The prospect seemed daunting, but then lucky me discovered the amazingly detailed Virb review at DCRainmaker. One reason that it took me a while to write up this review is that the mounting accessory aspect is complicated, and I also wanted to compare the Virb to the GoPro Hero2 camera that I’ve owned for a couple of years. And note that you can do this with free Virb Edit using any MPG4 file and any GPX data file (at least in my limited testing). In the meantime, the edit screen just above shows how you can custom overlay all sorts of data (aside from maps) on the videos you can make now. Unfortunately, the map overlay is not included in finished videos - copyright issue perhaps? - but I’m hoping that will change eventually. Note in the top screen, for instance, that when you watch a video in Virb Edit it can have a track-on-map overlay. It’s also where you’ll see Garmin’s strategy of combining GPS and other sensor data with film. You can edit Virb MPG4 files in any video program, but with Virb Edit it’s super easy to throw together some clips and post a finished video to YouTube. In the first video, for instance, I’m using a quatix watch as a remote control, which was easy to set up and works fine, and there are various other Garmin devices that will do the job, plus smartphone apps for the Elite (which has WiFi).Ī key element, though, is the new Virb Edit software for PC and Mac that seems to be getting a feature update every week or so. As I wrote last August, the Virb immediately joined Garmin’s ecology of handheld GPS devices and activity sensors, not to mention its vast software resources. There’s an almost otherworldly serenity to the videos that is nearly the opposite of the frenetic action scenes you’ll see in all the marketing, but doesn’t it emphasize the joy that is smooth water boating?īut stabilization is just one small aspect of what Garmin brought to the action camera game. Garmin added a digital stabilization option to the mix you can see a comparison in this well done video, but actually, I think some of my Gizmo flat water cruising clips demonstrate the effect even better. The genius of the GoPro camera design that started the “action camera” craze is largely a very wide angle lens, which makes it easy to point it more or less in the right direction and also naturally stablizes the video. Yes, the Virb camera is securely suction mounted to Gizmo’s fly bridge windshield and the conditions are flat calm, but there’s something else going on here. When you check out the video above - and I hope you’ll try the full screen HD (1080p) version, if you have the bandwidth and display - notice how rock steady the image is.
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