Long duration action cameras

[knightslugger]

I'm planning a trip to Moab, Utah next spring and i'd like to use an action camera that can record for a LOOOOONG time. Taking the White Rim Trail and a few other excursions and need something that will record 1080p for a long time (12 hour days) or store hundreds of thousands of 1080p-ish resolution photos for time lapse. I understand that this may require an external storage device. I don't want to have to babysit the camera too much. I want to be able to turn it on, power it externally, and let it roll.

 

Looking for your suggestions.

[Firewrath9]

go pro with some large sd cards

[Sfekke]

4 minutes ago, Firewrath9 said:

go pro with some large sd cards

Exactly.

Just make sure to turn the FPS/Resolution down a notch and get an 256GB+ mSD card, make sure your model of GoPro supports it!

[knightslugger]

22 minutes ago, Sfekke said:

Exactly.

Just make sure to turn the FPS/Resolution down a notch and get an 256GB+ mSD card, make sure your model of GoPro supports it!

well i'd probably end up getting a new one, and I must be some kind of idiot, but i can't find the maximum SD card size on GoPro's website for the hero 6.

[LaFemmeEnVert]

3 hours ago, knightslugger said:

I'm planning a trip to Moab, Utah next spring and i'd like to use an action camera that can record for a LOOOOONG time. Taking the White Rim Trail and a few other excursions and need something that will record 1080p for a long time (12 hour days) or store hundreds of thousands of 1080p-ish resolution photos for time lapse. I understand that this may require an external storage device. I don't want to have to babysit the camera too much. I want to be able to turn it on, power it externally, and let it roll.

 

Looking for your suggestions.

look for action camera that can charge by usb powerpack or usb port while filming so you don't run out of power.  many actioncamera batteries alone last 1-2 hours maximum

[knightslugger]

1 hour ago, LaFemmeEnVert said:

look for action camera that can charge by usb powerpack or usb port while filming so you don't run out of power.  many actioncamera batteries alone last 1-2 hours maximum

I'll be using a home-made 12vdc-5vdc down converter (basically a hacked USB car charger tied into the vehicle's fused 12v system), so no issues about longevity. My main concern was about recording time as I don't want to have to stop every few hours and change out SD cards and download video WHILE driving. I'd rather do that when we stop for the night along the trail.

 

The Hero 3 (white) I have (according to GoPro) will record about 9 1/2 hours of 1080p30 video on a 64GB (max size). If i drop that to 960p30, it goes the distance of 12 hours. 128GB would be IDEAL, and unfortunately it doesn't seem the Hero 3 White supports larger than 64GB. so 9 1/2 hours @ 1080p30, or 12 hours at 960p30.

 

What i was hoping for was suggestions for cameras that support 128GB+ SD/mSD with 12 hours minimum record time (dependant on bitrate) at 1080p (30 or 60, prefer 60, cuz ...reasons). Suggestions that have data backed up with them would be GREAT!

[LaFemmeEnVert]

12 hours ago, knightslugger said:

don't want to have to stop every few hours and change out SD cards and download video WHILE driving.

just every few hours? take many cards and download later

12 hours ago, knightslugger said:

Suggestions that have data backed up with them would be GREAT!

you can't expect this from a low cost action camera with 1 memory card slot. if a camera has dual card slots it could let you duplicate files to the 2 cards or record in serial so if 1 card full it continues to next card.  action cameras use micro SD card so check if there is a microsd to SATA hdd/ssd adapter box so you can record to hard drive or if the action camera supports outpit of HDMI you can record with external recorder like atomos ninja or blackmagic video assist.

[knightslugger]

6 hours ago, LaFemmeEnVert said:

just every few hours? take many cards and download later

you can't expect this from a low cost action camera with 1 memory card slot. if a camera has dual card slots it could let you duplicate files to the 2 cards or record in serial so if 1 card full it continues to next card.  action cameras use micro SD card so check if there is a microsd to SATA hdd/ssd adapter box so you can record to hard drive or if the action camera supports outpit of HDMI you can record with external recorder like atomos ninja or blackmagic video assist.

why not? my hero 3 will record 12 hours of 960p30 and 9 1/2 hours of 1080p30 with a 64GB SDxc. Contrast that with the Hero 6 where it will record 30 fps video at 33Mbps regardless of resolution. It only doubles to 66Mbps in 4k and you can't change the bitrate. That's why i'm looking for a cheaper camera that doesn't have such a high (seemingly static) bitrate so it can shove more onto an SD card. I'm not even sure something like that exists. All else fails, i can just use my H3.