Go Pro 5 not good enough. Alternatives or suggestions?

SpeedDeman

Dear All

I have a Go Pro Hero 5 Black which I am trying to use for videoing squash from a bit of a distance.

Two questions:

1. Will a simple change of settings help?

2. Do I need a different non-action cam? If so, what is the same size as a Go Pro with the quality I'm looking for?

The issue is the the Go Pro is superb quality for anything that is close up or in natural light, but the quality of the video on a squash court is not good. It's grainy and not well defined. Please see below for an example. I hope it is clear enough to see, but the quality is so much lower that you see from the same camera outside of the court.

                                                                                                                                                 

I think that ultimately, the Go Pro just isn't built for this kind of video. Am I right in saying the camera just isn't made for this?

Or perhaps, there are settings I could change. The current settings are:

2.7k
60FPS
Protune OFF
Low light ON
NTSC
Linear

My guess is that changing settings won't really help. So, I think an alternative "normal" HD video camera might be required instead as I don't need the wide lens given the distance.

Any suggestions for something that is up the job?

I'd like something small, the size size as the Go Pro and that can preferably use the same mounts?

I look forward to hearing from all the knowledgeable members of the forum. Thank you.

Terfyn

The mount is not a problem:
Goliton® GoPro Mount to 1/4" Tripod Thread Adapter (Amazon £5.95)
is an example which will mount any camera/camcorder on Go Pro mounts.

Most current camcorders are pretty small. I carry mine around in a coat pocket.
A modern camcorder will give you better low light performance, a decent zoom for framing and a choice of mics (possibly shotgun) for sound pickup.
My choice (as everyone will know) would be from the Panasonic range, possibly one of the 4K range.

12harry

You've not explained the "purpose" of this filming; from such a distance, I could think it's not for training.....?
GoPro is an Outdoor action-camera which does a superb job...."lookalikes" will be similar, but may have some changes - Where they all fail is the fixed-lens and small sensor. A wide-angle is fine for Ski, sail,bike and similar, but soon becomes tiring if the action is more static. They don't really do close-ups either.
The noise-issue is probably "low-light" - try filming tennis outdoors and see if that's OK.
( The indoor Squash-Court is probably not bright by comparison with outdoors - and the lighting may not have the full spectrum ( eg if it's mercury vapour, which produces an intense white-looking light ).... There is little you can do about large-area lighting.)

A modest 4K Pana will set you back more than the GP, but will offer much flexibility. If you have them on a dual-mount, then you have wide-shots for extreme coverage as well as the main play. If you are filming in 4K then there is the possibility of cropping to HD at the EDIT stage, giving you additional zoom-in.

Before you send your money, have you asked other club-members?  They may have tried camcorders and may have useful insight. Alternatively, contact a local Film-Good Luck.
You will soon need to perform Edits... and that means a high-spec PC - 64-bits, with plenty of RAM like 8G minimum.