If you're like most automotive enthusiasts, you probably spend a fair amount of time in front of your TV watching various forms of motorsports. Whether you prefer a weekend NASCAR race on the living room big-screen or some late-night road racing on the garage TV while working on your project car, all of that coverage has one thing in common--outrageous camera angles of everything from in-cockpit views to rear-facing sights of the racing pack.
Now you can produce the same type of video for your own use with the personal video-camera system from GoPro Cameras. The GoPro Motorsports HERO is a 3-megapixel digital camera that not only takes TV-quality, 30 frames-per-second video you can play back on your computer or television, but allows you to take still pictures as well.
The camera kit comes with everything you see in our lead photo, including mounting tabs, suction-cup mount, adapters, waterproof housing, and data cables, for $179.99. While the GoPro digital camera has only been out for a few months, expect to see upgrades in the near future, including a wide-angle lens, a quick-release kit, replacement mounting tabs, a rollbar mount, and more.
We ordered a GoPro Motorsports HERO to play around with, and we thought we'd share the setup and usage with our readers. Our plans are to keep this little baby handy when we travel to events and post video to our Web site from feature-car photo shoots, ride-alongs, track days, and much more. So be sure to visit www.mustangandfords.com and check out our videos as we begin to use our Motorsports HERO more and more. We even have a few videos up right now from our testing of the camera system so you can see the quality of the video output.
Tips for Better Videos
Use NiMH rechargeable batteries
Try to shoot in midday to reduce sun spots/flare
Feel free to edit your videos and add soundtracks/music
The more secure the base, the less vibration will be noticed on screen
When mounting on a high-vibration surface, put the microphone on "low"
Try different mounting points and combine into one great video | GoPro Camera Motorsports HERO Specs |
Sensor | 3 megapixel (2,048 x 1,536) | Lens Glass | f2.8 | Exposure | Auto | Memory | 16MB internal, expandable to 2GB SD | Video | 513x384, 30 frames/second 56 minutes on 2GB SD) | Self-Timer | 10 seconds | PC Connection | USB interface (RCA cable included for TV use) | Power | Two AAA batteries (NiMH recommended) | Operating System | Windows ME/2000/XP/Vista, Mac OS 9.1 and later | Dimensions | 1.25 x 1.75 x 2.6 inches, 4.5 ounces | 
The Motorsports HERO comes...
The Motorsports HERO comes with both flat- and curved-surface mounting pads.
The curved-surface pad shown...
The curved-surface pad shown here is designed for helmet mounting and is perfect for open-top cars, motorcycles, and so on.
The flat-mount pad is typically...
The flat-mount pad is typically used for bumper mounting of the Motorsports HERO camera, but we're sure we'll find a multitude of uses. Both the flat- and curved-mount pads attach via 3M's Very High Bond (VHB) tape. While the tape is tough and will hold just about anything, it can be peeled off with little effort.
The Motorsports HERO comes...
The Motorsports HERO comes with an internal memory of just 16MB. This is enough for about 25 seconds of video (we didn't test maximum picture output). For best use, GoPro recommends a 2GB SD flash memory card. Prices range from $15 to $40 depending upon brand and speed. We also highly recommend NiMH rechargeable batteries for extended use.
The GoPro camera takes nice...
The GoPro camera takes nice quality photos from a distance.
Even close up the GoPro camera...
Even close up the GoPro camera takes quality photos.
The built-in LCD screen on...
The built-in LCD screen on the front of the camera allows you to quickly check and change any settings or tell you what mode you're in. Besides the video mode shown here, the GoPro camera will also take a single picture, a three-shot sequence, or a single picture every 5 seconds (great for car-to-car pictures; simply mount it and chase your friend's car).
For our test subject, a '66...
For our test subject, a '66 Mustang, the curved mounting pad ended up being the better fit for the chrome front bumper. Due to the bumper's short underside, the pad had to be mounted on top of it. The camera can take video in both positions--right-side up or upside down.
Here's a close-up of the housing's...
Here's a close-up of the housing's mounting base sliding into the GoPro mounting pad. The two tabs slide under the outer edges and then lock in place. To release, squeeze the two tabs together, and pull the camera housing forward.
Once the mounting pad is affixed,...
Once the mounting pad is affixed, the GoPro camera is placed inside the waterproof mounting housing and slid into place on the pad until it locks in place. Don't forget to set the audio level and video settings, and make sure the batteries are fresh.
The included suction-cup mount...
The included suction-cup mount is a high-quality unit that has a lot of retaining force to securely attach the camera to the car's surface, including steel, fiberglass, and window glass--basically any smooth surface. With the adjustability of the suction-cup mount, you can literally point the camera anywhere you want. Here, our camera view is of the side of the car and left-front tire.
Once you've taken the still...
Once you've taken the still pictures and/or video, use the included data cable to either download them to your PC for viewing, editing, and sharing or to your TV for viewing. Don't be surprised that on some videos the audio is too low. The microphone on the GoPro camera is tuned for the high frequency of race engines.