GoPro HD HERO2: Outdoor Edition Camcorder - Silver

I bought the GoPro for on-board filming of mountain biking, I have found that the chest mount suits this very well.

A fantastic product, with a real quality feel to it. The naked camera itself has a soft vulcanized exterior which is very nice. The case and brackets are very strong and definitely well made and easy to operate while wearing gloves.

Video recording in 1080p with the wide angle settings produces fabulous results in true high definition.
Still photo shooting a little difficult without a view-finder or a screen and picture quality, although 11MP, it is a little grainy when compared with specific still-shooting digital cameras, although this is not an issue, as thats not really what a GoPro is for!

The UI on the camera itself is very simple, with just a 2 button operation. Features such as being able to flip the recording direction for when the camera is upside down is very useful, and saves video editing later.

I would recommend using only a 32GB Class 10 SD card (offering approx 4hr 30 recording time) , as recording at HD level is very memory hungry, beware that the files are large when you come to put them back onto the computer, a 45min video at full settings can be approx. 3.5GB.

Battery life is good, after a full charge we captured 2 days of riding (just the fast and fun bits!) which came to about an hour of video, after this it was pretty much flat. A second battery would definately be a worthwhile investment if you plan to be away from somewhere to charge for a while.
The plastic clear case is very durable, it came out unscratched after repetitive wiping of the lens cover to clear it from mud!

Overall a fantastic product

The GoPro HD Hero2 is a very good camera when it comes to recording extreme sports, videos with a lot of motion and speed and could possibly be mounted just about anywhere with a bit of thought. Obviously, the name "GoPro" currently dominates the advertisements and market of small HD cameras but I do feel some of the advertisements can be a little bit more appealing and biased than the real thing so beware. The sound is not fantastic and the accessories don't come cheaply, on top of the fairly expensive price you'll pay just for the camera but other than that, it still is very good. Battery life also serves well. Its simple to use, easy to copy the videos to PC if your using the memory cards and the card reader USB stick and installing the brackets and mounts can be endless, especially with more that are becoming available on the market through company's other than GoPro, which I would recommend. Overall I would score the camera at this present time as a respectable 16/20 but I know there is a growing market for this now and I certainly would consider looking deeper into other companies products such as Sony, Samsung etc, within this field of electronics as there is room for improvement. Competition will be high to gain sales and to be noticed at this moment in time so I would expect to see greater features, even better quality throughout and cleverer accessories available in the near future, both by GoPro and the other electronic companies investing in this market.

My Go Pro Hero 2 was bought for use on my go-kart, skydiving, mountain biking, general use as a wide angle snap shot camera and many other things and so far i have to say i haven't been let down.

The video recording quality is great and i would recommend the 960p or 720p for helmet mounted applications as the 1080 only runs at 30fps and isn't as smooth as the 50/60 fps when you get to the rough stuff.

The menu's are pretty awkward to navigate to begin with but you get used to it. The additional LCD bacpac makes this a lot easier but does kill the battery a lot quicker.

I have found that on the over cast days that we are continually subjected to in the UK the picture can be a bit grainy in low light levels but on sunny days and a recent trip to the south of France it has been great. i done a bit of rental karting with it and it worked well with the chest mount. Video found at this link:

http://www.youtube.com/wa​tch?v=fvmoezrx70g&feature=​plcp

Underwater the camera works really well and gets some really decent shots but i have to say that the sound recording quality is very poor but i have been using the full waterproof case which will affect that.

Over all i would recommend this product and the vast array of accessories i have bought for it.

Get yourself out there and do some crazy stuff.

I like many others I would imagine bought the GoPro to film extreme sports etc, mine is mountain biking and road riding, I had a camera I bought from HongKong which shot in 720p format but it was useless at recognising Blacks and Purples as colours, (White Balance problem I believe) so when I lost it in the Lake district after a manic downhill run, I decided it was time to bite the bullett and get a good camera designed for these sports, and I bought the GoPro Outdoors edition, and I havent regretted it,

The Unit is quite small, but very well built, and comes with all sorts of adhesive mounts, brackets, head and helmet mounts etc.

I learned from the previous camera that anything other than a Class 10 SD card, is a false economy, as to shoot in HD needs a card that will keep up with the amount of data being transferred, I also ordered a replacement lens cover for the polycarbonate body, which has a slot on the side to attach a lanyard

I agree with the previous reviewers that the LCD menu system takes a little getting used to, but it doesnt take long really, and the amount of different shooting modes is very impressive,invest in a chest mount for a really "being there" experience

All in all, you get what you pay for, and if your into extreme sports there really is only one camera you should be buying , and its A GOPRO, no question, I am over the moon with the picture quality, absolutely stunning.

I've shot great paragliding video with this camera, see DevonDream1 on Youtube. It's light enough to wear on a helmet and comes with a vented protective case to prevent misting up over the lens, a common problem with sport aviation filming.
On the downside, at the price you might expect remote control to be included as well as a battery that lasts longer than 1hr 33mins. That's why there is no landing to see on DevonDrean1 the battery goes flat just 2mins before I land.
Doing similar shoots with it's two biggest rivals there was no easy solution to the lens misting up, so that's a huge plus for the GoPro2