New diver, about to purchase GoPro

[The Chairman]

Don't forget to have fun! Often the camera becomes the focal point of the dive and you miss most of what you came to see. Most of everything you want pictures of has been documented already. So focus on family and friends. Keep video clips short and make them tell a story. You can edit/merge several vids and pics together to make a vacation video for the gang.

Oh yeah... don't forget to have fun.

 

[divad]

I have a 7" (diagonal) touch palmtop which accepts the micro cards directly. Easy to watch and edit between dives. Fits in the back pocket of my Levis.....but that's obviously not a good place for it. I quit lugging the bulky lap top around the airport. The palmtop is painless and I got it cheap. I would recommend that. And, oh yeah, what the gimp guy ^ said .

 

[unicornmermaid]

Thank you everyone for such good and helpful advice! I am grateful there is a community of kind, helpful, and supportive divers out there!

I have learned a lot from you all already and I do appreciate it.

 

[Addicted2H2O]

If it hasn't been mentioned......make sure to grab a couple of spare batteries, too. And a charger that will charge multiple batteries is a good thing, too. I picked one of those up on Amazon for like $15 a month or so ago when I bought mine.

And again remember to have fun and enjoy your dives. After a couple of minutes, the GoPro screen will shut off so you won't be so tempted to stare at it instead of the sights and critters you're diving to see.

 

[rhwestfall]

Yer some where in Tee o CCC ?

Photography is another skill set
Enroll in a Community College Basic Photography class
Lean and master the elements of good photography

Continue with classes in
Lighting
composition
editing'
The rules of GOOD photography are the same- Top side or Underwater.

Leave your camera at home for first 25 dives
sdm

Leave the camera at home too until you get some experience under the surface and learn to control your buoyance well. It is surprising how many new divers pour into the water with unrefined diving skills and are task loaded with just turning their camera on/off. Focus on buoyancy and proper buddy etiquette and save the camera for when you have more experience under your belt....your photos/video will be better for it and so will be you.

-Z

AMEN! Become a good diver first.....

I was going to edit Sam's post to be 100 dives....

 

[rhwestfall]

Don't be this person (walking the reef w/ GoPro in hand):

 

[loosenit2]

Leave the camera at home too until you get some experience under the surface and learn to control your buoyance well. It is surprising how many new divers pour into the water with unrefined diving skills and are task loaded with just turning their camera on/off. Focus on buoyancy and proper buddy etiquette and save the camera for when you have more experience under your belt....your photos/video will be better for it and so will be you.

-Z

Or you can get a mask with a GoPro mount on it and just let it run in video mode while you dive. You press on when you descend and off when you ascent, hands free the whole time and the camera looks at what you look at.

 

[runsongas]

you get a whole bunch of jerky unwatchable footage most of the time that way

 

[divad]

I mount the Gopro on the goodman handle next to, and as far away as I can get it from, the light. the video is as jerky as my light beam, which is not-at-all. I pay zero attention to the camera, so zero distraction.

 

[Manatee Diver]

Don't forget to have fun! Often the camera becomes the focal point of the dive and you miss most of what you came to see. Most of everything you want pictures of has been documented already. So focus on family and friends. Keep video clips short and make them tell a story. You can edit/merge several vids and pics together to make a vacation video for the gang.

Oh yeah... don't forget to have fun.

This!!!

I have carried a GoPro on nearly every dive I've done in open water, but I rarely pull it out, because most times it is more fun to just dive. I just pull it out when I see something new, or just beautiful.

On my most recently trip, I did about 9 hours of diving, I probably recorded 15 minutes of video longest clip was like 3 minutes long. Also short clips means that they are easier to share on Facebook and such if you aren't planning to bring a laptop. As I am diving for the week I take little clips (no more than a minute) and upload them to Facebook as proof of life. And when I get home I might edit together a longer video, though again no more than 5 minutes, attention spans are short.

App wise I use iMovie on my iPad. And Final Cut Pro X on my computer, but iMovie for computer will do for most people. I only use such an expensive program because I needed the features for a past project.

Examples of how selective I am, out of 15 dives during my last trip to Cozumel, this is the only video I took. Though I do regret not getting a video of the spotted eagle ray that casually swam in front of me no more than a few feet away.