GoPro or Garmin Virb

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bmharman

Filing Flight Plan
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Display name:
Brian
I am considering purchasing a camera for inflight video and have looked at both the GoPro and the Garmin Virb. A friend has the GoPro and likes it very much, but I don't have any experience with the Virb. I am looking for Pireps on either camera. If you purchased one, did you consider the other? What made you choose the one you did?

Thanks in advance for the help.
 
I have a Hero 3+ Black and a Virb Elite, among a handful of others. Between the two I prefer the Virb. In truth I think my Drift HDs are far more user friendly. My old Contour is better yet. I'm no Hollywood film maker. All have good enough specifications to shoot what I need. It comes down to battery life and ease of use for me.

Among my cams I have iPhone control with the Hero and Virb. I don't use it because neither works well. Both are far better when used with their respective remote controls. The Hero, Virb, and Drift all have viewer screens on the cameras. It seemed important. It isn't to me. Not after one or two sessions, anyway. Aiming cameras is simple. One thing all the popular action cams have in common is a very wide field of view. I don't prefer a 170* view when filming from a plane. If you want a big view of your panel maybe that's what you need. If you want a view of what's outside you'll probably want a narrower FOV. The Hero and Virb have settings for a narrower FOV.

Look at what they have to offer and pick what's important to you.
 
I have the Hero +3 Black.... Decent camera but I can NEVER get it to stop the jello thingie at random times...
 
We did some testing on the different models when we were developing some accessories for them a while back.

I found the GoPro to be the most capable for everyday use. What I mean is, that I like the GoPro because I can use it anywhere, not just in the plane. It seems to work better than the others that way. Plus, you can get accessories just about anywhere for the GoPro. The others are much more obscure and didn't work properly for me. I like that I can use my phone or ipad to get the viewing angle and setup just right, without having to click through the menus via softkeys on the cameras.
Being able to replay the GoPro footage right on my iPad after I shot it, made a HUGE difference in the subsequent shots. I also found any overlays from the other cameras to be distracting from the video, and not dynamic enough to be inclusive.

I personally haven't had any issues using the GoPro app on my phone or iPad. The preview has difficulties sometime, but it doesn't affect the functions.

The jello or rolling shutter effect will actually occur with any camera depending on it's mounting location. If the mounting area is susceptible to vibration, using the shock mount should remedy most, if not all of that effect.
 
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I have found many ways to get my GoPro Hero II to not work.

Battery life seems very short.

The Garmin is supposed to have longer battery life.

One of the features I like about the Garmin VIRB is it can display Gs.

I feel this will help me developing air show routines.

The VIRB also has less fisheye than my GoPro although I understand that GoPro is now available with the same level of fish eye.

The problem with the fish eye is that it makes it appear that I am much further from things than I am and flying much slower.

In my opinion this makes the Video less exciting. I end up editing my video into a bunch of short clips to keep the interest going.
 
I've never understood the aesthetics of the Gay-Pro. It looks like a Kodak instamatic from 1977. When you try to helmet or head mount it you really look like a dork. I far prefer the Sony AZ-1 action cam. Better form and function.
 
VanDy said:
Contour has built in GPS, you can overlay google maps or just a track as well as telemetry from the GPS into whatever kind of dashboard you want. a video i took with mine, sans gps and waterproof without a case http://contour.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs2aSdOVGIw
Click to expand...
I have several Contours and much prefer them over the GoPro. If you get the Contour+2, you can control it with your phone over bluetooth. And they can be mounted in whatever orientation is convenient because the lens rotates.

Contour is about a generation behind Go Pro on resolutions, so if you need that, go with Go Pro.
 
I've been using Replay XD 1080 for over 3 years now, flying both fixed and rotary wings. It mounts on my headset, has no "Jell-O" effect whatsoever, and looks cool.
If you grab a single frame from a typical video, it's sharp enough to compete with a still.
I use a separate digital audio recorder for intercom and ATC, and an external USB battery that, with my 64GB microSD memory, can record almost indefinitely.
Main problem: it creates tons of great footage, hard to throw away (I have over 2TB by now).
 
Drift HD lenses rotate as well. GoPro and VIRB recorder views can be flipped 180* so they really aren't limited by a fixed lens.

Another factor anyone using a camera in an airplane will face is how to attach an ND filter to get rid of those psychedelic prop effects. Garmin makes a prop filter for the VIRB, NFlight sells an accessory ND filter for the GoPro 3 series, and Contour used to sell a screw-on filter ring for their cams. Rage Cams made a shrink tube filter holder for the Drift cameras. It worked but it slips aft and the lens and filter will rub. I have all of these accessories for my collection of cameras. They all work. My favorite camera has always been my VIO POV-1 but it doesn't suit airplane use very well. It's a recorder body that has a chap stick sized camera that's attached by a cable. For helmet mounting and high speeds smaller is better. I think a lot of the GoPro jello complaints come from wind vibration so the form really isn't the best for exterior airplane mounting. The VIRB is heavier so it can wobble, too. Less a problem with Drift and Contour.
 
Art VanDelay said:
I've never understood the aesthetics of the Gay-Pro. It looks like a Kodak instamatic from 1977. When you try to helmet or head mount it you really look like a dork. I far prefer the Sony AZ-1 action cam. Better form and function.
Click to expand...


I used the GAY-PRO a few times. It was FABULOUS!!!!!!
 
I have been very pleased with my Garmin Virb Elite. 1) Ease of use: slider switch starts recording. 2) Battery life: 2+ hours, set it and forget it. 3) A variet of GPS overlays - show GPS data including track, ground speed, elevation, bearing, etc. See http://youtu.be/fOUIrYap_Og for sample.
 
I keep wondering who is going to watch all these dorky flying videos?

Seems like just me or the NTSB. :yikes:

Those who have these... who watches them? Do you really go back and watch all your landings? Approaches? To me that just doesn't seem justification enough especially since I don't enjoy editing video.

That said, I still kinda want one.
 
I'll admit the GoPro doesn't really look the sexiest when body mounted, but I've found it to be an incredibly versatile camera, plus I like the touchscreen. Sure there might be better options if your only using it for flying, but I want to use it for flying, snorkeling, time lapse, skateboarding, strapping to my dog etc. and it seemed to be the best option for me. The built in wifi is nice for using your smartphone as a remote/viewfinder.

Also, I've seen a lot of people complaining about glitchiness or other problems who seem to have forgotten to update the camera regularly.
 
I watch mine. I rarely share them. Mostly I look at how tires perform in gravel or soft sand, how skis behave when retracted vs deployed, gear flexing, etc. Sometimes it's fun to look at an approach to see if it looks as bumpy as it felt. I'm not into landscapes and scenery much. I usually don't watch videos that get posted on line.
 
petrolero said:
...especially since I don't enjoy editing video...
Click to expand...

Editing is the key and yes, it's a PITA but if your posted video is anything over two minutes long and doesn't have naked girls in it you'd be dreaming if you thought anyone else is gonna watch it besides yourself. But what the heck, you can get a 4 terabyte hard drive for a hundred and twenty bucks and keep your own personal record of all the flying you do. So what if no one, including yourself, ever looks at it. :rolleyes:
 
I have a DataToys Aviation set up and I really like it. While it does have a cable that runs from the camera to the control box it is very simple to use and I get great quality video.
 
David G said:
I have a DataToys Aviation set up and I really like it. While it does have a cable that runs from the camera to the control box it is very simple to use and I get great quality video.
Click to expand...

First post....

Welcome to POA...

:cheers::cheers:
 
I had a Hero2, then converted to the Virb. I had to send the Virb back to garmin because it would lock up while recording. I would go flying for a hour or two and when checking the video afterwards, the files were all corrupt and it would show 100's of 1kb video files. I got the new Virb and within a week it started to happen again. I'm done with the Virb. Bought a Hero4 silver and now have a reliable video camera again.
 
The 2 main reasons to use Virb are:
1. On-board GPS for easily creating the tracks.
2. G-meter and other sensors.
Both create data that are easy to overlay on the video later.

If you don't want neither of these, I'd go for GoPro. Still a small quality advantage towards GoPro I would say.

Many many more accessories and attachments available for GoPro. Makes their price much cheaper.

Garmin really needs to release a new version of Virb already.

Using Virb currently, but have used and like both.
 
petrolero said:
I keep wondering who is going to watch all these dorky flying videos?

Seems like just me or the NTSB. :yikes:

Those who have these... who watches them? Do you really go back and watch all your landings? Approaches? To me that just doesn't seem justification enough especially since I don't enjoy editing video.

That said, I still kinda want one.
Click to expand...

Same here.

Looks like a neat toy, but am I *really* going to take the time to edit the footage into anything worth sharing?
 
Long-time GoPro user here. All the outside the aircraft shots (except in the Trona video) in my flying videos on YouTube were made with a GoPro 1 HD in the 720p setting:
https://www.youtube.com/user/transsib/videos

In the last video I posted, in which I depart from Trona, I also used my new Hero 3+ Black. Quite surprisingly, I can hardly tell a difference between the Hero 1 HD and the Hero 3+ Black. Both cameras are set to 720p, wide angle. Hero 3+ Black faces to the front, Hero 1 HD to the rear:
http://youtu.be/TGhq1CjgpxA

I like the features of the Virb and considered buying one, found the video quality however clearly worse than of the GoPro.


Edit: I wonder, whether Garmin has lowered the prices for the VIRB? THE MSRP for the Elite model is just $269.99. I thought that it is more expensive!? :dunno: Amazon sells the black version for $241.99. Other then GoPro, Garmin even offers a 'Headset Audio Cable' for $49.99, to record audio from the intercom. For the GoPros only 3rd party solutions are available, which still cost $44. A 3rd party cable for the Virb costs at Amazon only $24.99.

Add this price, I feel tempted to also get a Virb and to take advantage of the integrated sensors for speed, acceleration and altitude...
 
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