If you said, "Stevie Wonder, 1973," you get 50 bonus points. Just 50? Yeah, that was an easy one.
It was cold overnight, because the sky was clearing. 42º when I got up this morning. BUT, glorious sunshine! With these two northers that blew in, we have had a lot of wind, some rain, and seemingly endless gray skies. I can put up with the chilly weather. The wind wears on me, but I get out of sorts when having to deal with day after day of no sunshine. And, with these northers, it has now been 187 days of gray, overcast sky... I may be exaggerating, but it has been pushing 5 days. And that is not typical here in the Tropical Tip.
I kept myself busy yesterday with action camera stuff. Not shooting, but messing with. I still like my inexpensive Akaso camera, that we got so much use out of on the scoots this summer. It was fun learning how best to use the watch-type remote or using my phone to control it. It got me to thinking about the GoPro 3 Black I have... and detest. Easily the most frustrating piece of photographic equipment I have ever owned.
I found an inexpensive GoPro (the Hero 2018) that has been discontinued in favor of their new Hero 7 series. Since I am not rock climbing, surfing, cliff diving, or doing anything else that would leave me in traction, my use of an action camera is more modest... seems like the limited functions of the Hero 2018 would be plenty good for me.
It came in yesterday. Seems like a nice unit, and it is easy to use. It feels more substantial than the Akaso; it is waterproof without needed an additional housing. Plus, I got a bunch of GoPro type accessories this summer, free for doing a review on the Akaso.
While researching the Hero 2018, I discovered that it is actually the same camera as the Hero 5 Black (that costs substantially more), with many of the advanced features crippled. It was a stop-gap measure for GoPro to offer a relatively inexpensive camera to compete with the Chinese action cameras (like the Akaso), until the new Hero 7 series cameras were released. Also, a good way for them to eliminate excess inventory in the process.
That was all good until one tech website figured out a way to hack the Hero 2018, unleashing all the features of the more expensive model. I have no idea how good the Hero 2018 sold, but there was a lot of buzz about it on the internet when I was considering the Akaso... and with the potential to unlock even more features... good for the consumer, not such good press for GoPro.
So, having had the camera in my possession, for all of 18 hours - and discovering what a nice camera it is - I did the hack this morning. With sunshine on my shoulders coming through the windows. Yes, it makes me happy. Digressing. There was the chance that incorrectly doing the hack would turn the camera into a brick. A very small brick. Fortunately, that was not the case: the camera works fine and has greater functionality: 4k video instead of 1440, 12meg still photos instead of 10, Protunes (which gives you the ability to control photo and video functions manually instead of just full auto), a built-in GPS, and all the other features I liked about the Hero 2018. Plus, my favorite: "linear" setting on video... you know how vertical lines on extreme wide angle photos tend to curve - the "linear" setting straightens those lines. And, you can switch it on and off, if you want that full fish-eye effect.
A couple sunshine photos off the deck this morning...
And, an indoor, low-light, hand-held image of Rufus...
I think this is going to be a decent addition to the photography stuff.
Oh, and regarding the weather: it is still chilly and windy today (high may make it to around 60º, but is currently 49º, and the wind is currently NNW@15). But... sunshine!
:-)
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Late lunch out; I tossed the camera in my pocket. No, I didn't take "eatin'" pictures. Before eatin'...
Yep, that's a wide angle. On the way home, Joan drove so I could take some photos. Mostly going west, so right into the sun. Oh, well, this is just a test of the camera...
Across the causeway - that's the Port Isabel Lighthouse...
Across our bridge, heading for home...
Rufus helping me download these photos...
So, not much in the way of "action," but a good test of this camera - decent imaging, considering the usage.
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