[mlcman]

Hi all,

I recently bought a GoPro Hero 11 for recording of various driving and racing events (road-trips, track driving, go-karts). My two issues were:

a) the quality of the built-in mic which does not usually do a very good job in recording a decent sound when mounted on the outside of a car/bike, and

b) how to easily supply power to the USB port without having to open the side door all the time or leave it open.


It looks like the Media Mod offers a solution to both these concerns, plus it allows direct playback on 4K TVs which is handy, so is that the product to go for? My questions at this point are:

a) Can I operate the camera with USB power supplied constantly for 2-3hr AND the battery inside? Or will it overheat and it's better to remove the battery in such a scenario?

b) Is the Media Mod mic actually better than the built-in one? How do they compare in terms of capturing more sound fidelity both inside a car and when mounted outside (wind being the issue). And won't I need the Media Mod anyway as it provides the means to plug it an external mic even if the one on the Media Mod is mediocre?


Overall, I am just starting to use an action cam to film these activities so any recommendations for what's the best setup to get the most out of this scenario, suggestions for other useful mods etc. are more than welcome.

 

[Fish]

welcome aboard. hoping others can offer some info

happy filming

 

[Trainwreck]

I use one of these to power mine in my car, works great on the inside not sure about weather protection if fitted outside though.

3BR Powersports | Baryl Power Ports | Power Sport Vehicles - Snowmobile, Motorcycle, Adventure Bike, Cruiser, ATV

3brpowersports.com

For wind noise you can try the fluffy defusers (can't remember the correct name).

 

[Ifti]

Welcome to the forum!
The mic in the Media Mod is not a whole lot better then the built in mic on the camera - from my experience anyways. My recommendation would be to use the media mod as a means of capturing audio via an external mic altogether. It'll give you the best audio possible. Below example is using teh Hero 10, but will be the same with the 11....

When it comes to external power, while adding a power bank is the best way for prolonged video capture (ensure your memory card is big enough too), many run with no battery inserted in order to reduce temperature. However, if you have some decent airflow, temperatures shouldn't be too much of an issue. Personally I would leave the battery in place so that if the USB cable does come loose with vibration etc, your battery will take over and you wont lose the clip entirely.....

 

[mlcman]

Thanks for the responses. I was sharing @Ifti 's approach in that even if the Media Mod mic is not that much better to justify the purchase itself, as concluded by several YT videos, the other capabilities it brings are worth it: the ability to plug an external mic, the ability to plug a charger directly without opening the door and last but not least the HDMI output. I have an OLED TV and that is the only device that I can really enjoy true 4K 60 material at home so the HDMI output of the media mod is extremely useful (hate copying files to USB disks and the access of those TVs mounted on the wall is not the best).

Then I was looking for a pole/tripod and naturally thought of Shorty but with the GoPro subscription discount, the Volta made more sense allowing 5-6hr shooting away from a power source without having to connect awkard power banks, plus the remote function could be useful at some point.

Together they were both 100$ less than the retail no-subscription price so I went with that combo (Volta + Media Mod) and I will go out testing soon. As I said, capturing car sound at speed is a bit tricky so maybe an external mic is inevitable but I now have the possibility to mount one at least if I am not happy with the results of the Media Mod.

 

[Ifti]

Thanks for the responses. I was sharing @Ifti 's approach in that even if the Media Mod mic is not that much better to justify the purchase itself, as concluded by several YT videos, the other capabilities it brings are worth it: the ability to plug an external mic, the ability to plug a charger directly without opening the door and last but not least the HDMI output. I have an OLED TV and that is the only device that I can really enjoy true 4K 60 material at home so the HDMI output of the media mod is extremely useful (hate copying files to USB disks and the access of those TVs mounted on the wall is not the best).

Then I was looking for a pole/tripod and naturally thought of Shorty but with the GoPro subscription discount, the Volta made more sense allowing 5-6hr shooting away from a power source without having to connect awkard power banks, plus the remote function could be useful at some point.

Together they were both 100$ less than the retail no-subscription price so I went with that combo (Volta + Media Mod) and I will go out testing soon. As I said, capturing car sound at speed is a bit tricky so maybe an external mic is inevitable but I now have the possibility to mount one at least if I am not happy with the results of the Media Mod.

Just an idea, but if you went with a setup like the one in the video above, with two wireless mics connected to the one receiver, you could place a microphone within the vehicle to record yourself, and secure the second microphone within the engine bay itself. That way you have clear audio of the actual engine noise, as well as audio from yourself on two separate channels, and when editing you can play with the volume levels from each audio stream, fading between both as and when you need……..

 

[mlcman]

Just an idea, but if you went with a setup like the one in the video above, with two wireless mics connected to the one receiver, you could place a microphone within the vehicle to record yourself, and secure the second microphone within the engine bay itself. That way you have clear audio of the actual engine noise, as well as audio from yourself on two separate channels, and when editing you can play with the volume levels from each audio stream, fading between both as and when you need……..

Very true, the only question at this point is how much time and effort I will be able to dedicate on this project. Time is very limited currently and I don't want to be spending another GoPro's worth of cash on accessories only to realize I am not even using it that much.
No doubt the DJI wireless mics are awesome, and the capabilities they bring with being able to placed remotely are great, but they also are prohibitively expensive at the moment, or at least until I start creating more regular footage (or ANY footage at all at this point 😄)
So I will do my initial testing as I said and then probably look at some value for money options, regular mini jack connection mics, if I am disappointed with the GoPro's and Media Mod's results

 

[Ifti]

Very true, the only question at this point is how much time and effort I will be able to dedicate on this project. Time is very limited currently and I don't want to be spending another GoPro's worth of cash on accessories only to realize I am not even using it that much.
No doubt the DJI wireless mics are awesome, and the capabilities they bring with being able to placed remotely are great, but they also are prohibitively expensive at the moment, or at least until I start creating more regular footage (or ANY footage at all at this point 😄)
So I will do my initial testing as I said and then probably look at some value for money options, regular mini jack connection mics, if I am disappointed with the GoPro's and Media Mod's results

Bear in mind it doesn’t have to be DJI mics - you’ll find much cheaper dual wireless mics on Amazon etc too

 

[Fish]

stand clear of any UHF, you'll want a 2.4ghz