Diving with a GOPRO

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wmccall614

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Location
Columbus, Ohio
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I'm about to take my 4th dive, 1st beach dive this week. My wife just won a GoPro camera. Whats the best way to secure one.?I see they have a wrist wrap.
 
I made a handle for mine and use a coiled tether that clips to a D ring. It also will clip so that the coil does not stretch out if I am not using it. However, with that little experience, maybe you should just concentrate on the dive and save the camera for later!

Mike
 
4th dive, and it'll be 1st beach dive? -- ditto on Croom's suggestion -- wait on the camera if possible... if really really really must -- then do the headstrap (add a chinstrap to it!!!!!) and a tether from the CAMERA to your bc... more gopros lost because they weren't tethered...
 
Again - make sure you are FULLY comfortable with your diving before starting to task load yourself with a camera. I know it may sound like I am being an old woman but you will be surprised how much attention using a camera takes, and I wouldn't do it until you were 100% comfortable you are not going to lose concentration and end up with a runaway ascent or other problem by concentrating on the camera. It is VERY easy for something unexpected to happen. OK- air stewardess safety talk over :D

That said a GoPro is pretty automatic and just needs switching on and pointing. I secure mine with a Cetacea coiled lanyard. Cheap and easy to attach, I have threaded the loop through the holes in the swivel on the GOPro housing. That way you never need to detach it from your BC ring, can undo the snap link to extend it and use it comfortably in your hand. But I don't use any sort of mount or handle, I just hand hold it.

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Dive safe - Phil
 
I really don't understand the suggestion to not carry a "hands free" camera that is constantly running. We're not talking about a $6k SLR with massive ports and light heads, it's a go pro. It's 4" by 3" and needs absolutely no interaction to capture your dives. I've carried a P&S camera on all but my 4 training dives and 2 others, when I was testing out new gear configs. The camera was still in my thigh pocket, just never taken out. Certainly not everyone is comfortable with that, and perhaps I shouldn't have been but I've never had any issues while filming, especially when just doing "video." (That is, if what I captured could really be called video... mostly it's poor quality but it gives me reminders of what I saw and allows me to look up fish IDs etc after my dive).


To the OP, I would second the head mount, just because it will be that much less likely to be a distraction for you. The video from newb divers (like you and me) from head mounts can be pretty horrendous due to lots of head movement but, like I said, it will give you some reference of what you saw if/when you want to go back and relive the moment.
 
A guy in my OW checkouts had a Go Pro mounted to his chest straps to capture those dives.

I use an underwater point and shoot, and I run a long ribbon through it and tie it to one of my D rings. I tuck it into my waist strap when I'm not taking pictures so that it doesn't hang. I'm a new diver and still a nervous enough one that I check my SPG and computer about every 20 seconds and have been able to take pictures on dives no problem. But these are 'to show I was there' pictures, not excellent photography.
 
My wife used her go pro from the very start. She had it tethered to her wrist. She started out well in the water, and the go pro task loading was not an issue for her. I had a few more things to think about regarding buoyancy and trim, so I don't think that I would have done as well as my wife.

I did see one guy that made an extension for his go pro with a 3 or 4 foot long PVC pipe mounted to the camera. Looked like the way to go. Next time we go diving, I expect to try something similar. Well probably the time after that since I need to brush up on a lot (all) of my skills.
 
I really don't understand the suggestion to not carry a "hands free" camera that is constantly running. We're not talking about a $6k SLR with massive ports and light heads, it's a go pro. It's 4" by 3" and needs absolutely no interaction to capture your dives. I've carried a P&S camera on all but my 4 training dives and 2 others, when I was testing out new gear configs. The camera was still in my thigh pocket, just never taken out. Certainly not everyone is comfortable with that, and perhaps I shouldn't have been but I've never had any issues while filming, especially when just doing "video." (That is, if what I captured could really be called video... mostly it's poor quality but it gives me reminders of what I saw and allows me to look up fish IDs etc after my dive).

Basically because many of us have seen and had to intervene to correct or stop diving problems caused by people doing very simple tasks when they are not yet INSTINCTIVELY comfortable divers and something minor has gone wrong. I certainly have had to more than once. If you dive and have a GoPro completely automatic and leave it alone then I agree no problem, but people don't often do that, they get carried away and start to chase critters or concentrate on 'getting the right shot or angle' and something happens. - Phil.
 
Basically because many of us have seen and had to intervene to correct or stop diving problems caused by people doing very simple tasks when they are not yet INSTINCTIVELY comfortable divers and something minor has gone wrong. I certainly have had to more than once. If you dive and have a GoPro completely automatic and leave it alone then I agree no problem, but people don't often do that, they get carried away and start to chase critters or concentrate on 'getting the right shot or angle' and something happens. - Phil.
Fair enough. I've never done that (chase anything or "get the right shot") probably because I'm not trying to be a "photographer" and I think chasing is the same as harassing...

I am always under the assumption (rightly or wrongly) that anyone using a go pro is doing it specifically because they don't want to worry about it at all. I suppose that doesn't really negate the issue you're describing, though.
 
i use a nonbouyant grenade grip (Amazon.com: Grenade Grip - Hand Grip for GoPro® HERO Cameras: Camera & Photo) with a zip tie in between the deadspace of the mount. the zip tie connects to the end of a small retractor with enough distance for me to extend my arm fully. i connect the retractor to one of the upper d-rings on my BC.

The benefit of this is that the pole gives my video stability and i can rotate the camera to any angle without really moving hand and the retractor gives me the ability to let go of the camera in an instant without worrying about losing it. this would probably work well for you since you're still inexperienced and will probably be trying to master your bouyancy. i'll post pics if I remember when I get home
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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