Re: [freeflynick] Drift HD170 video camera discount
freeflynick wrote:
I have seen many of the comparison videos, and I have seen the videos I get from the HD170, and although there are slight differences, the quality of both cameras is very high. Even on my 52" at home it has amazing clarity and I am very happy with it.
Where I see the Drift having the huge advantage is in its design. I have read at least one fatality report where a protruding GoPro was the suspected cause, resulting in a bridle entanglement and impact. I have always been a big proponent of smooth, snag-free camera gear, and the GoPro is the worst I have seen. It is just asking to be snagged! Check out the photos for comparison......
Plus the GoPro has no screen which makes sighting-in and review impossible.
The wrist mounted remote for the Drift is a great idea and makes those last minute camera brainfarts much easier to deal with in freefall!
The rotational lens is also a great feature - just rotate it 180 when headdown and everything is the right way up again.
So - before making blanket statements about which is better, you need to look at the full picture, and for me, safety and function trump any perceived slight benefit in image quality.
The quality on both is good, not great, or even close to it. Like I said, GoPro has better video/audio quality, and less jello which is one of the worst flaws on video cameras using rolling shutter.
Yes there was fatality because of GoPro not many weeks ago, but it's not to say that it wouldn't have happened with HD170 too.
Screen = useless. It's so tiny you can't see shit from it and you definitely don't want to "review" the jump from that, at least I wouldn't. There are laptops for that.
Remote = useless. You push record from the camera before you jump and stop after you have landed. There's no need to make that process any more complicated.
Rotational lens = useless. If you want to flip your video verticaly, you press one button on your editing software. You ain't gonna rotate that shit in the mid air while skydiving when you change head down because it is not going to move exactly 180 degrees on that situation and the video is going to end up fucked.
So just like many other camers, it offers a bunch of useless functions and lacks there what really counts and what it was made for; video quality.
Sure its shape is safer, but that's about it.