Just Purchased a 'Go Pro'

[mockney]

Hey,

I have just bought myself a 'Go Pro' camera exclusively for when I dive. I have bought myself the entry level model (go Pro Hero) just $190 plus cost of memory card.

Can I ask for a couple of items of advice. (Please bear in mind I am new to all forms of underwater photography etc so I want to keep my costs low for now).

1. Do I or should I purchase the red filter for my camera, will it improve my video's?. The actual go pro one is expensive at $150. What sort of depths is it used for? do I just put it on before I dive and leave it on throughout. Most of my dives are based in Sydney and the surrounding area so I presume this is the correct filter to use?.

2. Do I need to purchase some form of light?.

3. What is generally the best way to carry my camera (i.e. on a pole, wristmount???.) I'm thinking a pole may be the easiest way but before I buy one I would like to understand what is to most common.

Many Thanks
Paul

 

[Lakediving]

I have only used my hero 3 on my head, I would recommend wearing a hood over the headstrap mount to keep the camera from falling. I recently purchased a filter and a pole mount but have been unable to use it. It is my understanding that you use a filter in the absence of a video light only. My deepest dives have been around 40 ffw and I felt that no light was needed. I liked the head mount because I could use the camera hands-free.

 

[fbk]

Try the GoPro forum, tons of answers to all your questions http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/gopro-video/

Short answers:

1. A filter by itself on sunny days will do wonders in ~ 5-20m depths with good vis.
2. Light(s) for close up with no filter, or for night dives/inside wrecks. You need 2 to cover the width of view
3. Tray is best, and essential if you are adding lights. Even with no lights a tray with 2 handles will give you the steadiest and most watchable video.

 

[mockney]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I will not bother with a light for now and see how my video's turn out. But will go for the red filter as most of the dives here are not much deeper than 20 meters or so.

Does that mean that say at around the 30 meter mark the filter should be removed?.

 

[fbk]

All a filter does is attenuate the (mostly blue/green) light coming into the camera whilst still letting the red through, making the colours more balanced. At 30m there is almost no red light left to let through so all you are doing is cutting down on what little valuable light there is left. In crystal clear tropical water on a bright sunny day there is more light so the results with a filter will be better at depth.

 

[diversteve]

The filter may also produce a yellowish cast in very shallow water - above about 15' on a bright day so since you can't view the footage you're shooting, I'd leave it off for shallow filming/snorkeling. It's possible to compensate for too much blue in editing but it's almost impossible to get rid of yellow.