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Testing the Fat Gecko suction mount with a GH2 against the GoPro suction mount with a GP3+
  • andyharrisandyharris

    This test took a surprising amount of time to put together. I have a thought that the GH2 does not like to be shaken. On the mount the GH2 often reported card failures. On a tripod it would be perfect. I wanted to use the same stretch of road, but the GH2 wouldn't last that long.

    Anyway here's the test:

  • 8 Replies sorted by
  • jpbturbojpbturbo

    What patch and what card on the GH2?

  • andyharrisandyharris

    @jpbturbo The Patch is Sedna-A and the Card is a San Disk Extreme 45MB/s.

    I've been wondering about battery contacts, if they get shaken about. My GH2 has had the Sedna patch for a long time and I see there are plenty of newer versions from Driftwood.

    After a run, the GH2 often says "Re-insert SD card" and occasionally "This card is not formatted for this camera"

    I have a Sony RX100 which is lighter and might not suffer with the bounce quite so much.

    On a wider note this show me the value of testing before a job. I pretty much assumed that everything would work!

  • MRfannyMRfanny

    its a heavier camera. if you were going to use the gh2 id suggest using the hot shoe as the third mounting point. problem with the gecko is the camera is mounted on a stem and not closer to the main body.

  • jpbturbojpbturbo

    I wonder if a little piece of foam tape might add enough extra padding or pressure to keep things seated correctly.

  • andyharrisandyharris

    So the testing continues.

    Thanks for the thoughts @MRfanny and @jpbturbo ... So here's a lighter camera and a different mounting position.

    Looking at the video, I think its worth going back to the GH2 with some foam/gaffer and the rear window mounting position.

    Here's the RX100 test:

  • filthyfilthy

    The GoPro footage looks best from a stability standpoint, but the IQ is terrible considering what that camera is capable of. Could be the scaling (which I assume was to get similar framing)? Also, no mention of what settings you were using on any of the cams unless I missed it somewhere. If you need max zoom for GoPro, then 1080 60fps in narrow is best option. IQ in this is setting is decent. Otherwise, 2.7k @30fps in medium is usually the best option for highest IQ. Just scale down to 1080 during conversion. And be sure to always shoot in protune for anything high motion or high details like in your shots. In my experience, the Gopro's have trouble resolving detail at the stock low bit rate. This is especially true in aerial applications. We sucessfully cut it with GH2, GH3, 5DIII and FS700 footage with no issues. In the off chance that the soft image isn't related to the scaling up, be sure your GP3+ isn't one of the early production models (pre 11/2013 I think) that had the focus issue.

  • ragnarragnar

    I just read and saw you post. I did this DIY build video for a suction cup for my GH2 back in 2011. It was very solid at least the test that I did was solid. You can skip to the middle part that actually shows it working.

  • andyharrisandyharris

    @filthy it was 1080 50fps Wide Scaled 152% in FCPx. It was running Protune, but I imported directly to FCPx -- My Error! I still have the data on the card - I'll have a look.

    @ragnar -- Wish I'd seen your video a month ago! That looks really solid! I reckon your car has very different suspension compared to those I tested with.

    There are some other differences on the test. Although its the same roads, the Q3 deals with the pot holes better, also the Q3 was driven slowly compared to the Aygo, which has tight suspension and was driven just under the legal limit for the road.

    If I get a chance, I'll test a Canon HF21 and redo the GH2 test with a bit of gaffer!

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