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October 26, 2014

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Entrepreneur uses GoPro to film documentary

BOB Zheng is working on a documentary film about entrepreneurs.

The operator of a start-up incubation office in Shanghai says he and five other entrepreneurs will shoot footage for the film while using a GoPro camera, a wearable computing device.

“My friends obviously liked the idea,” Zheng, 32, told Shanghai Daily in an office on Yuyuan Road near Jing’an Temple.

He said he received 65 likes and 81 comments within several hours after posting his film plan on Weibo.

Now Zheng wears the camera every weekday, recording everything he does in the office. The others also wear a camera on their chest holder for eight to 10 hours every weekday. The miniature camera is robust and popular among extreme sports enthusiasts and has a 170-degree wide angle lens that shows parts of the user’s body, including the face, depending on how it is mounted.

“People feel more comfortable without a huge lens or professional photographer in front of them. This makes it more real,” said Zheng.

He and the others recorded everything from business meetings, challenges, decision making, negotiations with partners and investors, team arguments and even setbacks.

With a 12 mega-pixel burst photo at 30 frames per second, Hero4, the latest GoPro model, helps users capture the moments they don’t want to miss. Night Photo and Night Lapse offer customizable exposure settings for various situations that can be difficult to photograph.

It’s also got optional accessories including chest and hat holders, an additional battery and LCD screen display.

Before using the camera, Zheng tried similar devices including Google Glass. But it costs US$1,500 compared to US$400 for GoPro and had battery and resolution limitations, which forced Zheng to seek an alternative.

Zheng said he wears a portable charger to ensure he always has enough power and changes memory cards every day for video storage and reviewing.

Demand for wearable computing devices is expected to increase substantially. Market revenue of wearable computing devices, covering smart wristbands, watches and cameras, is expected to hit US$50 billion within the next five years, according to research firm On World. The smartwatch market, fueled by new giants like Apple and Samsung, is expected to generate US$10 billion in sales by 2018, a sixfold jump from estimated earnings this year, according to Citigroup.

Chen Jie, a 56-year-old businessman, paid more than US$400 for a GoPro and accessories during a trip to Alaska last month. Chen said he plans to try it out when he goes dancing in night clubs.

“It will be interesting if I can use it with young ladies,” said Chen, who likes drinking and hanging out at night.

Zheng said he is also a fan of Fitbit, a smart wristband for detecting sleepiness and recording exercise statistics every day.

“It helped me lose weight and I soon bought another one for my wife,” said Zheng, adding he plans to improve his work efficiency through such devices.




 

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