Go Pro 4 Silver

[joe comproni]

I have been searching for a action camera. I looked at many knock off cameras and decided on a usedGo Pro 4 silver I bought on E-bay. My question is I will be in the keys next month my dives are going to be 20-50ft depths except for the Eagle at 100ft do I need a red filter for all these dives or will a light be fine or should I use both? Any advise would be great this is my first time using underwater videos.

 

[rhwestfall]

IMHO, you want filter(s)

 

[Storker]

Depends on what you want.

A filter can't restore color that's completely missing; it can only reduce those colors that you have too much of. It just makes it easier for the camera to balance the color better (but not perfect), at the cost of shutter speed and/or ISO rating since you take away some of the total light. At 100'/30m, there just isn't any red/orange light left, so your filter won't make the reds show up. To get the reds back, you need artificial lighting. There's no way around that, but the cost o restoring the reds is a higher gear cost, more gear to handle and backscatter.

 

[Bert van den Berg]

Have the same camera and you will be a lot happier with a filter. I purchased an expensive red filter on eBay and was disappointed with the results - too red. Then purchased a "cheap" set of filters that have their suggested depth range printed on each color and it works great. For depths to about 30M the orange filter seems to work well.

 

[Ricardo V.]

Consider using both lights and filter if you are fully committed to this and if budget is not an issue. At a minimum... a good quality red filter will help.

A proven product is Backscatter’s flip filters.
Here is some relevant information you may want to review and consult: Guide for the Best Filter for your GoPro - Underwater Photography - Backscatter

As far as lights, they will offer better results provided you have adequate ones. They need to be hotspot free, wide angle video lights with sufficient lumens. One light will work; however, 2 will produce best results. Lights do cost much more than a filter.

There are several posts here on ScubaBoard that have extensive discussion on filters and lights for GoPro cameras.

Hope this helps. Enjoy your trip to the Keys.

Ricardo

 

[joe comproni]

Consider using both lights and filter if you are fully committed to this and if budget is not an issue. At a minimum... a good quality red filter will help.

A proven product is Backscatter’s flip filters.
Here is some relevant information you may want to review and consult: Guide for the Best Filter for your GoPro - Underwater Photography - Backscatter

As far as lights, they will offer better results provided you have adequate ones. They need to be hotspot free, wide angle video lights with sufficient lumens. One light will work; however, 2 will produce best results. Lights do cost much more than a filter.

There are several posts here on ScubaBoard that have extensive discussion on filters and lights for GoPro cameras.

Hope this helps. Enjoy your trip to the Keys.

Ricardo

Ricardo I can get a light for 15.00 dollars on Amazon is this light a waste of money you think?

 

[Ricardo V.]

Joe,
I would pass on that. A filter alone is better than a filter plus a cheap light.

A good video light is going to be much more than $15. There are several good products available. I like the SOLA lights made by light & motion. These are very good lights, but then they cost a bit more than the average underwater video light. Sola Imaging - Choose Your Light - Light & Motion

BigBlue also makes some pretty good lights. I’ve got 4 of their VL3500 and am pretty happy with them. http://www.bigbluedivelights.com/index.asp

I would say that one of the most relevant things to keep in mind is avoiding hotspots. If you record video using a regular underwater flashlight, when you play back the images, your going to have a bright hotspot that’s not as evident when you recorded it. Our eyes and brain adapt to light underwater, but the camera just records what’s there without any adjustments, essentially ruins the video or the photos, and it’s actually pretty evident later on when you’re back home working on your images.

To resolve this, a wide angle video light is needed. Preferably 2. You want to have a wider illuminated area, avoiding dark corners. It’s easier to prevent this with 2 lights; however, it can be done with one. The more lumens, the better.... but it’s also a cost issue as wider and bright lights cost more.

One last tip.... if you don’t have a tray, consider using one to help stabilize your footage. A red filter and a tray are an excellent way to get started. The light do help, but only if they are of sufficient quality and designed for underwater video.

Cheers,

Ricardo

 

[outofofficebrb]

You will definitely want a filter. As you get deeper, even as shallow as 50 or 60 feet, a filter plus as much light as you can buy in your budget is helpful. If you go to @outofofficebrb • Instagram photos and videos and look at the underwater photos taken in Australia and Indonesia from last year, those are with a GoPro and a red filter and/or lights. The newer Indonesia pictures you see from the past month or so are not with a GoPro so you can ignore those.

I dove and shot video and pulled stills from them for photos (and kept video) for about 70 dives before I moved to a camera and strobes. Let me know if you have any other Q's!

 

[joe comproni]

You will definitely want a filter. As you get deeper, even as shallow as 50 or 60 feet, a filter plus as much light as you can buy in your budget is helpful. If you go to @outofofficebrb • Instagram photos and videos and look at the underwater photos taken in Australia and Indonesia from last year, those are with a GoPro and a red filter and/or lights. The newer Indonesia pictures you see from the past month or so are not with a GoPro so you can ignore those.

I dove and shot video and pulled stills from them for photos (and kept video) for about 70 dives before I moved to a camera and strobes. Let me know if you have any other Q's!

Fantastic pictures hope mine are one quarter that good.

 

[outofofficebrb]

Fantastic pictures hope mine are one quarter that good.

Joe - I have no doubt they will be just as good with a filter and some lights. At the time, I was using 2 sea dragon lights on a tray with flex arms for further extension like below. I was also using the switchblade 2.0 that had the macro lens attachment for focusing up close.