Worth it? Peau 3.97

[Perry Lawrence]

Been reading up on the Peau 3.97 and the install process (Peau vs DIY). Not wanting to brick my GP H4B, an apple guy ( wife's on windowz), and not so great with tiny electronics, thinking of sending cam in and having them do it. At $270 plus shipping, it's a bit of a hit.
So...
Are these ever on sale?
Anyone have a negative take on the 3.97?
Will the PolarPro filters fit?

Thanks!

 

[mudman]

Do you mean 3.97? I bought my camera from them with it already installed and it's worth the money.
I can record 4k wide with no legs in the shots and no fisheye.

 

[Perry Lawrence]

Do you mean 3.97? I bought my camera from them with it already installed and it's worth the money.
I can record 4k wide with no legs in the shots and no fisheye.

Yep sorry edited to correct.
Thanks!

 

[Pushjerk]

I picked up a used (looks brand new) 4.35 of RCG for $45. They're around.

Went the alternate DIY lens change route, no taking apart the cam. Results were great. After picking up the Remote Lens Profile swap from PP, I'm out $100. Worth the risk IMO.

There have been plenty of times, though, I've paid for that "It has been done right" warm fuzzy.

 

[franknitty69]

the stock lens is sharper than any 3rd party. the issues with stock are 1) shooting in wide can get legs in the shot during hard yawing and 2) barrel distortion.

all of the issues can be resolved without purchasing a new lens. you can shoot in medium and barrel distortion can easily be removed in post.

the issues with a 3rd party lens are 1) installation...easy for some, not so easy for others, 2) not as sharp as stock, 3) a more zoomed in lens exaggerates vibrations and 4) quality control...some lenses have issues with sharpness at the edges.

so knowing this, whether it's worth it, is subjective. i have 4 lenses (3.8 v1, 3.8 v2, 4.35, 4.4, 5.4) but i've never paid more than $80 for any of them. so for me its worth it. also i would lever pay more for than $80 for any m12 lens.

the other things to consider are that if you replace the lens, there will be a pink vignette. this can only be removed by Peau Productions.

 

[Perry Lawrence]

all of the issues can be resolved without purchasing a new lens. you can shoot in medium and barrel distortion can easily be removed in post

Thanks so much Frank. This is exactly what I'm doing now. If lens isn't as sharp no need to change. Appreciate your insight.

 

[wsalopek]

the stock lens is sharper than any 3rd party. the issues with stock are 1) shooting in wide can get legs in the shot during hard yawing and 2) barrel distortion.

all of the issues can be resolved without purchasing a new lens. you can shoot in medium and barrel distortion can easily be removed in post.

the issues with a 3rd party lens are 1) installation...easy for some, not so easy for others, 2) not as sharp as stock, 3) a more zoomed in lens exaggerates vibrations and 4) quality control...some lenses have issues with sharpness at the edges.

so knowing this, whether it's worth it, is subjective. i have 4 lenses (3.8 v1, 3.8 v2, 4.35, 4.4, 5.4) but i've never paid more than $80 for any of them. so for me its worth it. also i would lever pay more for than $80 for any m12 lens.

the other things to consider are that if you replace the lens, there will be a pink vignette. this can only be removed by Peau Productions.

Frank,

Thanks for that info.

One thing though, to your point #3:

Shooting in medium or narrow is the exact same thing as "zooming in"...so if a person has good luck with their GoPro/Solo re: vibrations at medium or narrow, they will also have good luck with a "zoomed in" lens.

Stated another way, the vibration effect will be identical in the same field-of-view, whether that reduction in field-of-view is the result of a "zoomed in" lens, or from using medium/narrow on the GoPro.

--

Bill

 

[PdxSteve]

Frank,

Thanks for that info.

One thing though, to your point #3:

Shooting in medium or narrow is the exact same thing as "zooming in"...so if a person has good luck with their GoPro/Solo re: vibrations at medium or narrow, they will also have good luck with a "zoomed in" lens.

Stated another way, the vibration effect will be identical in the same field-of-view, whether that reduction in field-of-view is the result of a "zoomed in" lens, or from using medium/narrow on the GoPro.

--

Bill

It's not the quite same thing, but the end result "looks" like it.

When shooting in narrow/medium, it is not using the full sensor to capture the image/video. It's basically a crop in the center, ignoring everything on the outside of it. So it's not capturing the full data, only partial. You can do the same thing in photoshop or whatever by grabbing the center of the image and doing a crop, discarding the outer parts.

With an aftermarket lens with a narrower FOV (which accomplishes the "zoom"), you can use WIDE mode for everything and not get the legs in the view, which uses the full sensor of the gopro (no cropping).

So while both appear "zoomed", one has less data because it is a crop and the other has full data because it is actually more of a true optical zoom.

Here is a graphical representation of the area of the sensor used (the crop area) for narrow/medium/wide:

 

[wsalopek]

It's not the quite same thing, but the end result "looks" like it.

Steve...yep...agreed...and good/important point.

I was just addressing the "zoomed in" increase in vibration issue.

--

Bill

 

[Floating Ron]

I couldn't be happier with my Peau 3.97. I sent my Hero 4 Black to them to install the lens and update the software. Very quick turnaround. I am very happy with the picture quality, zoomed in picture and the lack of lens distortion. Not having to get rid of the distortion in post production is nice too.

 

[big dave o]

I must say that I've been a bit disappointed with my Peau 3.97. It is very soft at the edges, way more so than the stock lens. I kind of wish I'd gone for the cheap eBay lens option and just corrected for the pink corners in photoshop myself as the hole Peau experience turned out to be rather expensive and unsatisfactory.

 

[Clamb385]

I couldn't be happier with my Peau 3.97. I sent my Hero 4 Black to them to install the lens and update the software. Very quick turnaround. I am very happy with the picture quality, zoomed in picture and the lack of lens distortion. Not having to get rid of the distortion in post production is nice too.

Do they charge for install and the firmware or whatever to get rid of the pink? If so, can I ask how much? I'm about to send mine to them. I'm jsut worried that I won't have it for a couple weeks.

 

[Perry Lawrence]

Put the lens in your cart and there will be an opportunity to install and remove pink for $100.

 

[PdxSteve]

I had mine back in less than a business week, although I am just one state north of them. Lens install/focus + lens profile removal. Just be sure to follow their instructions on the paperwork and let them know the tracking number when you send it in.

They charge $130 to remove old lens, install new one + focus and remove the profile:
Services – Peau Productions

 

[SARDG]

...They charge $130 to remove old lens, install new one + focus and remove the profile:
Services – Peau Productions

So... using that formula... $140 lens + $130 labor/profile = $270 + $450 GoPro + 2-way shipping headaches = $720. A GP4B all decked out, direct from Peau is $650 (order, receive, fly!) What am I missing, except if a person doesn't need or want a new GP?

 

[PdxSteve]

I don't think you're missing anything. Yes it's $70 cheaper to buy a premodded one than send yours in to have it individually modded. It's a lot faster to mod a bunch of them at a time than individual ones. You also get a full year warranty if you buy theirs, and peau will replace it if its damaged in a crash that 3dr agrees was their fault (kind of an extension of the 3dr warranty as 3dr will only replace the damaged gopro with a stock gopro and NO additional mods). That's pretty top-notch too since their lens obviously had nothing to do with a crash. I believe the warranty if you send yours in to be modified is 30 days, but you can purchase an extension.

There were no shipping headaches. I dropped it off down the street at UPS and had it back 4 business days later to my door. Pretty damn quick turn around if you ask me. I haven't heard of others having delays, IF they follow the instructions and send them the info they are asking for up front.

 

[Clamb385]

sent my gopro in today. Cant wait to get it back!!

 

[SARDG]

sent my gopro in today. Cant wait to get it back!!

I'm going to send my order in, it's easier. I wonder if they normally update the GP FW, because I am not ready for v 4.

 

[Brendon Baddiley]

I don't think you're missing anything. Yes it's $70 cheaper to buy a premodded one than send yours in to have it individually modded. It's a lot faster to mod a bunch of them at a time than individual ones. You also get a full year warranty if you buy theirs, and peau will replace it if its damaged in a crash that 3dr agrees was their fault (kind of an extension of the 3dr warranty as 3dr will only replace the damaged gopro with a stock gopro and NO additional mods). That's pretty top-notch too since their lens obviously had nothing to do with a crash. I believe the warranty if you send yours in to be modified is 30 days, but you can purchase an extension.

There were no shipping headaches. I dropped it off down the street at UPS and had it back 4 business days later to my door. Pretty damn quick turn around if you ask me. I haven't heard of others having delays, IF they follow the instructions and send them the info they are asking for up front.

This would be awesome if they shipped to NZ cheap enough

 

[pyrate]

I'm going to send my order in, it's easier. I wonder if they normally update the GP FW, because I am not ready for v 4.

you can add comments or even call them. great folks just tell them not to update