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New Gopro-ish camera: Shotbox

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just stumbled across these in the latest dick smith catalogue. go proish specs for $299-$399

http://www.shotbox.net.au/home/

the G sensor sounds like a good feature (maybe not so much for snow but for motorsports)

 
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Your link doesn’t go anywhere just so you know.

Anyway, looks like a decent spec sheet according to the little info I can find on dicksmith’s website. not many other websites have anything about this camera.

the toggle switches all over the front look pretty odd when there isn’t a case on the camera too…
anyway here are links to dicksmith: s60 , s71

 
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I actually like the physical switches better than fumbling through menus looking at a tiny LCD.
I dunno.. have never seen or tried this camera, just something else on the market to think about other than gopro.

 
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If I’m paying 300-400 bucks for a camera, you bet your ass that it’ll be a brand name I know and trust.

Personally I think the Sony Action Cam looks the best on the market at the moment. Easy to use and good quality with a price point that’s well lower than the clunky go-pro.

 
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I wont deny im a gopro fanboy, i have three of them.
But always open to trying new ones.

I never use over 720p recording, so its more about frame rate, and quality of the lense for me.

 
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TJswish - 19 December 2014 04:19 PM

If I’m paying 300-400 bucks for a camera, you bet your ass that it’ll be a brand name I know and trust.

$300-400 is the lowest anyone would spend on CHEAP & NASTY camera gear. Even brand names in that price category aren’t expected to be quality.
Eg; Decent video cameras begin around the $2000 price tag. Semi Professional starts around $5000. Professional $10,000 - $100,000

Personally I think the Sony Action Cam looks the best on the market at the moment. Easy to use and good quality with a price point that’s well lower than the clunky go-pro.

Best in that price range maybe.
Depends what its used for and what is expected.
Most people expect to have what the Jonses have (ie:gopro). Which is why there are many lookalike GoPros hitting the market these days.
It’s a worthy point you make though. thumbsup

 
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DR1F7R - 19 December 2014 09:02 PM

... and quality of the lense for me.

Yet you chose GoPro???
The cameras in this price range are on par, theres very little to distinguish them, if anything GoPro lens is lower grade than the other brands.

 
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spaz - 19 April 2015 12:03 PM
TJswish - 19 December 2014 04:19 PM

If I’m paying 300-400 bucks for a camera, you bet your ass that it’ll be a brand name I know and trust.

$300-400 is the lowest anyone would spend on CHEAP & NASTY camera gear. Even brand names in that price category aren’t expected to be quality.
Eg; Decent video cameras begin around the $2000 price tag. Semi Professional starts around $5000. Professional $10,000 - $100,000

I was talking about action cams. If you are spending 2k + on a camera, you better be at least using it to make some money back as a profession.

 

 
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Don’t know if Sony has a better lens or not, but have a read of this; assuming you have it in the waterproof case you’ll be shooting through plastic.

Personally I’m super keen on the next decent action cam that has optical image stabilisation.  It is the one feature I really think they need.

 
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Cheap and nasty!
All my videos are from a sjcam 4000.
Cost me $100 new.  Video quality isn’t incredible, but definitely good for $100.  I’m still trying to find a way to convert nd upload videos without losing the quality?  I only have a tablet and phone to edit things on at the moment.

I also have a Replay 1080 which I need to buy a waterproof case for and give it a proper chance!  But looks pretty decent in helmet cam mount. So cost me $100 2nd hand

 
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Mudhoney - 19 April 2015 05:28 PM

Personally I’m super keen on the next decent action cam that has optical image stabilisation.  It is the one feature I really think they need.

Im sure you are aware plenty of video editing software has decent image stabilisation effects.. Anyway, IMO you totally need a form of steadycam for premium footage.. Pretty keen to see progress in this area.

 
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spaz - 19 April 2015 12:05 PM
DR1F7R - 19 December 2014 09:02 PM

... and quality of the lense for me.

Yet you chose GoPro???
The cameras in this price range are on par, theres very little to distinguish them, if anything GoPro lens is lower grade than the other brands.

I wouldent say the lense on the gopros are bad at all. You cant expect the best quality for the price, but even then as long as its clean it gives great clear videos.
The problem is more with the sensor, and its low-light capability. Also the shutter roll can be bad on gopros.
If you dont like the fish-eye you can pick up replacement lenses. I know some guys that use 5.4mm lense replacements on Quad-copters. Have seen 50mm, and even night vision lenses.

Sites like Gizmodo usually do comparison videos of all the leading brands.
There was one jsut after the GP4 came out with over a dozen cams that was pretty good, the videos on youtube.

 

 
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tracvks - 19 April 2015 09:33 PM
Mudhoney - 19 April 2015 05:28 PM

Personally I’m super keen on the next decent action cam that has optical image stabilisation.  It is the one feature I really think they need.

Im sure you are aware plenty of video editing software has decent image stabilisation effects.. Anyway, IMO you totally need a form of steadycam for premium footage.. Pretty keen to see progress in this area.

Yeah mate, fully aware of that.  I am using Apple Final Cut Pro X.  I did try applying image stabilisation to some footage from last year but wasn’t that impressed with the result.  Possibly I should spend more time learning how to tweak that properly.

 
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mattyp - 19 April 2015 05:51 PM

Cheap and nasty!
All my videos are from a sjcam 4000.
Cost me $100 new.  Video quality isn’t incredible, but definitely good for $100.  I’m still trying to find a way to convert nd upload videos without losing the quality?  I only have a tablet and phone to edit things on at the moment.

I also have a Replay 1080 which I need to buy a waterproof case for and give it a proper chance!  But looks pretty decent in helmet cam mount. So cost me $100 2nd hand

Replay1080 is already waterproof (going off most waterproof labeled watches).
It will handle heavy rain, snow, being dropped in a puddle etc.. - I’ve taken the Replay1080 surfing with just Clingwrap around the case, it survived. Just cover the speaker hole (a small piece of sticky tape will do and it will cut out wind noise wink
The waterproof case is to give it diving capabilities (30m).
They are designed to be used on the exterior of off road vehicles in all weather/terrain and will take any punishment (apart from prolonged submersion).

 
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DR1F7R - 19 April 2015 11:36 PM
spaz - 19 April 2015 12:05 PM
DR1F7R - 19 December 2014 09:02 PM

... and quality of the lense for me.

Yet you chose GoPro???
The cameras in this price range are on par, theres very little to distinguish them, if anything GoPro lens is lower grade than the other brands.

I wouldent say the lense on the gopros are bad at all. You cant expect the best quality for the price, but even then as long as its clean it gives great clear videos.
The problem is more with the sensor, and its low-light capability. Also the shutter roll can be bad on gopros.
If you dont like the fish-eye you can pick up replacement lenses. I know some guys that use 5.4mm lense replacements on Quad-copters. Have seen 50mm, and even night vision lenses.

Sites like Gizmodo usually do comparison videos of all the leading brands.
There was one jsut after the GP4 came out with over a dozen cams that was pretty good, the videos on youtube.

 

Youtube videos are not a way to compare video quality - they are compressed and some files don’t work well with youtube conversion. You have to use a comparison site that links to the raw video so you can download them.

GoPro sent threatening letters to all major review sites, they can now move straight into a lawsuit if any negative reviews are published. Gizmodo had to pull a few GoPro reviews and replaced them with positive ones. Don’t trust any written online review about GoPro products, don’t use compressed and converted video as a comparison medium.
Not that it really matters when it comes to video quality with these cameras, they are all pretty close. There are more important aspects to consider like battery life, usability and form.

 
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Mudhoney - 20 April 2015 01:27 PM
tracvks - 19 April 2015 09:33 PM
Mudhoney - 19 April 2015 05:28 PM

Personally I’m super keen on the next decent action cam that has optical image stabilisation.  It is the one feature I really think they need.

Im sure you are aware plenty of video editing software has decent image stabilisation effects.. Anyway, IMO you totally need a form of steadycam for premium footage.. Pretty keen to see progress in this area.

Yeah mate, fully aware of that.  I am using Apple Final Cut Pro X.  I did try applying image stabilisation to some footage from last year but wasn’t that impressed with the result.  Possibly I should spend more time learning how to tweak that properly.

Thought you would be. Yeah Im totally with you wishing it produced a better outcome (from the adobe premier pro side too). If I had the money I would invest in a little 3way gimbal system, while they arent as awesome as the full steadicam rigs they still do a top job stabilising shots.