Smart Lunar R2 Rear Light

Winter is fast approaching, bringing with it dark, wet mornings and early nights. I've got a Topeak Alien rear light, it's fine as a get me home light for those balmy summer evenings, but for the winter commute I need something with a bit more oomph! The Lunar R2 was recommended to me by a mate, so when I saw it in the sale at my local bike shop (Tredz) I popped over after work to pick it up.

The light comes with two AAA batteries which fit snugly under the lens, once you manage to unclip it! I found it a little tricky to remove the cover, but then I am a bit clumsy. Though every cloud has a silver lining, so I'm hoping that the snug fit of the two halves of the light points towards it having a good level of weatherproofing.

The Lunar R2 has five different modes which you cycle though using a single rubberised button on the unit, there's flashing, pulsing, single or twin LED modes and also a mesmerising disco mode, the 2 1/2watt LEDs have a stated visibility of up to a mile, so you're sure to be seen. The battery life is quoted as been up to 25 hours or 50 hours in a flashing mode. To see some of the modes in action, I've uploaded a video to YouTube.

The case of the light has a clip moulded into it, which you can use to attach the light to your bag or jacket, there's also 31mm or 18mm fittings included in the box so you can fit it pretty much anywhere on your bike.

#Looking out for a Hero...a GoPro HD Hero 3

An intriguing post on Facebook this evening by GoPro:-

The most epic news in GoPro history drops tonight. Ready to be blown away?

There are plenty of rumours on the Internet about a HD Hero 3, and equally as many different spec sheets! I'm assuming GoPro's news will be a confirmation of the camera and it's spec. I'm available if GoPro would like to send me a camera to review!! ..please...

GoPro Protune firmware - buy a faster SD card!

Last week saw the release of the Protune firmware for the GoPro HD Hero 2, the firmware offers some key updates for those who hope to do that little bit more with their footage. The key change is the reduction in the compression ratio, resulting in a data rate of 35mbps rather than a 20mbps, this reduces the amount of artifacts caused by the compression of the footage. Another major change is the addition of a 1080p @ 24fps mode, this allows the footage from the GoPro to be more easily integrated with output from other camera systems without the need to convert the frame rate to match.

The update also reduces the amount of in camera processing (reduced sharpening and a netural colour profile, amoungst other changes), this allows for more flexibility in the post processing of the video.

A couple of things to note:-

I currently use a Sandisk Extreme SD card, it's a class 10 card, I've had no problems with using it in the GoPro. With the Protune update switched on and recording at 720p at 60fps, the playback was jumpy, with a stutter in the video at roughly every second. Checking into the spec of the card, I think I've found the 'problem', the card has a write speed of 30mbps, obviously the protune update switched on it increased the data rate is 35mbps, 5mbps faster than the card can handle, hence the juddering video. I've been looking at buying a larger card for a little while now, it looks like I'll also have to make sure it's got a faster write speed.

One other thing I've noticed, I set my GoPro to PAL rather than NTSC, since the update this appears to always be set to NTSC. You can change the setting to PAL in the menu, but after you've exited the menu, if you go back in, it appears as NTSC again. Is this by design or by bug?

*follow up post.

Want to win a GoPro Hero 2

Click on the link below to go to Tyler McQuarrie's Facebook page, all you have to do to enter the sweepstakes is like the page and enter a valid email address. Good Luck!

Click here for your chance to win.*

(*I'm nothing to do with the sweepstake!)

GoPro Fogging up issues - a cheeky fix?

Talking with a mate in work today, he's got a GoPro, but an older model, I suspect that the Hero 2 might run hotter than the Hero. He passed on a tip he'd heard to help stop the fogging issues. A small pieces of loo roll folded up tightly and placed in the sides and top of the case help absorb the trapped moisture and (I'll say reduce rather than stop) the fogging issues. I'll certainly give it a try next time I'm out with the camera, will have to keep an eye on the temperature of the camera.