SPKelpDiver
Contributor
So I went over to Avalon to dive the Casino on August 7, my birthday which got me a free round trip to Catalina. I did two dives while I was there. I managed to find the Giant Sea Bass out over the Kismet and Sailboat wrecks. This one was alone and not very interested in hanging around for the camera, although I did get a decent shot of the magnificent beast. This also happens to be my first time every recording a GSB on video! Before Frank and I were certified, we did a lot of free diving. In spring of 2008 we went over to Avalon to free dive Pebbly Beach (AKA Lover's Cove if I am with my girlfreind, Pebbly Beach when I am with Frank). We saw a pair of Giant Sea Bass and I managed to cruise with them for about a minute as the headed into the deep. It was the coolest ocean experience I had ever had at that point (still up there on my list even today), and it was that free dive that convinced me to get my open water certification. I completed my Open Water that summer with Frank and the rest is history... I am now officially a marine mammal.
So I have Scuba dove Casino Point countless times since then, and every time I look for the GSB to no avail. I caught a fleeting glimpse of a GSB once on scuba while diving Neptune's Cove in Palos Verdes, but nothing since. Last summer I spent 3 days diving the Casino and had no luck. The day before I left I decided to go out on a freedive. I managed to make my deepest freedive ever that day, to the sand underneath the buoy near the Kismet. I remember kicking and kicking and kicking and eventually I got to the sand, turned around to have a look and there they were, two GSB paired off swimming in circles around each other. It was beautiful! I managed to stay down with them for about 20 seconds before I began kicking back up.
Finally on this last trip I got one on film while scuba diving. Here is the video, the GSB is near the end. Please watch the video in Youtube if you can, so I can get a view on my channel. Also please like the video if you like the video!
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My opinion on theGoPro Hero3 Black.
Originally I thought it was the same camera as the Hero2 except it shoots 1080p in 60 fps. I was wrong. Not only does it shoot 1080p at 60FPS, it has a faster processor, a better lens which is 2x sharper than the previous, it handles low light WAY better than the Hero2 (and even better than the Hero3 silver), and the fish eye distortion around the edges of the image is GREATLY reduced. The Hero3's ability to handle low light situations, and the sharpness of the image makes the quality of it's footage noticeably better, and for California diving these improvements are imperative. Another very important feature when diving, the Hero3 Black turns on (starts recording once you have pressed the button) MUCH quicker than the hero2 or even the hero3 silver! They take atleast half a second longer to begin recording once you press the button. 1080p in 60 fps also seems much smoother. I would definitely encourage any diver thinking about buying a Hero3 to go with the Black Edition, otherwise you will be kicking yourself in the ass and wishing you had dropped that extra 100 bucks.
Oh and one more really cool feature. The dive housing for the Hero2 limited your ability to view the screen when adjusting your settings (unless you bought the LCD backpack), which means that if you were shooting in 1080p Wide at 30FPS while diving, you were pretty much stuck with that until you took the camera out of the housing. The Hero3 black housing allows for you to see the screen to adjust settings with ease. I have been messing around with switching from 1080p Wide in 60fps to 1080p Narrow in 60 fps to shoot fish portraits and nudibranchs. This does take some getting used to, as switching to narrow seems to increase the distance which the camera can focus, but I am sure it will prove handy once I get used to it. In the video I have posted I shot some octopus shots in narrow. You can see that it is a bit out of focus, but I am sure it will be a cool feature once I find the camera's "sweet spot".
It also has a bunch of bells and whistles that make it a fun camera such as the ability to shoot 12mp stills while recording 1080p video in 30 fps, the ability to shoot in protunes mode (basically RAW) which also initiates the ability to set white balance and allows for more flexibility if you plan on doing a lot of color correction and white balancing in post. It also has the ability to shoot time lapse photography at various speeds.
Some of the cons.
It's battery doesn't last as long as the GoPro Hero2, combine this with an LCD backpack and your battery time is even less. I personally don't have the LCD Backback, and I still managed to get just about everything in frame. Hope this helps.
So I have Scuba dove Casino Point countless times since then, and every time I look for the GSB to no avail. I caught a fleeting glimpse of a GSB once on scuba while diving Neptune's Cove in Palos Verdes, but nothing since. Last summer I spent 3 days diving the Casino and had no luck. The day before I left I decided to go out on a freedive. I managed to make my deepest freedive ever that day, to the sand underneath the buoy near the Kismet. I remember kicking and kicking and kicking and eventually I got to the sand, turned around to have a look and there they were, two GSB paired off swimming in circles around each other. It was beautiful! I managed to stay down with them for about 20 seconds before I began kicking back up.
Finally on this last trip I got one on film while scuba diving. Here is the video, the GSB is near the end. Please watch the video in Youtube if you can, so I can get a view on my channel. Also please like the video if you like the video!
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My opinion on theGoPro Hero3 Black.
Originally I thought it was the same camera as the Hero2 except it shoots 1080p in 60 fps. I was wrong. Not only does it shoot 1080p at 60FPS, it has a faster processor, a better lens which is 2x sharper than the previous, it handles low light WAY better than the Hero2 (and even better than the Hero3 silver), and the fish eye distortion around the edges of the image is GREATLY reduced. The Hero3's ability to handle low light situations, and the sharpness of the image makes the quality of it's footage noticeably better, and for California diving these improvements are imperative. Another very important feature when diving, the Hero3 Black turns on (starts recording once you have pressed the button) MUCH quicker than the hero2 or even the hero3 silver! They take atleast half a second longer to begin recording once you press the button. 1080p in 60 fps also seems much smoother. I would definitely encourage any diver thinking about buying a Hero3 to go with the Black Edition, otherwise you will be kicking yourself in the ass and wishing you had dropped that extra 100 bucks.
Oh and one more really cool feature. The dive housing for the Hero2 limited your ability to view the screen when adjusting your settings (unless you bought the LCD backpack), which means that if you were shooting in 1080p Wide at 30FPS while diving, you were pretty much stuck with that until you took the camera out of the housing. The Hero3 black housing allows for you to see the screen to adjust settings with ease. I have been messing around with switching from 1080p Wide in 60fps to 1080p Narrow in 60 fps to shoot fish portraits and nudibranchs. This does take some getting used to, as switching to narrow seems to increase the distance which the camera can focus, but I am sure it will prove handy once I get used to it. In the video I have posted I shot some octopus shots in narrow. You can see that it is a bit out of focus, but I am sure it will be a cool feature once I find the camera's "sweet spot".
It also has a bunch of bells and whistles that make it a fun camera such as the ability to shoot 12mp stills while recording 1080p video in 30 fps, the ability to shoot in protunes mode (basically RAW) which also initiates the ability to set white balance and allows for more flexibility if you plan on doing a lot of color correction and white balancing in post. It also has the ability to shoot time lapse photography at various speeds.
Some of the cons.
It's battery doesn't last as long as the GoPro Hero2, combine this with an LCD backpack and your battery time is even less. I personally don't have the LCD Backback, and I still managed to get just about everything in frame. Hope this helps.
Lover's Cove it will always be 
