Anyone who engages in extreme sports or outdoor sports will come across GoPro at some point, as the brand proudly holds the position of an industry standard action camera. However, with a growing number of challenges coming to the action camera market, and with brands like Sony, Drift Innovation and Contour offering sustainable alternatives, many sports fans are starting to seriously consider products outside the GoPro family.
The latest camera in the conflict is the Garmin VIRB. Let’s see if the Garmin brand, known for its GPS equipment, can transfer its expertise to the field of action cameras and whether, with the introduction of the Garmin VIRB, GoPro Hero 3+ has lived its day as the king of action cameras. With the VIRB Elite and GoPro Hero 3+ Black retailing in the $ 300 to $ 400 range, it’s clear that Garmin wants to compete directly with GoPro and have tried to offer add-ons to persuade some of GoPro’s loyal users.
The first obvious difference between the cameras is their distinctive appearance. Some have been critical of the bulky and unnatural look of the GoPro when used as a head camera. VIRB, on the other hand, is longer and thinner than the GoPro and resembles a burner. As a result, the posture is less natural, but it is less noticeable and distracting when used as a fixed head camera. On top of that, Garmin has used some of its GPS technologies in the Elite version of the VIRB by adding a feature that tracks your GPS position, speed and altitude as you shoot. This data can then be transferred to your footage during editing so you can follow the details of each scene. In addition to additional features, perhaps the main advantage that VIRB makes over GoPro is its intuitive look and design. I especially like the oversized recording switch, which rotates easily in unstable conditions. (more…)
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One of the disadvantages of VIRB is its ability to stabilize the image. Compared to GoPro, stabilization of VIRB appears to have only a relatively small effect and can