Author: DemonView

How to set up a Weather Cam Feed! Part 1.

Posted on by DemonView

Ok, before I begin, you may think “Why should I set up a streaming weather camera?”. Well, there’s actually a couple of reasons for this and some of them are smarter than you may think (or you may think I could possibly come up with). So, let’s look at the reasons you may want to set up such a camera feed!

1: It will increase your watch hours on YouTube. This helps with getting monetized or if you are already monetized, with making actual money when people tune in and watch.

This dude knows his stream can make money!

2: You’re obviously helping people know what the weather is like at your location (or the location you have the camera set up at). That’s just a very handy service to provide to people, even local news stations may be interested. This is why Florida weather cams are useful anytime there’s a hurricane!

He dressed for sun and fun, he got a category 4 hurricane instead!

3: Since it’s your camera, you can pretty much show any type of overlay you want on it. Whether it be an advertisement for your channel, charge other people to feature their advertisements or even just support a good cause! You can do all of that by setting up a live camera feed and letting people tune in.

Thanks to the money earned from his weather cam, he funded a local pet shelter, and all the animals got adopted!

So with that in mind, how much does it cost you to have a live weather camera? Well…. if you have a laptop/pc and a YouTube account. Then the entire hardware investment could work out at around…. $60. Yup, you heard me (or read me), $60. It could be lower, but I splashed out for an extra-long power cable for the camera I’m going to use. So, let’s take a look at the 6 things we’ll need!

1: A laptop or PC (a modern one at that, it’s no use trying to set this whole thing up on Windows 3.1 or something).

2: A YouTube account (although there’s probably other streaming services you can use like twitch etc., I’m just going the easy way and using YouTube!).

3: The ability to Go Live on YouTube. Now before you had to have “X” amount of subscribers, I think now you only need 50 BUT… you need to let YouTube know you want to go live as it takes them 24 hours to authorize your account to do this. So if you’re reading this, log into your YouTube account, click on the “Go Live” button and follow the instructions onscreen. In 24 hours you’ll have the ability to “Go Live” whenever you want.

4: A camera! Now believe it or not, you could use your laptop webcam, an old webcam you have laying about the place…. but that’s not ideal. This would require a very long USB cable (which may not work if it’s too long) and your webcam or laptop may not be waterproof, so if you’re going to have rain or snow, that would prove to be a problem. So in this case, considering it’s a weather camera, we’re going to look at a wireless security camera that’s at least 1080P and supports RTSP (real time streaming protocol). The huge advantage of this type of camera is that it’s weatherproof, it’s 1080P, it’s also got built in night vision and since it supports RTSP, you can get a wireless signal from the camera directly into OBS studio!

5: A long power cable (optional) as this will help you with mounting options for your camera. The further away you are from a power source, the longer the cable you will need obviously.

6: OBS studio (there may be other ways to do this, but since this is a tutorial about setting up a weather cam feed with OBS studio….. well that’s kinda the reason I’m doing this whole article really….).

With that, let’s get started!

Ok first of all, let’s order the weatherproof, infra-red security camera we’ll be using for this project! In this case I’m using the TD-J10A from Topodome. There could be other camera’s you could use, but I’m trying to use the cheapest quality option that is known to work well. Also, even though there are solar power or even solar powered PTZ camera’s out there, not all of them support RTSP and that’s a pretty important part of this equation.

This is the camera we’ll be using. Rugged, Waterproof, night vision and supports RTSP!

Now since that may take a day or two to get to your house, I’ll sit here and wait until it arrives. I’ll also avoid making small talk, it’s not really my thing…….

Like I said, you may also want to order an extra-long power cable to help with mounting your camera in places were power may not be nearby.

It’s a power cable, it’s not fancy, but it gets the job done!

You can continue on once your camera arrives… Wait, what’s that? It’s already arrived? OK, well let’s unbox that camera and get things set up!

Ok, so plug in your camera into its power source (for the setup, the camera can be nearby, it doesn’t have to be in its final location, in fact it’s easier if you set up the camera before mounting it). I also recommend downloading the app for your smartphone as this will speed things up considerably.

What you’re going to need to do is find out the IP address of your camera, now with my Topodome camera, this required downloading and installing the “CamHipro” app to my phone. I was then able to follow the onscreen instructions and connect to my camera. In the camera options, I was able to locate the IP address of my camera! Note this ip address, you’ll need it later on.

Once set up, your camera will appear in the CamHipro app. Click on the cogwheel icon to access the camera settings.
Scroll all the way down to the bottom and click on “Device Information” to see your camera’s IP address. Write down the IP address!

Now that you have your camera set up, we need this camera up to work with OBS Studio. So, if you haven’t already, please go and download OBS studio!

Please note, that all security camera’s are different and this may take a bit of “Figuring things out” but I’m going to give you the EXACT instructions that worked for me and my Topodome TD-J10A security camera.

Ok, now that you’ve downloaded OBS studio, I want you to install the software and run through the setup. Once the software is installed, open the software and we’re going to “add” a new scene on the lefthand side. You can call these scene “My Weather Feed” or whatever you want to call it.

This is an example, as you can see, I have many scenes setup, but in this case, I’m creating “My Weather Feed”.

Once that scene is added, we need to add some sources to it. This is where it gets interesting. You can add both audio and video sources if you want to record both audio and video to your scene, however there are some pro’s and con’s to do doing this.

Pro: It’s always good to be able to hear the audio from the area the webcam is in. So if there’s thunder, lightning, howling winds….. your viewer will be able to hear it.

Con: If you’re lazing on your desk and your partner comes out to give out to you or scream at you OR you decide to talk about personal finances, logins, passwords….. all of that will be picked up by your camera also. So if you don’t want the whole world knowing what you’re talking about… maybe don’t include audio in your feed!

Ok, so let’s add the wireless camera!

So click on the “Scene” you’ve just created on the left-hand side of the screen. Now in the middle of the screen, you should have an empty box saying “Sources”.

We’re going to click “Add media source” into our source option. So click on the “+” icon to add a source. Once you do that a box should pop open.

I’ve clicked on “My Weather Feed” and now I’m going to click on the “Add Sources” button as indicated in the above picture.
Remember, you want to add a media source, so this is the option that you must click on!

When the “Media source” option opens, you should see this.

You must first create your media source and then give it a name.

In this case you’re going to “Create” a new media source and give it a name. The only rule here is that you CANNOT call it the same name as your Scene. So if you called your Scene “Weather Camera” you cannot call your source “Weather Camera” also. You need to have a new name such as “Media Source” or “Topodome camera” for example.

Once you have click on OK, this is what you will see:

“Local File” is ticked by default, so “Untick” that box!

We are going to make sure the “local file” box is NOT checked (I believe it’s checked by default).

You will then see the following screen:

Pay attention to the section that says “Input”

And then in our “Input” box, we’re going to type

RSTP://

After the // you’re going to type in your camera’s IP address (the one I asked you to write down earlier). So you should end up with a string that looks like this

RTSP://192.168.27.2

These numbers will differ based upon the IP address of your camera.

We will then add a /1 to the end. So it now looks like this

RTSP://192.168.27.2/1

Notice where I’ve typed the RTSP and camera IP address. Also pay attention to the format it’s written in.

AND THATS IT!

Your camera feed should now stream live to OBS studio. Congratulations, you’ve successfully completed Step 1 in setting up a live weather camera feed.

Now like I said, these are the exact steps that worked for my Topodrome TD-J10A camera. If you’re using a different make or model of IP camera, these steps may or may not work. Your camera HAS to support RTSP for this to work and not all models do this.

So should you go live straight away?

Well honestly, no, not yet! If you do, it’s a bit of a wasted opportunity as all this will do is show a live camera feed. There are two more things we should consider doing and I’m going to address those in the next tutorial. This will be “Adding weather information” to your camera feed (including general location, temperature, time and weather!) as well as adding a custom logo to your feed (so people can identify where the feed is coming from). So, stay tuned for parts 2 and 3 coming soon!

Which GoPro Should I Buy?

Posted on by DemonView

This seems to be a question that pops up on a regular basis. There are a lot of models to choose from and people want to know which model would suit them best. So, in this article we’ll be looking at which model may suit you best for your needs in order to save you some money. After all, why buy the latest model if you’re not going to use all the features on offer?

Things to note, I’m only going to concentrate models from the Hero 11 onwards. The reason being that previous models are just outdated at this stage and trying to find original GoPro batteries, replacement parts etc. is just not worth the time or effort.

So should I buy a 2nd hand model?

Remember, you get what you pay for! There’s a reason someone’s getting rid of it!!

A lot of people think that buying 2nd hand will save them some money and they can get a great deal. I myself, have some reservations about 2nd hand models. GoPro’s are action cameras used to record extreme action such as snowboarding, mountain biking, sky diving, car racing etc. You really have no idea what types of hard knocks, bangs or environments that a 2nd hand GoPro has been subjected to. Plus, if you buy 2nd hand, you’re buying at your own risk without a manufacturer’s warranty. On top of that, realize if you do have an issue with your camera and try contacting GoPro themselves, they may not be able to offer you support or a replacement if the camera has previously been reported as lost or stolen. Older models are pretty much outdated in terms of stabilization and features and for all of those reasons, I tend to avoid 2nd hand.

So many cameras, so many options, let’s make it an easy decision!

So which model should I buy?

Well, let’s take a look at the models that are currently on offer, what their features are and which model is right for you!

GoPro Hero 2024, GoPro’s smallest and lightest camera!

The Hero 2024 $199

This is one of the smallest and lightest GoPro cameras ever. It’s tiny! Yet this camera is capable of recording 4K video @ 30FPS. Since this is GoPro’s “Budget” camera, there are certain features it doesn’t have.

No GPS

No External Mic Support

Limited video modes (no HDR or LOG video options)

Limited photo modes

No “in camera” stabilization (stabilization is applied automatically via the app).

No Webcam mode

No add on lens options.

Only weighs 86 Grams!

Who should buy this camera:

I would purchase this if you want a cheap (GoPro quality) camera or a B roll camera. If you’re not an avid film maker and just want something small, light, for capturing video’s quickly and simply, this is the camera for you. If you’re buying a GoPro for a younger family member and it’s their first camera, this may also be the camera you want due to its low cost.

Anything else to know?

Yes, since there is no “in camera” stabilization, stabilization is applied automatically via the GoPro app. This means you will need to install the app on an Android or iOS device in order to stabilize the footage. While this model camera is a great offering from GoPro, realize that it’s also their least featured camera as a result.

The GoPro Hero 11. For just $60 you get a LOT more options!

The GoPro Hero 11 ecommerce model $259.99:

This is one of GoPro’s best models that they ever released. For just $60 more than the entry level GoPro this really is well worth the step up. It was a huge upgrade over previous models for the following reasons.

Taller 8:7 sensor (ideal for re-framing for different social media platforms without resolution loss)

10 bit color (a huge improvement over the 8 bit color from previous models)

“In camera” night effects (idea for light painting, star trails shots etc, without the need for post processing).

Max Lens Mod Support (for 360 degree horizon lock in 2.7K)

Onboard GPS ideal for track days or hikes.

Who should buy this camera?

This camera is suited to those that want a small form factor action camera to quickly post video clips to various social media platforms. If you want to upload a short to YouTube, Instagram Reels, Facebook etc., and then use the same clip for a long form video later on, the taller 8:7 sensor is ideal for this. If you want to get into vlogging later on, then the media mod add on will allow you to attach external mics, lights and even gives you a HDMI out. Add the Max Lens mod for an even wider FOV if you’re doing some serious action sports and want that sense of immersion and speed.

If you want “most” of the capabilities of the latest GoPro model but on a budget price, this is the one to go for.

Anything else to know?

I would consider the Hero 11 to be the “All-rounder” camera. It is a hugely capable camera that you can use to create stunning video. The “in camera” night effects also mean that with very little effort, you can create stunning video that will amaze your audience with very little effort. However later models did add some features that you may want to consider before purchasing.

The GoPro Hero 12. Stunning video quality, great HDR output, truly cinematic!

The GoPro Hero 12 $345.99

This is one of GoPro’s most controversial models that was ever released. Why? Well simply put, this is a GoPro Hero 11 with the GPS removed. Other than the missing GPS, every single hardware component is the same as the Hero 11. However, what GoPro did for this camera was completely re-write the firmware from the ground up. This was a huge undertaking and the results…. are amazing. Here’s what the Hero 12 offers that the Hero 11 doesn’t (thanks to that new firmware)

Longer operating times as the camera o/s has been optimized.

Max Lens Mod 2.0 support (for 360 degree horizon lock in 4K resolution)

Bluetooth audio support (connect your headset to the camera to record audio and control the camera)

Re-nameable presets (something users have wanted, now they have it!)

HDR video (great for dual exposure requirements)

Timecode sync (great for multicam or audio devices that use timecode)

Variable bit rate recording

GPLog support (for the flattest picture profile available).

Who should buy this camera?

Serious action sports enthusiasts who want the very best frame rates and resolutions possible. The Max Lens Mod 2.0 is a huge step up from the previous Max Lens mod and offers a much wider FOV in 4K. If you’re also a serious editor and want the flattest picture possible for color grading in post, the GPLog offers that (it can also be tweaked with the GoPro Labs Firmware). Serious Motor Vloggers will also want to take advantage of the Max Lens Mod 2.0. Now you’ll get a much more expansive view while talking to the camera in and around your vehicle. The HDR video also is fantastic for filming inside your car while avoiding over exposure/blowout whites outside of the vehicle. If you’re a serious film maker/action content creator/vlogger, then this is the camera for you.

Anything else to know?

Since the Hero 12 does not have GPS on board, those of you wanting a “Track Day” camera may want to look towards the Hero 11 or Hero 13 or record GPS with a separate device (which is what serious track day enthusiasts do anyway). Although Bluetooth audio is supported, it’s actually quite low quality and honestly, it makes for better camera control when the camera is outside the vehicle rather than recording usable vocal content. The GPLog option will give you the best video possible for color grading in post, but if you’re used to color grading in post, then using GPLog will give you a flat, faded, washed out picture (which is actually what you want for color grading) but for the uninitiated, they may wonder why their picture doesn’t “Pop”. However, if you are serious about content creation, this is the model you want!

The GoPro Hero 13. The all in one production powerhouse for serious creators and vloggers alike.

The GoPro Hero 13:

Another controversial model but only slightly. Why? Well simply put, this is a GoPro Hero 12 and “nearly” every single hardware component is the same as the Hero 12….. nearly……. However, GoPro did some major redesign of the guts within the camera as well as carry out some pretty great upgrades as well as adding the GPS back. As a result, they have produced a camera that is now an all-in-one production powerhouse for content creators and serious vloggers. So what are the benefits of purchasing a Hero 13?

Longer operating times as the camera heat sinks have been redesigned with an extra heat sink added.

In camera re nameable presets (huge advantage for quick filming in different environments)

Upgraded Bluetooth (BLE 5.3)

Upgraded WiFi (WiFi 6 for longer range and faster uploads)

HDR HLG Video (for broadcast quality HDR across more devices)

Automatic Lens detection with suggested settings (Cannot stress how great this is).

Macro Lens Support (now get closer to your subject while adding a cinematic background blur)

Anamorphic Lens support (coming 2025)

On board GPS receiver.

Upgraded battery for longer filming times

Burst 360FPS and 400FPS filming modes

Who should buy this camera?

Everyone. Sorry, but it’s the frustrating truth! With the new features on offer from this camera, GoPro have made a true production powerhouse that offers everything. Before, getting close up shots of an item (for reviewers, those selling products etc.) meant either using a digital zoom in post (thus reducing quality) or having to use a different camera (which meant 2 separate files, having to match colors in post, sync audio etc). Now with the Macro lens, that’s no longer an issue. Same camera, same color, easy!

Getting cinematic motion blur has always been tricky to manage (and that’s assuming you know what cinematic motion blur is), however GoPro’s automatic lens detection and suggested settings have now made this easy for anyone to do. Thanks to the new lenses that are available from GoPro, the camera automatically detects which lens is attached, and based upon your settings, will suggest either a stronger Nd filter or a lighter Nd filter. This enables you to get the perfect motion blur every time. Easy!

Plus how many people have accidentally enabled Max Lens Mod Mode or forgot to when filming? No longer an issue thanks to the automatic lens detection. The camera will select the proper filming mode depending on the lens you attach. Easy!

So due to these features, that’s why it’s a bit frustrating to suggest that “Everyone” gets this camera. I should be saying “Hard core professional film makes” and that’s true… however due to how easy GoPro have made this camera to use, I can also truthfully say “Complete amateurs who don’t have a clue about filming and want the best picture possible”. This camera is simply a huge leap forward for GoPro and well worth the asking price in my opinion. To be honest, I may pick up a 2nd one as I’m that impressed with it.

Anything else to know?

The burst slow motion is some of the best available in any action camera. GoPro have also improved the audio with a selectable vocal enhancement option as well as improved low light filming with a selectable noise reduction option. The GoPro Labs firmware also has some huge advancements for the Hero 13 and frankly makes this a great option for serious action camera users. The Anamorphic lens won’t be available until 2025 but this is one option I’ve been wanting for years from GoPro and they’ve finally made it a reality. The simple fact is, if you want to get the best action camera on the market, then this is the GoPro you will want. In my opinion, this has been the best GoPro and most revolutionary GoPro release since the Hero 8.

So what about the Hero 9, Hero 10 or Hero Max?

As stated, I’m only concentrating on models that are currently available from GoPro. The Hero 9 and Hero 10 are currently unavailable and honestly, with the Hero 11 on offer, it outperforms both cameras easily and for a great price. The Hero Max is also unavailable and given the fact that it’s nearly 5 years old at this point, I would wait for the Max 2 when it’s released in 2025.

Anything else to keep in mind?

Yes! If you do end up buying a GoPro for yourself or someone else, please make sure you don’t cheap out on the SD card. Sd cards are important and trying to bargain basement a card could end up with disastrous results.

That’s why I only use 512GB Samsung Evo Select cards. They are rock solid performing cards for the best price available.

Best performance, best storage, best value!

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DemonView LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Please note that I only recommend products and services that I personally use or believe will add value to my readers. All reviews and opinions expressed on this site are my own, and they are not influenced by the affiliate partnership.

Please note that all prices were correct at time of article publication, please feel free to shop around to compare prices to ensure you get the best deal possible.

This is a bonus note dedicated to all of those who take the time to actually read the small print. I think you’re awesome for doing that, but isn’t it frustrating how much is really hidden in small print and user agreements? I for one think that consumer protection laws need to be increased and any company that sells to customers whether it be a physical or digital product should abide by the same agreement.

I’ll be honest with you, when someone clicks on my links and purchases a product, that makes me happy. I try to recommend only the best items that I actually use or find useful. Let’s me know people are paying attention, just like you’re paying attention to this very small print! Good for you!

The GoPro Hero 13. At last, a true creator’s camera.

Posted on by DemonView

As you should all know by now the GoPro Hero 13 is going to hit the market on September 4th. The questions on everyone’s mind though at the moment is “Is this camera worth buying?”. The reason being that there’s been no reported update with the sensor, it’s the same basic overall design and now it turns out that people will have to invest in new batteries for this model. So will I even be purchasing this camera?

To purchase or not to purchase, that is the question!

The answer is simple. Yes, yes I most definitely will as I reckon GoPro have finally made a true “Creators” camera with this new GoPro Hero 13. Let me walk you through why I think this is going to be an amazing camera for creators.

New Lens Mods!

Lens modes are nothing new to GoPro, they’ve offered us the Max Lens Mod since the Hero 9, the Hero 12 supported the Max Lens Mod 2.0. However, the Hero 13 is offering us two extra lens mods, a Macro lens Mod and a Wide angle mod (with a reported 2:40:1 aspect ratio). Those are the two mods I’m most looking forward to as I believe these will really up the creator game. Here’s why.

When I film footage for myself or my channel, there’s time when I want to get close up shots of an item. Whether it be an accessory for my video channel such as this excellent video light from Ulanzi

Still rocking this amazing little light!

or even a set of premium spark plugs for my car.

Why use cheap spark plugs in your car?

However, as you know, the GoPro camera with its wide angle FOV, doesn’t do close up shots. This means I have to grab my Canon Rebel 7ti equipped with a Macro Lens to get the close up shots that I want. This means I’m using two separate cameras, two separate video files and now I have to spend extra time color matching the shots in post.

It’s still one of the best all rounders you can get!

Now with the Hero 13, I will be able to quickly and easily swap lenses on the fly. Use the regular lens for my presentation shots and then for the up-close shots, quickly swap in the macro lens mod. All shots in the one camera, no swapping around cameras, managing multiple SD cards and multiple file types. Even better, the GoPro Hero 13 has automatic lens detection!

That’s a huge advantage when it comes to quickly creating and outputting video content. At the risk of sounding like a TV infomercial, I’ll have to say “But wait, that’s not all….”

The Wide Angle Mod

This is the one I’m really looking forward to. Although the GoPro can easily manage a nice 16:9 widescreen output, it just didn’t seem…. cinematic. You would either have to film in 8:7 and then add black bars in post (therefore really just cutting into your resolution) or you could use a 3rd party Animorphic lens… which means you would have to turn off stabilization, film in a narrow FOV and the then de-squeeze the footage in post. So, it was a lot of work for the shots that you wanted to get (even if the results looked amazing with proper cinematic lens flare).

Still a great option for older cameras if you want cinematic style footage.

The fact that GoPro are releasing their own Wide-Angle Lens that will be supported by the camera natively is a HUGE advantage. Now creators can use their small form factor GoPro to create truly cinematic looking footage with just a lens swap.

So now that I’ve listed the some of the things I’m looking forward to, let’s talk about the other advantages of this new GoPro model.

Battery life!

The new GoPro uses a new battery design that offers about 17% more shooting times (resolution and frame rate dependent). Now some people have complained about this, after all, if you bought a Hero 12 just last year, you’re probably not happy about having to upgrade batteries for the Hero 13. However, be aware, the current form factor batteries were introduced with the Hero 9. The Hero 10 gave us the Enduro battery variant, and the Hero 11 and 12 used the same batteries. So, for a lot of people out there, it’s about time that GoPro updated the batteries. I doubt anyone is going to complain about longer filming times with these new batteries and I just hope that these GoPro batteries finally support fast charging options (the one thing a lot of people have complained about in the past).

These are the best and only batteries you should be using in your Hero 9, 10, 11 or 12!

Enhanced Audio!

This is a bit of a tricky one to address. If we look at the design of the new GoPro, a lot of people seem to think that the grill under the front lens is a heat sink to keep the camera cool. I actually believe this represents a new microphone for the GoPro that offers better wind reduction. GoPro’s actually have pretty good audio, however once the wind comes out, then you’ll need to use either a media mod (with foam windscreen) or use an external mic with a dead cat for premium audio. I think GoPro have been working hard on this one and we’re going to see better “in camera” microphone quality as evidenced by the new mic design under that front lens.

Bluetooth improvements?

Although Bluetooth audio was introduced with the Hero 12, it only supported HFP (hands free protocol) so you could really only use it with headsets (which usually have built in digital wind reduction which lowers audio quality massively). It looks like the Hero 13 may have upgraded the Bluetooth audio on offer (however I can’t confirm this at the moment) and if they have, then it’s yet another reason to purchase.

However, there’s the final reason I’ll be upgrade for sure and that would be one of my favorite ways to shoot and that’s slow motion!

Slow motion is one of the most underused features of a GoPro camera. They can currently shoot at up to 240FPS (10X slow motion). The ability to slow down time to get buttery smooth slow motion is amazing and GoPro have upgraded this feature too. Now they are offering an insane 13X slow motion at 320FPS! I simply cannot wait to have some serious fun with this one. This makes a perfection “Action camera” enhancement that will seriously rock your footage.

So with all of that in mind, am I excited about this release on September 4th? Yes, I am! I think this is seriously one of the most exciting models that GoPro have released in quite some time, and they put creators first and foremost with this release giving them a huge variety of tools to help up their game!

Roll on September 4th, I’ll be purchasing the GoPro Hero 13 for sure, and I cannot wait to review this exciting model camera for you!

Disclaimer: Some of the links on this website are affiliate links. This means that, at no additional cost to you, we may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. We only recommend products and services that we have personally used or believe will provide value to our audience. All opinions expressed here are our own. Please do your own research before making any purchasing decisions.

GoPro Hero Max 2 Leaked (Real or Fake?)

Posted on by DemonView

Hey, folks. Been a while, but I’ve been busy. I’ve been researching the GoPro Hero Max 2. Now, for those of you who don’t know, there was an image leaked within the past few weeks of what the GoPro Hero Max 2 looks like. Only I think personally think it’s a fake. Some reviewers and BETA testers for GoPro are claiming it’s real. One of those such people is the one and only GETHYPOXIC

If you haven’t heard of GETHYPOXIC before. This is a website that basically specializes in GoPro Hero tear-downs, telling you exactly what hardware is inside and the changes from model to model. They think the leak is real. I say it’s fake. So in this article we’re going head-to-head with GETHYPOXIC and we’re going to look at the reasons I think the below image is fake.

Is this really what the GoPro Max 2 looks like?

The above picture is supposed to be the GoPro Hero Max 2. Now I have a few issues with that claim and I’m going to go through them and hopefully do a mediocre to good job at explaining why this image appears fake to me (that joke was funnier in my head). If GETHYPOXIC wants to do his own write up on why this image is real, I’ll let him do that on his website.

First off, I’m going to show you the original GoPro Hero Max and the GoPro Hero Fusion to show you what the design of GoPro’s 360 cameras are really like and why this image could be fake.

GoPro Hero Fusion, GoPro’s first 360 camera!
The GoPro Max, GoPro’s current 360 camera.

GoPro’s 360 cameras have a very specific design. As you can see the lenses on both the Fusion and the original Max have been offset. This is because of GoPro’s patented way that they stitch their footage together. I believe this offset was applied to try and lesson the appearance of chromatic aberrations that usually plague curved lenses which if true, would be a huge advantage that the GoPro has over the competition.

However, if we take a look at the leaked image of the GoPro Hero Max 2,it has a centered, camera lens. Now people say that will get rid of a nadir issue, but I have my doubts overall.

Why is the lens placement now ignoring past designs?

Then we have what appears to be fins covering the camera that one would assume is for heat dissipation. This doesn’t make much sense as GoPro cameras have always had a rubberized silicone type covering on them which allows for the camera to absorb impacts from dropping it or being subject to flying debris. So, what’s the problem? Well, they can’t possibly be heat dissipation fins because rubber is a heat insulator. Think about it. If you’re barbecuing or picking up hot dishes, usually those gloves that you have to protect you from burning yourself are made from silicone rubber (an insulator from heat). This means that these “Fins” would be completely useless at dissipating heat as the heat would not be conducted by the silicone rubber. So, there is zero point to them being there (unless the photo is a fake!)

Seriously, silicone gloves protect your hands by NOT transferring heat!

The next question we have to ask is what is that large rectangle under the lens? Well, you know, it’s not a screen because again, it’s covered by these fins. You wouldn’t be able to press anything on the screen if it’s covered by fins. So it can’t be a touch screen. What if it’s a large metal heat sink? Yes that could be a heat sink to dissipate the heat. Only again, they’ve covered it with soft silicone rubber fins. And how are you going to attach that to the bare metal there. I mean that’s just going to end up peeling off breaking. Again, it makes no logical sense as you’d be covering a heat-sink with something which doesn’t transfer heat.

Could you use a touch screen that was behind a fence?

Another clue is the GoPro logo on the camera. Whoever photo-shopped that on didn’t spend much time on it as it doesn’t deform with the surface of the camera. If that logo was really there, you’d expect it to be stamped and maybe raised and depressed with the contours of the camera, but instead it’s completely flat.

So, if this is a fake photo, what type of camera could this possibly be? Well, if you’ve looked at police body cameras, they do have a center lens mounted design and a large stop start button that the wearer can press to stop and start recording even while wearing thick protective leather gloves. Later cameras, the start/stop feature would be integrated into a sliding lens cover. This I feel, is an earlier model police body camera with some bad photo-shopping done to it.

Notice the similarities between this and the leaked GoPro Hero Max 2 picture.

The final nail in the coffin for this being a faked image is the source which was Quadro news. Now, if you don’t remember, Quadro News leaked a picture of the GoPro Hero 12 last year with a one inch sensor. What’s the problem with that? Well, obviously the GoPro Hero 12 did not have a one inch sensor.

The fake Hero 12 leaked image from 2023

The photograph itself was actually proven to be fake because it was actually lying on top of old promotional materials a previous GoPro release. A closer examination of the photo also revealed that “1” sensor” claim had been badly photo-shopped.

Here’s the thing, in my opinion, Quadro News is a DJI site employee or contracted writer. Quadro News only (and consistently) posts nothing but DJI news, DJI specs, video footage of leaked DJI, drones in flight and DJI cameras photos.

Last year when the GoPro Hero12 leak with the one inch sensor came out, I also think that was a bit of corporate sabotage by DJI. Tell everybody the Hero 12 is going to have a one inch sensor, put the fake picture out there and that way when the GoPro Hero 12 was released and it didn’t have a one inch sensor everybody was really disappointed and really angry with GoPro saying they weren’t going to buy the camera.

On top of this, if you look at how the leak regarding the GoPro Hero 12 came to be, basically Quadro News quoted another site that was “re-quoting” Quadro News saying something along the lines of “congratulations on this getting this leaked information out there”. The thing is, the “Quoted” post never existed in the first place. The account that was congratulating Quadro News was actually defunct and hadn’t posted anything since 2017 and suddenly it became active again and choose to make one post congratulating Quadro News? Fake Fake Fake!

Now this brings us back to……. GETHYPOXIC!

Now in my opinion GETHYPOXIC is simply one of the best sites out there. I really do like their GoPro teardowns and technical information. I suspect that they may themselves be a beta tester for GoPro (if not, they should be). If they are, they may want to throw people off the scent or whatever. So for GETHYPOXIC to say “I think this is real”, I think there’s more to the story that they aren’t sharing.

Now, I’m willing to put my money where my mouth is. I basically challenged GETHYPOXIC and told them that if this is a fake picture and I’m right, GETHYPOXIC has to display one of my DEMONVIEW LLC car magnets on the back of their car for an entire month. And if I’m wrong, GETHYPOXIC will send me one of their stickers and I’ll display it on my DemonView mobile for a month.

That bet was met with complete silence ………………….. until it wasn’t. Yes, GETHYPOXIC got back to me and said, “I will take that bet”. I look forward to winning this bet easily, I just wish I knew what type of car he was driving, I prefer my magnet to be on something classy ya know!

Folks, since I’m all about keeping things upbeat, no matter what, there will be a winner and it could be YOU! Head on over to my YouTube channel and check out the latest video, I’ll be doing a giveaway associated with this Hero Max 2 leak and I’ll be selecting 2 winners. There will be more details in the video, so make sure you check it out!

DemonView Rocks Has A Winner!

Posted on by DemonView

The very first DemonView Rock has been found! Congratulations to Laurie Wyman for posting the above picture! For those of you who were curious, the DemonView Rock was placed just beside the Guild Lakes pumping station.

Laurie is our very first winner and her entire family got to join in the treasure hunt! Do you have what it takes to find the next rock? It’s already engraved and ready to go! So come back soon to get the next clue!

Happy Hunting!

GoPro Max 2 Delayed!

Posted on by DemonView

Has GoPro been spooked by the Insta360 X4 release?

The GoPro Max 2 was due to be released in the 3rd Quarter of this year. This would have put it around the September timeframe along with the GoPro Hero 13. However, at the most recent investor relations call, Nick Woodman confirmed that the GoPro Max 2 had been delayed until the 4th Quarter of the year due to ongoing being “Behind schedule”. Now it’s interesting that nothing was mentioned about being behind schedule until a few weeks after the Insta360 X4 release. So, what are the possible reasons for the delay and how will this affect the final model? Have GoPro been spooked by the Insta 360 X4 release and its capabilities? Let’s take a closer look at and find out!

The GoPro Max 2 (rumors and speculation)

A while back, a quickly removed interview published online seemed to indicate that GoPro were basing the Max 2 upon the same sensor and processor combination of the Hero 11. Now please note, this was possible prototype information and in no way would resemble the final unit. However, had this report been accurate, I would have expected the following from the GoPro Max 2:

HDR video option.

GPlog video option.

No GPS.

Possibly a top frame rate of 60FPS in certain video options (not HDR or GPLog).

Variable Bit rate recording.

Bluetooth audio support.

Timecode support.

Renamable presets.

So basically, I would expect the GoPro Max 2 to have a lot in common with the GoPro Hero 12, but you’ll notice that there’s one thing I’m not mentioning here, and that is “Resolution”. Why? Well that’s a loaded question!

There’s no doubt that GoPro are the #1 world leader in action camera’s and that actually limits what GoPro’s can do. If that doesn’t seem to make sense, bear with me as I explain.

While people may be spending between $350 to $500 on an action camera, the same cannot be said with the mobile device they are using to download and edit footage with. There are a LOT of users out there who are trying to edit their footage on outdated, older model phones, or just plain cheap budget low end phones in the $300 range. As a result, GoPro have to cater to their largest customers when it comes to what cameras and software can do. GoPro wouldn’t have much success as a company if they released a 16K resolution camera if 99% of their customers couldn’t edit the footage on their phones. So if they release a 5.3K camera that 85% of their customers can download and edit footage on their phone with (the other 15% use a laptop or pc) then that’s a far better balance of performance and price. With me so far?

This could mean that the GoPro Max 2 was looking at only a slight increase in resolution, possibly to 6K. This would take strain off of the end users mobile devices when editing, but also help keep the GP2 processor running cooler. This seems likely if we look at GoPro’s first 360 camera, The GoPro Fusion. When it was released (2017) it supported 5.2K resolution (boosted to 5.6K @24fps with the Beta Firmware). The GoPro Max didn’t have a huge boost in resolution and came with 5.6K @ 30FPS in 360 modes when it was released (2019). So even with 2 years development between the two models, resolution stayed the exact same and the Hero Max 2 actually lacked certain features of the Fusion (night lapse mode for instance).

So why did GoPro delay the Max 2 release date?

In my opinion, there are only 2 real reasons the GoPro Max 2 got delayed.

A: Most likely! Although GoPro has huge sales worldwide, the company itself is actually fairly small. They just don’t seem to have the resources that other competitors have. This could simply mean that development of the Max 2 has indeed fallen behind schedule. GoPro know they have to “WOW” customers with the Max 2 release date and include features that customers haven’t seen before but will definitely want. So, it’s just a simple matter of resources vs time.

B: Not likely but possible! GoPro were scared by the Insta360 X4 release. The Insta360 X4 is an 8K camera. I’m not sure anyone saw that coming. The issue with 360 cameras is that although they seem to capture in a much higher resolution, that higher resolution is in a 360-degree sphere. When you reframe that to a more normal POV, you end up with a 1080P image (or less) compared to the 5.3K of a normal POV action camera. This means your footage can look low resolution by comparison. So having an 8K 360 camera means that when you reframe, you’re looking at a possible 2.7K resolution image. If GoPro were planning on releasing the Max 2 with a 5.6K resolution (but higher frame rates and HDR video thrown in) then they are in trouble. There’s no way they would get away with releasing a much lower resolution camera then their competitors are a premium price. This would mean the camera would be DOA with people flocking to the competition.

Now if scenario B is what’s happened, then this is worrying. It’s far too late in the game for GoPro to start changing camera hardware and specs, this would put them back at square 1 in camera development. This would push the release date further into 2025. So the only solution GoPro would have this late in the game is on the firmware end of things. They would be throwing all their resources at trying to wrangle everything they can out of the camera through the firmware without touching the hardware. While it would be possible to get 8K out of the Max 2 this way, you’re talking about a possibly seriously hot camera when it’s running and cutting back on certain other features to compensate (HDR, GPlog, Higher Frame rates etc.).

Final Thoughts!

While the GoPro Max 2 being delayed will worry some, it may actually be a good thing! GoPro don’t want to rush a release to the market, they know they have to impress customers with this model and taking extra time to throw in a few extra features may well and truly help the camera find its market. In terms of sales, the delay may also help. If the GoPro Hero 13 gets released in September as planned, that still leaves the Christmas market open for an additional camera purchase. This would boost GoPro sales for the year and help with market share.

As of now, there are no confirmed leaks regarding the GoPro Max 2. Everything so far is pure speculation and I honestly wouldn’t expect any realistic leaks until the end of August (and at that point, it those leaks will only cover the Hero 13 and the GoPro Entry Level camera). It’s more likely that the GoPro Max 2 leaks will be around the November timeframe (to generate interest in sales in December).

Nick Woodman stated that the GoPro Max 2 would be “worth waiting for”. Time will tell, but personally, I’m looking forward to the release. GoPro have a long-term plan in place to capture the market, not just the camera market, but other markets too (with the acquisition of the Forecite Motorcycle Helmet company). With the Hero Max being released in 2019, GoPro have had nearly 5 years to put plans in place for its successor, this is going to be a huge release for GoPro and there’s no doubt in my mind, they are indeed going to release something special.

The above article is expressing my own views and opinions about the possibilities of GoPro’s strategy and possible hardware releases. This was based upon online research, GoPro’s previous release strategies and my own personal interpretation of this information. Information contained in the article should be taken as pure speculation and not as hard facts. I also want to thank you for taking the time to read this small print, I mean, it shows true dedication to reading every bit of information possible, although at this point this is no longer information and just pure absurdity. No part of this article was AI generated, so all spelling, punctuation mistakes are completely my own. I don’t know about you, but I for one, welcome our AI overlords, hopefully the first thing they do is get rid of “reality television”. Yes, this is what you get subjected to when you read the small print on a page.

The Big USA Road Trip!

Posted on by DemonView

A DemonView Drives Adventure!

There are plenty of things I haven’t done since I moved from Ireland to the USA. I’ve never had chicken and waffles for instance. I’ve never queued outside of a store overnight on Black Friday waiting for some sort of sales bargain. I’ve never tailgated at a baseball or football game (mainly because I didn’t understand the rules and those things last for HOURS….). However, my biggest regret is never embarking on the great American road trip! At least, not until now!

This is how AI depicts “The Great American Road Trip”.

Allow me to explain why this is so important to me. In Ireland, you could drive coast to coast in about 3 hours (in traffic). I’m not saying Ireland is a small country, but they did consider hanging a mirror at one end to make it look bigger. The issue is that when you drove out the city or village you were in, within 3 hours, you’d end up at a nearly identical city or village. You were still (more or less) in the same place. Sure, the pubs were a little different and the locals would look at you like you were some sort of suspicious outsider, but you never really got the sense that you were really anywhere different.

AI was a lot nicer when asked to depict life in Ireland!

So how much bigger is the USA than Ireland? Well, let me put it this way, you could fit 116 Irelands inside of the USA! 116!!!!! I grew up watching American movies where people would hit the road, embark on a huge adventure, see different sights and make live changing discoveries along the way. Just not the type of thing that would happen in 3 hours on Irish roads. Each state seems to have it’s own identity, it’s own features and really is like a different country.

So, when my wife came up with the idea of treating me to a cross-country road trip in the USA, I jumped at the chance! (although it wasn’t a big jump…. I don’t like heights….). This would be my opportunity to hit the road, to embark on the adventure of a lifetime! To finally fulfill one of my American Dreams! However, this would be no sightseeing trip, we were going to be on a mission!

THE PLAN!

My wife’s family has a pretty interesting and diverse history, but “for reasons that don’t need exploring at this juncture” my wife’s father ended up in Canada in his younger years (there may be a prize if anyone can guess where that quote comes from!). When he left Canada, he left quite a few boxes of records with his relatives (which then became promptly forgotten about). These were recently re-discovered, and my wife and I decided we would go and collect them (mainly because it would they would be very expensive and far too delicate to ship!). So, the plan is this.

A: Fly from Portland Oregon to Toronto Canada.

B: Rent a car.

C: Collect the records.

D: Drive back to Portland Oregon, a 4200KM approx. road trip (or 2607 miles approx.)

This looks nothing like us, but it was the best AI would offer me on short notice.

Now like I said, this isn’t a sightseeing trip. We are planning to get this done as quickly as possible and as fast as (legally) possible all while being as safe as possible (see how much possibility there is?). Googly maps say this trip should take 38 hours. However, I’m pretty sure that doesn’t take into account the amount of coffee we’ll be drinking, the amount of bathroom breaks we’ll be needing as a result of drinking such copious amount of coffee, gas station stops etc. We plan to swap drivers every few hours, one sleeping in the back of the car while the other person does the driving. Having said that, if we reach a point where we are both tired or we feel unsafe to drive, we will be renting a hotel room.

Ok, AI is not exactly reassuring me about motels on this road trip….

There are a few routes that we can take on this trip, but I’m thinking it’s mainly going to depend on weather conditions, traffic conditions and how often I ignore the GPS directions and get us lost (a popular male trait I’m told). We will also be at the mercy of the rental car company, we booked an SUV for the trip, so hopefully we get something decent that doesn’t have mechanical issues.

One of the possible routes we will be taking! I stuck to Google Maps for this, AI was just scaring me..

The Camera Equipment!

Ok, so me being me, I intend to document this road trip as it happens. I’ll be trying to show YOU (yes you) how this adventure progresses, the up’s, the down’s and everything along the way. Hopefully it inspires (or warns) you about life on the road! So, I’ll be bringing with me the following camera’s I reckon.

1: The GoPro Hero 12 equipped with the Max Lens Mod 2.0. I find the MLM2.0 is a great wide angle lens to use when vlogging as it really does help display the full interior of the car and not just my face mashed into the camera. I’ll also be equipping the camera with the media mod to I can capture audio using the Rode Wireless Go II mics (still my favorite mic system).

2: The GoPro Hero Max. This will be for an additional camera for some 360 video or photo’s along the way. I may also use this as the dashcam (powered externally) for some shots. The ability to show the interior and exterior views at the same time is always fun.

When is it all happening?

Soon! Very soon! Flight tickets are booked, car is booked, all that’s left to do is get packed and hopefully make a plane as to what we’re going to do route wise etc. So, stay tuned for more updates and check out https://www.youtube.com/demonviewllc for more updates and details!

Want to be a DemonView Road trip Sponsor?

Now it’s your chance to be a part of the adventure! Have your website or business mentioned on this road trip adventure (time dependent, entries after the road trip takes place will get a shoutout in other later videos). Get a shoutout for being an amazing DemonView supporter! There are many ways you can help out on this adventure so just read the options below! Anyone that helps out will get the following!

1: A shoutout for yourself or your business during the road trip videos (time dependent, if you donate “after” the road trip has taken place, you’ll get a shoutout in a later video).

2: Credits in the video! Yes, I’ll be making a DEMONVIEW MOVIE all about this road trip and you will get a special thanks credit. You can brag to all your friends about how YOU (yes you!) helped out with this movie!

Keep the coffee cup filled and me awake!

BUY ME A COFFEE! Yes, you can buy me (or my wife) a coffee to help keep us awake on this long road trip! Just click on the picture above to take you to the site. Make sure you leave a message so I can give you a shoutout and say thanks!

DemonView Merch makes a great his and hers outfit for any important occasion…

BUY DEMONVIEW MERCH! The best way to support this channel and website is to buy some merch and show everyone the love! Heck, buy some for your family and friends and give them the gift of a cool website name with an even cooler logo!

The Amazon Road Trip List! (not to be missed)

THE AMAZON ROAD TRIP LIST! This is a list of items I reckon will help on the road trip and ensure my safety, survival and sanity! Check it out, make a purchase and include a message so I can give you a shoutout and say thanks!

The best YouTube channel on the internet ever…… according to me!

BECOME A DEMONVIEW CHANNEL MEMBER! With different membership levels available, anyone can help support this channel. Basic Members can connect on Social Media, Proud supporters get access to exclusive content, Producers get producer credits in all videos and even more exclusive content. Major Sponsors get all the perks as well as exclusive member only livestream access!

Be a pal, be a PayPal Pal!

MAKE A DONATION! Donations are always welcome and probably the fastest way to help out with this video production. Your donation may be used to help out with production costs, travel costs or medial costs (because honestly, there’s some crazy people out on those roads!). So even the smallest donation can help make a big difference.

Please note this article contains links to 3rd party websites selling goods or services. When you click upon such links and purchase such products or services, I get a small kickback which goes towards helping produce more video’s and content for DemonView.com and its associated YouTube channels.

Could this be the best extended battery yet?

Posted on by DemonView

Suptig, it may be a name that you’re familiar with. The company makes a lot of 3rd party accessories for the GoPro camera, everything from mounts to dive cases. So I was a little bit interested when I saw that they were offering a “Waterproof” extended battery for use with the GoPro Hero 9, 10, 11 and 12! After all, who doesn’t want longer filming times? Especially if it offers waterproof filming too!

So enter the Suptig Portable Charger and waterproof housing case. A 2 part solution to extending your filming times while remaining completely waterproof. Let’s take a closer look!

First up we have the Suptig Portable Charger. At first glance, it may look like your average run of the mill power supply, but take a closer look at the picture! Not only does the bottom of the power supply have mounting fingers built into it (so it will attach to almost any GoPro mount). The top of the power supply has a GoPro Quik Release system built in. So you can attached your camera (as pictured) to the power supply.

The Suptig Portable Charger. Part 1 of the waterproof power solution from Suptig.

As you may notice, it’s a pretty beefy looking power supply and it has a riveted case surrounding it. This is to ensure that the power supply itself remains waterproof, but the real bonus is in the rear picture.

Pardon the water stains, I’ve been testing this amazing power supply!

As you can see, I’ve mounted this on my previously reviewed rare earth magnetic mount for attaching to my car. What you can also see is a 4 LED power status indicator (each light powers on at increments of 25%), a waterproof “on” button (like most power supplies, the unit will power off if no power is being drawn from it) and finally below, a USB-C “in” for charging and a standard USB out for power. However, if you look closely, you’ll see that around the USB power sockets, there is a threaded part on the case. This is so a waterproof USB cable with rubber seal can be threaded in here to provide was proof power out. In fact, the manufacturers claim that this power supply is waterproof down to 98ft! (I so far have only been able to test it in the pouring rain and it worked just fine!).

So now that we know how the power supply works (and remains waterproof), now let’s take a look at the Suptig waterproof case!)

Waterproof to 164FT!

As you can see, the case itself may look almost like a standard GoPro waterproof case, however, it has a corresponding screw in power supply (with rubber gasket) on the side of the case. This is so you can plug in the power supply and use this case in extreme wet conditions or underwater!

The case come with a Quik Release buckle and long thumbscrew.

If you don’t want the power supply plugged in, the case even comes with a waterproof screw in cover to isolate the case from water entry.

So, what is the performance like?

Well as of right now, I’m currently running a test of the camera in 4K 30FPS to see how long it lasts (and I left hypersmooth on needlessly just to get a “real world” idea). However, my initial test was a 1hr 5min drive to Skamania Lodge and back in some pretty wet conditions. Here’s the configuration that I used.

The dive case firmly hooked into the waterproof power supply!

Now although I’ve pictured them side by side, I actually had the power supply behind the waterproof case. This was just a case of aerodynamics and not wanting the camera to tip back due to wind resistance (the drive had 50mph gusts). The camera (The GoPro Hero 11) had the inner battery removed (as it was not needed, I was powering the camera externally) and was set to 4K 30FPS. The first drive lasted just over an hour as did the return drive. The power supply was not recharged during this time and seemed to indicate that it had 75% of power remaining. Remember, this was what I call “Real world testing”. So, the camera was not configured for longevity, bit rate was high, hypersmooth and GPS were both on. The only real custom configuration I had was the rear screen was set to 10% brightness and to power off after 1 minute (after all, I wasn’t using the screen as I was inside my car!).

So the camera was powered for over two hours this way without any problems at all whatsoever. Now one further thing I’ll mention is that I do use the GoPro Labs firmware on all my camera’s with the USB Power checking bypass enabled. This is because just about all power supplies tend to under-report their power output and if you don’t use the GoPro Labs firmware, your camera might display (not enough power) and shut down. In fact, I’ve seen some clueless people complain about this on the Amazon review page and it’s a pity, as it’s a really simple way to ensure your camera can use many different power supplies.

So all in all, I’m actually pretty impressed with this power supply right off the bat. It feels nice and weighty, it doesn’t seem cheaply made at all and I’m quite impressed with the performance. I’m currently doing a “Real world” longevity test, so I’ll post the results of that in a follow up.

In the meantime, if you’re looking for a well-made, waterproof power supply for your GoPro filming needs. I strongly recommend this as a purchase.

Please note that the article above contains links to Amazon. I get a small payment for any purchase made through these links and it’s a great way for you to support DemonView.com website and YouTube channels.

Even more DemonView in 2024!

Posted on by DemonView

Yes, it’s true, I haven’t been resting on my laurels all this time, in fact there’s some exciting stuff coming up in the world of DemonView! Want to know more? Then keep on reading!

So what’s new?

Well simply put, DemonView is expanding! I’m going to be covering more topics this year, all to provide you with more information and entertainment. There’s a new YouTube channel that’s slowly taking off called “DemonView Drives“. Click the image below to go there!

This channel is all about my misadventures concerning vehicle repair, maintenance and restoration. I may know a lot about cameras and camera equipment, but I know NOTHING about cars. However, as they say, you’re never too old to learn and I intend to prove that’s true…. or injure myself trying. So make sure you check that out and join in my frustration as I try to get a classic SUV back on the road!

Other things to look forward to!

Well we have a whole slew of new (and retro) hardware reviews coming.

New Podcasts!

New flight videos!

New Adventures on the road and on the river!

and coming for the end of 2024….. a secret project that you can all enjoy, it combines cars, GoPro’s and airplanes! This will be the biggest DemonView production yet and you’re all invited to watch!

A 3 hour battery for the GoPro Hero 12? TESTED!

Posted on by DemonView

Yes, you read that right. For those of you who want/need longer shooting times from your camera, this may be the battery that solves all your issues!

Presenting the Fitstill Extended GoPro Battery.

If you want to shoot for 3hrs in 5.3K 30FPS, here’s your solution!

So what is it and more importantly, does it work?

Here’s what it is!

The Fitstill extended battery pack for the GoPro camera is an extended battery that fits inside and around your GoPro camera. This is somewhat reminiscent of the types of extended batteries that you would see for professional DSRL or mirror-less cameras but scaled down for the GoPro Hero line of the cameras.

The design is pretty unique as it almost looks like part of the battery pack actually fits inside the camera (which it does) but it actually doesn’t use the battery contacts to power the camera. Instead, it actually connects to the USB-C port of the camera to provide power. The part that fits inside the battery chamber more or less acts as a guide to line up the USB-Port properly to avoid damage. So that’s actually a pretty smart design. This also means you still have full access to the touchscreen of the camera as the battery doesn’t block it in any way.

You can see the USB-C connection in this picture.

So does it work?

Well, this is where it gets interesting.

According to the Amazon Page, this product is designed for the Hero 10 camera, in fact, the wording specifically states “Only for Hero 10 black”.

Not my imagination, it clearly states “Only for GoPro Hero 10 Black”

However, when the product arrived, it clearly said on the Box “For the Hero 9 and Hero 10 camera”. Now I’m going to hazard a guess that this product (and packaging) was created before the Hero 11 and Hero 12 were released. So since fortune favors the bold (and the foolish alike) I decided to test this battery pack with the Hero 10, Hero 11 and Hero 12. The results were interesting. ( I recently gave away my Hero 9 to my brother in Florida).

Now please note, that all 3 cameras were running the GoPro Labs firmware and that the power checking requirements had been bypassed using the TUSB=1 command.

With the Hero 10…… the battery pack simply didn’t work. It did nothing. Nada. Zilch! I couldn’t get the camera to even show a sign of life. I thought that maybe I had damaged the USB-C port, but after attaching the camera to the media mod (and successfully detecting it) and connecting the camera directly to USB power (which worked) it seems there may be a compatibility issue. Maybe. It’s also possible that the USB-C port of the camera is damaged, but it’s odd that the media mod and external power still worked. So, Hero 10 owners beware!

With the Hero 11, when the battery pack was attached… there were no issues! The camera powered right up and stayed turned on. I even filmed a few clips without any issues whatsoever.

With the Hero 12, the camera also powered up and recorded. However at one stage the rear display didn’t work properly, but a simple reboot seemed to fix that issue. Odd, but a temporary issues.

I then decided to put the battery pack through its paces. So I set the Hero 12 up to record in 5.3K 30FPS and the results were…….. actually pretty impressive.

Please note the Hero 12 in all its glory filming away. I also included the Portland Oregon weather report!

I managed to shoot in this resolution and frame rate for nearly 3 hours! (about 2hrs 59 minutes if you want to be exact), so I was very impressed. Now since the camera was still and mounted on a tripod, I did have hypersmooth turned off (it wasn’t needed) and the bit rate set to standard (I simply didn’t need a high bitrate for this test). So, I would expect that 3 hours in 5.3K 30FPS was probably the most I would get out of the camera in these settings. I expect times will differ based upon resolution, frame rates and hypersmooth options.

Still, 3 hours……. color me impressed!

So all is good?

Well there are some issues to be fair.

A: This battery plugs into the USB-C port of the camera, if you use it, you’re not going to be able to connect a media mod or external mic to your camera (although with the Hero 12, you still have the option of using your bluetooth audio headset). So that’s unfortunate.

B: I wouldn’t classify the frame as particularly sturdy. It feels a bit cheap and flimsy. Remember, a chain is only as strong as it’s weakest link. This applies to the frame that this battery and camera sit in. Although it has a nice wide locking mechanism at the top, the clip is simply held in place by two tiny pieces of plastic. Should one of those snap or break, your camera could easily end up falling out of the frame. I really wouldn’t have minded paying $20 for a sturdy aluminum frame.

C: It’s not waterproof or weatherproof, nor does it claim to be. I’m not sure how hard it would have been to put a rubber gasket around the edges of this battery pack, but if Fitstill had put such a gasket in place, this would have been a fantastic extended battery pack.

D: For the price, I doubt that it is cold weather compatible. Usually cold weather batteries are a lot more expensive. Unfortunately I don’t feel like throwing this in a freezer to find out (I don’t have that type of budget) but pretty sure this is a summertime battery only.

E: It powers off after about a minute or so of nonuse. This is hardly surprising, in fact most USB power banks to the exact same to conserve battery life. This does however mean that the battery pack isn’t suitable for schedule capture where your camera spends long times powered off.

Taking into account all of the above, is it still worth a purchase?

I think it depends on your need. If you want to film for extended periods with your GoPro Hero 11 or 12, then yes, this is well worth looking into. Only if you don’t need to use the media mod or external audio however…….. and you don’t need it to be weather proof or work in cold weather. I don’t think I would trust it mounted on an airplane or a car though for fear of the hinges failing. Then again, I’ve dealt with this design problem before with 3rd party knock off protective cases using the simple cheap hack of wrapping a rubber band around the outside to stop the case from opening.

Either way, for me, I’m pretty sure this battery pack will prove to be plenty useful over the coming summer months.

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