Good Alternatives to GoPro?

[Palanan]

EDIT: Updating OP based on recent research.



Amazon is full of recent reviews about defective units of the Hero 5, and their customer service is apparently legendary for being the worst. Buying a “refurbished” unit seems like a pathway to disappointment and ruin, so I don’t have much confidence that any model of GoPro will work for me.

So, what other alternatives are out there? It’s not hard to find cheap knockoff cameras, but their reviews don’t seem any better, and their customer service probably won’t be either.

Is there a happy medium? Is there somewhere, anywhere, a reasonably priced sports camera that simply records video without all the issues that GoPro clearly has?

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Original OP, still valid:

I need to record interactions that take place from point-blank range out to fifty or a hundred feet. Good video and audio are essential, and ideally I’d like something that can record an hour or two at a stretch. An easy-to-use file format and interface would also be high on the list.

I’ve been thinking GoPro mainly because I don’t know of any alternatives. My budget is only a couple hundred dollars, so I want to be sure I’m getting the best item for my needs. Is GoPro the best choice for that price range, or are there other options I should consider?

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[ThurlRavenscrof]

I'm not sure a go pro is a good choice if you need audio. My go pro takes terrible audio. But maybe there's a way to connect a mic that I don't know about

[AMFV]

I need to record interactions that take place from point-blank range out to fifty or a hundred feet. Good video and audio are essential, and ideally I’d like something that can record an hour or two at a stretch. An easy-to-use file format and interface would also be high on the list.

I’ve been thinking GoPro mainly because I don’t know of any alternatives. My budget is only a couple hundred dollars, so I want to be sure I’m getting the best item for my needs. Is GoPro the best choice for that price range, or are there other options I should consider?

Well a couple hundred dollars isn't really enough to get a good camera with decent audio at all. You're not going to find that in that range, except possibly for something used. Or something that is static and unmoving.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by AMFV
Well a couple hundred dollars isn't really enough to get a good camera with decent audio at all. You're not going to find that in that range, except possibly for something used.

Can you suggest something that qualifies as decent? I’m looking for options.

[AMFV]

Can you suggest something that qualifies as decent? I’m looking for options.

Well it's been a minute since I've looked into that, like over two years, which in camera time is an eternity. A lot depends on exactly what you mean by "decent audio and video quality". What's your intended use? Are you going to need to be able to remaster and process the audio? What kind of platform will you be displaying the videos on, since that may cap your quality anyway.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by AMFV
What's your intended use? Are you going to need to be able to remaster and process the audio?

I probably won't be doing anything that sophisticated. What I’m looking for is the ability to record conversations and interactions with people, as well as wildlife behavior and sounds—bird songs, frog calls, cicada songs, etc.

I have no experience with video editing, so I’m not sure what’s involved with remastering and processing the signal. This won’t be for a professional production, and I’m not going for broadcast quality—I just want it to be as clear and distinct as possible.

Originally Posted by AMFV
What kind of platform will you be displaying the videos on, since that may cap your quality anyway.

I might upload some segments to YouTube, but that’s probably it.

[Bohandas]

Well it's been a minute since I've looked into that, like over two years, which in camera time is an eternity. A lot depends on exactly what you mean by "decent audio and video quality". What's your intended use? Are you going to need to be able to remaster and process the audio?

That's a good question. If they can edit the video's sound it opens the option of pairing a camera that takes good video but poor audio with a seperate MP3 recorder that takes decent audio

[AMFV]

That's a good question. If they can edit the video's sound it opens the option of pairing a camera that takes good video but poor audio with a seperate MP3 recorder that takes decent audio

That wasn't exactly what I was talking about.... I was trying to figure out what he meant by "good" audio which is incredibly subjective.

I probably won't be doing anything that sophisticated. What I’m looking for is the ability to record conversations and interactions with people, as well as wildlife behavior and sounds—bird songs, frog calls, cicada songs, etc.

I have no experience with video editing, so I’m not sure what’s involved with remastering and processing the signal. This won’t be for a professional production, and I’m not going for broadcast quality—I just want it to be as clear and distinct as possible.



I might upload some segments to YouTube, but that’s probably it.

Virtually any camera will handle what you're discussing if it has reasonably good reviews, if you're not doing audio analysis and processing the audio and you just need to be able to hear it clearly, you really are probably going to be okay with quite a few fairly cheap options. You have to realize that when you talk about "good" audio and video, it's not just hearable, it's audio and video that you can affect, measure, examine, analyze and then use for various post-processing to produce a finished product. Clear audio and clear video is pretty cheap relatively, depending on what you need the camera to endure in terms of being jostled or weather or what-not.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by AMFV
You have to realize that when you talk about "good" audio and video, it's not just hearable, it's audio and video that you can affect, measure, examine, analyze and then use for various post-processing to produce a finished product.

You’re definitely approaching this from a higher standard of technical expertise. My needs are pretty basic by comparison.

Originally Posted by AMFV
Clear audio and clear video is pretty cheap relatively, depending on what you need the camera to endure in terms of being jostled or weather or what-not.

Okay, thanks. The only jostling will be while attached to me when I’m walking and bicycling.

Given that, can you suggest some options within the price range I mentioned?