This is a GoPro review by Gerard Campbell from Christchurch's The Press published on 18/05/2010

Isn't it just Murphy's Law that nothing happens the week you have a neat thing like GoPro's camera attached to your bike to record your time on the road?

In retrospect, though, that's a good thing as it meant I had no near misses with cars, buses, trucks or pedestrians on my daily commutes to work from my home in Halswell.

Thanks to the GoPro, though, I captured the near-misses a few other cyclists had when thoughtless pedestrians wandered into their path, oblivious to other road users. One guy on Colombo St who just about wiped out a cyclist in front of me didn't even bother to apologise for forcing the rider to take evasive action.

The GoPro is a small camera that comes with a water and wind-proof casing that can either be attached to the handlebar stem of your bicycle or a cycle helmet (or kayak or surf board or anything) using adhesive pads.

Still images or video footage is stored on an SD card (up to 32GB). Downloading the footage is as easy as plugging in the supplied USB cable into your computer.

Set up was incredibly simple as was the operation, which was essentially "turn on and start riding". When capturing video the GoPro continuously films until you switch it off and when capturing still photos you can set it to take shots at two- second intervals, as well as five second, 10sec, 30sec and 60sec.

The GoPro has a 127 degree angle of view, which is vast. I got a great view of my ride along the streets of Christchurch - and saw just how close some vans travelling down Colombo St actually get to cyclists.

I got a few double-takes from other cyclists wondering what the "thing" on my bike's handlebars was (it's noticeable), but it's cool seeing a bike ride from the camera's view point. It also makes you aware how ignorant some drivers - and cyclists - are. The camera doesn't lie.

The GoPro is perhaps one of the coolest pieces of kit I've tried in a long time. On a bike, it gives cyclists a bit of security.

The other places this device could be used is almost endless: skiing, snowboarding, skateboarding, kayaking, surfing, sky-diving, motocycling, car racing . . .

GoPro high definition sport video camera

RRP: $549, Standard-definition model: $399

SPECS

* Video and still helmet - mountable camera.

* 1080p/ 960p/ 720p video.

* Cinema Slow Motion TM Playback.

* Lithium - Ion rechargeable battery.

* 32GB SD compatible.

* Waterproof to 60m