I don’t normally do box openings (except from when I got my first BJD). But I can’t hide my excitement especially that I’ve finally saved up to buy myself a GoPro in time for our Palawan trip though it’s still far away.
I was saving up for one since last year, but I had to postpone it and buy myself a new laptop for my everyday use some time last month. Sooooo… because of that, it doubles my excitement to finally be able to get one earlier.
I was looking in Lazada as they had the cheapest option of P16,749 for the basic set. (But I discovered it’s more expensive in the long run due to the inclusions it has, More about it through the post.)
I had second thoughts since my best friend, Armen ordered one through them and it took 2-3 weeks of email exchange because the messenger/rider didn’t arrive as expected. I scrapped the idea of purchasing through them when I inquired for another item but they just replied with a templated answer which doesn’t even come close to what I asked.
So I looked into other options and came across Kimstore‘s sponsored FB ads, priced at P17,000 for the basic kit and P18,900 for their Starter Kit including a 3-way pole and a 32GB microSD class 10 card. Here it is in their site.
I didn’t mind the P251 difference since one of their meet-up points is a 5-minute walk away from my place which is convenient. So I inquired via their Facebook page as their website doesn’t contain full info.
From our FB convo,I noticed that I also inquired from them in 2011 about a telephoto lens I was planning to buy but their response team is quite slow (took them a day at least) that I ended up buying in dbgadgets then (which only took a few minutes, totally different story) So I decided to just SMS them to confirm the exact inclusions to which I was responded to easily. What turned me off is the fact that at the end of the reply I got from them was a “we’ll be happy to assist you further for any inquiries” but they didn’t reply on my next question. Lol. I followed up the next day before I got another response.
Later on, I asked for Armen’s opinion on how his GoPro is doing, And I was starting to think and ask myself if it was right for me to buy one or invest it in my plan on switching to Canon for my DSLR instead. After some talk, he then linked me to I-Click Digishop where I found a better package of P18990 including freebie of 3-way pole, a 32GB microSD class 4 card, and a battery pack which Lazada both don’t include, and Kimstore doesn’t have a battery pack. They do have other packages available but this one piqued my interest best.
So, for only P90 difference. I PMed their FB page. They reply fast, and they were very accommodating to my questions.
Later during the night I searched about the 3-way thing (which I was confusing the 3-way pivot arm and the 3-way pole as one) did I find another FB Page which sells unbranded and cheap branded monopods and accessories, Outdoor GRIND PH. Curse the idea of researching because I was trying to compute if it would be cheaper for me to just buy a basic kit and buy the accessories separately (since I don’t really care about brands lol), but stopped the idea because I hate Math hahaha.
I decided to push through with I-Click instead, so the next day, which is today, I went to their branch in Quiapo (just behind SM Clearance Outlet near Carriedo) even though I was really worried bringing that much cash to the place. Thanks Mom for accompanying me, even though doing that made me look like a spoiled brat asking my mom to buy me items hahaha.
I was assisted by the kind lady, Amy, who gave me the basic info I needed to get started with my GoPro such as the purpose of the buttons and for what the accessories included are for. And even helping me in what I need to do when I install the GoPro app for Hero4’s Wi-Fi function. I appreciated it very much since I had no idea haha.
The GoPro app, thankfully, also has a step-by-step short video for setting it up so it was easy. You just need to press a few buttons, wait for the code to show up on the camera, copy it and type it in. Same goes for the Wi-Fi.
Getting home, I reopened the box and there comes this beauty.
One of my problems before I bought one is not knowing what it contained, apparently, GoPro is a sealed package with fixed inclusions containing the following items:
- The Hero4 silver 12MP action camera
- 3 manuals, each of their own use
- A waterproof housing with attached 30-40m waterproof backdoor
- 2 extra backdoors, one for outdoors, and another 2-3m waterproof one
- 1 Curved and 1 flat adhesive mounts
- A 3 -way pivot arm (confused this with the actual pole at first, apparently this one is the one that makes the cam turn up down left right, Lazada only had this one, which I thought to be the pole, so since it’s not included in their basic kit, it makes it more expensive than the rest of the packages I laid out above since you’ll be buying it separately)
- Quick-release buckle
- A USB cable (charger not included)
And my freebie is down on that photo which is the 3-way pole that can serve as the pole, the grip, and a tripod, thus its name; and a battery kit (charger and batteries) which isn’t on the photo since they had no stock and I have to get back to it some other time lol)
Upon examining and testing on the unit on my own, one thing comes to mind, everything feels so fragileeeeeeee. The camera is already tiny with its casing,a nd even more so without it. I’m being extra careful as I try to slide, snap and screw things in since I’m not sure to what extend they can hold pressure. Don’t want to break it on the first day, do I.
Can’t try out any decent shots yet since the battery’s out and it’s charging as I write this. Will try and update this one for future discoveries and possibly a review too.
Here is the much needed IG shot of my new GoPro baby and my babies LOL.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BF6aHo9j27A/?taken-by=azlyl
Now I’m very much looking forward to my future travels!
Life and Lemons 