Lake video with GoPro

[Jacob Dixon]

Hello everyone! I've been diving for a little over a year and within the past months took great interest is taking video with my GoPro. I started off (and still do) have the GoPro mounted to my speargun but this obviously doesn't work well when I want to dive deeper.

I have found that about 45ft or deeper the GoPro is completely black.. even when there is some light down there the GoPro just cannot pick it up. I was thinking about getting a tray and light setup but just not sure what I would need. Almost every advise and tutorial out there is geared for Ocean diving and not lake diving.

Visibility where I am at is anywhere from 5-10ft in the summer to 20ft in the off season. Going deeper it gets much clearer and this is where I am wanting to take more video.

Just looking for some thoughts.. I found this setup which is in my price range but just wanted some opinions from people that are experienced: Backscatter :: Underwater video :: package deals

 

[icechip]

I use the Backscatter Sidekick for lighting for my GoPro Hero 3+ (Light & Motion Sidekick GoPro Light - Flex Arm Package). It has worked great and is pretty handy. I shoot both ocean and freshwater video and have found the various Backscatter filters do a good job for either venue. For Maine lake diving, I use the green water filter on the Flip system: (FLIP4 GREENWATER Underwater Color Correction Magenta Filter for GoPro 3, 3+, 4) Good luck!

 

[shurite7]

For lake diving I have been using the Intova tray (Base Tray Double - Intova) with two flex arms that hold the Black Molly III 2600XWP wide angle beam (Bigblue Dive Lights) by Bigblue Lights. I used to use a 1000 Lumens extra wide beam for video, however, it didn't have enough penetration. The 2600 lumens has worked quite well for me.

On another note, I no longer use my GoPro nor my Intova for video. The CGX2 by Cyclops has really good video quality, which is my goto camera. Although, the audio quality is not as good as the Intova; GoPro has the issue. Audio isn't always important, yet there are times when I want it, so I bring the Intova with me for Audio and as a back up.

Final note, the battery for the CGX2, GoPro, and Intova Edge X will last a very short time when diving in cold water. For cold water the Intova Sport HD battery is much better for longevity.

 

[Jacob Dixon]

That is interesting on the sidekick! I really like the price. Do you have any youtube videos I could see with it when you have used it?

 

[Jacob Dixon]

For lake diving I have been using the Intova tray (Base Tray Double - Intova) with two flex arms that hold the Black Molly III 2600XWP wide angle beam (Bigblue Dive Lights) by Bigblue Lights. I used to use a 1000 Lumens extra wide beam for video, however, it didn't have enough penetration. The 2600 lumens has worked quite well for me.

On another note, I no longer use my GoPro nor my Intova for video. The CGX2 by Cyclops has really good video quality, which is my goto camera. Although, the audio quality is not as good as the Intova; GoPro has the issue. Audio isn't always important, yet there are times when I want it, so I bring the Intova with me for Audio and as a back up.

Final note, the battery for the CGX2, GoPro, and Intova Edge X will last a very short time when diving in cold water. For cold water the Intova Sport HD battery is much better for longevity.

So you felt the 1000 lumens was not good enough? A local dive shop is showing me a 2500 lumen light with three different light modes. The problem is it is around $500 with the pistol grip mount and it is only one light. I've been curious about only having one light because i've seen videos where the diameter of the light circle being shown in videos (you can see where the edge falls off). Having two lights that overlap would increase the range / width of what is visible (from what I THINK.. not sure though).

 

[Bert van den Berg]

Hi,

Maybe your GoPro isn't set up correctly or you were diving under a thermocline because I get very good quality video at 120 feet down without lights.

 

[icechip]

That is interesting on the sidekick! I really like the price. Do you have any youtube videos I could see with it when you have used it?

Yes, the price was good and its been a steady, reliable light for underwater shooting for a couple of years now. Here are some videos I've put together: Charles Lagerbom

 

[shurite7]

So you felt the 1000 lumens was not good enough? A local dive shop is showing me a 2500 lumen light with three different light modes

The 1000 lumens was ok. The issue that I was having was the penetration or distance the light was traveling. I use a wide angle lights which doesn't have deep penetration. That is why I went to higher lumens. The lights do have the feature of using lesser lumens.

I've been curious about only having one light because i've seen videos where the diameter of the light circle being shown in videos (you can see where the edge falls off). Having two lights that overlap would increase the range / width of what is visible (from what I THINK.. not sure though).

When using one light only one side of the object being filmed is illuminated while the other side is not. I use two wide angle lights to avoid the issue.

It is hard to find good lights for a cheap price. Welcome to video.