Which GoPro Best for Track Days? (G-Sensors, GPS, Overlays etc)

highon2str on 19/01/2021 - 18:17

Have both the GoPro 5 Black and an older Garmin VIRB X which does this:

VIRB X contains built-in Garmin GPS, G-force, orientation sensors… Play your experience back in higher definition than ever before by using our free mobile or desktop software to automatically overlay gauges, graphs and more, showcasing your speed, acceleration, heart rate (and much more) in real time.

Works great for track days with map overlay and lap times that you can place on the screen in post production. Only real downfall is that it is limited to 1080 at 30fps.

Have been out of the GoPro scene for many years now, does the current line up have similar features? What does everyone use for track days?

Electrical & Electronics

Comments

  • Mumbles on 19/01/2021 - 20:52

    I think you are confusing two different things.
    1) Video Quality.
    2) Data Logging/Data acquisition.

    The Garmin VIRB is not the best at either. I think it has a standard GPS refresh rate (1Hz).

    If data logging is your priority then you'll be more focused on things like more accurate lap timing. Go for a device with the highest Hz refresh rate (eg. 10Hz). There are other data loggers that have G-force sensors as well as the ability to record engine data via your car's OBD2 port. Have a look at products like Racelogic VBox.

    If video quality is your priority then forget action cameras all together and invest in an expensive full sized camera with high FPS and image stabilisation and do the screen overlay in post production using data logged on your data logger.

    When I used to do track days I used a free mobile phone software called RaceChrono and an external Bluetooth GPS (5Hz) for increased accuracy. The video is poor quality but I was mainly focused on data logging to study lap times and racing lines. I'm all about the lap times.

    • highon2str on 20/01/2021 - 10:34

      Yes that's right my VIRB X has 1Hz refresh, but the newer VIRB ULTRA has 10Hz.

      I do mainly motorcycle track days so I need an all-in-one camera/logger solution. At this stage I'd prioritise video quality over timing as even with a 1Hz refresh it works well enough for a non-professional like me - Don't need the data to be accurate to 0.001s.

  • xpostmanx on 19/01/2021 - 22:07

    Recently got a GoPro 9, seems I can do overlays in the app of the course & speed (perhaps g-force too?)

    Only example I have is a hyperlapse of my Parkrun course. Can't attest to the accuracy sorry.

  • ihavok on 20/01/2021 - 00:02

    Would be interesting to hear how others do this. I'm sure there's a better/simpler way of doing things than what I've done.

    1 Video - GoPro Hero 7 Black
    - the newer ones get better Electronic Image Stabilisation (I think GoPro calls this Hypersmooth). Better than nothing but not as good as proper Optical Image Stabilisation
    - I did struggle a bit lighting, especially on days the transition between sunny / cloudy / etc.
    - Using things like ND filter attachments help, but then as the lighting condition changes, you also have to remember to change the filters accordingly

    2 Data - OBDII - OBDLink LX
    - bluetooth OBDII scanner. Plenty of options out there, but get a decent one with fast sampling per second
    - the only downside to this one that I found is that the BT connection is secure. Normally this is a good thing, but you now have the added step of having to log in via the app on your phone manually each time you want to datalog.

    3 Video + Data pairing - TrackAddict App
    - This ties in your video recording and data logging in one interface to start/stop recording.
    - Using your phone's GPS for location data, knows which track you're on, etc
    - Uses your phone accelerometer to output additional info such as when you brake (it guesses) and G-force output, etc (so keep in mind that you'll want your phone mounted somewhere solid).
    - it will output the data in CSV format

    4 Putting it all together - RaceRender
    - Windows software to allow you to overlay data from your CSV files over your video
    - matching your data + video start/stop times is handled by the TrackAddict app which almost always worked for me
    - You can design how you want the overlays to look.
    - Optionally, you might want to do more post work in something like Adobe Premiere Pro or etc.

    So this will get the job done, but I think it's a loooot of effort. Lots of steps meaning there's lots of places things can go wrong (i.e. phone running out of battery, bluetooth disconnecting, etc).

    I do wish there was an all-in-one solution. The VIRB looks really good but doesn't appear to have been updated in a long while. As far as cameras go, the DJI Pocket 2 with gimbal looks nice, but I'm not sure how easy that is to mount in a car.

  • highon2str on 20/01/2021 - 10:37

    Here's an example video of what the VIRB X is capable of, in a car. Looks good enough but when viewing the same footage shot on a GP Hero 5 Black, the graininess of the VIRB X really shows.

    @xpostmanx can the GP 9 do all this?

  • lordra on 23/01/2021 - 12:00

    What do the guys in F1 or Motogp use?

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