Santa was kind enough to drop of a brand new GoPro Hero HD mini camcorder including the full vehicle mounting kit. 

The new model now support full HD up to 1080p and 30fps or 720p at 60 fps - amonts other various resolutions. When running with a 32GB HDSC card that's good for at least 4h of video footage, 8h and more at 720p @ 30 fps. 

Given the need for the occasional slow motion clips, I opted to run the 720p@60fps for the first trial runs. 

Out of the box the camera impresses with the amount of equipments and options it comes with. The new HD model comes with a Lithium Ion battery back good for more than 2h of recording. Additional battery packs are less than 20 bucks retail. 

In addition to all the mounts that came with the set, I opted to get a handle bar and a roll cage mounting kit, priced at 20 and 30 bucks respectively. Very reasonable priced throughout the entire line of accessories. Being a California company most local dealer carry various models and accessories in stock. Comes in very handy when you need something quick.

The first ride was a short spurt around town. Nothing fancy, just to get an idea what this new camera from GoPro is capable of.

The camera attaches via USB to your computer and on my Mac's no additional software or driver where needed. True Plug'n'Play. Gotta love iMovie!

Given the high resolution, files quickly get big. 5-6GB of raw footage in less than 30 min of recording.

The quality came out very good. With the only exception of the last mounting option being way too wiggly (too many extensions plugged together). But I found a much better way to get that shot without the vibrations, using the supplied suction cup against the tach. 

Without much further talk here is a short video for you to see yourself:

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