Go Pro cameras

[hornadylnl]

I'm going on a cruise in March and will be doing a dolphin swim, snuba, and snorkeling. I hadn't given it any thought until another INGOer pm'd me and offered to let me use his Go Pro camera. Sounds like it would be a great camera to take video of our trip but I'd hate to borrow one as with my luck, it'd end up in the bottom of the drink.

I went to their website and saw the Hero3 Black Edition and it looks like it's their top of the line model as far as video quality. I think I'd want the head and chest strap and probably the LCD screen as well. I see they have an add on battery pack. Does anyone know how long these will record on a single battery? On the head and chest straps, is the camera fixed or can you adjust the angle?

 

[ZbornacSVT]

Running at 1080P and 30fps you will get about 100 minutes of record time on the Hero3.
You will get about 125 minutes on the same settings out of a Hero2.

While the Hero3 Black is technically better with the 4K and 2.7K video, built in wifi, and 30fps burst, it does come at the cost of battery life. If you aren't going to use these extra features, you might want to consider getting an older model. I know the Hero3 Silver is basically a Hero2 with built in wifi and the smaller form factor, but I don't know if the battery life is that of the 2 or 3....

The Hero3 does protect the lens better also.

Another thing to consider is accessories. With the new, smaller size, the cases will be a bit different moving forward. The new cameras with a battery backpack are the same size as the old cameras themselves.

In regards to the adjustment of the angle....yes, you can adjust the angles. FOV is adjustable via settings in the camera itself.

 

[jetmechG550]

Agree if you don't need to stream live video of yourself hucking the triple at Supercross go for an older.model. you may get better battery life too. I was riding one day for about 20+ minutes, and got back to my trailer and hung the helmet up and went to watch the some other guys ride. Didn't realize the camera was still going and had one video that was over 90 minutes of looking at the floor of my trailer LOL plus other video from the day.

 

[hornadylnl]

I definitely want to get the highest quality video available. I think there's times being able to stream live with it would be nice as well.

 

[hornadylnl]

How many minutes of video will a 32 gb card hold on the highest video settings?

 

[Htrailblazer]

I dont have first hand experience with them, but from what I have heard they are waterproof put do not float! I had a friend that put one on a wakeboard and the mount didnt hold up and into the lake it went. This may have been an earlier model though.

 

[hoosierdoc]

Buy a high speed memory card for it. I bought a "dive housing" for mine so it didn't fishbowl so much. Also consider a red filter for underwater videos. YouTube has a lot of videos to show the effects.

I have the chest strap and it's pretty snug for a stable fit. There are endless mounting options too. Bring some webbing or para cord for more imaginative mounts. I strapped it to te front of our sea kayak and got some great videos going through te waves. Recording what you look like doing things is more fun than recording what you see when you do something.

Bring an extra video card just in case something happens. They are pricey on the boats. Lots of google pages on how to make custom mounts as well. Having an extension pole could be cool for snorkeling and gettin footage looking back at yourself or family and under rocks for finding lobster.

 

[MagicKev]

There is a 'float' you can put on the back of a GoPro. You can buy one or make one.
GoPro Floaty Backdoor - Lets your HD HERO Camera Float in Water

We use GoPro's in our several of our shows we produce. Mainly our stunt show. They never fail us.

 

[redsuperduty]

Mine is not the 3, but it takes pretty good video. About half way through this video is gopro vid from inside the cab of my mud race truck.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iud0ixA_qAg&feature=share&list=UUBJCRwCBQgA9EtVig8BvK-w

 

[BURNSURVIVOR725]

How many minutes of video will a 32 gb card hold on the highest video settings?

i shot this video with one class 10 32GB sandisk card. it did 4.5 hours of 1080 and still had a ton of room left.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZNq3-TiA04

 

[jeepfreek]

The new models have a different protective housing and are supposed to be much better at underwater video. I took my Hero2 to the Caribbean last spring and it shot nothing but a bunch of distorted video. I now have the Hero 3 black and have yet to try anything underwater but they are supposed to have fixed the focusing/fish bowl issue. You can also run the new ones with the wifi off. What I like is that you can use your phone to sync with it (when needed) to see what your actually shooting without the backpack on it. Comes in handy.

Awesome cameras. I want to shoot some video the next time we shoot and try slowing down the frames to see it in slow motion. Still haven't come anywhere close to the potential of the camera yet. Mainly we've been using it for my son when we take him out on the 4 wheelers.

 

[CitiusFortius]

I definitely want to get the highest quality video available. I think there's times being able to stream live with it would be nice as well.

You plan on editing with it? It's not fun in older versions of Final cut, lots 'o rendering...

 

[hornadylnl]

You plan on editing with it? It's not fun in older versions of Final cut, lots 'o rendering...

Possibly. I'm sure I'll want to cut out bits and pieces of video to make a better video to show others. We're supposed to have 30 minutes of actual dolphin swim time. I plan on letting it roll the whole time and if there's a couple minutes here and there of dead space, I'd like to cut those out.

 

[MagicKev]

Premier Pro works great with editing GoPro footage.

 

[actaeon277]

I'm glad you guys brought this up. I've been looking at one for a few months thinking about it.

 

[rambone]

They are sweet cameras. I use the Hero2. The versatility of the mounting accessories is remarkable. Worth the small investment.

I discovered that it can use a 64GB SDXC card, even though it is not officially supported.

I don't have an LCD screen and I'm not sure I would add one. It will eat battery life, adds bulk, and then you need a wider waterproof housing. Most of all I don't see it being that useful for what the camera is designed for -- mounted recording. Remember the camera is very simplistic in operation, and there is no playback function for video. So the only purpose of the LCD screen is to tell you what is in front of your camera, which is pretty simple to see for yourself from that angle.

Buying a second battery has helped me though, since that is a weakness of these cameras.

 

[ZbornacSVT]

You can mount to your guns as well!

This was shot with my Hero3 Black in 2.7K/30 mode, but exported as 1080/30
If the video isn't working, give it a few minutes. I made this post while the video was still uploading.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kooEQ0XaSpQ

 

[rambone]

You can mount to your guns as well!

This was shot with my Hero3 Black in 2.7K/30 mode, but exported as 1080/30
If the video isn't working, give it a few minutes. I made this post while the video was still uploading.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kooEQ0XaSpQ

Cool! What did you do to mount it?

 

[hoosierdoc]

Someone sells rail mounts for the cameras if you don't want to rig something up. I'm curious if he found a cheaper solution.

StrikeMark

 

[ZbornacSVT]

Cool! What did you do to mount it?

Someone sells rail mounts for the cameras if you don't want to rig something up. I'm curious if he found a cheaper solution.

StrikeMark

It is the cantilever version from Strikemark.