I am a mountain biker and filmmaker. For my first feature film, I used the “lipstick” style camera tethered by a cord to a small DV camcorder. When stand-alone cameras were first introduced, I was ecstatic. No more cables to manage or ride over or get stuck in my pedal and ruin.
I have been using the GoPro since it was first introduced. As the models became newer, I continued to upgrade. Since the Hero 3+, things have consistently gotten worse with the units. My current iteration is the Black 7. I do not know why I was foolish enough to acquire this camera.
After purchasing the Black 4, I swore I would never again buy one of these. With the 4, I had the well-documented “helicopter” noise on every recording in which I attempted to use the wifi option so that I could use my iPhone. Since this feature is important in framing the shot, it made no sense to have to disable it in order to get clean audio. I was in the process of filming my second feature and I had deadlines to meet. Every time I contacted the support team at GoPro, they would first insist that I send a recording of the sound; then, after verifying that I was indeed not crazy and the unit was making the noise, they would advise me to return the camera and they would send out a new one. This was infuriating as I had deadlines. I inquired repeatedly why they would not simply send out a new one immediately, believing that I would indeed return the old one given they had my credit card on file. If I did not return the old one, they could easily charge my card. They refused. It would not be so bad if the helicopter sound had not occurred in every camera they sent. I tried multiple times to remedy the situation and finally gave up. I still own the 4 that records the helicopter noise when using wifi. I was recording sound with a sound recorder, as well, and simply had to rely on that audio. But, I wanted to mix in some of the GoPro audio with the better audio. With all of its problems and the complete lack of good support, I swore I would never purchase another GoPro unit.
But, I am clearly an idiot. I forgot my GoPro on a trip to Arizona at Christmas time last year. I wanted to film some of the trails I was riding, creating test footage for a possible future film after I complete my current film. Well, I received the unit, excited that they finally included a screen on the camera so that I did not have to rely on my phone or purchase the “add-on” screen. I tested it and did not find that it had the annoying sound issue with or without wifi enabled.
This unit has proven to be even more irritating that any previous GoPro units that I have used. The battery life on this camera is completely untenable. It is so short that I cannot even record a single ride without switching the battery out. It freezes up continually, requiring me to stop, take the battery out to reset it and then finally continue on my ride. I wanted to like this camera. I did.
This time, I am confident that I will never buy one of these cameras again. I know that there are plenty of similar cameras available on Amazon (and probably elsewhere). They are manufactured in Japan, I believe. They look just like the GoPro and receive excellent reviews. I cannot justify my continued loyalty to a brand that is really just awful.
And the final insult? (and idiocy on my part) I purchased stock in this company, believing that they would ultimately prevail and earn money once they released the new iterations of the product. Nope. I lost so much money that I just sold the stock, which is worth nothing. Perhaps I have learned my lesson. Perhaps.