Christmas Wish List - Optical and Photographic

But what does make the ultimate gift for a windsurfer? Over the coming weeks we will talk through a variety of gift ideas; this week we are getting techy and looking through our favourite cameras and accessories.

Over the last few years personal photography has developed beyond belief; there’s no more waiting to bribe someone to take photos or video of you windsurfing from the shore, now you can record yourself.

Taken with a GoPro Hero HD 2 Surf Edition

The GoPro is one of the most well known products that allows you to do this. The GoPro Hero HD 2 Surf Edition (£299.00) offers an unbelievable way of filming from a wide variety of angles, using various mounts and of course it’s waterproof too. For the full product specification on this camera click here.  The GoPro Hero HD 2 Surf Edition was one of the lightest, most compact ways of on water filming; that was until version 3 arrived! The Go Pro Hero 3 Surf Edition (£359.99) is fresh on the market; a step up from the GoPro 2 there is of course an increase in price too, so which one will you choose?

GoPro Hero HD 2 Surf Edition

GoPro Hero HD 2 Surf Edition and all it's accessories

Go Pro Hero 3 Surf Edition

There are of course many more camera options aside from the GoPro; another camera making a big splash is the Drift (WAS £339.99 NOW £239.95!). The ultimate helmet cam, the Drift offers some impressive statistics:

• 

  Drift

  1080p High Definition Video

• up to 32GB Micro SD Memory Capacity
• 25 / 30 / 50 / 60 FPS in 720p
• 25 / 30 FPS in 1080p
• 9 Megapixel Still Photography
• ×4 Digital Zoom
• 170° Wide Angle Lens (130° at 60fps)

For full details on the Drift click here. 

Another option is the ContourROAM2; one of the easiest – and most stylish – ways to shoot action video. Packed with useful features like 4 HD video modes – including 60FPS, an Instant-On Record switch, a 270° rotating lens, and Contour’s signature laser alignment, you’ll have everything you need in a compact, easy-to-use camera. Waterproof and available in 4 beautiful colors, the ContourROAM2 makes action video dead simple. Want to find out more?

Contour Roam2

Contour Roam2

Once you have your camera, you of course want to make sure you have the best possible mount for it too. And nobody makes mounts for windsurfing (and other sports too!) as good as Flymount(£59.00).

Shot taken with a Flymount

Ultra compact, super lightweight, built to last, and now used by some of the world’s most respected photographers and athletes the Flymount also works with virtually any camera, including the GoPro and Drift. It really is a must have for any windsurfer, check out the full specs here.

Flymount

Flymount

If you already have a camera, but it’s not waterproof there are lots of options available from Aquapac to keep your camera safe underwater. From extra small to SLR, with hard lens covers and without, and everything in between there will be an option for whatever camera you have and would like to keep safe, just take a look here. 

Many more products on offer at www.techtrial.co.uk

Our last piece of camera advice is try before you buy! With all the options on the market it is incredibly hard to decide which camera to buy, but thankfully Tech Trial have the answer! Search their website to find the product you like, trial it and then decide whether you would like to buy or not. No more tough decisions or regretting your purchases; plus it’s not just cameras that Tech Trial trial and sell, choose from the latest tablets, phones, audio, gaming and accessories.

Boards recommends the following retailers for all your shopping needs. These retailers stock listed products along with additional accessories and many different types of camera. For professional advice and trials please contact them directly.

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Boardwise

Quayside Windsurfers

Robin Hood Watersports

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Juice Boardsports

Tech Trial

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Andy Biggs 

Bray Lake

L.A.R. Watersports 

Puravida Boardriders

Wet n Dry Boardsports

4Boards 

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Billed as an ‘exploratory GoPro film series’, the Waterlust project is a series of short films about our relationship with the water. In this ‘episode’ the crew take a look at rip currents. Using some really innovative methods to track how rips move, the information presented is very interesting and could even save your life! A must see for any budding wave sailors out there.

To learn more about the project, head to the website by clicking HERE and see more of the films on the YouTube page HERE.

‘A Very Merry Xmas to you and a ripping New Year.

I would like to share my first Go Pro, aka Duracell Jem, Movie with you courtesy of a feature in Boardseeker. Check out me Going Pro in perfect Punta San Carlos, Baja.

Big thanks to Clive ‘El Toro’ and Nick Coleman for the awesome edit and loan of equipment respectively.’

Head over to www.jemhall.com for more.

GoPro Hero2

GoPro have announced the release of its new HD HERO2® camera. Twice as powerful as GoPro’s original HD HERO camera, the HD HERO2 enables consumers and professionals to capture and broadcast their lives’ most exciting moments in professional quality 1080p HD video and 11 megapixel photos. The new HD HERO2 is now available at GoPro.com, specialist retailers around the world, and at Best Buy for RRP £299.99.

Arguably the most versatile camera in the world thanks to its innovative mounting system, renowned durability and small form factor, the HD HERO2 surpasses its predecessor with several technology upgrades. The HD HERO2′s new processor delivers twice the processing power, taking full advantage of a new high performance 11 megapixel sensor that delivers more than twice the image detail along with professional low light performance. A totally redesigned wide-angle lens was required to take full advantage of the HD HERO2′s increased image-processing, resulting in a lens that’s twice as sharp as the previous model. And with the arrival of GoPro’s new Wi-Fi BacPac™ and Wi-Fi Remote products slated for release this winter, the HD HERO2 will enable video remote control via the Wi-Fi Remote, smartphones and devices, tablets and computers, as well as enabling live GoPro video broadcast from anywhere there is Wi-Fi or a mobile hotspot.

Famous for its globally best-selling HD HERO line of wearable and gear mountable cameras, GoPro spared no expense developing the HD HERO2.

“GoPro created a new category of camera with the HD HERO back in 2009, and it’s gone on to become one of the best-selling video cameras in the world,” says Nicholas Woodman, GoPro’s founder and CEO. “With these big shoes to fill, we invested massively in engineering the HD HERO2 to be one of the greatest, most versatile cameras of all time. We think we’ve achieved our goal and we’re very excited to see the content our customers around the world capture and share with their powerful new GoPros.”

GoPro Hero2 images

Twice as Powerful in Every Way:

The HD HERO2 benefits from a complete redesign that results in dramatically enhanced image quality and ease-of-use:

HD HERO2 Feature Enhancements:

•       Professional 11MP Sensor

•       2x Faster Image Processor

•       2x Sharper Glass Lens

•       Professional Low Light Performance

•       Full 170º, Medium 127º, Narrow 90º FOV in 1080p and 720p Video

•       120 fps WVGA, 60 fps 720p, 48 fps 960p, 30 fps 1080p Video

•       Full 170º and Medium 127º FOV Photos

•       10 11MP Photos Per Second Burst

•       1 11MP Photo Every 0.5 Sec Timelapse Mode

•       3.5mm External Stereo Microphone Input

•       Simple Language-based User Interface

•       Compatible with Wi-Fi BacPac™ and Wi-Fi Remote™

-       Long Range Remote Control of up to 50 GoPro Cameras per Wi-Fi Remote

-       Wi-Fi Video/Photo Preview, Playback and Control via GoPro App

-       Live Streaming Video and Photos to the Web

Visit http://gopro.com/hd-hero2-cameras/ for more information on the HD HERO2, Wi-Fi BacPac and Wi-Fi Remote products.

Upgraded Professional Photo Quality and Features

The HD HERO2’s photo capture performance has also been significantly upgraded. In addition to much improved low light performance, the HD HERO2 can capture up to ten 11 megapixel photos in a one second burst mode as well as automatic time-lapse photos with quick .5 second timing between photos. This dramatically increases the success-rate when attempting to capture magazine cover quality photos during fast action sports and activities.

Simplified User Interface

GoPro also placed a priority on redesigning the HD HERO2’s user interface for dead simple ease-of-use. The HD HERO2 features a totally new, straightforward language-based user interface that eliminates the need for instructions.

“The HD HERO2 is much, much easier to use than the original HD HERO. If you know how to use a traditional camera, you can use the HD HERO2 straight out of the box without instructions. This makes the HD HERO2 very powerful as an everyday, easy to use consumer camera while retaining all of the features, modes and performance that has made GoPro the best selling small form factor HD camera to Hollywood,” said GoPro’s Director of Product Definition, Rudy Samuels.

Specialised Right Down to the Packaging

The HD HERO2 sells in three bundled-accessory configurations, each containing the necessary mounts for particular genres of use or activity. The HD HERO2 is backwards compatible with all existing GoPro mounts and accessories.

•          HD HERO2: Outdoor Edition – £299.99

•          HD HERO2: Motorsports Edition – £299.99

•          HD HERO2: Surf Edition – £299.99

The original 1080p HD HERO camera is now available for RRP £199.99 – £239.99 (previously £259.99 – £299.99) through GoPro.com and GoPro’s worldwide authorised dealer network. The Wi-Fi BacPac and Wi-Fi Remote are also compatible with the original HD HERO camera, but functionality is limited to remote control only. Video and photo streaming is not supported.

About GoPro

Based in Half Moon Bay, California, GoPro makes the world’s most versatile cameras, enabling people to capture and share their lives’ most exciting moments in professional quality HD video and photos. GoPro’s HD HERO line of wearable and gear mountable cameras are used collectively by more consumers, professional athletes, and video production professionals than any other camera in the world. GoPro’s products are sold in over 60 countries via specialty sports retailers, Best Buy, and at gopro.com.

Kauli Seadi

Flymount have just released their new adapter for GoPro cameras.  The adapter fits onto the standard Flymount, in place of the original baseplate, and gives an instant, solid connection between the two products.  For extra security, and to ensure a long lifespan, the new adapters are engineered from the same high quality, glass reinforced nylon as the main body of the Flymount, giving unbelievable resistance to shock, saltwater and ultra violet.

The Flymount with the new adapter weighs in at just under 180 grams, and just under 370 grams with the GoPro attached. At this kind of weight, you really can’t feel it on your kit, so it won’t affect your sailing at all.

This amazing combination lets you mount your GoPro pretty much anywhere on your rig, without tools, and without cutting holes in your luff tube or damaging your kit. And, although the Flymount was originally designed for windsurf mounted photography, you’d be amazed at how many other things you can attach it to!

Thanks to the quality and versatility of this product, some of the world’s best photographers and windsurfers are now using Flymounts, including Darrell Wong, Kauli Seadi, UMI Pictures, Monty Spindler, Mark Angulo, John Carter, Kevin Pritchard, and Italy’s Federico La Croce.

Any customers wanting to demo a Flymount can now do so at Pura Vida Boardriders, either by visiting the shop: www.puravidaboardriders.co.uk, or giving Jim a call on: 07970420998.

Pura Vida also stock GoPros, and have some Flymounts in stock which are set up purely for use with the GoPro, meaning customers don’t need to buy the adapter separately.

More at www.flymount.com

Flymount GoPro

All of the gopro footage is of the big day (head to logo)

All of the normal footage is from the small day (chest to head)

More at sjwindsurf.blogspot.com / mikewindsurf.blogspot.com

Building on the award winning success of The Windsurfing Movie (2007), Poor Boyz Productions gives a glimpse into the future of windsurfing through the eyes of Red Bull athlete Levi Siver.

X-Dance Film Festival ‘Best Director’ winner Johnny DeCesare and water-cinematographer Jace Panebianco, spent three years in production and filmed in seven countries in search of windsurfing’s new frontier.

The Windsurfing Movie II expands on the story lines of The Windsurfing Movie with legendary Red Bull riders Jason Polakow, Robby Naish and featuring 16-year-old phenom Kai Lenny.

Through interactions with windsurfing’s rich cast of characters, Levi Siver learns that sometimes you have to go further afield to find the best wind and waves–and to eventually find the best in yourself.

Now Available on DVD at poorboyzstore.com

Featured Athletes:

Levi Siver, Kai Lenny, Mark Angulo, Robby Naish, Jason Polakow, Baptiste Gossein and more..

Locations:

Maui, Cape Verde, Mexico, California, Oregon

Sponsors:

Red Bull, Oxbow, NeilPryde, Quatro, Goya Windsurfing, GoPro, Boards Magazine, Wind Magazine, Windsport Magazine

More on Pierre at pierregarambois.over-blog.com, more from the BAR Team at la-bar.over-blog.com

Flymount

We’re giving away 2 Flymount and GoPro HD bundles, plus 2 Flymounts as runner up prizes.

Flymount Australia are giving away 1 top prize and 1 runner up prize, and we’ll be giving away the other 2.

All people have to do is join us and become a fan on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Flymount/158002017553541?ref=ts

Only contestants who have clicked the “like” button are eligible to win.