I don't have a Go Pro, but my Canon A590IS uses AA batteries as well. I bought some Eneloop 2000mAh batteries because the guy in the specialist battery store that I bought them from reccommended them over the higher mAh rated ones. He had many other types, higher, lower mAh, and more and less expensive.

He said that the higher capacity batteries don't hold their charge as well as these ones do. What this means is that if I charge my 2000mAh batteries overnight as soon as I get back from flying, then don't fly for a couple of weeks, with the batteries sitting in the camera unused, they'll still have 2000mAh of charge, but (he rekons) that if I'd bought the 2700mAh batteries, they start to loose their charge almost as soon as you take them off charge. Apparently this is more of a problem for Ni-MH than it is for NiCad, but NiCad have other problems ( memory, lower capacity ..?)

I recently bought an 8GB card for my camera because the 4GB card is filled up well and truly before the batteries die. Two hours flying with the camera out on the wingtip shooting video, or taking a photo every couple of seconds in the cold air will not flatten these batteries, in this camera.

The Go Pro may be more power hungry than my camera though, so I don't know that you'd get the same mileage I'm getting from these batteries.

As to charging, only use a charger that was designed for Ni-MH batteries, do not use a NiCad charger to charge them or you can damage the batteries. See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel-metal_hydride_battery

http://www.vimeo.com/5560548

Hey, Scare, why don't vimeo videos embed here?

Dawson

---

They do now!

Nice video. Where's it shot?

Scare!:

They do now!

- That was quick! luv ya work!

Scare!:

Nice video. Where's it shot?

Thanks, Shot in Newcastle (Oz) last week.

Dawson

Thanks. I've got that down as "Dixon Park". You launch from the north-east end of it (north of the parking lot and buildings), and can land on the south-west part (inland of the parking lot)? Got anything to say about the site?

Dawson:

I don't have a Go Pro, but my Canon A590IS uses AA batteries as well. …I recently bought an 8GB card for my camera because the 4GB card is filled up well and truly before the batteries die. Two hours flying with the camera out on the wingtip shooting video, or taking a photo every couple of seconds in the cold air will not flatten these batteries, in this camera.

Dawson

Your A590 shoots 2 hours of video? My A650 cuts off after 60 minutes even if the card is not full (a 4-G card will not be quite full). Did you have to do some trick to make the camera shoot longer?

I use 2500-2700 mah batteries and find them enough for 1 hour of video but maybe not by a large margin-- and usually do charge them fresh in the morning before flying.

Steveseibel:

Dawson:

I don't have a Go Pro, but my Canon A590IS uses AA batteries as well. …I recently bought an 8GB card for my camera because the 4GB card is filled up well and truly before the batteries die. Two hours flying with the camera out on the wingtip shooting video, or taking a photo every couple of seconds in the cold air will not flatten these batteries, in this camera.

Dawson

Your A590 shoots 2 hours of video? My A650 cuts off after 60 minutes even if the card is not full (a 4-G card will not be quite full). Did you have to do some trick to make the camera shoot longer?

I use 2500-2700 mah batteries and find them enough for 1 hour of video but maybe not by a large margin-- and usually do charge them fresh in the morning before flying.

Steve, the A590IS, when running normally does cut off at about 60 Minutes, it seems to actually be at 4GB, irrespective of of the size of the card in the camera.

Using CHDK ( see this here for more details: http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=6229&start=60 ) I set up a script to do interval shooting for Video. With my script, I shoot a ten minute video, then have the camera stop recording, wait five seconds and start another ten minute video. I get about 105 minutes of video on an 8GB card this way ( I had to partition the card to get CHDK to work on a card bigger than 4GB ) I imagine that I could reduce the video quality and thereby increase my recording time capability.

I just did a "Fill the card" test on my 8GB card, on full batteries. At the end, the batteries still had 55% charge capacity according to the camera.

Dawson

The problem with the video stopping at 4 gig is a problem with fat32. My Sanyo HD1010 video camera automatically stops recording at 4gig then automatically starts up again for another 4 gig all they way up to 32gig.

Jim Rooney writes:

The tripod I use is the Targus TG-42TT http://www.amazon.com/Targus-TG-42TT-42-Inch-8-Section-Travel/dp/B001AK04VY

Since then, I've changed things a bit and GoPro has come out with some new mounts. I now have the stock helmet mount simply epoxied to the end of the stick. This allows me to remove the camera from the pole easily, but I loose the ability to attach it to my wrist mount. The "pole on your wrist" setup proved a bit cumbersome. When I use it with HG, I just set it up like a normal NZ boom camera with the front tied by string to the nose of the glider and the handle bungied to the basebar.

GoPro now makes a regular tripod screw mount which seems quite handy.

From Amazon.com:


1 "GoPro Tripod Mount for HERO Cameras" Electronics; $7.99

1 "Targus TG-42TT 42-Inch 8-Section Travel Tripod" Electronics; $21.00

For $17.00 - http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220567154068

Tripod Mount is 2 to 4 weeks out at amazon so - http://www.goprocamera.com/index.php?area=2&productid=24

I ordered the tripod mount and handle bar mount from gopro. I received them in 4 days.

Dawson:

I don't have a Go Pro, but my Canon A590IS uses AA batteries as well. I bought some Eneloop 2000mAh batteries because the guy in the specialist battery store that I bought them from reccommended them over the higher mAh rated ones. He had many other types, higher, lower mAh, and more and less expensive.

He said that the higher capacity batteries don't hold their charge as well as these ones do. What this means is that if I charge my 2000mAh batteries overnight as soon as I get back from flying, then don't fly for a couple of weeks, with the batteries sitting in the camera unused, they'll still have 2000mAh of charge, but (he rekons) that if I'd bought the 2700mAh batteries, they start to loose their charge almost as soon as you take them off charge. Apparently this is more of a problem for Ni-MH than it is for NiCad, but NiCad have other problems ( memory, lower capacity ..?)

Regarding the Eneloop batteries, I have had some for the past year now and I've used my camera a few times in the past 8 months leaving the batteries in when not in use. I have yet to charge them. Each time I go back to the camera, the batteries are still good (charged right out of the pack).

In Canada, in the area I live in, only Costco sells them. I got them in a bundel with the sleeves which allows you to convert them to D or C type.

The specs and details are below:
quinn

The newest battery technology offering convenience, speed, stamina and is environmentally friendly, is the Eneloop from Sanyo. Because the Eneloop has a very low self-discharge, the batteries come charged right out of the pack. Eneloop batteries retain power longer than regular rechargeable batteries and keep 85% of their charge over a year. Another unique feature allows you to insert an Eneloop AA battery into either the “C” sleeve or “D” sleeve. You can now use your Eneloop batteries in many applications requiring a “C” or “D” size battery.



Features:

Eneloop batteries come pre-charged and ready to use
Higher voltage in Eneloop means that Eneloop 2000 mAh will have similar performance to 2500 mAh conventional rechargeables
Retains power longer than regular rechargeable batteries
Eneloop keep 85% of their charge over a year where regular rechargeable batteries lose 1% of their energy per day when left unused
Eneloop can be charged up to 1000 times
Take 4x more photos than alkaline batteries
This 1‑hour charger has a built‑in foldaway plug which eliminates additional cords or wall adapters. It also includes a 12-volt car adapter
Charger works with regular rechargeable batteries as well
Eneloops can be charged using other quality non Eneloop NiMH battery chargers
Eneloop have no memory effect, therefore, they do not need to be fully discharged before recharging
Eneloop batteries work with all products that require AA, C or D cells
Eco friendly - the use of Eneloop rechargeable batteries will reduce the disposal of thousands of alkaline batteries in landfills
Eneloop batteries are a recyclable product
Kit includes:
1 x 1-hour charger
10 x AA Eneloop batteries
6 x AAA Eneloop batteries
2 x “C” size sleeves
2 x “D” size sleeves
12-volt car adapter