The sports camera guide teaches you to play GoPro sports camera for one second.

GoPro sports camera has become a popular camera. For GoPro camera, it is an extreme adventure camera. He has been standing at the forefront of the camera, bringing wonderful experiences to friends who like sports.

GoPro cameras and helmets

In addition to GoPro, there are many competitors in this fast-growing market: Contour, Drift, ion, HTC and so on. These manufacturers have introduced products belonging to POV cameras. POV cameras are mainly divided into "sports type" and "life type" according to their durability and use environment. If you are interested in POV cameras, the following article on TechRadar, a technology website, should give you a comprehensive understanding of it.

GoPro

GoPro phenomenon

GoPro's camera series is called Hero. These cameras look like small square boxes, not like ordinary cameras at all. The front of the camera is a fixed ultra-wide-angle lens, and the body is sealed in a waterproof shell. Users can take the GoPro camera anywhere and install it on anything through the bracket, whether it is a helmet, skateboard, bicycle handlebar or even a dog's shoulder strap. Doing so allows you to capture the action from the first-person perspective (POV), rather than the more traditional observation perspective.

Belt camera

Although GoPro was founded in the 1990s, it was not until 20 10 that the first hero camera was launched. Hero's body is not much bigger than a matchbox, but it can shoot 1080p video, which is the biggest feature that distinguishes it from previous products.

Besides the technical advantages, Hero is more practical. It can be quickly installed on almost anything, and this flexibility is also a big reason why GoPro is so popular.

POV cameras existed in the market before GoPro, but these devices are mainly used in TV, movies and military fields. However, this market finally made GoPro a household name, and also made their products a necessary equipment for all extreme sports enthusiasts.

a rat race

Although GoPro may be the most famous sports camera brand, it also has many competitors, among which Drift, Contour, iON, Garmin, Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba and so on are well-known.

Bicycle; Bicycle exercise

Autographer is a good example of a "life" viewpoint camera. This camera is not known for its durability. Users can wear it to record their daily life, instead of diving with it, tying it to a kite or fixing it on a bicycle.

Water pipe camera

HTC also recently launched a POV camera called Re. The category of this camera is difficult to define. It does have waterproof ability and solid design, and can be used as a sports camera. But its main use direction is shooting and sharing social activities.

Head camera

You can also look at it this way: if you need to wear any protective equipment, such as a helmet, you should choose a sports camera. Otherwise, a life POV camera is enough.

No matter what kind, POV cameras are based on simplicity, so although many models can really adjust the image quality and settings, the main concern of these cameras is to shoot as simply as possible.

Target user

Simplicity is an important reason why POV cameras can be so successful in the extreme sports market. Because users need to consider other things, what they really want is to fix the camera, press the shoot button and start their own adventure.

Life camera

Although extreme sports enthusiasts are the main audience of sports cameras, the range of users they attract is gradually expanding.

Diving camera

Because there is basically no need to make any settings before shooting, you can use it freely even without experience. The existence of a wide-angle lens means that you can focus on what you want to do instead of facing the camera. No need to focus, everything in the foreground and background is clear. If there is any blur, it will also be covered by fast movement. Wide-angle lenses do produce a certain degree of distortion, but this "first person" perspective is actually the user's favorite place.

Portable camera

Small and light, easy to use and low price, these characteristics make this camera an ideal choice for all kinds of video shooting, including home video and commercial shooting. You can fix the camera in one place, which was impossible before. The BBC's Natural History Department and Guy Martin's production team have started using motion cameras.

Mode of operation

The motion camera needs to be fixed somewhere, not manually. So this camera has no viewfinder, no handle and no touch screen. Most sports cameras only have a start/stop key, and buttons and sliders for setting adjustments.

A camera connected to the phone.

Therefore, the first step in using a sports camera is to fix it with the help of a bracket. At this point, each manufacturer has its own system. At present, GoPro products are the most widely supported products, but the principle of implementation in the whole industry is actually the same. Users only need to figure out what they want to fix the camera on, and then choose the appropriate bracket.

Basically, you just need to press the start/stop button to operate a sports camera, and the focal length and exposure are automatically adjusted by the camera. As for the adjustment of settings, it can be done by connecting the camera to a computer or a mobile device.

Camera adjustment

GoPro Hero series cameras are equipped with buttons and a small LCD panel, so users can directly adjust the settings on the camera. Some manufacturers' cameras, such as iON, can only switch between HD and full HD modes, and more advanced settings must be made through software.

A sports camera needs a microSD card to store the captured video. Although we are quite familiar with SD card, sports cameras have higher requirements for this kind of memory card than smart phones. Because these cameras need to shoot high-definition video, the writing speed of the memory card is very important. Users should avoid choosing products with large capacity but low price when buying memory cards, because their writing speed cannot meet the needs of cameras. The memory card suitable for a motion camera must be a memory card with a grade of 10 or a speed greater than or equal to 533x.

storage card

High-end sports cameras generally have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth functions, such as GoPro Hero 4 Black and iON Air Pro 3. Sony's HDR-AZ 1 also supports NFC. These features allow the camera to be connected to a mobile device.

Through the supporting application, you can browse the videos and images taken by the camera on the mobile device, adjust the camera settings, and remotely control the recording function of the camera. This method is much more intuitive and enjoyable than groping on the camera body.

After the video shooting is completed, it can be imported into the supporting software. GoPro's video editing software is called GoPro Studio, which is completely free and easy to use. Users can easily edit and upload videos. Most other manufacturers will let users choose their favorite video editing software, whether it is Final Cut Pro X and iMovie on Mac platform or Adobe Premier/Elements on Windows platform.

function

The sports camera market is experiencing rapid expansion. Although the market is full of new products that are similar to each other, well-known manufacturers are trying all kinds of new tricks.

At present, there are two main design branches of sports cameras, GoPro and bullet (Contour, Drift and Ion Air Series). For more cautious users, contour and drift are more respected choices, and are also favored by drivers, motorcyclists and the army.

The ion air series looks crisp and neat, and the bullet design style makes the operation extremely simple.

Boxed camera

Currently, it is the official sports camera of the NFL in the United States.

Garmin Virb appears on 20 13. As a product of GPS giant, this camera naturally has GPS function (and a small LCD screen).

Action camera

In addition, there are many sports /POV camera products on the market that combine wearable elements. Although HTC Re is not as durable as a real sports camera, it does have the ability of waterproof and shockproof.

Autographer is a wearable camera that automatically photographs the daily life of users-strictly speaking, this device is not in the category of sports cameras, but it is still a POV camera.

If you want a camera that can be fixed on anything, GoPro, which has a huge accessories market, has greater advantages. But if you just want to put your camera on a bicycle helmet, motorcycle or surfboard, the more fashionable iON Air, Drift or Contour may be a better choice.

If you want to record your travel route in the camera, a GPS motion camera like Garmin Virb should meet your needs.

GPS motion camera

For users of traditional sports cameras, the display screen may not be what they particularly want, but such devices have begun to attract mainstream photographers. So if you really want to compose a composition through the display screen, there are two main options at present: to do it on a mobile device connected to the camera, or to buy a sports camera with a built-in display screen, such as GoPro Hero 4 Sliver or Garmin Virb.

Full HD video shooting has become the standard function of sports cameras, and this resolution is absolutely enough for most users. However, there are some products that can be shot at higher resolution, such as GoPro Hero4 Black, which supports 4K video shooting. However, for most users, 4K resolution video does not bring much benefit. Not only do they take up more storage space, but not every device has enough performance to play and edit.

However, the frame rate is a very important consideration. The higher the frame rate of video, the slower the playback speed. GoPro Hero4 can shoot [email? Protected] video-When you slow down to the normal playback speed of 30fps, you can smoothly stretch the picture to 4 seconds per second, thus showing an amazing slow-motion effect.

If you want to upload videos or share them with friends easily, the resolution of 720p is enough. For this lightweight demand, drift Ghost-S is a good choice. The frame rate of this camera is 30fps at full HD resolution, but it can reach 120fps when shooting 720p video.