where to attach gopro on bc?

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Nitro91

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Location
Sydney, Australia
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i just got myself the gopro hd hero2 camera outdoor edition, so i can mount on my head if i wanted to for a dive.
but i was thinking how exactly to attach it to my bc or clip to bc like a lanyard or leash?
 
get a head mount, wear it under your hood and that should be enough
 
A head mount is not good if you want a steady image ;-)
 
I would say keep it in a thigh pocket on your wetsuit when not shooting....meaning you may need to buy a thigh pocket and glue it on the suit....
You don't want to try stuffing things into BC pockets---aside from the drag, you can't see in to them well, or how securely they are closed. Thigh pockets can be easily seen, and are out of the main drag area, so they don't hurt your streamlining so much...


The other way to do this is to mount the GoPro on a LionFish Tamer sized pole, and clip the pole off to a chest D-Ring if you have to let go of the camera....The big benefot of mounting the Gopro to a pole spear or pvc tube, is that with 2 feet of length, you create a low polar moment of inertia relative to just the tiny camera itself----with just the tiny camera, any shake in your wrist, or any movement, instantly makes a jerk in the film ( not talking about DD here :)
With the pole mounting, it is like the camera is 2 feet long, and it becomes very stable.
 
Just put a small bolt snap on the housing and clip it off to a D-ring. you can remove and replace it as needed

That's how I set mine up too. There was a hole in the housing where the lanyard was meant to go, and I just tied a bolt snap there instead (and a loop of bungee that I can slide over my wrist so I don't drop it while using it). I don't know if the Hero housing has a similar hole, but if not, I'd probably see if I could add one somehow, lol, then maybe try a thigh pocket.
 
If I am not carrying the GoPro on my pole mount, I have it connected to the plate that the GoPro shipped on. I drilled out the corners of this plate, and attached two retractors to it. I use this set up on my chest, and can pull the camera up off my chest to shoot, and when I am done, it retracts back to my chest. The retractors also seem to add quite a bit of stability to the camera when you fully extend them. The head mount is useless. Too shaky. If you do use it you might want to follow the advise and put it under a hood to avoid losing your camera, although I am not sure what you will do if you have mask issues.. This is a potential hazard, so try it in the pool first! :( If I want steadier shots, I have a 6 foot PVC pipe that I drilled out (think wiffle ball) and attached a mount to the end. This is ideal for wreck diving, as well as critter holes. That having been said be careful with that camera as I have met more than one person that had a "free" GoPro that they found on the reef. Also since its a new camera and all its worth saying to label the camera with your name and phone # - If you lose it, you might get it back! Divers are one of the more honest collections of humans I have run across lately. It was helpful for me to buy the additional mounts kit, as it added a lot of room for creative mounting that otherwise would have been rather difficult to do.
 
If you use a headband mount best option is to make a basic chin strap which will make sure it stays on your head, you can also put it under your hood but I prefer to dive without one unless its realy cold.

Here are some pics of my chin strap, its just an old bag strap that I have used threading the strap through the metal buckles.



I wear it more on the neck but its not very tight or restrictive but you may prefer it more on the chin.

For handheld use I use an old torch leash and just clip this to one of the rings on my BCD. Here is a pic of an old handheld setup I use for some comparison shots which works ok but im soon going to try a proper tray with 2 handles which should be even more stable.


This leash has a corded loop on the end and can be attatched around the Gopro mount itself or wound through any holes, it has a plastic clip that shortens the leash or unclipped gives you plenty of leash to be unrestrictive to wherever you want to hold it.

Head mounting is a pretty good option if you just want to dive and record what you see, its pretty cool to film entire dives like this one which was in fairly poor vis but pretty cool still. 42 min at fishrock boat to boat with a few sharks around

[video=vimeo;23553871]http://vimeo.com/23553871[/video]

Here is a shorter one in better vis just with sharks

[video=youtube;T3jZFzpG3ts]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3jZFzpG3ts[/video]

Heres one you couldn't shoot any other way, scalloping as you need both hands free.

[video=youtube;gorv4r9mGxA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gorv4r9mGxA[/video]

These were all shot with the EOM housing before I got the Blurfix and filters so colours aren't great in them but shows head mounting can be ok some times. I have a few Gopros now including a HD2 and another on its way so I will probably keep one on my head for all dives and another one or more on a tray setup.

Head mounting needs 60p mode to work well as the 1080 modes need a very stable cam and the higher fov also gives you more chance of getting what your looking at. 60P 170fov does work fairly well but bubbles can get in the way if your not moving or upright and this can be avoided with an extended headband mount like this.



But I didn't use it for any of these videos so bubbles do get in the way at times. It does look even stupider then a basic headband mount lol which is pretty dorky looking on its own.
 
Wrist mount, can use head strap and fashon a wrist strap, from it (Get two and use the extra to make a chin strap for the head strap) See the intro here for the wrist mount in action (however most of the video was not with the GoPro)
Divey with Ivy: Keep your Anemones Closer Video by Webster

But the first segment of this was taken with wrist mounted GoPro

NorthPoint Walkin and SouthPass Reef Dive Video by Webster

Found the wrist mount, made from the headstrap, to be very stable, especially if you use your other hand to brace and it's out of the way when not needed.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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