New to using a Gopro underwater and diving in general

[Sonnylynnvick75]

I'll be going to Vortex March 29th and 30th for my open water certification dives. I know, I know "concentrate on diving first". I plan to do all my certification dives and then do a couple dives to try some tech skills. I'd love to take my Gopro down and test it out. I have two Gopro cameras, a 3+ and original hero1 (takes triple a batteries). I've got a large assortment of mounts and plan to buy the LCD bacpac for the 3+. My questions are:
1) Do I need to use a filter?
2) Do I need lighting
3) If I need lighting, what is going to be my least expensive option? LED flashlights?
4) Anti fog inserts? necessary?
5) What filters do I need? Which ones are recommended?

Thanks,

 

[stalefish]

I'll be going to Vortex March 29th and 30th for my open water certification dives. I know, I know "concentrate on diving first". I plan to do all my certification dives and then do a couple dives to try some tech skills. I'd love to take my Gopro down and test it out. I have two Gopro cameras, a 3+ and original hero1 (takes triple a batteries). I've got a large assortment of mounts and plan to buy the LCD bacpac for the 3+. My questions are:
1) Do I need to use a filter?
2) Do I need lighting
3) If I need lighting, what is going to be my least expensive option? LED flashlights?
4) Anti fog inserts? necessary?
5) What filters do I need? Which ones are recommended?

Thanks,

Take your time getting comfortable in the water before you start worrying about shooting video. You may have heard a term in your certification process "task loading". Don't try to take on too much on while you're new Shooting good video takes lots of practice just like becoming good at diving.

1) While you don't need a filter, it makes a pretty big difference in my opinion and I would recommend using one. Do some searching around on youtube for comparison videos.
2) Same as #1, you don't need one but I'd recommend it. You can get some great footage in shallower water without a light but once you venture deeper than say 30 feet (10 meters) a light came make a big difference.
3) Hard to say without knowing your budget. You'll want something with a wide angle to match the GoPro's FOV. At least 100degrees of coverage would be a good place to start.
4) I've never used them and never had a fogging issue. Here's a trick I use.... put the camera in the housing when you're in an air-conditioned room so the air that gets trapped inside is dry. If that's not an option or you need to swap batteries out on the boat/dive site, crack open your tank a bit and shoot some air in the housing as you close it. Again, trapping dry air inside the housing. Don't let your camera sit in the hot sun either. Keep it in the shade.
5) I'd say the two most popular brands are Snake River Prototyping and Polar Pro. Either one should yield good results. Again do some youtube searching to see comparison. Use Red for clear water (ocean) and magenta for green (lakes/mines) water. Shameless plug...below is a link to one of my videos using the Snake River Prototyping filter (and a light).

Practice practice practice. Two things I see people do way too often when shooting video are the 'shaky cam' and not getting close enough to your subject. General rule of thumb, the less water between the camera lens and the subject the better, make use of GoPro's wide FOV and get close. Unless of course you're trying to get a wide landscape shot of the reef or a shipwreck. Two, hold the camera still, nobody wants to watch a shaky cam video

Have fun and good luck.

Scuba Diving: Bonaire 2014, Part 1 - GoPro Hero 3 - YouTube

 

[EL Pistoffo]

1) Yes, you definitely want to use a filter.
2) Lighting isn't necessary if ambient light is good. In dark areas you would need it though. Without a filter you would need it as well.
3) Your general LED flashlights are usually inadequate for video. They cast a beam that is too narrow and causes a small concentrated hot spot which affects the exposure of the video negatively. A wide angle beam video light is desired. There are multitudes of options on video lights from inexpensive Arhcon lights to costlier, well regarded Sola lights.
4) I use fog inserts. Many folks have had fogging occur without them.
5) The most popular filters are made by Polar Pro, Backscatter and SRP. They each have varying options based on budget and features.

 

[lostcajun]

I agree with EL's suggestions.

I also use a Go Pole. It gives me the ability to get closer to fish, and also allows me to get in some of the shots too. I would love to get some lights but what I would get costs over 700.00(Sola lights). On a sunny day the light isn't necessary. The deeper the dive the more important the lights are to bringing out the color in the coral. I've never used fog inserts, and never had problems. The key is make sure your camera is in the shade (on a day boat) (or not in air-conditioning on a liveaboard) and reaches the ambient temperature before you enter the water.

I have two Polar Pro filters (the second one is a back up). They are inexpensive and make an amazing difference in improving the video colors.

A couple of tips.
1. Make your motions with the camera slow, relax and keep it steady while making your video shots. Go slower than you naturally would think.
2. If you use a Go Pole do pay attention to the angle of the camera to make sure that you are getting the shot you want.
3. I use a 32 gig card, make sure you get the right one for the camera. 32 gig is more than enough, and when I'm done with the dive I download the video to an external hard drive connected my MacBook Air. Then I clear the video off the card for the next dive.
4. I use Final Cut Pro X for editing. I started with iMovie, but FCPX is really a great improvement.

 

[Sonnylynnvick75]

I agree with EL's suggestions.

I also use a Go Pole. It gives me the ability to get closer to fish, and also allows me to get in some of the shots too. I would love to get some lights but what I would get costs over 700.00(Sola lights). On a sunny day the light isn't necessary. The deeper the dive the more important the lights are to bringing out the color in the coral. I've never used fog inserts, and never had problems. The key is make sure your camera is in the shade (on a day boat) (or not in air-conditioning on a liveaboard) and reaches the ambient temperature before you enter the water.

I have two Polar Pro filters (the second one is a back up). They are inexpensive and make an amazing difference in improving the video colors.

A couple of tips.
1. Make your motions with the camera slow, relax and keep it steady while making your video shots. Go slower than you naturally would think.
2. If you use a Go Pole do pay attention to the angle of the camera to make sure that you are getting the shot you want.
3. I use a 32 gig card, make sure you get the right one for the camera. 32 gig is more than enough, and when I'm done with the dive I download the video to an external hard drive connected my MacBook Air. Then I clear the video off the card for the next dive.
4. I use Final Cut Pro X for editing. I started with iMovie, but FCPX is really a great improvement.

I actually made my own Gopole out of an extendable squeegee from harbor freight (I use it skiing and snowboarding)
I have a 16 gig high def or whatever it is the gopro needs, been planning on getting another one.
Using the LCD screen I should be able to adjust accordingly.
I'm playing with the Gopro video editor but I'll check into the final cut pro
I'll also check into buying some arhcon lights and some polar pro filters. I'll also check on antifog inserts. I guess its better to be safe than sorry.

Thanks guys!

 

[jphehe]

Filter: yes, a must. Get the orange/red ones first; some very blue waters may need yellow filter.
Inserts: I dont use it. Just avoid washing the case prior to diving.
The only time I got fog is when I cleaned the case with water the night before diving. The case may appear dry but there might still be moisture inside. When GoPro is operating, it generates heat, that's how you get fog.

 

[flareside]

I know, I know "concentrate on diving first"...

...and second... and third... and...

Ultimately you may be better served by giving the camera to your instructor to record your diving. Its a great way of getting a better sense of what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong.

 

[ericjespersen]

I have the GoPro 3 Silver. I recently bought the polar pro red filter and a Sola 800 light to hopefully improve my GoPro images and videos. It seems to give me better results taking stills from video clips than the individual snap shots did, for color and clarity. I also recently purchased Photoshop lightroom to edit image color which has helped a lot. (even with barely knowing how to use it). The GoPro takes much better images for me than my SeaLife DC1000 does. There are also lots of youtube videos out there that help you a bit more on how to improve your videos.

 

[scubadiver888]

Sonnylynnvick75, If you are planning on using your camera DURING your certification dives you might want to ask your instructor if that is okay. They will probably want you focused on your diving and not on the camera during your certification.

Also, if your instructor is okay with filming you during your certification then find another instructor. They should be focused on teaching the class and not on a camera. For PADI it is actually against the rules for the instructor to use a camera during teaching.

Finally, you might be the exception to the rule but the majority of people do well enough to pass when they don't have the distraction of a camera. They are great at the 20 skills but they are PASSABLE. So even after you pass your certification you might want to focus on your diving skills and not your camera.

 

[Sonnylynnvick75]

Sonnylynnvick75, If you are planning on using your camera DURING your certification dives you might want to ask your instructor if that is okay. They will probably want you focused on your diving and not on the camera during your certification.

Also, if your instructor is okay with filming you during your certification then find another instructor. They should be focused on teaching the class and not on a camera. For PADI it is actually against the rules for the instructor to use a camera during teaching.

Finally, you might be the exception to the rule but the majority of people do well enough to pass when they don't have the distraction of a camera. They are great at the 20 skills but they are PASSABLE. So even after you pass your certification you might want to focus on your diving skills and not your camera.

I guess there I should have clarified more so that I would like to take a camera after the cert dives but on the same day. We will be diving Saturday and Sunday. Once we finish our cert dives Sunday (3ish-4ish) We are welcome to dive more, this is when I was hoping to try the camera.

OP: "I plan to do all my certification dives and then do a couple dives to try some tech skills"

---------- Post added March 10th, 2014 at 09:22 AM ----------

Also for the equipment guys, I ordered a Polar pro filter and Antifog inserts. I've been looking at the archon lights and plan to order one as well as a magenta polar pro filter. Finally, are you supposed to use a filter and lights or is it a one or the other setup?