Go Pro options

[Brett Lindzy]

Hello all,
I'm wondering what are some of the favorite ways you all are rigging up or mounting your go pros when you dive. I general use a small floating handle on a retractable tether, but I'm not in love with that way as it tends to float around and is tough to locate when I want it. I have put it in a pocket before, but then it takes time to get out when you see something cool. Give me some ideas....
Thanks all!

 

[Bump_Head]

Bolt snapped to a D-ring.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I keep it on a small tripod to avoid the terrible camera movement you see on most GoPro underwater videos. When I'm not using it, I keep it in my drysuit pocket.

 

[Jay Adams]

if you look closely at my profile picture you can see my gopro tray. it makes for a more stable video it's 100% pvc pipe from home depot, cost me about $17 to build it. if you do a pvc tray, be sure to drill holes so your tray will be negatively bouyant. I will post a clearer picture of my rig later.

 

[Belzelbub]

I know it’s not the best method for stable video, but I use the XS GoMask with the GoPro mount built in. Most of my dives are hunting dives, so having a hand-held camera is just not an option. I did look into speargun mounts, but I just didn’t like the vantage point and shake with each shot.

The mask mount has some disadvantages over other mounts, but it does free up your hands.

First disadvantage is that you probably don’t realize how much your head moves during a dive. This can result in dizzy video. But, you can train yourself to get better. My first videos were largely unwatchable due to the amount of movement. I made an effort to slow down and stabilize, and they got much better.

Another con is that you can’t tell if it’s on or recording. To address that, I use a much larger memory card than I will usually need. I start recording before the dive, and stop when I’m back on the boat. I used to stop recording during a safety stop until I came up from one dive to see a cute girl from a nearby boat swimming topless. I had of course stopped recording before I saw.

Without worrying about start and stop, you won’t miss a shot. Now, you’ll have to edit heavily after the dive, but you’d have to do that anyway. Instead of piecing together the interesting scenes, you just cut out the footage between them.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I use one of two handles that I clip off to an expandable tether attached to my chest d-ring. I've attached a bolt-snap to each of the handles. Typically the GoPro is in my hands the entire dive so no need to search for it. One handle I use is the GoPro floating handle and the other is an expanding selfie pole that extends to 3' roughly. With the stabilization in the GoPro 8 my videos are stable enough for my tastes. I'm not shooting professional video mind you. Rather I just capture video of cool stuff that I see to share with family and friends and for my own records/memory. Therefore I prefer to keep it simple.

When filming I work hard to not make any quick, jerking movements. Remember you're shooting video. Slow, stead movement as you pan the camera. Rock solid control of buoyancy as well to avoid any unnecessary up-down movement. Most of my video is shot while drift diving in South FL so frequently I'm holding the camera perfectly still while I'm drifting with the current. Much of the jerky video I see posted has more to do with lack of awareness that quick movements while shooting video tend to make people nauseous! Some is also due to lack of comfort or control in the water. Be sure you can dive slowly, comfortably and in solid control before you try and tackle shooting video. Not saying this applies to the OP just a general comment to any diver considering shooting video.

 

[boat sju]

Actually, mounting it on a stick seems to help keep it steady. Plus it moves it away from your bubbles making it less bothersome to fish.

 

[CT-Rich]

I use a handle and let it run for most of the dive. When I have other things to do, I let it hang lose. My camera breaks the video into 5 minute chunks. As soon as I have it on my computer, I scan the files and delete most of the crap. Another thing you can do to help out is tape at a higher frame rate. 60 FPS will smooth out some of the jiggles when played back at 30 FPS.

As others have noted, you miss shots when the camera isn’t on. Last summer, I had a cormorant swim out from under a rock at nearly 40’. Surprised the heck out of me and it wasn’t until I looked at the footage frame by frame that I realized it was a bird.

The larger and more massive the mount of your camera, the less prone to jiggling. A handle is better than nothing, a tray is more stable than handle. This coming season, I am going to mount camera on small scooter I bought cheap (yet to give it an in water test). Small cameras are hard to keep steady.

 

[Chavodel8en]

Ive got it mounted on top of a small video light, and the light is on a soft goodman handle. Whenever I want it, its right there on my hand. And its pretty unobtrusive when Im not using it.

 

[sabbe]

I started with a SeaLife selfie stick with bolt snap added to secure to chest harness. I liked the stick as it lets me get close-up without spooking or getting too close to animals (NC sand tigers for example) or in tight spots.

I've switched to GoPro 3-Way as it switches between grip, selfie stick, and tripod. It does all the above and the tripod lets me plant the camera and do some swim bys to check trim and loose equipment. I've been trying to master sidemount so this has been extremely helpful.

Sam