The market is saturated with "Action Cameras", what with the rise of the Go Pro there is a clone in almost every name or no named brand imaginable. But the SJ4000 appears to go that little bit further and for the money it could be the perfect alternative.
The SJ4000 comes with a host of attachments (image below) and a sub $100 (USD) price tag. But is it any good? I don't have one, but I'm considering getting one for the price alone. The main contributing factor to this camera being the best "knock-off" Go Pro is the inclusion of an LCD screen. Where the Go Pro offers a screen for purchase as an accessory, the SJ4000 already has one incorporated into it.
Attachments with initial purchase
LCD Screen incorporated
The comparison videos which are appearing on You Tube with more and more frequency seem to agree, that for the money the SJ4000 is the superior camera, in fact in the video below (at time code 0:39) it shows the Go Pro taking 11 seconds to re-adjust to the lighting change, so if you're using the footage for something semi-professional it just adds unnecessary balancing, grading and equalising time to the edit. The video below also proves that, for a cheap camera, it also has a lot less noise than you would expect for a camera of it's price and ilk.
I'd like to speak to someone who has both a Go Pro and an SJ4000 to get a true sense of their personal experiences, but chances are I'll just buy one and start doing my own comparison footage, but less action cam oriented and a little more short film or music video for those looking to incorporate an action camera into their production kit. We all know the Go Pro is an average camera for cut away shots, but is hard to truly frame up and often overshoots.
Here's another blogs, very thorough, review of the SJ4000
Almost a lifetime ago, I was involved in a show on local music television which today, for those who remember it, is still revered and considered a cult phenomena (these are NOT my words). Although, at the time, I was still very young and often operating the camera through alcohol hazed vision, there was something both humbling and educational about the experience. I had the opportunity to work with some amazingly talented guys who often showed such genius in the art of humour often through obscure reference. Strangely, we never thought anyone was watching, but so very many years down the track I bump into people who remember the show fondly.
Box Dog aired on Wednesday nights from 9pm to Midnight (although often running over time) on the long defunct Max music television channel (eventually purchased by TVNZ and replaced by short-lived MTV). Some now famous people got their start through or by association with Max TV, perhaps the most well-known being Zane Lowe who hosted the Serious Fun Show each week night and on Wednesday would have to endure our interruption and interference (and losing to me at Tetris).
Although Box Dog felt like a tiny blip on an otherwise vast New Zealand television radar the guys have gone on to bigger and brighter things, and as time passes and I see and speak to them less and less I still keep tabs on them.
Robbo - Peter Vegas
Original Host Robbo (Peter Vegas) has continued in advertising and garnered enough awards to put an EGOT winner to shame. He has also written and published several humorous books including a Stickmen series. His SPCA driving dogs campaign went viral and still appears on social media.
Nathan Rarere
Replacement host Nathan Rarere went on to Ice TV on TV3, then eventually back to radio and appear on sports television and as a voice actor on local animated series Bro'Town. I believe he is currently at Radio Live.
Luke Nola
Luke Nola went on to co-host the Chat Bungalow with Robbo and eventually started his own production company creating one of New Zealand's longest running and most engaging children's television series, Let's Get Inventin'.
Steve Saussey
Steve Saussey, with his quiet and reserved facade was often harbouring a mind in overdrive forming ideas and concepts. He put the most effort into his characters, more than any other member of Box Dog. He recently co-started a production company Stuff and Nonsense, and is currently making a stir with his first short film Whiskers for which he received the Future Filmmaker Award at the Palm Springs International Short Fest
Whiskers Trailer
Box Dog is probably best remembered for Krispy the Clown, sadly has found himself repeatedly in the penal system, his current location is unknown.
For all their accomplishments, I'm proud to say that from humble beginnings on Box Dog, this experience in some small way may have helped guide and direct these guys into their current activities. I'm also glad to have known them and been a very small part of the Box Dog show.
Gear is released at a frequent rate. Updates and updated models or entirely new models whet our appetites for the latest and greatest. A new product is launched and the list of improvements and capabilities leave us lamenting our ownership of the previous model. I'm guilty of this as I'm sure many others are, but in more recent times sometimes it might be better to stick with what you know until the newest model proves itself or becomes cheaper with the release of yet another updated model.
Evolution of the GoPro
There was a stir recently with the GoProHero3 and Hero3+ models where footage was not being captured resulting in the below image being the only video captured.
Now the GoPro is a scary device as there is no viewfinder, so you never quite know what you're capturing and whether everything is in frame. But as a wide angle capture camera, it generally does a good job. So with the release of the BacPac you can eliminate some of those fears. Personally, I own a GoPro HD Hero 960 and an HD Hero2 and so far they haven't let me down, and with firmware updates I always wait a few months to ensure there are no flaws or issues, last thing I need is to brick one of them.
It would seem, with the latest GoPro, it is advised that you update your Firmware more regularly, but with the issue previously mentioned, could it have been a faulty update that started causing this? It's hard to tell, and information is limited, just a few mentions and images of the problem on Blogs and in Forums, but allegedly a lot of people submitted replacement claims to GoPro.
GoPro HD Hero2 in action capturing more than I need (still)
With more and more GoPro clone style cameras on the market, the GoPro still appears to be head and shoulders above the competition, however I'm still not convinced with all the new accessories, which include an LCD display, why they can't just incorporate this into one of the next models. Not all people are using the GoPro while Surfing, Hiking, Climbing, Mountain biking, Cycling, Skydiving, parachuting etc etc etc... And at the price, you really would anticipate spending less on accessories, a screen and a more out of the box usability. Don't get me wrong, the GoPro is a good camera and is very versatile, once you've purchased a multitude of easily lost plastic accessories, but it's more like a Black Box video flight recorder than a Camera, but this isn't a bad thing either for the most part.
Love or Hate GoPro another thing that sets them apart is the free editing software, it's not the most amazing software by any stretch, but it is stupid proof and accessible to the average Joe user looking to quickly edit and upload some footage to You Tube. Download it here for free and try it out...
On the tail of the independent music controversy, You Tube announced some major changes a few days ago. These announcements included support of varied frame rates, translation and subtitling, a larger royalty free sound effect and music library (which removes one of the many headaches for content creators), and finally Tip jar, which allows for donations, however this is not a new development as Vimeo already have this available and have done for some time now (over 2 years).
It's easy to mindlessly watch the multitude of rebooted and remade "blockbuster" films being regularly pumped out, but is there a need for them? A time and a place for them? Obviously the answer is yes, most will disagree, but originality is something of a lost art and is becoming less and less obtainable. But the art of the "blockbuster" is either to be exceptional, an adaptation (in most cases comic book), or an over the top popcorn movie. Popcorn movies are for the most part dire, but they have large explosions, a love interest, and generally a crap-load of CGI.
In saying this, many 80's cartoons have been re-imagined to the big screen over the last several years, but not at the rapid pace one would have thought, anticipated or expected, and with a huge number of shows that lend themselves to the current capabilities of CGI, it seems about time some of them saw the light of day.
I could list numerous potential film franchises from 80's cartoons, but the main three most are screaming for seem to be:
ThunderCats - Which has also been in development hell for MANY years, in fact before he went to prison, Wesley Snipes was rumoured (as attached) to play Panthro
Well with an original run of 124 episodes from 1984 - 1885, and a few poorly executed reboot attempts, there is a great deal of cannon to borrow and take from to make a worthwhile franchise, or at least trilogy - Nemeses - Movie 1: Commander Yurak, Movie 2: King Zarkon, Movie 3: Prince Lotor (for the revenge/redemption element).
One of the many things that set the show apart from the others is the lack of human(oid) on human(oid) violence, which removed the element of danger for the heroes, although the original cut of the 1984 movie was almost gory in parts. Where most shows had infinite laser gun blasts, the Voltron team were generally encased in a large metal lion safe from harm, so it was generally finding ways to stop the team so they couldn't form Voltron thus removing them from the security of the Lions. It's not gore, violence or collateral damage that we're interested in here anyway, that has been done to death, it's the proximity to realism in an otherwise unreal environment/world which will suggest viewers may have something to root for or be grounded in, I mean lets face it, giant Robot lions are a bit of a stretch. However, of all the 80's cartoon's it's one of the only to seemingly kill off one of the main (Human) characters and relatively early on at that (it later turned out he was just mortally wounded, but survived). But who doesn't want to see giant mechanical Lion "Tanks" piloted by an "International" team of space explorers combine to form a giant Mecha Robot (with a blazing sword)? A Fan made short/teaser by Alex Albrecht was a promising look at the possibly of a real live action Voltron film and really is quite impressive! It added an element of potential failure, and a genuine wonder of what had happened and what will happen next, it adds that much needed element of grounding I referred to. Check it out (below):
Voltron: The End
Although poorly executed, Pacific Rim shares similarities with Voltron, enough so to convincingly suggest Voltron COULD take on a giant Robeast on a distant planet or in Space.
Pacific Rim Trailer
Because of the current state of Cartoon adaptations, which is a sad and sorry state indeed, it seems some of these potential goldmines aren't being tapped. Although the Transformers movies did very well at the box office, they are poorly written with childishly genital jokes, racial stereotyping, or sexist drivel and lets face it, they aren't Oscar contenders. Don't get me wrong, they are the antipathy of what makes the ideal popcorn movie! You don't need to think, you don't need to feel, you just watch the large colourful shapes and zone out for a few hours. But they are for the most part, a poorly devised "story" dragged out to well over two hours, with an overt use of explosions and needless "glamour" or establishing shots.
The GI Joe films just didn't work, and it's hard to pinpoint the exact point they both went from average to abysmal, but I'm fairly convinced that for many it's after the Paramount Pictures logo, for everyone else it was once Channing Tatum was cast.
Over time many other cherished cartoons have been attempted to mixed reviews, from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films (although originally a comic) which started strong, but by the third entry, with it's slashed costume budget and time travel story (which is the poor man's macguffin considering the amount of source material they could have drawn from), it was just dreadful. And who can remember the very average Inspector Gadget film which was clearly aimed at a younger audience all of whom were too young to know or remember the original cartoon, this was followed by a blatant cash grab sequel 4 years later.
Children of the 80's have fond memories of what were, realistically, poorly drawn/animated original content or adaptations of comic books, toys lines, or English dubbed Saban cartoons. As an adult going back to watch these, they are for the most part cringe worthy, but that is because time is not kind, and as a child, you just don't care. This should not be the case for the reboots and movie adaptations, there should be more substance, or an invigorated modernisation still in keeping with the source material.
To prove that good things are possible, the single 2010 season reboot of G.I. Joe, Renegades, was great and vastly improved on the original cartoon (without the toy grab as the end game), it was well written and had a great voice cast. Another perfect example, which again was only a single season, is the 2011 retelling of the ThunderCats which featured several episode archs based on original episodes, but done far better. These prove that there is writing talent and that it is possible to modernise, just for the moment seemingly not as live action films.... Time will tell.
Although nothing creative, I finally uploaded some footage I took of the US band Helmet playing live at Galatos in Auckland on December 21st last year.
All the following videos were shot using a Kodak Zx5 (PlaySport).
Helmet - Just Another Victim/Milquetoast
Helmet - Like I Care
Helmet - Repetition
Helmet - Unsung
Helmet - Wilma's Rainbow
And a bonus, Auckland band Mothra who played support for Helmet
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