Does anyone have one of these cameras? How well do they perform? Looking at the video of the surfer on their website the guy is pretty small in the screen. If you’re on a horse in an arena is the main image larger? How well can you see yourself and your own movements? Can you pause the video along the way and take a still frame from that point?
These things seem really cool but at $800 it’s not a small investment.
Thanks
I have one and really like it. I had/has some minor bugs but nothing that has stopped me from using it and getting videos. I also went into the purchase knowing it would have bugs and issues in the beginning, so I’m not as disappointed and irritated as other people have been.
If you look for the SoloShot Equestrian Facebook group you will be able to see videos other have taken.
You cn adjust kind of adjust how much of you and the horse appear in the video.
You can get a refurbished one for $599. I have one and love it. Unfortunately, mine has been flaky and after many emails, I was finally able to talk to someone who immediately authorized a replacement which I received today and am charging. When mine worked, it was super. I’m an early adopter and still have my soloshot 2 which always worked great.
I have one, here is a recent video shot with it at 1080p, 30fps. You can shoot in 4K if you want high-quality stills, but it uses a lot of memory. At 30fps, I can get a full schooling session in one 10GB file usually.
It is a little bit finicky, but usually works quite well. The company provides updates, which seem to be helping improve the performance over time.
The Optic 25 is much cheaper (they’re discontinuing it), and, unless you want to grab stills from your video, is excellent quality. My husband walked into my office the other day and literally exclaimed how good the resolution was on my Optic 25. For either, you can be much more zoomed in - definitely check out the soloshot equestrians facebook page for examples (as recommended by Mydogs).
Sorry to tag onto this thread, but does the Soloshot work indoors? And does it require you to set up “markers” (not sure what they call them) in a few places to provide parameters for the camera? Or does it just follow a tag you wear on your arm? I have read about of a few of these products and it seems like there are drawbacks to each, and each have some different functionality. Outerbanks—your video looks terrific—I would be happy if a camera could provide that level of quality.
It currently does not work indoors. There is suppose to be an indoor accessory developed but it is not available yet. But, some people with a more open built covered arena have tried it with some success.
No, there are no markers that need to be set up. Just the tag you wear so it can follow you and the camera & base that go on a tripod.
You can always set up the camera in a corner and just have it film part of the arena. Not as useful as it doesn’t track you, but you can always put yourself in its view to check specific movements, or just use it as a tool to get feedback on your riding. So, it doesn’t track you indoors, but it can still film (like any old camera can).
This is what I did. It has been awhile since I’ve recorded myself indoors but the only thing that I noticed was the focus wasn’t as great since it wasn’t tracking me. But, I could still get a general idea of how things were going.
I don’t have a Solo or a Pixio, but for those who want indoors I was sucked in to watching a lot of videos the other day that the Pixio took indoors (and it does track the rider and other than one video I saw it seemed to track fairly well). I know that Solo said they would be releasing one that could do indoors, but it has never come to fruition. Solo looks far easier to set up, has a much longer range, and tilts in addition to panning. If Solo had indoor capability I would hands down get it - shut up and take my money, but because it doesn’t I waffle between which one I’d prefer and just end up deciding not to spend the money. Based on the Soloshot FB group it sounds like things are still at a stand still with indoor capabilities?
Something that has been bandied about on the SoloShot FB page is the use of a GPS repeater to bring the signal inside. I don’t have that need, but did run it by some folks I know who are very savvy on the GPS program and the general consensus is that it should work.
Still all promise from the company, but no delivery. I bought mine most because of the promise that the indoor accessory would become available in early 2018 (since I boarded at a facility with only a covered arena), but so far, no dice. I’ve since moved to a facility with an outdoor (and uncovered) arena, where the SS3 works beautifully. So, a year after buying it, I can finally get it to work and I love it… just in time for winter where we’ll be relegated to the indoor for who-knows-how-long 
Long story short - there’s no indoor accessory.
Being retired and cheap (hey, I’m a Connecticut Yankee!) no Soloshot for me. But since my instructor goes South for the winter, I really need some feedback. I ended up buying a $10 camcorder off a local facebook group. Set it on a cheap tripod in the corner of the arena. I have my lessons on disc and use a rewritable disc for my daily rides. It works reasonably well. By now I know where the blind spot are, so I make sure to practice things I need feedback on within camera range.
Not perfect - it seems like my instructor always said YES! that’s it! when I was out of camera range :uhoh: and there is an interesting white-out effect by the barway at the back of the indoor - but overall, I have found it really useful.
Yeah—the “no indoor accessory” is a deal breaker for me. With my work schedule and living in a Northern climate . . . once the daylight savings time moves back the clock this weekend----I will be stuck in the indoor the majority of the next 5 months. I will look at the Pixio’s and see what they have to offer (and how pricey they are). I have been waffling about these cameras for a few years and keep seeing the threads about people who have paid their money and are still waiting for their camera (or they got a camera, but it didn’t have the features that they were promised).
Not sure whether it helps… I have the SS3 65 and overall I really like it.
This is a video from a week ago outdoor.
https://youtu.be/v0IcgZKnDTc
And this is a video recorded in a covered arena without zooming…
I really like it how it works outdoors and its better then nothing indoors…
BTW… different horses…
I like the way it looks in the open for sure. With the indoor having the open sides does it still screw it up?
BTW I liked the horse’s movement in the 1st video
Not sure whether tracking would work in the covered. Usually I ride there only at clinics, so I don’t want to take a risk that it doesnt record
It took two years from the time the first pre-orders were placed for the SS3s and the time the first products were delivered. It was not supposed to take that long, but the early pre-orders were half price and you knew when you ordered it did not yet exist – basically a Go Fund Me campaign. To my knowledge, all orders have been filled for some time now.
I rode for a year under a covered arena (open sides, metal roof, steel posts all around), and the tracking was awful to begin with, and got worse over the course of the updates, so I just stopped using it. At the start, I could sort of get it to track if I put it out from under the cover, and stayed around the edges, but over time the software updates changed the SS3 enough that it just wasn’t working under the cover at all. (But it works great outdoors!)
The orders for the “regular” SoloShot3 that only works with their proprietary cameras have been filled. The SoloShot3 Pro, which works with other cameras, is still not out and there’s a lot of pissed off people who had preordered it.
There are also a lot of angry people posting on their facebook about issues with getting their refunds for returns…or even just getting their orders. Apparently no one from the company is responding to emails, calls or FB messages.
I don’t know what is going on, but something to keep in mind. It’s a pity as I do like my SoloShot2 and it would be nice to have something with less set up time (and indoor capabilities).
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