Good Spearo HD Camera (UK)

[artiz]

Hi All,

I've just joined DB and do a bit of underwater hunting in Dorset/Devon, Cornwall and Pembrokeshire.
As you do, I have watched plenty of Youtube vids and accordingly wanted a nice camera to record my catches. I couldn't find anything good enough which was in my student price range, even second hand. I also thought the GoPro was far too big/cumbersome for spearfishing?

I have now found this HD bullet style camera from DogCam and very nice it is too at £86.85 - delivered-UK. (Promo Code = HTDC05)
Not tested it out on a dive yet but thought the promo may be short lived & thought it wise to let others know about it now.
Good points so far:
1. HD-Definition is fantastic - even at night
2. Very easy to attach to gun/mask (Beuchat Arka & Mares Sten)
3. About the size of your thumb
4. Simple PC installation
5. Good for other sports too
6. 10M depth (can't really see myself getting below 20ft let alone 30)
7. Particularly good angle lens (63 degrees) for looking down a speargun

Hope this helps someone else, so pls let me know.

Artiz

 

[martin366]

Can you post some samples ?

 

[artiz]

-Martin366
There's a good review here from a cyclist but all the video examples I have seen from Youtube have been forced to reduce the quality of the upload so they don't do the camera justice. I'm hoping to test it out soon (weather permitting) and will post my results.

 

[grantl]

I've been looking at the GoPro and trying to decide of the latest model is worth the extra £150 or not but this is certainly another interesting option. The price is more attractive for sure.

 

[BarnacleBoy]

Looks great - will be interesting to see the underwater results!

 

[artiz]

-grantl
I thought the GoPro may be worth saving up for and then saw somebody using one kayaking..... it looked like he was wearing a microwave on his head! The performances of both cameras seem similar too. The price is definitely crucial for me but the size & suitability come a very close second. There are plenty of other bullet style cameras out there (i.e.BulletHD-12mp - £160.00ish) but they all seem to have wide angle lenses which pick up far too much ancillary info around the target rather than what you are actually aiming at. I also found a few versions of this camera at £99.00ish so the 10% promo discount finally swung it for me.

 

[artiz]

As I said earlier the GoPro is cumbersome & looks like a portable microwave;

 

[Robbo66]

Contour HD, best I've used

Spearo Bass 2010.m4v - YouTube

 

[Jonny250]

Hi Artiz. Are you selling these cameras?

Actually, the only good thing about that camera is the size. It has a tiny lens and very narrow angle of view. The battery life is short and it only goes to 30ft. It claims HD, but is only 720p. I imagine it would actually struggle in low-light too.

You have slated the gopro 'microwave' [funny ], but say you havent used one! Haha who cares what it looks like?

I'm deciding between a conon s100 + Housing or a gopro 2...

 

[artiz]

-Jonny250
Sorry didn't mean to come across as overly critical, the GoPro is clearly a very good camera. I just thought it was too expensive for what it is and not particularly Spearo friendly. Surely a bracket and camera/housing that kind of size will impede gun movement - but as you've pointed out I'm clearly not an expert!
As for the narrow lens angle - it's far more suited to spearfishing than a wide angle which captures lots of the Atlantic Ocean around the target/fish and also makes it appear further away.
The cameras you mention are very cool but way out of my price range (Canon S100 =£450 + housing) and perhaps for a few others too, which is why I posted the info, rather than a cynical attempt to flog kit?
The battery life is cool for me (approx 2hrs). I'm there to catch dinner not making blockbusters?
Lastly, I'd far rather 'lose' or break £86 than £486 due to my inexperience.

Top vid Robbo66

Artiz

 

[scallywag]

Looking forward to seeing some footage. Been looking for a cheap Go Pro alternative for a while now but been reluctant to take the plunge. Glad I'm not the only one on a tight budget!

 

[Jonny250]

Artiz, to be fair to you, i had the impression that you were just posting a sales pitch [first post, no spearo posts before, promo code, etc!] but maybe i'm wrong about that, in which case welcome to DB! and yes either way, i look forward to seeing some spearo footage! I do think the limited camera view angle will be a disadvantage, but time will tell, and for a budget that might be ok.
Looking forward to your fish reports

 

[artiz]

Hmm well thanks for your approval but after coming across some of your posts (i.e. your yak setup = fish finder,GPS, GoPro etc), I was wondering why you bothered commenting in the first place on a thread about a budget camera? You are obviously one of those kit obsessed geezers where money is no object, which also makes your previous comments regarding "who cares what it looks like" seem hypocritical.
Perhaps you could consider being less confrontational to new members in the future, I'm sure it will be appreciated???
As for the lens angle 'proofs in the pudding' so maybe we could wait for footage before judgement?

 

[Jonny250]

i didnt offer you my approval artiz. Yes, i accept that i am, too often, hypocritical - and i will try to be less confrontational to newbies in future as you suggest, thanks. In return, may i suggest that you introduce yourself to the forum?

 

[artiz]

i didnt offer you my approval artiz. Yes, i accept that i am, too often, hypocritical - and i will try to be less confrontational to newbies in future as you suggest, thanks. In return, may i suggest that you introduce yourself to the forum?

Will you just back off please, you are coming across as a forum bully. If you are not 'in charge' it is not your place to approve, disapprove, embarrass or even perhaps make suggestions...... and certainly not to drive people away from an excellent and informative public forum. Which in my case you are very close to doing.

 

[artiz]

As I said earlier the GoPro is cumbersome & looks like a portable microwave;

I took a a couple of snaps of this bullet style camera attached to my gun for comparison to cameras like the GoPro above. I think it highlights the self evident benefits of using a bullet camera over a normal-ish camera including housing, bracket etc. Personally I'm under the impression that the primary goal is catching fish when out rather than making movies, so for me lugging around a gurt big, expensive camera makes little sense. After all, I'm sure we all know how easy/heartbreaking it is to lose/break your precious, hard earned kit?
However, I'm currently having a few charge up issues with this little cheapy so I will keep this thread updated with any problems I encounter.

 

[manalive!]

One observation of the bullet is that it is mounted very close to the shaft of the gun, does this mean that part of the image is obstructed, whereas cameras such as the Go Pro are mounted away from the shaft and thus avoid this (potential) problem? Can you post a photo taken from the bullet in its current mounting position?

Ta

 

[artiz]

One observation of the bullet is that it is mounted very close to the shaft of the gun, does this mean that part of the image is obstructed, whereas cameras such as the Go Pro are mounted away from the shaft and thus avoid this (potential) problem? Can you post a photo taken from the bullet in its current mounting position?

Ta

It's a good observation Manalive so thanks for your comments, I'm definitely concerned about that too. It doesn't take stills so I will have to make a movie and post it up on Youtube. I'm still on holiday so will try to oblige as soon as possible. I was also hoping when I bought it, that the narrower lens would be more appropriate for attaching to my gun in this way - I wish my bath was bigger!!!

 

[artiz]

It's a good observation Manalive so thanks for your comments, I'm definitely concerned about that too. It doesn't take stills so I will have to make a movie and post it up on Youtube. I'm still on holiday so will try to oblige as soon as possible. I was also hoping when I bought it, that the narrower lens would be more appropriate for attaching to my gun in this way - I wish my bath was bigger!!!

[ame="http://youtu.be/WiAp55ctGh8"]video[/ame]
I've taken a darkened room video now with the camera mounted on the side and the results are OK but not ideal. This video does however demonstrate a reasonable performance in low light conditions even on Youtube? As long as the target comes from the right it will be cool to look down the barrel and see the gun actually firing but it does obscure roughly 40% of the picture.
I suppose its very much dependent on your gun too. I've also got space to mount this camera on the top of my Arka and of course attaching it to your mask may be a better solution, particularly regarding gun recoil and the letting go of your gun. Most vids I've seen on Youtube lose out on not actually seeing the fish/action anymore as soon as they have let go of the gun.
So swings and roundabouts regarding mounting perhaps. But thanks for pointing that out Manalive, it's not a good review unless I have covered all angles.

 

[manalive!]

Hmmm, picture quality looks pretty good, certainly better than I'd have expected given the low light conditions. I think I'd be tempted to stand the camera off the gun a little as to avoid the gun intrusion. Keep the info coming, I may be tempted to purchase.

What was the charging issue, did you resolve it?

Cheers