If you’re at all like me then you just don’t want the ride to ever end. To that end, some people install larger desert tanks or ’six pack’ rear racks to carry more fuel. Some riders tote a digi-cam with them to snap photo’s of their ride. (however, unless you’re very dexterious you must stop riding to shoot the pictures)

In steps the Gopro Helmet Cam ! This is a full featured helmet camera designed to preserve your memories long after the ride ends. And preserve it in full glorious high definition at that!

This new hi-def model is a huge step up from the original non-hd model offered the past couple years from gopro. This latest model now shoots in full 1080P resolution! (with other res ranging from 960P, 720P@60fps for ultra slow motion playback or even SD for smaller file sizes)

All of the great features of the original carry over to this new model though – durable and waterproof housing, 2 button easy operation, a ton of mounts, quick SD memory card loading etc etc – but alongside the new HD features, this new camera also comes with a rechargable battery included (3 hour life on a full charge) and a better housing that reduces wind noise significantly.

It’s still compact in size and doesn’t feel bulky when mounted on your helmet. You don’t even realize it’s there – that is, till you get home and plug it into your HDTV and relive that ride again.

Video quality @ 1080 or 720P is just jaw dropping on a HDTV set. You can see blades of grass along the trailside. You will be impressed.

If you’re a youtube junkie like me you will also be impressed by the quality of the videos once they are online. (youtube obviously will compress the files meaning the quality will suffer somewhat)

The camera also shoots photo’s in 2,5 and 10 second burts and the image quality on these are also quite impressive.

No, I can’t say a bad word about this camera. Even the price point isn’t bad for a full featured HD camera of this nature. But – here at AF.COM we’re always trying our best to get you guys the best deals on products you love – so – to that end we’ve teamed with Competitive Motorsports to get you the gopro HD @ the best possible price on the internet.

So – if you were not lucky enough to wake up today with one of these cameras under your Xmas tree – just send an email to John @ competitive motorsports and mention my name, Saul, & the ‘Airfoolers.com discount’ and you’ll get your camera for 10 dollars off the lowest retail price plus free shipping to the lower 48! That’s an insane deal (and quite a few of our forum members have already jumped on it!)

Hope to see some Airfooler HD video from you guys soon! In the meantime, here is a a video I shot plus the full specs for the camera!

Camera Optics

* Lens Type: Fixed Focus (2ft/.6m – ?), glass
* Aperture: f/2.8 (high performance in low-light situations)
* Angle of View: 170º ultra wide angle in WVGA, 720p, or 960p mode
* Angle of View: 127º wide angle in 1080p mode

Video

* HD Video Resolution Modes: (subject to change, pending final firmware release)
o 1080p = 1920×1080 pixels (16:9), 30 fps, 15 Mbit/s data rate
o 960p = 1280×960 pixels (4:3), 30 fps, 12 Mbit/s data rate
o 720p = 1280×720 pixels (16:9), 60 fps, 15 Mbit/s data rate
o 720p = 1280×720 pixels (16:9), 30 fps, 8 Mbit/s data rate
o WVGA = 848×480 pixels (16:9), 60 fps, 8 Mbit/s data rate
* Sensor Type: 1/2.5″ HD CMOS, 2.2µm-sized pixels
* Light Sensitivity: Super low-light sensitivity (>1.4 V/lux-sec)
* Video Format: H.264 compression, saved as Windows- & Mac-compatible MPEG4 (.mp4) file
* Exposure Control: Auto with user selectable center weighted average and spot metering settings
* White Balance: Auto

Audio

* Microphone: Built-in, mono with AGC (automatic gain control)
* Audio Format: 48 kHz, AAC audio compression

Photo

* Resolution: 5 megapixel
* Capture Modes: Single shot, photo every 2, 5, 10, 30 or 60 secs.; 3 photo burst; self-timer

Storage

* Memory: SD card, up to 32GB capacity (SDHC)
* Average recording times (using 32GB SD card):
o 1080p (30 fps): 4h 21m
o 960p (30 fps): 5h 26m
o 720p (60 fps): 4h 21
o 720p (30 fps): 8h 09m
o WVGA (60 fps): 8h 09m

Camera Connectors & Cables

* PC Connection: USB 2.0 (data connection and battery charging)
* HDTV Out: HD NTSC & PAL (component cable incl.)
* Audio Out: Combo 2.5mm jack with stereo audio and composite video out
* PC Compatibility: Windows® XP (Service Pack 2 or later) or Vista; Mac OS® X 10.4.11 and later

Power & Battery

* Battery Type: Rechargeable 1100 mAh lithium-ion
* Battery Life: Approx. 2.5 hrs
* Charging: via USB to computer or optional power adapter
* Charge Time: 80% capacity after 1 hour with optional power adapter; or 2 hours with a computer’s USB port

Waterproof Camera Housing

* Depth Rating: Up to 180 feet / 60 meters
* Construction: Polycarbonate and stainless steel
* Hardware: Stainless steel

Size & Weight

* Dimensions (H x W x D): 1.6” x 2.4” x 1.2” (42mm x 60mm x 30mm)
* Weight: 3.3oz (94g) incl. battery, 5.9oz (167g) incl. housing

Optional Accessories

* Additional Rechargable 1100 mAh Lithium-Ion Battery (not yet available for pre-order)
* Full Line of Mounting Accessories

Optional Expansion Bakpacs™

An innovative expansion port on the back of the camera, the HERO Bus™ accepts optional Expansion Bakpacs to expand the functionality of HD HERO cameras:

* LCD Bakpac for on-camera preview and playback (not yet available for pre-order)
* Endurance Battery Bakpac for double battery life (not yet available for pre-order)
* More Bakpacs and expansion devices coming soon

This entry was posted on Friday, December 25th, 2009 at 5:56 pm and is filed under News, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.