Fri Dec 14, 2012 5:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Go Pro. Anything else is like buying beta when everyone else has VCR.
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