Many of you would have heard about our friend Kim McCusker's recent accident in Jo'burg when a taxi ran her down and dragged her for several hundred meters before being forced to stop by her fiance.
It seems as though Kimmy is facing a long road to recovery, and a costly one at that. In order to help raise funds to help with the financial burden Action Cameras has jumped on board to sponsor the Ride for Kimmy 94.7 Cycle Challenge Team.
If anyone is interested in getting involved through donation or joining the team, please get in touch. Thank you.
Have you lost your GoPro HD user guide or manual? I know from personal experience that trying to navigate the GoPro menu on the cameras small screen can be flipping difficult.
Not to worry though, click the following link to start downloading the English GoPro HD manual.
Looking for the GoPro HD Motorsport Hero? It sure is an awesome camera for filming your extreme sports on the track. Its the same Full HD GoPro camera which comes with the Helmet Hero and Surf Hero but its just the mounting brackets which have been tailored specially for the motorsports enthusiasts.
GoPro HD Motorsport Hero
You'll get the GoPro HD camera and the waterproof housing and then a whole bunch of motorsport related mounting brackets like the Suction Mount, flat mount adhesives for putting the GoPro onto a flat surface of the vehicle/ bike, curved mounts for attaching the camera to a helmet or curved surface and a J-hook which allows you to mount the Go Pro camera on the side of your helmet.
Mounting it on your bike with the suction cup or on the side of your helmet with the j-hook is a must for offf-road riding so you don't loose your GoPro the first time you duck under a low branch. We personally tested the suction cup up to 270km/h at the 2008 Isle of Man TT so we can vouch for the hardcore-ness of this suction cup.
The Spruit is an amazingly unknown stretch of pure awesomeness running like a vain through Johannesburg. It's a city slicker and weekend warrior paradise for mountainbiking. Running from Emmerentia, through Greenside, Delta Park and Bryanston and heading even further out, its been said you can ride for more then 60kms along this epic trail - right in the heart of jozi. Awesome.
We had to try this out for ourselves and obviously took our helmet cameras along for the ride. Below are a few stills shot on the Drift HD, videos are coming soon. Some of the team are trying to bribe us to not upload the videos online as they had somewhat of a tricky time in the technical sections around Emmerentia :) Watch this space....
To review the Gobii 720p HD Action Camera we needed to confirm exactly what the Gobii was. When we received one to test and review we saw it was the same as a few other products which had been sent to us in the past it. This seems to be a generic camera sent straight out of China and labelled differently depending who is selling it.
Gabii Action Camera Review
While this camera looks good on paper it is unfortunately not something that would be featured on Action Cameras. The video quality is good, especially for the low price, but the build quality of the camera isn't up to scratch - we've seen too many of these "made in China" cameras come into the market and soon exit because of huge return rates.
If you're keen to see the range of helmet cams that we do recommend then check out the Action Cameras Best Sellers.
Loads of guys have been trying to figure out how to mount their GoPro or Drifthelmet camera to their bodyboard. Well, this guy has finally figured it out but stretching his Drift head strap all the way around his board and using the camera inside its waterproof housing.
To do a comparison review of the Contour and the GoPro HD you need to look at quite a few varying factors. You need to compare the features beyond the video quality as they both deliver 1080p HD video and are both made for extreme sports.
GoPro HD
ContourGPS
It's always good to kick off a comparison review with a video comparing the warmth of the video quality between the GoPro and the Contour helmet cameras.
Let's also take a look at all the features compared on a side by side chart.
Go to the comparison section on the Action Cameras website to generate this head to head comparison for yourself for the GoPro and Contour cameras or for any other helmet cam.
Today we had a customer phone us up asking about the Tachyon camera (pronounced Takkie-on) and whether it was available in South Africa. While we're not completely sure if it is or isn't available from a local SA dealer, we can tell you that its not something that you'll find on the Action Cameras website.
If you had your heart set on this camera then we're sorry that we won't be able to help out but we have run tests of it and don't think that it is fit to be on our website.
All of our helmet cams come with the Action Cameras Seal of Approval which means we've tested it to the limits and can vouch for its awesomeness! Check out our best sellers to see South Africa's best selling helmet cameras.
Unfortunately we've had more then one customer phone us up in the past to say that they had lost their GoPro while diving or kitesurfing and now it's with the fish rolling around the sea bed.
Well this should never happen again now that GoPro has launched the GoPro Floaty backdoor which is a little buoy device which sticks onto the backdoor. Not only with this mean that it will no longer sink but it'll also be super visable as the Floaty is bright orange (No it wasn't designed to match the Action Cameras colours - or maybe it was!)
Drift Innovation launched a newer version of the HD170 camera called the HD170 Stealth. While the HD170 has been taken off the market a lot of users are asking what the difference between the cameras is.
Apart from the obvious colour change from the orange and black HD170 to the newer all-black design of the Stealth, there weren't actually too many differences. One of the differences which did attract a lot of attention was that the Stealth gave the users the ability to film in 50 or 60 frames per second whereas the older HD170 only shot in a max fps of 30 frames per second. This is pretty useful for production companies looking for sharper quality images and for normal users wanting to capture their videos in a way which would allow for slowing the video down into slo-mo.
The colour change was mostly brought about by Drift taking on board their customers feedback, people were asking for the camera in black - and they got it. This is one of the great things with the guys at Drift Innovations HQ, they really do listen to what people are looking for and then do their best to cater for everyone.
A really great example of Drift executing feedback from customers is the Drift HD, the model one up from the Stealth. Check this post on our blog to read all about the Drift HD.
We just had to blog this awesome video created by our German mates from Blickvang who worked closely with Porsche to create this video shot totally by the Drift Stealth cameras. Enjoy
The Flat Lens for filming underwater with the GoPro HD makes a terrific difference to the quality of your video when shooting underwater. The curved lens which comes installed on the standard GoPro housing is awesome for filming above the water but as soon as they is under water is bends the images and softens the focus. This is where the flat lens for the GoPro comes to the rescue. In fact, its so effective that all film makers using the GoPro underwater are now using the flat lens to give incredible shots.
Once you have the flat lens then you may have some difficulty installing it to your gopro housing. The video below gives an excellent tutorial on how to replace the standard domed lens and install the flat lens to the gopro housing.
Remove the camera and unscrew the 6 screws on the front of the black ring on the front of the GoPro housing. Lift this off the GoPro housing carefully so as not to loose any of the little screws.
Step 2 -
Lift the black ring off revealing the domes lens and the black rubber seal (washer).
Step 3 -
Life out the domed lens. If the washer sticks to the domed lens then take it off the lens (it peals off pretty easily but take care not to damage the washer). Replace the washer in the exact position that you found it. There is a slight rim on the washer, this should be facing downwards (the same way it was when lifted out of the GoPro HD housing).
Step 4 - Now take out the Flat Lens and place it on top of the washer with the ridge of the Flat Lens facing upwards.
Step 5 -
Now all you have to do is put the black ring back in place and tighten up the screws.
Step 6 - TESTING THE WATERPROOFING
GoPro won't cover your warranty if you have any issues with the self-installed flat lens so we highly recommend testing the waterproofing of the camera housing before using it with the camera inside. To do this, seal up the housing by closing the backdoor and dunk it in the pool, basin or bucket. Its best to leave it there for a while. Watch for bubbles or any water inside the casing after the test.
Last years Cape Epic race saw loads more helmet cameras then the years before - which is excellent for the rest of us as we get to relive some of the action afterwards without having to slog the entire race! Here's an excellent GoPro HD video captured on a massive downhill - lookout for the wipeout!!
Something that not many people talk about when talking about GoPro cameras is that people tend to go a little crazy and do things that they normally wouldn't do if they weren't wearing a GoPro HD. There are somethings that people just shouldn't do. Case and point.... This video.
This guy is taking wingsuit flying to a whole new level. But I guess we gotta thank him for wearing his GoPro (actually it seems that he's got about 5 GoPros all over him!) so we can check out this kind of sport without having to try it ourselves. Crazy stuff.
In fairly quick succession Contour has released the Contour + and today, the ContourRoam which they've launched with the focus of bringing a more price-friendly Contour camera to the masses. The pricing and availability is yet to be confirmed in South Africa but will be posted up here as soon as we know.
We're estimating that it's going to come in at a price point somewhere around the R2,500 to R3,000 mark but let's wait and see. In the meanwhile, here's an intro to the camera to get you started.
Contour Roam
The ContourROAM is the ideal camera for a fun and easy experience capturing your adventures anywhere life takes you. Just slide the record switch and you're instantly filming beautiful HD video. The award-winning design is tough, compact, waterproof to one meter, and versatile which means you can use your ContourROAM anywhere, anytime and capture all the action you want.
EASY TO USE
Shooting video should be simple and fun. With the ContourROAM, we've introduced one-step recording. Just slide the record switch, and you're instantly filming. Easy as that. It's the ideal camera for a fun, stress-free experience capturing your adventures anywhere life takes you. The ContourROAM is incredibly intuitive and easy to use, with a sleek, award-winning design and a laser that helps you level the camera and get the right shot every time.
BEAUTIFUL HD VIDEO
The ContourROAM records the action with a 170° super wide-angle lens, capturing all the backgrounds and peripheral moments that can be missed with a narrower field of view. Sophisticated camera technology automatically adjusts the exposure and white balance, ensuring crisp, beautiful video every time. You can choose between three different video resolutions, 720p, 960p and 1080p, or shoot 5 megapixel photos enabling you greater creative flexibility.
WATERPROOF
No need to worry about your camera surviving your next big water adventure, the ContourROAM is waterproof to one meter. A sealed gasket protects the camera's insides, allowing you to catch the action under water or in the rain, sleet, or snow. For full submersion sports, such as scuba diving or wakeboarding the ContourROAM Waterproof Case provides totally dryness up to 60 meters beneath the surface.
MOUNT UP
Mud. Dirt. Snow. Rain. The places you roam can be some of the roughest places on earth. The ContourROAM is made to withstand encounters with everything from eating mud puddles, to monster barrels at Teahupoo, to drops down the Khumbu Icefall. The rugged aluminum body withstands serious abuse, while the waterproof design keeps everything safe and dry up to one meter.
It's great to see all of our blood, sweat and tears being recognised!
www.actioncameras.co.za has been selected as one of South Africa's top 40 e-commerce websites. Not only are we hoping to reach the next round of the Top 20 but we're aiming to take home one of the 5 awards up for grabs. Help us get there by voting for us as your favourite (by doing this you also stand a chance of winning a iPad 2!)
Action Cameras has worked closely with the members of the Wild Dogs dual sport riders for the past 18th months and is glad to be associated to them as an official WD Vendor. While we try to get out to as many of the Wild Dog events as possible to show off our awesome helmet cameras, we couldn't make it to the Eastern Cape Bash this year. We do however appreciate that a ton of the rider were sporting their helmet mounted cameras supplied by Action Cameras.
Check out this awesome compilation of head camera shots taken in the Time Lapse mode from the Drift cameras. Special thanks to Wayne H for putting this together!
The Action Cameras Team was at it again this past weekend by taking on the first road cycle race of the season, the Dome 2 Dome cycle challenge. Although there was a 98km route, we opted to take on the 48k race just to ease into the season.
Here are some awesome in action shots before the race....
And after the race ....
Shot with the Drift HD camera on the timelapse photo mode. Using your helmet cam in this mode means you can take photos continuously as you ride in intervals of 2, 3, 5, 10 or 30 seconds. At the end you'll end up with a load of rubbish shots but you're guaranteed to have a few pearlers in there!
Killarney Race Track hosted this weekends duel sport BMWs track day where the off road boys got a chance to open up their throttles on the raceway! Here's an awesome point-of-view video shot from the helmet of John Carr who is the BMW instructor from Donford BMW, Cape Town.
The GoPro HD Surf Hero camera isn't only for mounting on your surfboard but, as you can see below, can also be used for getting epic photos of your mates big wave!
I want to see the actual photo from this guys GoPro Surf Hero! This was shot by New Pier, Durban, South Africa.
If you would like to learn how to add the flat lens to your GoPro housing to give crystal clear underwater images then check out this post which is a tutorial to install the flat lens to the GoPro.
Part of the Action Camera Team braved the seasons first mountain bike race, the EQSTRA Spring Classic. For anyone who missed out, this is an awesome race to kick off the season and to explore the surprisingly vast farmlands hidden just beyond Johannesburg. You start in Helderfontein Estate and wend your way around dams, over hills, through paddocks, and all the way through to seemingly unspoiled african bush. Anyone with a keen birdwatching eye would also enjoy the birdlife in the area, we had a few nice sightings including the grey hornbill which isn't normally in the Jo'burg area.
There's a 10k race for kids and beginners, a slightly more difficult 20k route which is a good season-starter for most, and then the big 45k race for us people who didn't really understand how difficult that would be. It was an awesome race through and very worthwhile.
The cloudy weather was awesome to ride in but didn't really leave us with any awe-inspiring footage from our helmet cam. We'll post up some videos of the big downhills soon, but for now here's a pic of us exhausted at the end :)
It's a good day at the office when The Sunday Times rings you up wanting to review one of your motorsport cameras! Thanks to Thomas Falkiner for giving the Drift Cameras a thorough test and and even more thorough review on both the Sunday Times Racing website and Sunday Times Racing Blog.
Take a look at a video Thomas shot while cruising around in his Ford Mustang Fastback with the Drift HD Camera at Zwartkops Raceway near Pretoria.
"The Wes" from Rather Be Riding took the new Drift HD for a test run on the single tracks of Cape Town's Majik Forest. Catch his video below for a nice wipe out!
