Thinking of buying a 'go pro' for Scuba Diving

[mockney]

Hi All,

I am thinking of buying myself a 'go pro' camera to use on scuba dives, I have never got into underwater photography before but it seems like a decent way to get involved for a resonable cost.

I have a couple of questions?.

1. Can you use the go pro out of the box it says its good for 40m or do I need to buy some form of waterproof casing?.

2. I am thinking where to actually hold the camera, I have seen on ebay a wrist type arrangement that looks good, hands free etc. I was wondering if anyone has tried this and if it works or not?. Any general advise on how best to attach and use the camera would be appreciated.

Thanks
Paul

 

[ncgator]

I just upgraded to the Hero 3+ Black Edition and have really enjoyed my GoPros for diving. The new housings are fine to 130 fsw without any modification. I would suggest something like a pole mount or a hand grip mount rather than a wrist mount to provide a more stable platform for filming. Lots of good info here in the "show me your mount" thread as well.
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/gopro-video/413004-show-me-your-mount.html


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[mick allein III]

I purchased a Sony action Cam for about half the price and was very impressed with the quality of video. You may want to check it out.

 

[Ting Tong]

Hi Paul

I have got a black 3+ edition.

1. I have taken it to 22m no problem at all. I can't verify 40m, because I haven't done it. No need for a special housing, its all included in the box. The only thing I had to get was a micro SD card. That's another topic. Whats the best etc etc! I bought a Scandisk Extreme Plus 64G. It works for me.

2. I have a Go Pro Bobber. It has a wrist laynyard and I just hold the bobber and point it at whatever looks interesting. I do not have an LCD screen, so I am basically shooting blind. If I need my two hands for a task I just let go and it floats above my wrist. When I come to deploy my SMB I pass it to my dive buddy so there are no entanglement issues.

I generally shoot all video. I have tried on occasion to take stills, not many, but I haven't had much success as they come out blurry. Operator error no doubt! I can pull some decent stills from the video sometimes.

I have found the GoPro shoots quite a wide angle, so if you want to get up close and personal the camera needs to be fairly close to the subject. I have seen other divers use a pole, which seems like quite a good idea, but I haven't tried it myself and it would only be good for video. I believe they have macro lenses now but I haven't tried one.

I haven't really spent much time or concern optimising all the settings etc. I am just a novice who jumps in, points and presses a button. I would recommend a coloured filter depending on depth. I find it makes quite a remarkable difference.

Hope that helps.

Cheers

 

[0002s]

1. My camera has gone 140 ft with standard housing.

2. A simple handle like below is all you need, unless you plan on adding lights.

TMC Tripod Mount Adapter w/ Extendable Handheld Monopod Grip for GoPro Hero 3 2


The GoPro 3+ Black is a great video camera when there is good available light. It's marginal in low light and or at depth without lights and filters.

 

[kombiguy]

If you use one of those long pole setups, have some courtesy and don't shove it in front of someone taking pictures. A lot of the Go-Pro users around south Florida think the long pole means they can shove their cameras wherever with no concern for anyone else.

 

[Malpaso]

I have a GoPro Black, and have had it down to 100'. I use the Head Strap Mount + QuickClip - GoPro Official Store: Wearable Digital Cameras for Sports. I chose that because I'm not a dedicated photographer/videographer, and by just putting it on and leaving it on I can document my dive and have video if there is truly something neat without it being a distraction for me.

 

[Kharon]

Cons of the GoPro:

1 the batteries are not removable. That means that you have to recharge the camera rather than simply carrying spare batteries.

2. it's pretty pricey compared to the alternative.

3. It's an additional task.

I found that trying to capture a specific vid clip was not a sure thing. I often missed things I wanted to capture because I turned the camera off when I thought I was turning it on, the battery went dead, etc. I eventually went with a much less expensive ($99) alternative that captures my entire dive - start to finish - and everything I look at in 720p video or one HD picture every 2 seconds. It runs 4 hours on 2 AAA batteries so if the batteries run low I just change them. It uses a micro-SD memory card so I can get 4 hours of video on a 16Gb or 8 hours of video on a 32Gb. Should I run out of memory I just pop in another memory card.

Best of all, it completely removes a significant task during my dive (dealing with a camera) because it gets everything. I attached the "universal mount" to my mask and if I forget to turn it on it will turn itself on when I hit about 15 feet. Couldn't be simpler. It does make for a lot of editing but I can do that on shore after the trip and re-live the trip while doing the editing. Something to do in the dregs of winter.

For me it beats the crap out of the GoPro. What is this tiny bugger? A Tachyon Micro-HD Tachyon Micro HD - The World's Toughest HD Helmet Camera I'd never go back!

Disclaimer. I don't work for nor do I get any benifit from Tachyon. In fact, I first thought I wouldn't like the camera. Boy was I wrong!

Here is a link to a video from my last trip to Bonaire shot with the Tachyon in all natural light: https://vimeo.com/87183631

 

[0002s]

Cons of the GoPro:

1 the batteries are not removable. That means that you have to recharge the camera rather than simply carrying spare batteries.

My GoPro has removable batteries. Which model are you referring to?

 

[James R]

If you use one of those long pole setups, have some courtesy and don't shove it in front of someone taking pictures. A lot of the Go-Pro users around south Florida think the long pole means they can shove their cameras wherever with no concern for anyone else.

A good response I've found to combat that is to change one of my Inon Z-240 to full power (if not already there), aim it toward the offender's eyes, and "take a couple photos." I don't understand why, but they leave the AO almost immediately...