I'm gonna crack the whip here as we seem to have gone fairly off topic, although I am taking in a lot from the experience you guys have with video and the info being shared here, thanks.
As stated in my original post, I don't have anything against the GoPro it is an awesome little camera for its size, ease of use and crash cam ruggedness. I just want to step up a notch in video quality and a more cinematic look from a GoPro without gaining too much weight and bulk, so even the smallest of SLR's available today are way out of the question.
I realize it's a bit lazy but I'm not too concerned about audio capture, external monitors etc. at this stage, 95% of the video I'm wanting to capture and edit/use will have a soundtrack. For the other 5% where I might want to capture small sound clips, a fishing reel singing or a fish splashing on the surface, I'll get an external audio recorder.
I can afford to use a camera with a bit more size than a GoPro, and you would think that this would allow me to net some sort of gain in video quality and a more cinematic look
Where does that leave me? Like any consideration of a new camera purchase, in a big bag of compromises. It seems to me that camera companies are just not seeing the issues and developing a camera to work as a complete system, instead focusing on selling new camera bodies and forcing the customer to jump through hoops to make it work and get the real goodness that a camera may be capable of.
Here are 3 options I see...
Get a mirrorless camera with fixed lens and be happy with it. Probably won't be much of a gain at all over a GoPro, but will look like a bigger camera and thus make me feel like I'm doing better.
Get a mirrorless camera with no fixed mount and try hard to find a small wide angle lens, 24-28mm range, that will keep camera size down and offer better video quality and a more cinematic look than the fixed lens option.
Stop whining about the GoPro and just go and buy another one and forget about the camera market for another 5 years.
Video quality and a more cinematic look, you're sick of hearing that by now I know, but that's my focus here, my real reason for starting this thread. Surely starting with good footage out of camera is the right way to go rather than relying on post to pull footage into line.
Just typing.