Anyone use a GoPro as a dashcam?

I tried, You have to keep it charging and the battery's are not made to be on a continuous charge, it burns them up fast but takes excellent videos.

 

I have for the past 3 years. It's inside a skeleton housing for protection and installed in the dash using adhesive mount. I have it plugged in to a USB outlet for continuous power and I have it set to a 20 minute loop. If I see anything interesting I stop the loop to save the recording and restart another loop. If the video quality is good enough for tv production, it's good enough for me.

 

I wasn't happy with the results. It didn't loop like expected (32gb SDmade a bunch of 4gb files) and while it gets everything (real wide angle) I can't read a license plate on a vehicle right in font of me. The files it makes are just too big to deal with over USB(for me takes forever to view them).

There are better solutions for a dash cam. I.e. it just loops and loops and you hit a button if there is something you want to save.

I will probably sell my GoPro, not a big photo or video guy.

 

There is a plug you can get that plugs in the back of the camera. It is designed for continuous use and doesn't charge the battery, thus keeping the camera much cooler. The new version of the GoPro is nice since you can use the app on your iPhone but if you don't delete files on a regular basis you will have SD card issues.

 

I use a GoPro2 and have good results. True, the license plates arent the easiest to read, but Im more concerned with dickheads cutting me off or shooting in front of me and stopping (for a light). So far its only been for entertainment value. Ive made quite a nice folder on FB of all the dumbshits out there (cars and trucks). I read where the GoPro will automatically cut the files into a bunch of little ones. So after 4hrs of continuous filming, I just delete it all. If something happens that is worth keeping, I just stop and start the filming. When I get home I plug it in and watch only the last 15 seconds of each file. Then I use Movie Maker to cut the video down to just what i want, then post it online.

 

What would be the best way to down load a clip and post it on this forum? I tried to do it from my phone like I would a picture but it didn't work. I have a GoPro 4.

 

Probably post it to youtube and then link here. Youtube has a super duper video shrinker.

 

Not sure of the "best" way. But I just connect GoPro to my puter and find files I want and drag them over. I then shorten them to just the important part and post them to FaceBook. Im not sure about how to post a video here. If I want a still from a video, I use VLC Player. A free download from www.Download.com. I play the video one frame at a time until I get what I want.