New GoPro tiny 4K remote lens camera

[Dashmellow]

I'm not sure if this is solely an action camera or whether it will be deployable as a dash camera as implied in the video so I thought I'd just post this in the "General" dash cam discussions.

Whatever it is, it seems a remarkable new direction for GoPro.

Seems more than a little inspired by the remote lens Mobius and a few other remote lens cams we all know, doesn't it?

 

[Nigel]

So they have just re-launched the Hero 4 black with an extra ribbon cable and a different case!

Still no gyro stabilisation.

 

[Dashmellow]

So they have just re-launched the Hero 4 black with an extra ribbon cable and a different case!

Still no gyro stabilisation.

Well, yes, that's exactly what they say. We need to see what mods they may have made to the hardware and firmware (if any) before pre-judging, Nigel. Even if the camera has the same functionality as the Hero 4 Black, the new form factor opens up many interesting possibilities.

Edit: Watching the video again, the key phrase seems to be, "We're re-engineering the GoPro Hero 4 Black", so I guess that could open up new features and functionalities beyond just putting the guts into a new box with a remote lens module on it. Time will tell.

 

[kamkar]

Looks interesting and rise a couple of questions in my mind, first and foremost how far avay can you have the camera unit from the main unit.

Then there is secondary questions like.
Whats the battery time
How many banks will i have to rob to afford one, cuz knowhing the brand pricing i cant see this beeing cheaper than the regular GP black, actually i think it will be a whole lot more expensive.

 

[Dashmellow]

I'm sure the price is probably ridiculous.

For the time being, I'm more interested in talking about the product itself, what it may be able to do, how it might perform, etc.

They seem to be saying this is being rolled out as a custom solution for certain parties but they don't say if and how it will be offered as a general consumer product, like as a universal helmet cam, for instance.

FWIW, the so called "tiny" remote lens module looks pretty huge.

 

[Nigel]

FWIW, the so called "tiny" remote lens module looks pretty huge.

I think it is the standard size lens. The sensor is almost at the back of the standard camera so this has to have the same depth+height as the standard camera, the width is about 50% since it doesn't have the battery. Looks like the battery is a very thin lipo in the other part, and the one in the hat was curved...

 

[kamkar]

I was wondering if the so called "ref hat" is to be of any need for a broadcaster, it will need to have a live steam they can transmit.
Actually it need to have wifi and live real time footage to be of any use in broadcast, what is stored on a SD card is more or less useless in that regard.

As a product and that being both action and dash camera i do like the remote camera module, the one on this gopro might be pretty large, but its still much better than just strapping the whole box shaped gopro 4 black to something.

So i will encourage any dash or action camera maker to consider this path too, at least for some of their models.

I am torn about the validity of the generic action camera form factor, in my eyes they are under thread from phone cameras and even camcorders for the "whip out and start taking pictures or film" segment of the marked.

For the strap camera to something marked i think the remote camera will be best, and if you want to be in the whip out and film segment you can always provide a plastic frame of some sort where you can click the 2 parts into and then have 1 unit to handle.

 

[Dashmellow]

I think it is the standard size lens. The sensor is almost at the back of the standard camera so this has to have the same depth+height as the standard camera, the width is about 50% since it doesn't have the battery. Looks like the battery is a very thin lipo in the other part, and the one in the hat was curved...

I think you're right. It also looks like it may have a convex protective lens protector over the optic. When I say it's "huge", I'm thinking in comparison to some other remote lens modules on currently available cameras.

 

[Nigel]

I think you're right. It also looks like it may have a convex protective lens protector over the optic. When I say it's "huge", I'm thinking in comparison to some other remote lens modules on currently available cameras.

It does seem a bit big for a hat cam when they could have used a phone sized sensor with a tiny lens! The big lens will give better quality than a phone cam lens/sensor but I'm not sure that 4K and $500 are what people want for a baseball cap. Stabilisation does seem a good idea for a hat cam.

Also based on the LCD buttons and screen being standard size, the battery part seems rather large compared to a standard Hero 4, but with the advantage of being somewhat thinner.

 

[Dashmellow]

It does seem a bit big for a hat cam when they could have used a phone sized sensor with a tiny lens! The big lens will give better quality than a phone cam lens/sensor but I'm not sure that 4K and $500 are what people want for a baseball cap. Stabilisation does seem a good idea for a hat cam.

Also based on the LCD buttons and screen being standard size, the battery part seems rather large compared to a standard Hero 4, but with the advantage of being somewhat thinner.

It looks like perhaps they are simply trying to do something clever and creative with parts that they mostly already have tooling for rather than completely reinvent the wheel but a phone sized lens and sensor would be a great idea and open up many possibilities. The thin size and shape of the base module for this camera seem like it would be a perfect for a shirt pocket or arm band mount.

Again, I agree. Stabilization would benefit a camera like this. Maybe we need to get the guys at Gitup to do something with this form factor.

 

[Nigel]

It looks like perhaps they are simply trying to do something clever and creative with parts that they mostly already have tooling for rather than completely reinvent the wheel but a phone sized lens and sensor would be a great idea and open up many possibilities. The thin size and shape of the base module for this camera seem like it would be a perfect for a shirt pocket or arm band mount.

Again, I agree. Stabilization would benefit a camera like this. Maybe we need to get the guys at Gitup to do something with this form factor.

Maybe they are doing - the Git3 is not far away

 

[Dashmellow]

Maybe they are doing - the Git3 is not far away

I've been interested in seeing what they do with the Git3. With rare exception, Gitup is the only GoPro knock-off that really seems to out GoPro GoPro.

 

[kamkar]

I doubt git3 will be remote lens, still the usioal shape i think, also not sure the git3 will be 4K

And maybe i should say what i mostly do with action cameras i can do no problem with the box shaped ones, but i can allso see a lot of cases where the mobius shaped cameras and these remote lens cameras would be so much better.

O and it would be nice if some one made a Ultra small remote cam based on smartphone optics and sensor as Nigel mentioned, would be no problem for me as i mostly do my action recording in daylight.

Stabilisation does seem a good idea for a hat cam.

I agree all the recordings i have made with cameras on my hat is borderline unbearable to watch.

 

[rsfoto]

FWIW, the so called "tiny" remote lens module looks pretty huge.

Hi Dashmellow,

There is always a compromise. The smaller the lenses and imaging chips the worse the video quality.

There is no free lunch

 

[Dashmellow]

Hi Dashmellow,

There is always a compromise. The smaller the lenses and imaging chips the worse the video quality.

There is no free lunch

It's certainly true. Then again, some of the more recent generations of smart phone cameras are able to produce some remarkable results, both with still and video.

 

[kamkar]

some of the more recent generations of smart phone cameras are able to produce some remarkable results

I agree, and think it have been so for a while at least with the better camera phones.
Sure they are not snapping Dslr worthy pictures, but for the level of expectations ppl in general have ( like not even bothering to tilt their phone the right way when they take pictures and make video ) then i think good phone cameras are more than enough.

 

[jokiin]

the hat cam was neat, expect it will be a $500 hat though, guess now this is announced we're only a few weeks from the inevitable SJHAT for $60 ($50 from gearbest with their promo code)

 

[Dashmellow]

I agree, and think it have been so for a while at least with the better camera phones.
Sure they are not snapping Dslr worthy pictures, but for the level of expectations ppl in general have ( like not even bothering to tilt their phone the right way when they take pictures and make video ) then i think good phone cameras are more than enough.

The Galaxy Note 5 shoots video at resolutions up to 4K, and captures excellent audio. It has optical image stabilization for movies at 1080p and below, so videos are smooth even without a tripod. The latest generation of Galaxy phones come with built-in live streaming to YouTube right in the camera software, so there's no need to fiddle with a separate app. Just log in, press record and that's it.

The dual-pixel sensor, Galaxy S7 Edge camera is the fastest phone camera available with larger 1.4-micron pixels and a f/1.7 aperture providing excellent low light performance.

The iPhone 6 has a 12-megapixel iSight camera with 1.22µm pixel size, backside illuminated sensor, Optical image stabilization, ƒ/2.2 aperture, Autofocus and a whole range of other features. It's considered a kick-ass camera.

Many of today's smart phones offer better image quality than point and shoot cameras from just a few years ago. They may not perform like a DSLR ( as they shouldn't be expected to) but some of of them can put dash cam video quality to shame.

The small lens and other components are hardly the compromise they used to be, so I could really envision a tiny remote lens module for an action type cam that performs pretty well.

 

[Nigel]

What you don't get from those cameras is the wide angle of an action/dash cam so I'm not sure they would be much use as hat cams.

 

[Dashmellow]

the hat cam was neat, expect it will be a $500 hat though, guess now this is announced we're only a few weeks from the inevitable SJHAT for $60 ($50 from gearbest with their promo code)

Holy SJHAT! , where did I leave my hat!!?