Rats! Now I’m longing for the SS3 again!
No, no. Seriously. No need to long for the SS3. I absolutely loved my SS2. But, since I had to choose, I chose to keep the SS3. Once they get the indoor accessory working, you may want to start longing again, lol.
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Yeah, then they dropped the price. The SS3 is getting delivered today!
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Oh boy, I may be the only sucker that paid full price for the SS3. Considering all the issues I’ve had with the unit (I ended up getting it replaced finally), it doesn’t make me feel all that great about the company, now to find it is substantially less expensive after the so-called “Cyber Monday” special!
ETA - I contacted them, and they agreed to refund me the difference! OK, feeling a bit better 
Yeah I saw the price drop and am seriously contemplating ordering. BUT I’m still on the fence.
Alas for you; the sale ended Sunday. 
Well, probably for the best. Gives me more time to contemplate and read reviews until (if) they have another sale. I refuse to buy it full price!!
There is a diagram in the user manual that shows the exact position they need to be in. #1 should always be directly across from the camera… #2 and #3 have to be your corners and if you have them swapped it will definitely film opposite of where you are because it cant triangulate. It’s also rather persnickity about making sure every time you start it up that you have the #1 beacon centered in the frame. I tried to zoom in on it real tight initially but found it would zoom too close and then lose me when I rode past the #1 beacon. So I get it centered but not zoomed in too too far and it tracks perfectly.
Yes, theres a little trial and error in getting to know your Pixio, but it’s doable and since I have no assistance what so ever, its a fantastic tool to have. No it’s not professional quality video, but I’m able to see my rides and can use it as a training tool. Worth the money in my opinion!
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No, the price drop seems to be permanent. The free tripod offer ended Sunday.
My SoloShot Optic65 is scheduled for delivery tomorrow, so I’ll be playing with it this weekend. Unfortunately our arena is under ice and I’ll be taking my lesson indoors on Sunday, so it might be a couple weeks until I can get a ride recorded.
Yep, I think my issue was the zoom actually. I set up the beacons exactly per the diagram, and i was still having issues, so then I tried to futz with the centering of Beacon 1 in the screen, and that fixed it.
Super fun toy, and I’m getting pretty quick at setting it up. Fun and USEFUL.Mini-lessons for me, things don’t always exactly look as they feel.
I stand corrected; thanks!
I pick mine up, also went with the Optic65 from UPS tonight. They, UPS, planned to send it to a UPS Access Point that is closed on the weekend and only open until 5:30 M-F. At least the UPS center is open until 6 so I have a better chance of getting there after work!
I ordered a Sandisk micro card from Amazon and already have that in hand.
Just a hint (not just to you, but to anyone looking for micro cards) - the best price I’ve found is COSTCO! They have a two pack for the same price paid for a single on Amazon. I do photography, so I watch for deals on cards (I use regular SDs for my camera, so I had to go buy micros for the Solo Shot), and have found Costco to often be the best price - and good quality, high speed!
ETA - I only buy Sandisk, and high speed - there is a huge difference in quality and in ability to shoot - even with photography, if you buy a slow card, it will slow down your camera. Don’t cut corners on the memory after spending all that money on a good system!
Costco carries the Sandisk UltraPlus, 64 GB double pack (transfers data as fast as 100 mbps) for the same price I paid for a single on Amazon. And if you get lucky, sometimes they have those instant rebates!
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What type of tripod did you guys buy if you didn’t get it included in the package? I see some on amazon for $15-20 but not sure if they’d be sturdy enough. Also, what size SD cards would you need to record an hour long ride?
The size SD card you need depends on the quality of video you are going to shoot. I think I have a 32GB disk that I use for my SS2 and it easily holds a couple hours of video (that’s the most I’ve put on it).
I went with the Sandisk Extreme Pro 64GB for the SS3 which supports a transfer rate of 275 MB/s
After reading all the reviews on the SS3 and the Pixio setup, I’m now torn between the two on which to by myself. I very rarely ride in an indoor, really only for my twice monthly dressage lessons but I’d like to film those, and all of the rest of my riding takes place in an outdoor ring that I hack to down the road.
The outdoor is pretty square, roughly 120x 120 with a huge tree off to one side within the ring/footing itseld. Its fenced so I have the capability to set beacons if needed, but I would have to do this each time? Which system would you all recommend that I could backpack with me to the ring, and set up rather quickly to capture my rides? Price isn’t really a deciding factor; the quality of the footage each device captures and ease of setup during each use is more important! TIA
Good to know! Mr. Atlatl is very much into photo/videography so he is bad influence in that we have a screamer of a PC that can take advantage of the higher transfer rates.
Just make sure that your microSD cards are on the Soloshot’s recommended list, with the right speeds etc. There has been some problems with people’s videos when they’ve used cheapy cards or not the right ones!
I’ve never used a pixio but I love my SS3 now they sent me a replacement and I’ve got my setting up routine sorted out.
I had the SS3 on order for like a year and finally bailed and got a Pixio when I found out that the indoor accessory was not available on the SS3.
The Pixio works great as long as you carefully follow the steps in the correct order. In other words, if you are rushed and nervous at a clinic, you are likely to screw this up 
I did several times. Now I sort of have it down and it mostly works!
Same issue as the SS in that you can’t get too close to the camera or it goes crazy. I don’t have it anywhere near 20 feet back, I put it in the corner of the covered arena and try to make sure I don’t get within like 5m of it.
Overall it’s great. I did try streaming and it had pretty bad lag - I think one issue is that most barns are in areas where you don’t have great connectivity. If you can actually use a broadband connection, I think it would work really well.
The thing is even when it doesn’t work perfectly, it’s super helpful. You watch your lesson again, figure out how you got from A to B, etc.
https://youtu.be/_GdIaz8JbA0 SS3 video from yesterday. Have not used the pixio ever, but I love my SS3 and if I compare this video to my older ones, I can see the differences!! I think its very helpful!!!
Most tripods should state how much weight they will carry. The biggest issues with cheap tripods is either they don’t pan well, or they are uber flimsy, or they weigh a ton (those tend to be the mid priced ones that can carry more weight). When you get into the really high end tripods (you don’t need that), you are paying for high quality heads and ultra lightweight. You don’t need a lot of weight capacity - these cameras are pretty lightweight - but I would read the reviews and find one that people are using for video that seems to pan well and can hold at least a few pounds. You can always further stabilize a tripod by handing a little weight off the bottom of the support column - a baggy of pebbles will work.
The reason I went with the SS3 is the ease of set up. I had several people from COTH who graciously pmd and emailed me further info on their systems, and a few people send me video links (Manni just posted one too), so I could see what they looked like. Neither one zooms in as much as I would like, but it is good enough to at least see how I’m riding (I am another who rides alone, at home, no mirrors).
The SS3 is the easiest to set up. When I got mine, they had some software issues, and I could not get it set up - I was super frustrated. Then they did a software update, and it was so easy after that. Basically, I take the unit up to the arena, turn it on (that takes about 90 seconds) and pick a couple of options on the screen (takes about 3 seconds), then the camera needs to calibrate with the tag - the tag is the small device you wear on your arm or carry in your pocket. That takes another minute or two - all you need to do is be at least 20 feet from the camera, and they recommend you move around - so I walk back and forth for that process. You could do it on horseback as well, and just walk in the arena as your warm up walk. And then it is ready to go. You can turn the record on or off from the tag. I tend to turn mine off and not watch the warm up. The whole set up each time takes just a few minutes, and you can do part of it on horseback. No technical knowledge needed.
The downside - it doesn’t work indoors. It needs a clear GPS signal - not sure it would work under a tree, for example. And my arena is carved out of a hill, so if I put the camera at the C/A side, it is too close and has problems tracking me when I get that close. So I have to set it on the long side where I have a lot more room.
I got the 25 camera - the less expensive one - it will still track way further then a dressage court. Video is good enough quality - I guess it isn’t HD, and if I want to pull “still shots” (aka photos) off, then I can see the quality isn’t as good, but for my purposes, it wasn’t work the extra $200 for the other camera.
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