Again, I've no direct experience of either of the two cameras you quoted. Early this year I bought a cheap and not particularly nasty one, the SCV200, as a "toe in the water" experiment. While it was pretty good, it had a couple of issues, mainly with wind and road noise. Mostly this was addressed by sorting out mounting the camera better, and making it actually fit closer in the waterproof housing.

I enjoyed using it, and messing around with the resulting files so much I was at the point of getting something better, and relegating the SVC to a "rear facing" or "helmet" role, and allowing me to actually "mix" and play "director" with a 2 camera shoot Then I entered a competition to win a iON Adventure camera and bagged the prize... if you look, you'll see it's somewhat similar to the Garmin Virb in one way - i.e. it actually records a GPS track automatically synched to the video. Sadly, it's gps accuracy is more on a par with the first generation smartphone chipsets than the fancy stuff that Garmin are rightly famous for. It also doesn't have the ANT+, so won't record your cadence or power figures.

After playing around with them both for a while, I've come to a number of conclusions.

1) Get something with exchangeable batteries, and buy a couple of spares.

nothing worse than getting 3 hours into a fantastic ride, just at the really scenic descent, and seeing the led flash saying the power is nearly out. Or, in the case of the GoPro, around a hour.

2) Get something with as many mounting options as possible.

One of the BIG pluses for me against the GoPro is the amazing cottage industry (and chinese cloning factory) that's sprung up around the mounting system. Even Garmin acknowledge that the GoPro has that side of things sewn up, as they include a GoPro to Garmin adaptor mount in the Virb box!.

3) Consider HOW you're going to use the camera.

As Clive said, the GoPro when helmet mounted makes you look a complete twatt. Even More so if you use one of the "out front, looking back at the rider" booms



However, either under the stem, or under the saddle, they're fine. One trick you CAN do with the GoPro that works well for MTB stuff is to use a "chest harness" - it has the entire mass of your body to stabilise the camera, and avoids the "whip pans" you get with a helmet mount. Because of the "form factor" of the Virb, the nearest you can do is use a shoulder mount which makes you look either a) like a unsuccessful pirate who's had to trade his parrot in for something smaller and economical to run or b) kewl, like the Predator... Guess what my moneys on

Also, think of HOW you're going to frame the shot and start/stop the camera - The GoPro Black uses either your mobile/tablet to preview shots/framing OR has an add-on screen. I think that the App can also be used as a remote stop/start for filming (in case the camera is mounted somewhere inaccessible (like on the front bumper of your car for example...) - The Virb has its own screen in-built, and can be controlled (well, stop/start and "take photos") from a Garmin 510/800/810 which is already conveniently on the handlebars - so you could have the camera under your saddle, or mounted down by the bottom of the front forkblades or somewhere else inaccessible while you're actually in motion( not sure if the 500 does the same or not - I doubt it somehow)

4) Consider the End Results

At the end of the day, people who sit and watch your footage aren't going to care what it was shot on, only that it's watchable, entertaining, and of a decent quality. One trick that the Garmin has going for it is the software that you get with it - which allows you to mix the GPS data and other ANT+ stuff into a "dashboard" type affair - speedo, power output, cadence, moving map things... it all can be a little gimicky, but is certainly interesting "proof of cojones" for descent videos... when the km's get into 3 figures its surprising how peoples eyes widen

You can do similar tricks with the GoPro and third party software and the data from your Garmin of course, but it's an extra step and more extra money...

5) Budget for extras

A recurring theme all the way through this has been that buying the camera isn't the end of it. A quick list off the top of my head would be...

• The Camera
• Memory Cards - probably 2-3 32gb cards for starters
• Extra Batteries - enough for the longest ride you'd intend to shoot. Work on 1 hour/battery for the GoPro, maybe 2 hours for the Garmin
• Mounting Hardware - the stuff that comes in the box WON'T be enough if you start getting Creative. And you'll still probably end up needing some gaffa tape as well.
• Storage on your computer - If you come home with a 32gb card full of data once a week, that's 1664gb of raw files a year. Edit them, and have extra overheads for intermediate and final cuts and you're well into a 2Tb disk a year.
• Software - Editing Software, DVD Mastering Software, different Codecs and Format Translators... They all take up space, and some cost real money too...
• Your Time - it's an immersive thing, playing with video editing.

FWIW, having done the research myself, and with everything considered, I couldn't split the Virb Elite or the GoPro Black either. They both have good points and bad -

I like the "self contained" nature of the Garmin, no waterproof case to worry about, all the GPS data etc. included AND automatically synched to the video, and the fact that I could use my Garmin 800 as a remote trigger for the camera. On the other hand it's heavier than the GoPro, and hasn't got the same "eco-system" of add-on stuff around it that the GoPro has.

The GoPro at the end of the day has one big thing going for it... it's the one that all the pro's use - half of the stuff on the BBC outdoorsy programs is done on them for example. It's got the market share, and gets properly supported and updated firmware wise - because they know that the Pro's that use the kit demand this. On the other hand, it's expensive - you're definitely paying for the name on the box - though the third party mounting hardware can be much better value. The other thing is the battery life. Should you wish to actually record a whole 5 hour ride somewhere "once in a lifetime", it's a pain to be carrying half a dozen batteries with you... it's bad enough stopping twice to swap those faffy little SDHC cards (and not lose the "exposed" ones).

Honest answer is, both of them are great cameras - and you'd not go far wrong with either.

When it comes together though even a cheap £100 wonder like the SVC200 can produce something half reasonable...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olmWckzPKVI

Sounds like with your particular list of priorities the Virb's looking the favourite.

I have the GoPro Hero 3+ Black and a bunch of different mounts. I never put it on my helmet. It is always mounted on my bike or on my chest mount. The Hero 3+ has a wifi interface for android so you can adjust all settings and see what the camera sees, so it's easy to get setup. You can even pull down video and photos to your phone or view them after they are recorded.

I love it. However, the biggest issue is the time involved in editing and storing all the video after the fact. I can eat up more time than I actually rode goofing around with the video.

Here is a time lapse put together into a video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5lNsBTzdHw&list=UUcH8Ef7XVcIlOqNLr4l6euw

Here is some actual video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQEJ9KP7ttY&list=UUcH8Ef7XVcIlOqNLr4l6euw

Awesome. Post up some videos after you get it up and running.

I own a GoPro Hero3 White and a Garmin Virb Elite. In my opinion, and keeping in mind this has to do with the Hero3, not the new Hero4 since I have no experience with it, I'd go with the Virb every time.

First, the ability to link sensors (power meter, HR, speed/cadence) to it takes the videos to a whole new level. The Garmin video software isn't the best in the world, but it's good enough for most things, it's getting better pretty quickly, and it's a far, far, far cry easier than using Dashware or similar products to obtain similar results.

Second, in terms of video, to my eye there isn't much to choose from between them. The Virb will use all the same mounts the GoPro does, so that's not really an issue.

Third, one small detail takes the Virb even more over the top: The slider switch on the side to turn recording on or off. With the GoPro it's really difficult to know when you're recording and when you aren't. I've had several occasions where I killed the battery recording when I didn't realize it, and other times when I've missed stuff I wanted because I thought it was recording when it wasn't. With the Virb it's really easy, even with full gloves on, to reach down and flip the slide switch forward or back to start or stop recording. Or just feel it if you can't remember whether you're recording or not. It sounds like a very basic thing, but when you're on the bike trying to capture something it makes all the difference in the world.

Just my 2 cents.

If anyone cares to compare, here's a vid shot with my GoPro:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=95C_a_LxBZw

And here's a couple shot with my Virb:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=_NzzSt2zlNA
https://youtube.com/watch?v=p0-YlcQ43nY

veloman21 wrote: »

The ability to control a second camera as a slave to the first. So I could buy a basic Virb to mount on my seat post and capture rear facing video but the start/stop and syncing would all be controlled by the forward facing Elite mounted on my bars. Makes perfect sense for a bike.

This sounds like a really cool feature!!!

veloman21 wrote: »

The Virb Elite is in da house!! Shake down ride tomorrow

Looking forward to seeing the results

bsexton3 wrote: »

. And, when I get yelled at, or things thrown at me for being on the road, I have something to show the police.

This is exactly what my wife uses my GoPro for these days. She had some bonehead throw a saw blade(!) at her on an all-female charity ride a couple of years ago and has used the cam on long rides ever since.

looks good for a first attempt, certainly better than my shakedown rides did, and the gauges work well (if a little depressingly on the MPH uphill - needs the gradient next to the speed display to explain the single figures IMO )

I know what you mean about Youtube munging the video quality though.

Another handy place for upload of videos with moving maps is Kinomap... I've dropped a few videos on there - this one shows off the capabilities well - it's not actually on a pushbike - I loaned the camera to a mate who was out for a tour of europe on the motorbike... but it gives an idea of what could be done... (gps goes a little "tits up" in a couple of places - think it lost coverage under an "avalanche shield" and didn't quite pick up straight away)