Reviewing the GITUP Git1

[Nigel]

@Gibson99
The new proposed frame should have more clearance.

@gitup how does the remote work to turn on the wifi if wifi is turned off?

The new GitUp frame has clearance for everything, except that when mounted the right way up for tripod use half the top LED is covered, still perfectly visible though, and you need to remove the camera from the frame to change the battery. It is a very nice frame, easy to get the camera in and out without dismantling anything, or even unplugging anything and holds the camera well.

The remote doesn't talk wifi, although I think it broadcasts on the same frequency, just a different protocol.

will try that september firmware unless this new one comes out soon. screen off while charging will be nice, as that white screen is pretty bright.
...
is the watch remote waterproof? it kinda looks like it would be since it's almost entirely made of rubber. i haven't taken off the back cover to see if there's an o-ring to seal it like a normal wristwatch.

I suggest you install the September firmware, it is easy to install and gives a useful update. There have only been minor improvements since, will be worth installing when available though.

Remote is surf proof, not diving proof.

 

[Gibson99]

how solid is that new mount? i'm concerned with it falling out of the clip when mounted on my helmet or handlebars for example. i only use the waterproof case when i expect it to get wet or get hit with stuff, because the sound is always horrible in any waterproof case.

as for the update - is it like dashcams, where you just drop the bin file on a blank sd card, boot up with that card in, and it'll update?

 

[Sunny]

The frame is right fit for the camera but there is a push tab on one side that locks it in place.
I don't think the camera will fly away unless there is hard impact.
It easily comes out when the tab is pushed out but you have to pull very hard on the non-tab side to pull it with tabs in place so it should be safe for bicycle.
Of course, it's not as secure as the current frame that you have to unscrew to take the camera out.

Check the one on left using similar frame:

 

[Nigel]

how solid is that new mount? i'm concerned with it falling out of the clip when mounted on my helmet or handlebars for example. i only use the waterproof case when i expect it to get wet or get hit with stuff, because the sound is always horrible in any waterproof case.

as for the update - is it like dashcams, where you just drop the bin file on a blank sd card, boot up with that card in, and it'll update?

I think you would need to use the helmet for it's intended purpose before the camera would fall out, so fine for use in car, not sure I would want to use the camera on a motorbike without a waterproof case to protect the lens anyway. I think it will be fine for a bicycle too, I may give it a go sometime, I trust it for a bicycle. Works well on monopod, tripod and as a dashcam.

Update: put the file on the card, put card in the camera, turn on, wait for LED to finish flashing, remove card. No need to answer any questions, it just gets on with it.

 

[Gibson99]

i don't have a motorcycle, just a full suspension mountain bike. i'm happy with the frame style mount, i just need to drill out the mic hole and top LED hole a little so it's not covered. i had to do a lot of cutting to make a gopro open frame fit on the DS200 i reviewed last, but since it's relatively soft plastic, it's not difficult. a step drill and some needle files will make it look nice.

i need to get together with my buddy who has the quadcopter again, since my review unit came with a FPV cable. have to figure out some way to protect the camera though, since you obviously can't use the waterproof case while anything is plugged into the camera.

and as for the sound... i should have tried the external mic.. but i didn't know the built-in mic would be so overdriven, so i didn't think to bring it with me to the race.

i did a battery life test by pointing the camera at a clock and just letting it record till it died. once it hits the 4gb file size limitation of fat32, it starts a new file. unfortunately, you lose about 1.5 seconds of footage while it starts a new file - no overlap or seamless recording here. it also beeps a couple times when it starts a new file. each 4gb file is about 31 minutes long, so unless you're recording a speech or something, this probably won't be an issue for most folks. file properties say it records at about 16.5Mbps @ 30fps, audio is 512kbps @32khz.

i used 2 batteries for the battery life test. first one recorded from 11:26 to 13:49. second battery went from 13:50 to 16:08. and that's based on the time shown on the digital clock in the video, not on the git1's timestamp. so about 2 hours 15 minutes per charge, with screen off and wifi off. round it down to 2 hours since the battery life will go down over time. still beats the heck out of the ~70 minutes i got out of the DS200 i last reviewed.

 

[Nigel]

i don't have a motorcycle...

Dremel with a router bit makes for easy modification of plastics.
If your using an external microphone in a loud car you want a very insensitive one (around -68db), or one with a volume control.
If you enable loop recording then you should get a 1000 millisecond overlap between files.
Around 2 hours battery life is normal for the Git1, a little more with a newish battery and the screen off.

 

[Gibson99]

an option to adjust mic volume/sensitivity in the menu would be very welcome. for example - crank it way up for when it's in a waterproof case, but turn it down when it's not, so it's not overdriven like in my video below.

the sample video below is shaky because of the cheap suction cup mount i was using. it has a long arm which acts like a lever to allow vibration. i'm looking at getting this mount instead:


TURN DOWN YOUR VOLUME!!!!!! THIS IS REALLY LOUD!!!

so while the sound is pretty bad, video quality is great. doesn't look quite as good here because youtube, but also because i used VLC to rotate the video 180 degrees (note the timestamp in upper left). i forgot to set the video flip option in the camera before i stuck it on the windshield.

 

[Gibson99]

Dremel with a router bit makes for easy modification of plastics.
If your using an external microphone in a loud car you want a very insensitive one (around -68db), or one with a volume control.
If you enable loop recording then you should get a 1000 millisecond overlap between files.
Around 2 hours battery life is normal for the Git1, a little more with a newish battery and the screen off.

i don't have a dremel anymore, but using a stepped drill bit to enlarge an existing hole is extremely easy, even using a normal power drill, or even by hand if the bit is nice and sharp and the plastic soft. then if there are any remaining rough edges, that's what the needle file is for. i also have a bench vice to hold the bracket if needed. i do have some air-powered die grinders and other tools since i used to be a mechanic, so i'm not afraid to customize stuff. i had to do it often while installing things like DVD players, stereos, alarms, and exterior stuff like spoilers and running boards too. so working with metal or plastic is not foreign to me.

i didn't want to enable loop recording since this isn't a dashcam. i just wanted to see what kind of battery life it could provide. maybe next time i'll try it with wifi ON so we can see how much battery life you lose by doing that.

 

[Nigel]

i didn't want to enable loop recording since this isn't a dashcam. i just wanted to see what kind of battery life it could provide.

It actually makes quite a good dashcam, good night time sensitivity, sensible FOV for 1080, has loop recording, auto start, delayed stop, you can set it to continue recording for e.g. 30 minutes after engine off on internal battery if you want. The new frame makes a nice mount, it is just missing GPS logging.

 

[Gibson99]

i spoze that's good for folks who want one do-everything box, but i don't. i've heard of people trying to use a gopro as a dashcam too, which to me is a COLOSSAL waste of money. of course, i already have several dashcams, and i know how cheap they can be compared to a gopro (it's why i got a DC in the first place - i couldn't afford a gopro but wanted to record my racing). besides - the form factor of this too bulky (IMHO) for a dashcam. it's why i have the a118 in my car.

i don't think i'll spend any time testing its dashcam functions in my review. it is, afterall, an action camera first, so i'll be testing those action camera functions. definitely gonna buy that suction cup above though. i'm also ordering some tethers, so i can attach it to the fender or roof of my car without worrying about it bouncing off down the road to be run over. maybe i can even get creative and attach it somewhere in the undercarriage with zip-ties or something, to see the suspension and steering working.

 

[gitup]

The new firmware will be released within 5 to 10 days.

Regarding the audio volume, the default Novatek platform produce very low audio, so we take much time to improve it.
We plan to adjust the volume level, it will take some time, it is not implemented in Novatek platform, we tried to do but didn't work.

Before we ship the sample, our GitUp frame is not available, so we ship the GoPro frame instead.

 

[gitup]

the wristwatch remote is neat. i like how you can quickly take a photo by holding the camera button, or start recording by holding the video button. not sure what advantage you have by turning wifi on/off via remote, but that ability is there and it works. and you can turn the camera OFF via remote, but cannot turn it back on. would be nice if the remote beeped or had a flashing light to indicate that it was actually recording. use case for this is when i have the camera mounted to the front of my car and so i can't see or hear it (especially with my helmet on while racing), so some sort of confirmation would be good. is the watch remote waterproof? it kinda looks like it would be since it's almost entirely made of rubber. i haven't taken off the back cover to see if there's an o-ring to seal it like a normal wristwatch.

Some other users also give us this suggestion, it is very useful, we will try to implement this in near future.

We will make an additional menu to adjust the RF button function, like short press the video button to start video recording immediately. So this will be ensure video is recorded.

 

[Sunny]

It does have recording and power status led but in the front, not in the back.

 

[Gibson99]

It does have recording and power status led but in the front, not in the back.

I was talking about having the LEDs on the watch itself function as indicators of whether the camera is recording. Not sure if it's one or two way communication though I suspect it's only one way, similar to a garage door opener.

 

[gitup]

I was talking about having the LEDs on the watch itself function as indicators of whether the camera is recording. Not sure if it's one or two way communication though I suspect it's only one way, similar to a garage door opener.

It is one way communication.

 

[Gibson99]

It is one way communication.

Much less battery required that way. Makes sense. Esp once the Android and iPhone apps are ready. Which btw I couldn't get the final cam app to work. Any estimates on when the real gitup app will be ready?

 

[TechTronic9000]

@Gibson99

The RF remote working logic will be improved so that you will be sure that the camera is doing what you set it to do, even though this will not be signaled by the remote.

 

[TechTronic9000]

Strolling through the "Garden of the Dragons" - "Grădina Zmeilor”
Beside the small scene with the friendly bat which was shoot with my compact Panasonic video camera (for zooming purpose) the rest of the video is entirely done with the Git1. I hope you like it.
Note: it's re encoded (higher bitrate / double the frame rate) for slightly better YouTube quality.
Footage from cave included

 

[Olgu]

I edit with Adobe Premiere. My cousin and his family GitUp git1 Pro

 

[gitup]

Nice video and music.