Video on a budget - Brand vs specs: Old reliable GoPro tech or new knock-off tech?

[BoltSnap]

For most of my hobbies, I try to do this with specific pieces of equipment, if it's in my reach. I'm always hunting for discounted or secondhand version of a high quality product, unless it's imperative that it's new. Then I try to replace the less important pieces with better products as I go, when I happen upon a great price. I work near the Leisure Pro store in NYC, so that seems like a good place to try some things on and find a good balance of price/quality for my purposes, and hopefully score a good price on some closeout equipment.

Most consumers are drawn (psychologically) to mid priced products because of a perceived better value (it's not the cheapest but not extravagant), so some mid-priced companies take advantage of this and skimp on quality. Knowing that, I'm fine with generic if the value is actually good, because I know I'm not paying for the brand.

I am not saying to always buy most expensive at all. I am after best quality and also for the best value for my money. But I also sold my TV, bike and some other stuff to save money to buy the best dive equipment at that time when I was a college student and had a very fixed income I wouldn't buy the highest quality bicycle or sneakers but I'll do all I can do to buy the best regulator, BC, etc. for my diving. My life, comfort, enjoyment and passion fulfillment depend on it

 

[BoltSnap]

@Katie L I went to Polytechnic university in Brooklyn for for my first year in grad school but I eventually moved to Westchester and attended their grad. school campus there. I hated Brooklyn!!! I lived there for almost 20 years before I moved back to my first love, Boston!!

 

[ronscuba]

Masks and snorkels ? Is the UW video section ?

Masks and snorkels. The best mask is the one that fits your face best. Go to Leisurepro. They have a ton on display for you to try on. Tilt your head back looking at the ceiling, let the mask sit on your face with no pressure. Find the ones that have no gaps between your face and mask. Of those, choose your preference between single or double window.

Snorkels ? Pretty generic to me. I only use them at the surface when water is choppy.

Now UW video. I would buy the GoPro, a filter and a waterproof pole. The pole will be useful UW and topside.

 

[tbone1004]

@BurhanMuntasser but is it 5x better? I can tell a difference in quality, it's there but barely and I can't tell in use. What it isn't, is 5x as good, so why can you justify paying 5x as much? Does Atomic make their own masks? I would be shocked if they did. DGX and Piranha are just purchasing directly from the OEM's and doing the same thing that HOG, Dive Rite, etc. do on most of their products except they aren't putting their name on them so it cuts a middle man out.
Why do I care about stability and prominence of the manufacturer? It's a mask that costs $30. If I have an issue with it, I throw it away and buy a new one. I can do that 5 times before I get to the cost of the equivalent Atomic. Have you actually seen one of the masks in question? The Explorer II does have lower glass quality than the one from DGX, but until you have actually seen and dove it, don't bash it. They're surprisingly good.

Same with the snorkels. I have done a lot of skindiving over the last decade and the cheap snorkels work just fine. The problem is you can't get simple snorkels anymore so the ones that don't work well have the exhaust valves and what not go on them and then they start leaking. All of my students that have them are required to tape them up to learn proper skin diving snorkel clearing skills, mainly as a comfort in the water exercise.


If I was in your situation where disposable items weren't an option, or the risk of getting something that wasn't ideal and not being able to do anything about it was high, then I might have a different opinion. I'm in the UK right now and probably wouldn't run the "risk" of buying those products over here because of the shipping costs and lack of equivalent suppliers over here. That said, I live in the US as does the OP, and if she doesn't like the stuff from DGX, she can send it right on back with no risk, so I take that approach. It's not universal and I try to tailor my suggestions based on the variables that are presented to me.

 

[Katie L]

RE MASK: Do you wear glasses. Got prescription mask after snorkeling for many years. WIshed I had done it earlier. Not all masks can be made prerscription

No, but you just gave me a really good birthday gift idea for my dad...

 

[tbone1004]

RE MASK: Do you wear glasses. Got prescription mask after snorkeling for many years. WIshed I had done it earlier. Not all masks can be made prerscription

I will second that. That's why I bought my Atomic in the first place. Had that and a Tusa which was given to me that's in my profile picture that were Rx masks up until I had Lasik last year.

on that front @BurhanMuntasser the lenses in the Tiara that Piranha sells are interchangeable with my Atomic lenses. Found that out in a strange way when I converted it back to regular non Rx lenses after lasik and sent all of my masks through the dishwasher with the lenses and frames out to clean them and thankfully had a mark on the lenses for which ones went where

 

[Katie L]

Ok ok, back to the topic, folks! The best action cam technology for $200 (unless your response is that I should buy a cheapo GoPro clone & accessories for $100 and put the other $100 toward a fantastic mask).

Reliable brand or great specs?

 

[Katie L]

@Katie L I hated Brooklyn!!! !

Living here is so not worth the insane hassle and outrageous expense unless you love it. I unfortunately do, which is why every single post I make is about me being on a budget. ::Sigh:

 

[Froggle]

I have the SJ5000x and the picture quality is excellent just make sure you get a genuine one by buying from SJCAM direct through either their amazon or eBay stores. Had mine down to 40 metres without any issues. The 4K is actually upscaled 2k but I only use it at 1080p 60fps so it's irrelevant to me. It has an underwater shooting mode which reduces the green colour in the footage but it still benefits from white balancing in post production.
My mate has a GoPro hero 4 silver and the footage is very similar at this resolution with the GoPro having a very slight edge when it comes to shooting regular geometric shapes.
I also bought an unbranded 4K camera as a backup and wish I'd just got another sjcam instead as the footage isn't nearly as good.
A couple of other people I know have also bought the SJCAM having seen my footage.
I'd recommend testing the waterproof case at depth prior to using it for the camera just to be safe but I'd do the same with a GoPro too.
The only other thing I would say is that to get the best possible footage from any action camera you'll need some means of holding it stable; preferably a camera tray that you can hold with 2 hands but a selfie stick will also work. I tried a wrist strap mount initially and it was ok in quarries when there was no current but once I was in the sea I couldn't keep it stable enough.

 

[BoltSnap]

@tbone1004 I won't write more about the mask/snorkel issue as not to hijack the thread and make it about M/S instead of the actual topic, GoPro, etc. I have a lot to say in rebuttal but I won't say it here