Hi Scubaboard,
I have been working on assembling a Gopro setup for shooting underwater video with my Gopro Hero3 Black. I have spent some time researching and sourcing products that were both of good quality, reliable, and as budget friendly. I have two used sola lights, one 1200 video, and one 800 dive. I have been looking for a camera tray that would work well for travel, could be used with two sola lights, and excellent durability (I'm in the firefighting industry, if I'm not busy breaking it, I already lost it). To add to that I'm 220 lbs add dive gear, and rough swells and precarious entry off of the back of a dive boat, rarely have I been described as delicate. So this is how I quantify durable (Me proof) your version of durable may vary.
My search included trays from Backscatter, Light and Motion, Snake River, Beneath the Surface, and other manufacturers. After a couple months of research I chose Beneath the Surface out of Redands California. I chose the new model #4 tray. I liked this model over the Model #1, 2, 3, due to the fact that it had two lockline arms, quick disconnects, and a boomerang shape tray.
I chose the tray shape because in the future I plan on purchasing a Flip 3.1 system from Backscatter with 55mm adaptors for a macro lens and a SRP Cyan filter. I didn't want a narrow linear tray and handles to get in the way of the flip function with heavy dive gloves. I also liked the boomerang shape as its more forgiving with the wide field of view the Gopro camera offers. I wanted the camera out front so that my hands and lighting didn't show in the wide field of view. A narrow linear tray would have worked, but I wanted a more forgiving shape if my hands got close.
I went with a quick disconnect arm setup because I love lockline, I do not however like putting lockline together. The BTS tray comes with a quick disconnect system with a stainless cable built into the arms to help ensure during entry, exit, or other adverse conditions you do not have the sinking realization that you have just sent your video lights to the abyss if you hit the arms hard enough to separate the lockline. The quick disconnects are just that extremely fast to put together on the boat. No hassle with wet hands trying to assemble the lockline to the tray posts.
Lastly I went with the BTS Model #4 Sola edition because the tray comes assembled with arms that have Light and Motion Sola adaptors already included. I do not have to buy two mounts separately to mount my lighting to the tray. BTS offers other light configurations, as well as a universal mount. Later if I chose to change lighting configurations I can just buy a couple extra quick disconnect arms to swap lighting on the fly while on the boat.
On to the actual tray itself, It came in a well packed box to help the dear shipping folks from attempting to destroy it en route to my house. It was disassembled in a heat sealed bag. Once out of the bag My first impression is that this is indeed a well thought out and constructed camera tray. The components feel solid, Attention to detail and fitment has been paid during the production of this tray. Someone spent some time designing and manufacturing this product. There are no sharp edges or burrs. The coating although a few very small dings seems solid and durable.
Stainless hardware and a generic locktite type product are included along with a hex wrench for assembly.
Putting the tray together was very simple, thread locker on the hardware, then the handles were placed over the tray and hardware threaded in with care not to over tighten the hex bolt. The hardware was completely recessed in the bottom of the tray.
here is a close up shot of the quick disconnect top of one of the handles.
The tray comes with what looks like a delrin resin mount that has been machined to exactly fit my stock Gopro mount
Here is the tray with handles and the Gopro mounted. The Gopro mount slides into the tray with an audible click. There is absolutely no wobble in the camera housing whatsoever when it is in place.
On to the quick disconnect arms, as mentioned before the arms come with mount for my Light and Motion Sola lights. It is secured with a stainless roll pin to a stainless cable that runs through the interior to keep the lights from becoming part of the reef unintentionally.
The quick disconnect posts allow the arms to slide in and out with a 45 degree turn and an audible click. The arms come off when the base of the disconnect is pulled down not unlike a BCD inflator hose and a turn of the arm back 45 degrees. The arms feel very secure in place, yet there seems to be enough room to easily remove the arms post dive if some sand and grit make it into the quick disconnects during the dive.
On to mounting the Sola lights, all the hardware was included in the bag to mount my Sola lights to the arms with ease. I removed my goodman handle from the dive light and other mounting with a hex wrench, applied thread locker to the supplied threaded hardware and easily slid my Solas onto the arm mounts. The mounts themselves slid onto the Solas with ease, the hardware holes lined up with ease. The mounts once secured feel very solid. there is no play in the lights against the arms at all.
Here is the tray assembled with the lights mounted
My impression with the tray at this point is fantastic, the arms initially seemed too long when I pulled them out of the bag. However they are just perfect for adjustment for lighting angles. just enough to get the right position yet compact enough to keep the whole setup small and manageable.
I opted for a BTS lanyard to help me keep my camera setup from becoming an unintentional part of the reef. The lanyard is small and lightweight, yet very strong for the camera tray setup I have. The clip feels strong and has a firm spring to keep it attached to my BCD. It attaches to the tray right behind the camera mount. The lanyard can also be attached any where else oh the tray but this seems like the best configuration for me.
I hope my impressions of this tray help anyone else out there on the fence, looking at multiple camera tray options for their Gopro camera setup. I am very happy with the decision I made with the BTS #4 tray. This looks like this setup will last me a long time with trouble free use. If you have any questions about my tray feel free to PM or post.
Thanks,
John
Disclosure, I paid for this tray with my own money, I did however receive a discount for being an active dive professional. My discount was in no way contingent on doing a review of any kind. I really liked this product and thought it may be of help for someone else looking for a camera tray for their Gopro.
I have been working on assembling a Gopro setup for shooting underwater video with my Gopro Hero3 Black. I have spent some time researching and sourcing products that were both of good quality, reliable, and as budget friendly. I have two used sola lights, one 1200 video, and one 800 dive. I have been looking for a camera tray that would work well for travel, could be used with two sola lights, and excellent durability (I'm in the firefighting industry, if I'm not busy breaking it, I already lost it). To add to that I'm 220 lbs add dive gear, and rough swells and precarious entry off of the back of a dive boat, rarely have I been described as delicate. So this is how I quantify durable (Me proof) your version of durable may vary.
My search included trays from Backscatter, Light and Motion, Snake River, Beneath the Surface, and other manufacturers. After a couple months of research I chose Beneath the Surface out of Redands California. I chose the new model #4 tray. I liked this model over the Model #1, 2, 3, due to the fact that it had two lockline arms, quick disconnects, and a boomerang shape tray.
I chose the tray shape because in the future I plan on purchasing a Flip 3.1 system from Backscatter with 55mm adaptors for a macro lens and a SRP Cyan filter. I didn't want a narrow linear tray and handles to get in the way of the flip function with heavy dive gloves. I also liked the boomerang shape as its more forgiving with the wide field of view the Gopro camera offers. I wanted the camera out front so that my hands and lighting didn't show in the wide field of view. A narrow linear tray would have worked, but I wanted a more forgiving shape if my hands got close.
I went with a quick disconnect arm setup because I love lockline, I do not however like putting lockline together. The BTS tray comes with a quick disconnect system with a stainless cable built into the arms to help ensure during entry, exit, or other adverse conditions you do not have the sinking realization that you have just sent your video lights to the abyss if you hit the arms hard enough to separate the lockline. The quick disconnects are just that extremely fast to put together on the boat. No hassle with wet hands trying to assemble the lockline to the tray posts.
Lastly I went with the BTS Model #4 Sola edition because the tray comes assembled with arms that have Light and Motion Sola adaptors already included. I do not have to buy two mounts separately to mount my lighting to the tray. BTS offers other light configurations, as well as a universal mount. Later if I chose to change lighting configurations I can just buy a couple extra quick disconnect arms to swap lighting on the fly while on the boat.
On to the actual tray itself, It came in a well packed box to help the dear shipping folks from attempting to destroy it en route to my house. It was disassembled in a heat sealed bag. Once out of the bag My first impression is that this is indeed a well thought out and constructed camera tray. The components feel solid, Attention to detail and fitment has been paid during the production of this tray. Someone spent some time designing and manufacturing this product. There are no sharp edges or burrs. The coating although a few very small dings seems solid and durable.
Stainless hardware and a generic locktite type product are included along with a hex wrench for assembly.
Putting the tray together was very simple, thread locker on the hardware, then the handles were placed over the tray and hardware threaded in with care not to over tighten the hex bolt. The hardware was completely recessed in the bottom of the tray.
here is a close up shot of the quick disconnect top of one of the handles.
The tray comes with what looks like a delrin resin mount that has been machined to exactly fit my stock Gopro mount
Here is the tray with handles and the Gopro mounted. The Gopro mount slides into the tray with an audible click. There is absolutely no wobble in the camera housing whatsoever when it is in place.
On to the quick disconnect arms, as mentioned before the arms come with mount for my Light and Motion Sola lights. It is secured with a stainless roll pin to a stainless cable that runs through the interior to keep the lights from becoming part of the reef unintentionally.
The quick disconnect posts allow the arms to slide in and out with a 45 degree turn and an audible click. The arms come off when the base of the disconnect is pulled down not unlike a BCD inflator hose and a turn of the arm back 45 degrees. The arms feel very secure in place, yet there seems to be enough room to easily remove the arms post dive if some sand and grit make it into the quick disconnects during the dive.
On to mounting the Sola lights, all the hardware was included in the bag to mount my Sola lights to the arms with ease. I removed my goodman handle from the dive light and other mounting with a hex wrench, applied thread locker to the supplied threaded hardware and easily slid my Solas onto the arm mounts. The mounts themselves slid onto the Solas with ease, the hardware holes lined up with ease. The mounts once secured feel very solid. there is no play in the lights against the arms at all.
Here is the tray assembled with the lights mounted
My impression with the tray at this point is fantastic, the arms initially seemed too long when I pulled them out of the bag. However they are just perfect for adjustment for lighting angles. just enough to get the right position yet compact enough to keep the whole setup small and manageable.
I opted for a BTS lanyard to help me keep my camera setup from becoming an unintentional part of the reef. The lanyard is small and lightweight, yet very strong for the camera tray setup I have. The clip feels strong and has a firm spring to keep it attached to my BCD. It attaches to the tray right behind the camera mount. The lanyard can also be attached any where else oh the tray but this seems like the best configuration for me.
I hope my impressions of this tray help anyone else out there on the fence, looking at multiple camera tray options for their Gopro camera setup. I am very happy with the decision I made with the BTS #4 tray. This looks like this setup will last me a long time with trouble free use. If you have any questions about my tray feel free to PM or post.
Thanks,
John
Disclosure, I paid for this tray with my own money, I did however receive a discount for being an active dive professional. My discount was in no way contingent on doing a review of any kind. I really liked this product and thought it may be of help for someone else looking for a camera tray for their Gopro.
