This is to all those adventurers around the world. The camcorder world, which had no clues all these years as to how to help you shoot all your wondrous adventures, has come up with some new exciting models that can be a part of your adventure. The cyclists, the bike racers, car racers, gliders, surfers, and all such adventurers who jeopardise their lives in the process of performing some great ventures, will now be accompanied by a camcorder, which can shoot them some great pictures. You people can then show off to your friends and family, and exhibit your innate talents. While all these years people were wondering how and where to carry a camcorder while performing adventures, the well known manufacturer of camcorders, GoPro, has come up with an idea that is quite simple but at the same time, intelligent. It says that the camcorder can be attached to a special helmet and this helmet can be worn by the adventurers.  Cool, is it not? It then means that you will not have the need to carry it during your risky ventures. Yes, we know this sounds very exciting. We also know that this is not only for the professionals, but it can be used by the youth in order to exhibit their exuberance. It is one of those rare pieces of amazement that technology often brings out. Let us now move forward to the very details of this wondrous brainchild from GoPro.

Design:

Though there are more accessories than just the camcorder itself when it comes to the GoPro HD Helmet Hero camcorder, let us confine to the main cam cording device when we talk about the design. The camcorder looks quite normal and it is not an out of the world design. The lens, the display and the buttons are placed at their standard positions and the device looks like any other camcorder. In order to fit in your helmet, since that is the main purpose behind the manufacturing of the camcorder, it must be quite a small and portable device. This will make things easy for the users since they can then easily mount the device wherever they want. Here we arrive at the most important part of the design, which is obviously the dimensions of the device, the GoPro HD Helmet Hero measures 1.6 inches high, 2.4 inches wide and 1.2 inches deep. Now that is a pretty cool design. And when it comes to the weight of the device, it is as less as 94 grams. Can you believe it? A 94 gram camcorder is now in the market and this means you will almost feel no weight when the camcorder to hung on to one of the sides of your helmet. The housing is not included in the design here and though if at all it is included, the measurements are not subject to huge changes. Now already we are very much in favor of the GoPro HD Helmet Hero camcorder. It has got an almost perfect design so that it will be easier to shoot all your heroics when you are on your bike.

Accessories:

When we normally speak of a camcorder, we only have the camcorder and in some cases, a stand or a tripod, as an accessory.  But when it comes to the GoPro HD Helmet  camcorder, there is more than just the camcorder itself. Though you have the option to purchase only the camcorder as a separate device, there are accessories galore when it comes to the GoPro HD Helmet Hero. All these accessories are very useful for mounting or fixing the camcorder to something. In addition to the camcorder piece, GoPro provides you with 1 HD HERO Camera (5 megapixel), 1 Waterproof Quick-Release Housing (180’/60 m), 1 Rechargeable 1100 mAh Lithium-Ion Battery, 1 Vented Helmet Strap, 2 Flat, 3M Adhesive Mounts, 1 Headlamp-Style Head Strap, 1 Three-Way Pivoting Side Arm Assembly, 2 Curved, 3M™ Adhesive Mounts, 1 Component Video (HDTV) Cable, 2 Quick-Release Buckles, 1 USB Cable, and 1 Composite Video + Audio Out Cable. Now seriously, that’s a huge amount of accessories whichever way you look at it. All those accessories are meant to support your device and protect it from different circumstances. And in case you think you will not need all the accessories and if your heroics are limited to a particular area, then you can choose what out of those provided accessories you will need along with the camcorder. All these come in a single package when you buy the GoPro HD Helmet Hero camcorder, and it is a cool idea since you do not need to run for accessories later.

Features:

Today, even normal camcorders are coming with lots and lots of features in order to attract the customers and to sustain the heavy competition from other competitive counterparts. And if our guess is right, this camcorder must also feature some attractive features on it. Since the GoPro HD Helmet Hero camcorder is aimed at capturing high quality pictures and videos of your crazy ballistics, you would normally expect some very special features on it. Let us go through the features section and find out if our guess turns out to be true.

Full 1080p HD:

One would have easily guessed this would definitely be there on the features list. HD has become a part of our life and the standards of video quality have been raised lately from SD to HD. High definition became the order of the day when it comes either video quality or picture quality. Hence, there was no other go for GoPro, than to bring out a camcorder that captures at full High Definition of 1080p. The camera of the Go Pro HD Helmet Hero camcorder is very specially designed such that you almost always tend to get very qualitative pictures out of it. Irrespective of whether you are in a beach under plenty of sunlight, or on the hilltop covered with snow, or when you are in dirt riding on your bike in a sandy location, you always get perfect pictures out of your camcorder. Just fix the camcorder to your helmet and start riding. And you will see that the pictures come out really good when it matters most. But there are options for you, if you do not want a full HD, to capture videos at less than full HD. There are 5 options in all when it comes to selecting the video quality. You can choose either of 1080p, 960p, 720p 30fps, 720p 60fps, and last but not least, there is the Wide VGA resolution which allows you to capture at 848 pixels. The difference in the resolution of the videos will affect the video quality and ultimately the space requirements too.

Still Camera:

In addition to camcording all your ballistics, the GoPro HD Helmet Hero camcorder also functions as a still camera and takes some awesome photographs too, when needed. It gives you HD photographs with quality ranging up to 5 mega pixels. Now there are some variations here when it comes to shooting photographs with the help of the GoPro HD Helmet Hero. You can automatically set the camcorder to shoot hands free photographs continuously at an interval of 5, 10, 20, or 60 seconds, until the batteries drain out or until your memory card becomes full. Or else, there is always a second option for you in order to take control of your pictures. In order to experience a more traditional photographing, there are a few modes on the camcorder which you can set it to, in order to control the amount of snaps taken. You can invariably set the camcorder to either of single shot mode, triple shot mode, and self timer mode, where you can set the time interval too. There is no option for taking individual photographs, unfortunately. This can be understood since this is camcorder that is designed to fit in your helmet, not your hands. Hence, it must somehow be automated. This ultimately means that you have the full control when it comes to taking snaps off the GoPro HD Helmet Hero. We are quite happy regarding the still image quality of this camcorder.

Image Stabilisation:

Again, this is obvious. You would have already expected this feature on the camcorder and yes, you are right. You will be fixing this camcorder to your helmet and you will be on your way either on your bike or on your roller skates or whatever. But given the fact that the roads or the hill tops are not as smooth as seen in cartoons, you will definitely experience bumps. And bumps will give you some shaking effect and ultimately, the images on the camcorder are affected. These subtle vibrations and sudden shocks, sometimes, lead to shaky images on the camcorder. The final pictures will not look as smooth as you want them to, and this certainly is unwanted. This is the reason why you see that this camcorder, just like many others in the market today, comes with the Image Stabilization feature. This special feature, into the market only since a couple of years back, nullifies the shaky effects of the camcorder and hence ultimately nullifies the blurring that which would otherwise appear of the images. This feature is particularly useful here, since you are looking at obtaining a full HD high resolution picture out of the camcorder. When you try to be so professional and in the end, if the pictures are blurry, you would certainly be disappointed. Hence, the image stabilization feature is certainly a helpful one when it comes to video capturing.

Storage:

Well, memory is also one of those instrumental features when it comes to a camcorder. Everyone needs to know how much they can shoot with their camcorder, before they actually shoot. There are cases where people choose some other camcorder if they feel internal memory is important. Well, here is some bad news, if you think so. The GoPro HD Helmet Hero camcorder comes with no internal memory at all. The camera does not provide you with some internal memory and you will need to depend wholly on external memory, which is to be bought separately. There is an option for you to buy separate SD cards and fill in the slot so that you can shoot videos without worries. The camcorder supports only SD memory cards, and those up to a capacity of 32GB. Normally, we too advice people to choose a 32 GB cards since it provides you with humongous memory and hence you can shoot for very long times, The average recording times when it comes to a 32 GB memory cards are: 4h 21m for 1080p (30 fps), 5h 26m for 960p (30 fps), 4h 21m for 720p (60 fps), 8h 09m for 720p (30 fps), and 8h 09m for WVGA (60 fps): Now those tell you something, do they? You can shoot as much of video stuff as you want without ever thinking of memory. Sometimes, you can shoot as long as your battery does not drain. This particular aspect of the camcorder has also gained some marks from the critics and we are an exception from that.

WaterProof Housing:

Hold on. This camcorder is not just for your helmets. The name may suggest that it is a helmet hero, but the camcorder has come in to the market to serve better purposes too. Sometimes, you would want to go surfing on the seas. The GoPro HD Helmet Hero Flash Memory Camcorder always supports such heroic acts and it also accompanies you in doing such acts. But, it is not that friendly that it sacrifices itself in the water in order to shoot your heroism. It needs to be protected from water. This is not next decade already and camcorders are still not water resistant. And GoPro does not leave you in search of a water proof casing for your camcorder. A very dependable water proof housing kit is provided along with the camcorder itself and you can choose it as a basic accessory. This must be the best option of all for you because you then will have a housing that aptly fits your camcorder and so you will not have the need to go in search of a rightly fitting case. This housing is made of plastic and is hence it does not add much to the weight of the camcorder. Now that you have a water proof housing case as protection to your camcorder, you can take it along with you even to the mid ocean. You can tie to your skate boards or surfing boards or take it for under water shooting too. Never bother even there’s so much of water around. We have tested in different conditions and the camcorder works superbly well. The shooting performance and the quality of the video do not get affected at all, even when the casing is put on.

Connections and Cables:

Wondering if your camcorder has any connectivity features or options? Well, our answer is more than just a yes. You have quite a few connectivity options on the GoPro HD Helmet Hero camcorder. First up, you can get your device connected to your computer through the high speed USB 2.0 cable and connector. Just connect the two devices with the cable and you can either sync data between them or you can just use to it charge the camcorder. In case you would want to use it in order to sync data, let us inform you its PC Compatibility, which is either of the operating systems of Windows® Vista, Windows® 7 and Mac OS® X 10.4.11. Later versions of the above mentioned operating systems ill also be supported by the device. And then, there is also a HDTV out cable provided since Go Pro knows you will want to watch all your filmography on your HD TVs. Both NTSC and PAL component cables are included. And then there we have the Audio Out, a Combo 2.5mm jack with stereo audio and composite video out support, that enables you to connect the device to external audio systems. So, these are the three connectivity options anyone would look out for in a camcorder. And here, on the GoPro HD Helmet Hero camcorder, you have all of them available working without issues.

And there we are. We have finally come to an end when it comes to the features seen on the GoPro HD Helmet Hero camcorder. There are, in fact, quite a few features, as we discussed earlier, and if our guess is right, you must have already got attracted to them. But let us decide even further on the camcorder after having looked at the performance aspects and statistics. Let us see if the camcorder lives up to the expectations when it comes to performance.

Performance:

Yes, we have arrived at a crucial point, the overall performance of the GoPro HD Helmet Hero 1080p Video Recording camcorder. Basically, we have three regions of performance which we need to focus on, in order to completely come to a conclusion regarding the performance of the camcorder. The three aspects are respectively, the video, the audio, and the connectivity performances of the device. Let us go through one by one separately in detail and find out if GoPro has given us what we expected

Video Performance:

Since we have already discussed under features regarding the video quality of the Helmet Hero, there is little left to discuss in here. All we have got to say to you is that you can expect some wonderful pictures off the camera that is designed to meet the latest international standards. Since there is the option to shoot videos in full HD quality, there is no more discussion. Full HD videos, with wonderful quality are guaranteed by GoPro and we have tested the camcorder under various environments like sunny, cloudy, underwater, twilight, as so on, and we got some decent results off the camera. So, one would expect the GoPro HD Helmet Hero camcorder to give out some of the best results under all circumstances.

Audio Performance:

We find that today’s manufacturers of camcorders are slowly learning the importance of audio, in addition to the video quality on them. More often than not, the camcorders in the market today possess some decent audio capturing mechanisms that help you get some quality sound in there along with good videos. The GoPro HD Helmet Hero camcorder is truly a hero when it comes to receiving and recording audio while shooting. It comes with a built in microphone that has an automatic gain control, which means that the audio is recorder and maintained at a constant level so that there will not be too much of a difference between the louder and the feebler sounds or noises. There’s noise cancellation too and thankfully, it works quite efficiently. Audio compression is available and the audio format is AAC with a frequency of 48 kHz, which is pretty good actually. All these mentioned features help you in obtaining some decent audio and the quality of the audio also complements the quality of the videos quite well. There we go; we see a lot of smiles there and we expected it right away.

Connectivity Performance:

This section is almost completely discussed just a while ago, and all we wanted to say is that there are no reported issues when it comes to connecting the device with the computers. We have tried different operating systems separately and the results were obviously quite positive. The overall connectivity performance of the GoPro HD Helmet hero camcorder is considered as very good, when compared to its competitors in the present market.

Battery:

The camcorders from GoPro are always associated with good battery mechanisms and the Helmet Hero is not an exception either. The camcorder comes with a rechargeable lithium ion battery which has a capacity of 1100 mAh. The battery mechanism is said to be revamped by GoPro, following the latest trends in battery technology. With this new technology, you get a battery life of up to two and a half hours of continuous battery life. The battery is not replaceable, so you need to recharge the single battery given. You can choose to charge the battery, either by plugging to your computer using the USB 2.0 cable, or by using the optional power adapter. The adapter, however, charges your battery is half the time taken by the computer to do the same.

Warranty:

The GoPro HD Helmet Hero camcorder comes with an international warranty for parts and labor, for a period of one year, starting from the original date of purchase.

Verdict:

If you were looking for a one last sentence regarding our recommendation, we would say Go for it! But, we would say that only if you are a passionate adventurer and if you are looking for full HD videos of your ventures. Otherwise, there is obviously no need to go for this camcorder since you have many other simpler and at the same time, better camcorders in the market which can serve you better when it comes to normal shooting. This camcorder can be limited to only adventurers. If you are one of them, we would say there are a good number of positives and at the same time, there are not many negatives regarding the device and it also has quite a reasonable price tag, which means you can happily go for it. For others, we would say that you can go through the reviews and pricings of other best selling camcorders in the market, here, on this website.

GoPro HD Helmet Hero Camcorder – Technical Specification Table

Manufacturer GoPro
Model Name HD Helmet Hero
Series Helmet Hero Series
Camcorder type HD Camcorder
Dimensions (W x D x H) 2.4 x 1.6 x 1.2 inches
Weight 94 grams without battery
Colour Silver
Monitor Yes
Video Resolution 1920 x 1080
Still Picture Resolution 5 MP
Image Sensor CMOS
Lens (focusing) Optical auto focus
Zoom Yes
Exposure control Auto
Audio compression format AAC
Face Detection No
Shutter type Electronic
Frame rate 30-60 fps
Media Card Slot available Yes (SD card, up to 32 GB supported)
Average recording time 1080p (30 fps): 4h 21m
960p (30 fps): 5h 26m
720p (60 fps): 4h 21
720p (30 fps): 8h 09m
WVGA (60 fps): 8h 09m
Image stabilization Available
Audio input Microphone
AV out HDMI component-out and normal
Speaker Yes (mono)
Digital voice recorder Yes
MP3 player No
TV playback Yes
Self timer Yes
Quick Start Yes
PC interface USB 2.0 arm
Power adaptor Optional
Connectivity cables PC Connection: USB 2.0 (data connection and battery charging)
HDTV Out: HD NTSC & PAL (component cable incl.)
Audio Out: Combo 2.5mm jack with stereo audio and
composite video out
PC Compatibility: Windows® Vista or Windows® 7;
Mac OS® X 10.4.11 and later
Accessories included 1 HD HERO Camera (5 megapixel)
1 Rechargeable 1100 mAh Lithium-Ion Battery
1 Waterproof Quick-Release Housing (180’/60 m)
1 Headlamp-Style Head Strap
1 Vented Helmet Strap
2 Curved, 3M™ Adhesive Mounts
2 Flat, 3M Adhesive Mounts
1 Three-Way Pivoting Side Arm Assembly
2 Quick-Release Buckles
1 USB Cable
1 Component Video (HDTV) Cable
1 Composite Video + Audio Out Cable
Accessories Additional Rechargeable 1100 mAh Lithium-Ion Battery
Full Line of Mounting Accessories
Battery 1100 mAh Li-ion rechargeable battery
Warranty 1 year

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