hamishm wrote:I'm thinking about a GoPro to record some rides (not as a commuting/traffic watching scenario, but for actual decent quality ride recording) and also to use on scuba diving. The Hero5 is no longer rated to a decent depth without an add-on housing (compared to the Hero4), but the stabilization looks worth having.
Are there any other serious contenders?
I suppose you just have to ask yourself whether you want 4K or not. GoPro's use pretty tiny sensors, so you're not looking at anything that's going to give you mind blowing video quality, but anything much larger turns into a dedicated camera. I guess the direct competitor is the Yi4K and the Yi4K+
The other side of things. Housings are cheap for GoPros. Once you step up to serious cameras like the Panasonic G7/G9 and GH4 or the Sony A7 or A9 you start to end up with a very expensive camera body around $1-5k price range and then adding on another $1k for a decent housing for diving.
I'd say stick with the GoPro or Yi until you decide how serious you are about shooting video. Because there is also another thing. If you drown a proper camera underwater you've just pissed a couple thousand dollars up the wall. If you drown a GoPro you just go out and buy another one for $600 or so and learn a reasonably easy (by comparison) lesson instead.
I'd say exactly the same about riding with an expensive camera on your bike also. It can be done. I ride with a Joby action bike mount, an out front mount for DSLRs and a chest strap also for DSLRs and use my mirrorless camera. But its kinda heart in the mouth because if you crash not only do you run the risk of destroying a camera body, but its the detachable lenses also which can be over $1000 by themselves each.