Go Pro battery lasts longer than 32 gb card!

[divinglover]

Hi everyone,

I recently got the gopro hero 3 black and started testing it couple of days ago, preparing for some underwater shooting i will be doing very soon.


But i have an unexpected issue - my battery (with battery bacpac) lasts LONGER than my 32 gb card! Based on everything i read so far, i was expecting the opposite problem - and even stocked up on the spare GoPro batteries.


But every video file size is HUGE! i have been testing recording at 1080, 60 FPS, Wide, Protune ON, raw cam and got the following results:
- gopro, no battery or lcd bacpac - lasted 1.07 mins, file size 19 GB (broken into 4 GB chunks). (Checked that about 5 times, every time the same result)
- go pro with battery bacpac - lasted 1.30 mins, then stopped recording itself, although battery (and camera) was stil running. I restarted video recording couple of times, but it stopped after few secs every time (a recurring issue i have). I then took 3 photo shots, at which point it showed memory FULL. I checked the SD card in my Mac and the video size on the card really is 30 GB. (after only 1.30 mins of recording!)


i have formatted the micro SD card before every use.

all of the above are straight out of the camera (not imported/converted in cineform or anywhere else)


what am i doing wrong? surely the file sizes are just too huge?


and as a separate issue - my hero 3 regularly stops recording after 10-20 secs. It doesn't switch off and it doesn't freeze in any other way but it stops recording. (despite me formatting the sd card every time). i keep restarting the video , but it keeps doing it. so far i haven't found the solution- keep doing various things, then it starts working and recording for long periods again.
anyone experienced the same and fixed it? please advise what to do - i am going away i(to Galapagos!) in a week so have very little time to sort it out!


apologies if i am missing and asking something obvious - i am very new to the whole set up and videoing on different resolutions etc.


thanks you all in advance!!

 

[dfx]

Turn off the RAW option.

 

[Tigerman]

What youre doing "wrong" is that youre recording uncompressed at 60fps full hd...
Yes, itll give you the best material to work with and also the absolutely HUGE video files..

 

[fbk]

16GB/hr sounds about right, I had 2 x 32GB cards and would alternate them each dive, downloading inbetween. Thats a ton of storage you need for a week of diving. You will do a battery per dive too (1080/60 and PT on you will be lucky if you get a whole dive, unless you turn the camera on and off, and risk it freezing up). Turning protune off and and using 30fps will extend those times and also be smaller file sizes but then you get other problems. Trust me I have just been through all this myself.

If your card is stopping after 20sec it is almost certainly because it can't keep up with the camera which will be writing at around 6MB/s in 1080/60T. You can test your cards write speed using free software called h2testw. I had some genuine class 10 cards that barely made 6MB/s so I got them replaced. You might need to get new cards, test their speed, and buy at least 2 for redundancy. Actually I would buy 2 of everything including the Hero3 which you can expect to fail when you least expect it. It would be cheap insurance on a once in a lifetime trip like Galapagos. Jealous!

 

[dfx]

16GB/hr sounds about right...

I think he's talking 16 GB per minute.

 

[fbk]

I think he's talking 16 GB per minute.

19GB after 1:07hr, 30GB after 1:30 (1hr 30 min) is how I read it, and is about right.

 

[Interceptor121]

fbk could be right on the stop recording. What brand and category of memory card are you using? This could be either a write error or a buffer overflow because the card is too slow that stops the gopro
On my hero2 the LCD backpack is very temperamental I need always to go into settings extra and push the buttons few times to get it on however never had write issues

 

[yarik83]

2hrs 16 mins is what I get on goprohero3 black 1080 60fps no protune or any of that funny business. Then battery dies. It takes about 21gb of space leaving another 11gb or so on the card. Same results are true for 720 120fps. I am using stock battery + backpack camera running and recording entire time. In my case frame rate at those settings makes no difference on battery life or file size. It's always 2hrs 16 mins and 21gb of space.

If you lower settings it will obviously take a lot less memory and your battery life will last just a little longer. Most I got out of battery was 4.5 hrs (with backpack) recording at lowest settings.

I only recommend this to divers who all to often do not listen to me... the first time. Get a backpack for gopro. Stop using lcd screen for diving. You can use lcd screen for everything else (although I honestly would recommend spending money on spare batteries or memory sticks especially since smart phones connect to gopro and do same exact thing).

1 gopro battery is supposed to last about 42-45 minutes at 1080 60fps. higher Mha or Mah...(whatever they are called) batteries will last longer.

You want your batteries outliving your dive plan by a long run. You want to be filming on the boat, under water and when returning to docks still have at least half an hour of battery life left. You also need to have adequate memory in your gopro to last you a 2 tank dive trip.

I have 32gb sticks in my gopros and I have them filming on the boat, during first dive, during surface interval, during second dive, on the way back and at the docks.

I just came back from Cozumel and I even used cameras for 20 minutes while snorkeling from the docks.

Best thing to do is benchmark your cameras before the trip. Too many people buy it the day the fly out, run into all sort of problems and issues. Not the best situation to be in.

 

[divinglover]

hi everyone

thank you so much for your quick replies! i am very relieved to hear that the files sizes are broadly as they should be, based on my settings. I am happy to have a 32gb card per dive - was more worried that i was using the wrong settings somehow.

regarding the card - i have Samsung class 10 micro sd essential class card (it had the highest rating on amazon). i had no problems with it to begin with, and gopro recorded videos without stopping until battery run out for the first few days. But it suddenly became temperamental, and regularly stops recording now. the 1st time it happened was the 1st time i added battery backpack. So i think it might only happen when i have the battery backpack on, and only when the memory card gets close to being full. I am also wondering if it has anything to do with overheating, as it does get very hot to touch once it's been recording for 1h 30 mins.

Either way - i will test the SD card using the software suggested by fbk - thank you! - and if needed will get other cards. i already have 2 more on order as a backup now. i am also very seriously considering getting a backup Hero 3 camera for my trip, as suggested -i just can't risk missing anything in galapagos!!


and regarding backpack - i absolutely agree with yarik! it extends the battery life significantly! so far, for example, i haven't been able to run down the battery with the backpack on - my 32 gb card fills up before that happens! (that's on 1080, W, 60 fps protune ON), although the camera also seem to shut off just before the card gets full.
So i am definitely going to use the battery backpack instead of lcd underwater. With the camera wide angle - i don't think i can miss much anyway, even without the lcd.


Btw - the reason for my testing of those particular settings is because i was told (by other experienced SB members) they are optimum for shooting underwater, so i am trying to learn everything possible about them before my trip e.g. battery life, card etc


once gain - thank you everyone, i am carrying on with my testing, but am very relieved that i seem do be getting the 'right' results so far.

 

[fbk]

Btw - the reason for my testing of those particular settings is because i was told (by other experienced SB members) they are optimum for shooting underwater

1080/60 PT Raw WB is the way to go. Yes the card will fill up quick, and you will drain your battery fast, but using the battery backpac should mitigate that. If you read my recent post the only other advice I would give is to make sure the camera turns on and is working before you get near the water as I and everyone else with a H3 had random lockups. Also the anti-fog strips are an absolute must in the tropics. A backup H3 would be ideal. For general crusing over a reef you don't need the LCD but if you are getting close to a manta or turtle or something you will really miss not having it to frame the shot so hope you don't miss out on any footage like I did. Good luck with it all and would love to see the results.