Gopro Max 2 released

I only use UL2GSV and the mapillary desktop uploader

I may to be very careful with the GoPro but, partially, because I know that I have the protection. But, even being more careful, I can’t be 100% sure that I will avoid avoid some accident for the camera. First case is driving and missing height limitation. Second case is mountain biking and some branches may touch the camera.

So, mostly, when cleaning the camera with water (or immersing in the swimming pool :sweat_smile: ), I need to be careful on drying i.e. remove the protective windows long enough after cleaning. Condensation was an issue only 2 times in more than one year of use.

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I don’t quite get what the hype is about? Those specs don’t seem that much better, and from what I can tell photos max out at 8k?

It’s definitely not going to get even close to Pro/Pro2 level of detail, and still cost lots of money. But at least it will reach the market, unlike the Kartacam it seems

@TheWizard Did you get your GoPro MAX 2 on your hand yet? I’m getting by on 6th of October and I’ll share sample sequence here :slight_smile:

I received it yesterday :slight_smile:. Today I made a testdrive, I will upload the data when it’s processed.

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@boris @asturksever An example of the Max 2 .360 file. Settings: bitrate high, 8k/30 fps, 10-bit.

ffmpeg info: Stream #0:00x1: Video: hevc (Main 10) (hvc1 / 0x31637668), yuv420p10le(tv, bt709), 7680x3840 [SAR 1:1 DAR 2:1], 142421 kb/s, 29.97 fps, 29.97 tbr, 29970 tbn (default)

Upload to Mapillary: mapillary.com/app/user/thewizard?lat=52.37271390000001&lng=5.236687400000051&z=17&all_coverage=false&pKey=31524203870559294&focus=photo&x=0.8906161285556096&y=0.5734197873947906&zoom=0

(different version with the correct resolution)

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Thank you for your efforts. However,…

Image details
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Image resolution 4096 x 2048

:slightly_frowning_face: Useless effort. @TheWizard Go with image time lapse mode, please. Besides, capturing HDR video for Mapillary is also total waste of effort currently because everything is converted down to yuvj420p on Mapillary anyway. JPEG does not support HDR coding at all. For HDR to reach viewers Mapillary would have to serve JPEG2000, HEIF, or WebP. If you really want to stick to video then consider going 25 fps (NTSC’s frame timing is pesky! :roll_eyes:) or better yet something like 5Ɨ Time Warp Mode.

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There is no HDR mode on the Max 2, 10 bit is not HDR in this case. The shortest time lapse mode is 2 seconds.

I’m using the highest settings because I also use the video files for other projects, I never use photo mode. The 30 fps settings was a mistake, I was in a rush and didn’t change it to 25 fps yet (out of the box it is 30 fps).

I checked a different part and that was the correct resolution, that upload was a wrong one, there was an issue with the conversion. Only that file was affected. This one is in the correct resolution, I changed the original post:

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:disappointed_face: Oh, that’s rather disappointing. What about the advertised burst mode? Hence, I would still be eager to see photo mode quality on Mapillary.

Now, that’s more like what I have expected! :+1: It is 8K alright and better than MAX’s 5K indeed but imho not completely over the hump for mapping yet. We would need to see some street‑side imagery with house numbers and street name signs at varying distances in order to make a final verdict. It is better than MAX, that’s for sure. But, this was also kind of expected. For me, it is all about legible house numbers and street name signs at ca. 5 m (16½’) to 10 m (33’) distance that makes or breaks the deal for an acceptable/adequate 360° camera.

MAX2’s video mode visibly exhibits fewer compression artifacts than MAX’s video mode (even at high bit rates), which is also great to see. However, it is hard to tell whether this is due to HEVC versus MAX’s h.264 coding. MAX’s video quality is rather poor with both codecs. Maybe it is due to HDR coding, so that down sampling produces finer gradients?

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This is awesome, thank you for uploading & sharing @TheWizard !

:partying_face: Images look very good! However, it looks like we have two issues on the Mapillary side:

  1. The desktop uploader doesn’t currently support the .36P file extension (which looks to be just .jpg, so renaming them works, but we’ll add proper support in a future version)

  2. We aren’t properly stitching the .360 video on the server-side unfortunately - so right now you need to stitch it yourself using GoPro tooling before upload. We are going to review this to see if we can allow uploading of .360 videos generated with the GoPro MAX 2 directly.

@GITNE - here’s one example of a street sign: https://www.mapillary.com/app/user/thewizard?lat=52.37152089999998&lng=5.268613899999991&z=17&all_coverage=false&pKey=1428683401533310&focus=photo&x=0.43319017256333525&y=0.5459375713000825&zoom=0

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Great example @boris, especially with regards to distance and font size! The sign is right on the cusp of legibility. Though, as some who does not know dutch :face_with_monocle: I am having a hard time spelling that street name correctly for sure. Maybe, if the image was 4:2:2 coded or was true 32 MP (8,192Ɨ4,096) — what I consider minimum resolution for useful 360° imagery — I would be more sure? Anyhow, overall the quality looks good, not excellent or great imho but decently good. MAX2 is getting awfully close to a fire & forget 360° camera for mapping. MAX requires planning ahead, covering more area or the same area multiple times over in order to capture vital data, like street names and house numbers.

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I took some pictures during the ride but the quality isn’t better than the video in my opion. See ZIP attachment for a couple of examples. It’s in the GoPro own format but a rename to .jpg is enough to open the file.

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Could you please tell me what you changed to improve the resolution on Mapillary from 4096x2048 to 7680x3840? I’ve the same problem with a GoPro max 2025, that is all my 5.6K@24fps videos are converted to 4096x2048 images instead of 5376x2688 (or something similar) when uploaded to Mapillary via Desktop uploader. I thought the only way was to convert the video via GoPro player or to extract the frames myself but I still haven’t managed to get anywhere…

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I’m not using the desktop uploader but the mapillary tools. First I convert the 360 files to mp4, after that some GPS extraction. But when converting you have to choose HVEC, not h.264, that one is limited to 4k. Maybe that’s the issue with the desktop uploader but I’m not sure.

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Apologies in advance for the barrage of questions.

Is that a Smallrig triple magnetic suction cups mount? Are you happy with that mount? What was the maximum speed you used it at?

Is the black cable the power cord? So, is it possible to record videos/shoot images while charging the GoPro Max (2)?

Thanks for the samples, @TheWizard. There really is a noticeable improvement in image quality compared to the previous model. Unfortunately, here in Brazil, we have difficulty obtaining new releases at a fair price. It will take a while to get one of these to use with the group I coordinate at the university for collaborative mapping. :frowning:

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No problem! That’s the purpose of this forum :slight_smile: . It’s indeed a Smallrig triple setup, bought from Amazon (SMALLRIG 2-in-1 Triple Magnetic Suction Cup Mount) with an extra adjustable selfie stick. At least 20.000 km Mapillary kilometers are done with this setup without any issues. Max speed I tested with was 130 km/h without any issues. Sometimes with a strong wind you have vibrations due to the dampers, but that’s not very often.

Yes, that’s the powercable, I have to change the setup because third party battery doors are not available yet (battery door with USB passthrough). Fortunately they made new battery door for the Max 2 with a watertight seal around the USB cable, see the pictures.

Yes, you can record videos when charging, without any issues. Because it’s mounted on the car there are no overheating issues.

This is my ā€œoldā€ setup (Max 2025) with modified battery door (I used the dremel to open the hole a little more because of the bigger USB cable I’m using). Water is not an issue, the port is always located on the back. But when it’s raining I always remove the Max because of the droplets on the lenses.

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Mapping while raining is not recommended on Mapillary.

Nope, indeed. Picture quality is important.

Standing still with the sun from behind. Nichelangelo, Hichelangelo, or Michelangelo ?

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