I've been using this thing for about four months now, but just haven't sat down to write a review yet. I'm impressed enough with it that I think it deserves a few minutes of my time.
For starters, I'm impressed that I haven't broken it. I don't think I've even really scratched it. It's been knocked around on a few boats, back of a car, and all around, and it still looks brand new. I was especially worried about scratching the glass but it is still in perfect shape.
It uses the Flip 3.1 mount, which is relatively easy to put on with an included allen wrench and single screw, and makes it very easy to use two different things on the same dive. I use the macro filter on the side mount, and one of the color filters on the top mount. I keep the other color filters in my toolbox and it just takes a minute to switch if I'm doing a deeper or shallower dive, but I do wish I had spares for the mounting screws as I'm sure I'll lose one eventually.
I really think that this should be part of most GoPro diver's toolkits. I know there are other brands of filters, but the 3.1 system is going to last a lifetime. The macro lens itself is invaluable for grabbing shots of smaller fish. I like the way it's put: this macro lens will help you focus on things about the size of a golf ball. That's quite a lot of the fish in some areas!
I tried to get some shots showing how close to use the lens to the subject. It's not a huge depth of focus and even with the LCD screen, with a moving subject or in shallow water and bright sunlight, it's hard to get it just right, as the video below shows. And all of these shots are of Jawfish as they were particularly willing to pose for me that day.
This filter makes the GoPro a great way to get into photography, such as at places like Blue Heron Bridge, where it will help you capture most of the animals there with one, small piece of kit. The only downside is no raw images, and no flash. But, there are days when I don't want to haul a DSLR rig to the water, and this fills in perfectly. Even when I do have the DSLR I now normally have this gopro with Backscatter Macromate Mini on top, for video and stills of large or small creatures. Next I'm looking forward to trying out the UV filter and a UV light, to compare it to the UV filter on my DSLR!
For starters, I'm impressed that I haven't broken it. I don't think I've even really scratched it. It's been knocked around on a few boats, back of a car, and all around, and it still looks brand new. I was especially worried about scratching the glass but it is still in perfect shape.
It uses the Flip 3.1 mount, which is relatively easy to put on with an included allen wrench and single screw, and makes it very easy to use two different things on the same dive. I use the macro filter on the side mount, and one of the color filters on the top mount. I keep the other color filters in my toolbox and it just takes a minute to switch if I'm doing a deeper or shallower dive, but I do wish I had spares for the mounting screws as I'm sure I'll lose one eventually.
I really think that this should be part of most GoPro diver's toolkits. I know there are other brands of filters, but the 3.1 system is going to last a lifetime. The macro lens itself is invaluable for grabbing shots of smaller fish. I like the way it's put: this macro lens will help you focus on things about the size of a golf ball. That's quite a lot of the fish in some areas!
I tried to get some shots showing how close to use the lens to the subject. It's not a huge depth of focus and even with the LCD screen, with a moving subject or in shallow water and bright sunlight, it's hard to get it just right, as the video below shows. And all of these shots are of Jawfish as they were particularly willing to pose for me that day.
This filter makes the GoPro a great way to get into photography, such as at places like Blue Heron Bridge, where it will help you capture most of the animals there with one, small piece of kit. The only downside is no raw images, and no flash. But, there are days when I don't want to haul a DSLR rig to the water, and this fills in perfectly. Even when I do have the DSLR I now normally have this gopro with Backscatter Macromate Mini on top, for video and stills of large or small creatures. Next I'm looking forward to trying out the UV filter and a UV light, to compare it to the UV filter on my DSLR!
