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Wife bought me a Hero2 for Xmas. I just ordered the Blurflix and Cy filter, should be here in a few days. Going to Roatan in 2 weeks. Cannot wait to try it out.
I have a few questions:
1. I assume that I should use the 1080 setting since its the highest resolution?
2. For snorkeling do I remove the Cy filter or still use it even though my depth wil be shallow?
3. Can you wear the head strap with a mask or do most people just use the wrist strap mount?
4. Any other tips for a complete novice?
All of this is just one guy's opinion, but hopefully it helps. Unless you need more frames per second than 30 (you probably don't), just use 1080p mode. You'll probably get best results in the wide (170 degree fov). Get as close as you can to your subjects.
I would use the clear filter for snorkling...colors should be fine in the first 10 feet of water or so. Snorkling video rarely turns out very well, though (remember, get close to your subjects). If you're wanting to shoot video of another snorkler, or a whale shark, or a manta ray, or the like, it shouldn't be a big problem. If you're trying to shoot stuff on the bottom 30 feet away...you're not likely to like the results.
I would avoid mounting the camera to your body in any way (i.e. wrist, head, chest) as you will likely make your audience sick when they watch it. POV video from diving is good to document what exactly happened (to you specifically) while you dove, but does not usually make good video for watching. Whenever possible, hold the camera still, in one place, and let the action move in front of the camera. Avoid lots of panning and/or moving forward and back. It can be done well, but it's hard and takes practice...and you won't want too much of it. If you hold the camera still (use a rock, ledge, another diver, etc. to help you with this if necessary...just make sure your not resting it on coral or, I don't know, a scorpion fish) you can let the action underwater make the scene "move". If there is no action...you should probably be shooting stills.
Good luck, take lots of video, edit it down to a couple of minutes, color correct, and share it with us. Then keep doing it...and you'll get better and better. Good luck and have fun. Roatan is awesome.
All of this is just one guy's opinion, but hopefully it helps. Unless you need more frames per second than 30 (you probably don't), just use 1080p mode. You'll probably get best results in the wide (170 degree fov). Get as close as you can to your subjects.
I would use the clear filter for snorkling...colors should be fine in the first 10 feet of water or so. Snorkling video rarely turns out very well, though (remember, get close to your subjects). If you're wanting to shoot video of another snorkler, or a whale shark, or a manta ray, or the like, it shouldn't be a big problem. If you're trying to shoot stuff on the bottom 30 feet away...you're not likely to like the results.
I would avoid mounting the camera to your body in any way (i.e. wrist, head, chest) as you will likely make your audience sick when they watch it. POV video from diving is good to document what exactly happened (to you specifically) while you dove, but does not usually make good video for watching. Whenever possible, hold the camera still, in one place, and let the action move in front of the camera. Avoid lots of panning and/or moving forward and back. It can be done well, but it's hard and takes practice...and you won't want too much of it. If you hold the camera still (use a rock, ledge, another diver, etc. to help you with this if necessary...just make sure your not resting it on coral or, I don't know, a scorpion fish) you can let the action underwater make the scene "move". If there is no action...you should probably be shooting stills.
Good luck, take lots of video, edit it down to a couple of minutes, color correct, and share it with us. Then keep doing it...and you'll get better and better. Good luck and have fun. Roatan is awesome.
Thanks for the info! I also am diving a new Hero2 in 3 weeks in St Kitts. Do you really think a filter in water of that clarity (supposedly 100ft vis) is necessary? I am used to diving in cold water with crappy vis of 5-25 feet, and saw another divers video from a GoPro that looked awesome for such a compact product. Granted, we were close to the surface and it was a bright day the video was shot. Had a green tint to it, but that was expected for that water.
I also am a complete noob when it comes to pic/vid underwater, so I am asking questions to understand.
I have had good luck shooting with ambient light and no filter in considerable depths. A filter will cause shallow scenes and the surface to be too red. Shooting without a filter will provide a more natural look.. the colors will be muted at depth, but that is the way it looks without lights anyway. Many people like filters, but there is something to be said for the simplicty of point and shoot, with no light, no filter etc..
I have recently been using a telescoping handle on the go pro. it is inexpensive and works well and allows you to get the camera close to subjects. I shot some video 2 days ago, using the handle and even did one scene with it extended and stuck into the sand and moved away from the camera.
Kinda a long video, it was shot in late afternoon into evening all in one 3-hr, after work trip on one tank; depth 80 feet, visibility around 80.
Here is a link to the telescope pole, sorry it is not shown in the video.
Thanks Dumpster Diver! Man, I was blown away, very nice video. The 2nd video was shot without lighting? At 80 feet on an overcast day I was really impressed with the lighting. Did see the difference when you shined a flashlight on the grouper under the ledge, but thought it looked fine without, especially when I went full screen.
I am so pumped up to get this camera under water! Going to be a very long three weeks
Thanks Dumpster Diver! Man, I was blown away, very nice video. The 2nd video was shot without lighting? At 80 feet on an overcast day I was really impressed with the lighting. Did see the difference when you shined a flashlight on the grouper under the ledge, but thought it looked fine without, especially when I went full screen.
I am so pumped up to get this camera under water! Going to be a very long three weeks
yeah it was shot at like 6:30 pm or 7.. but it was not overcast, as I recall. Glad you liked it.
This video was pushing the low light capability and you can see some degredation.. then again it WAS overcast, the water was not too clear in the top 50 feet and the depth was 185, again ambient light, no filter.. Plus this was the Gopro hero 1 which seems to be not as good in low light as the current hero 2..
yeah it was shot at like 6:30 pm or 7.. but it was not overcast, as I recall. Glad you liked it.
This video was pushing the low light capability and you can see some degredation.. then again it WAS overcast, the water was not too clear in the top 50 feet and the depth was 185, again ambient light, no filter.. Plus this was the Gopro hero 1 which seems to be not as good in low light as the current hero 2..
I have had good luck shooting with ambient light and no filter in considerable depths. A filter will cause shallow scenes and the surface to be too red. Shooting without a filter will provide a more natural look.. the colors will be muted at depth, but that is the way it looks without lights anyway. Many people like filters, but there is something to be said for the simplicty of point and shoot, with no light, no filter etc..
I have recently been using a telescoping handle on the go pro. it is inexpensive and works well and allows you to get the camera close to subjects. I shot some video 2 days ago, using the handle and even did one scene with it extended and stuck into the sand and moved away from the camera.
Kinda a long video, it was shot in late afternoon into evening all in one 3-hr, after work trip on one tank; depth 80 feet, visibility around 80.
Here is a link to the telescope pole, sorry it is not shown in the video.
Nice video Dumpster Diver, I am one of those that much prefers filters and lights but mostly just filters for daylight diving. These do need favorable lighting conditions to work best so they wont always be the best option and much beyond 80ft and in lower light like your video it would be borderline if you'd get any benefit or the reduced light would end up hurting more then it helps. These sort of conditions a clear lens is usually best and helped by some good video lights you will get the best results possible for those types of conditions.
Simplicity wise I dont see much difference to shooting with or without a filter, its still point and shoot but for best results a little wb adjustment in post does give best results. When not using a filter my software wb correction method doesnt work beyond about 5m but with the filter it has worked well to 30m. Lights do make the shooting much more complicated needing to carry more gear and adjusting or aiming the lights will make you need to do more then just point and shoot.
In shallower water having a regular red filter will make things a little too red but even this can be overcome easy enough, this video has been filmed entirely with a cyan filter for all the underwater shots and some wb correction in post for the shallower sections. This was all HD1 camera in good vis and light except for the wreck dive that had the vis turn to crap at 30m so it pretty much looks as bad as it was down there lol.
Hin Muang and Hin Deng were down to around 30m with most footage here 20-25m and the other 2 dives quite a bit shallower between 10-20m and the snorkeling was very shallow and needed the most correction for best results. I have since got a shallow water cyan filter which would have done much better in the snorkel depths but I shot some with a clear lens and the video after software wb adjustment ended up much better with the filter then all footage shot with a clear lens. So I just used the filtered footage throughout.
Here is one of my older shallow videos with a clear lens depth would only be 3-5m and the colours are pretty bland but at that time I was quite happy with it. This is also a HD1 no lights middle of the day around and under the pier so light levels arent great and for such a shallow depth its surprising how little colour was left.
Here is another video at very similar depths but this time shot with a shallow water cyan filter and lights, a combination of lights and filters isn't recommended. And as many people say you shouldn't use them together and you shouldn't use filters at such shallow depths. There was a slight software wb correction made here as there was a red tinge due to the depth filter and lights combination but I think the end result is much better then the video above. This is with a HD2 camera and swcy cyan filter with 2x sola 500 lights and 2x TUSA 300 lights.
I have been trying out some new filters for the GoPro dive housing and Blurfix, I will post some example videos within the next few weeks, with these filters being removable it makes it much easier to see the difference the filters actually make. After seeing some of my initial tests in poor light at around 10m the filters still do a much better job then a clear flat lens on its own and so I will keep using a filter at all times unless I get to a point where they are hurting the footage. I use the LCD bacpacs which make it very easy to see whats going on and with wet filter options this will easily show you if you should filter or not.
I will be doing some deeper dives soon Im just waiting on one more filter to come so I can also compare all the decent filter options available for the new GoPro dive housing. I will have a few gopros all filming to show some proper comparisons between the 3 filter options I will be trying and also the Blurfix adapter with regular filters and wet filters. Weather conditions are pretty crappy here mid winter so I will also need to get lucky and find a day that the dive charters are going out with a clear day to get best filter results in the deeper parts. This could delay that test a few weeks but I will do it as soon as all the stars line up and the weather gods place nice for a change lol.
I tend to prefer using a filter at all times so having a removable filter wasn't always much of an issue for me, but it is a good option to have if you find yourself in unfavorable light a little too deep so you can take the filter off if needed. Also if you go into a dark wreck or cave then taking off the filter and just using lights will give best results. Surprisingly though using a combination of lights and filters isn't as bad as I expected at first and the results can be still very good using both.
I think a filter gives a more natural result but that's just my opinion and all they are doing is filtering out the dominant blues or greens to allow the camera to see some of the reds that are there but overpowered the strong blue natural light the deeper you go.
Here is one last example showing HD1's and HD2's at shallow depths with and without a filter and no lights, the early part with no filters is very shallow and is about the max depth Id go with a clear lens in very good light, the second part shows only a couple of meters deeper and you can see how much more colour the filters get here. There is no software correction here its all just raw footage using a swcy filter.
Irishtin:
Wife bought me a Hero2 for Xmas. I just ordered the Blurflix and Cy filter, should be here in a few days. Going to Roatan in 2 weeks. Cannot wait to try it out.
I have a few questions:
1. I assume that I should use the 1080 setting since its the highest resolution?
2. For snorkeling do I remove the Cy filter or still use it even though my depth will be shallow?
3. Can you wear the head strap with a mask or do most people just use the wrist strap mount?
4. Any other tips for a complete novice?
To quickly answer the older OP if I am capable of doing so in this huge essay so far
1. 1080p30 wide is great overall if you have a steady mount method otherwise too much motion and the lower shutter speed tends to get a little blurry. My thailand video above was all 720p60 on the HD1, the HD2 is much sharper in this mode and its sometimes hard to tell which is which. My Blurfix with lights video has a bit of both in it so see if you can easily tell the difference, hint the 720p60 has been slowed down in a section but it happened so fast it still looks normal speed.
The higher frame rates will give higher shutter speeds that avoid too much blurring or rolling shutter effect when the camera is moving around. Also if you have shaky footage like most of my Thailand video (this was mostly just camera in hand with a couple of headmoutned shots) you can slow it to 50% and it looks much smother with no dropped frames.
In very low light slower frame rates are best but need a very steady hand for good results. 720P60 is a good place to start giving a full wide fov and faster shutter speed. If I ever wear the camera head mounted I will always use 720p60 as this gives much better results if the camera is in motion or even 960p50/48 which can easily be cropped to 720p25/24 for export to yt or similar. When using the tray setup I use 1080p modes as this is stable enough for me to not have any motion issues.
2. Same as my first video example, underwater can be corrected when using a CY filter but a swcy is the best filter for such videos but even it may need some software wb correction at the surface in some cases. The clear lens will need no correction so easiest to edit but colours will get bland if you shoot anything a few meters away from you or basically any shots where there is more then 3m of total water between your object and camera. This would be depth + distance to your subject so 1.5m down and 1.5m across to your target is 3m of water the light has to get through.
3. Headstrap goes higher then the mask and can work well, you need to avoid too much head movement and you may also get bubbles come in-front of the camera. I wouldn't use it all the time but have had some good results in the past and still use it every so often. Headstrap needs a chin strap or to be worn under the hood or the headband may come off easily and you will lose your camera. Just to add one more video to my huge post lol, this is my favorite video still, no filter and bubbles get in the way but awesome dive. I am trying to get back here soon to shoot some better footage with my current setup.
4. The first part of this huge post has a few lol.
---------- Post Merged at 05:11 PM ----------Previous Post was at 04:58 PM ----------
Thanks for the info! I also am diving a new Hero2 in 3 weeks in St Kitts. Do you really think a filter in water of that clarity (supposedly 100ft vis) is necessary? I am used to diving in cold water with crappy vis of 5-25 feet, and saw another divers video from a GoPro that looked awesome for such a compact product. Granted, we were close to the surface and it was a bright day the video was shot. Had a green tint to it, but that was expected for that water.
I also am a complete noob when it comes to pic/vid underwater, so I am asking questions to understand.
The better the vis the better a filter will work, you can see my post above with the Thailand video and the Shark video. Both are similar depths Thailand 30m in wreck but that was the worst vis down to around 5m. The other dives depths at 10-27m had vis of 35m+ and worked great, the shark dive is at 15-25m with 30m+ vis and very similar light and water conditions and both were shot on a HD1 at 720p60. Thailand was more tropical water temp 31c where fishrock was about 25c from memory but overall they are pretty similar.
Better vis just means more light will get through to greater depths but no matter how much light there is blue become dominant from about 5m down so you need to filter some of these out. If you get bright sunny conditions with very very good vis you will get the optimum conditions for a good filter and should get a boost to 25-30m depth out of it. Without the Gopro will get very blue or green HD2 suffers more in the wb then HD1 does without a filter from about 4m on, With a good filter like those by URPro my HD2s have had pretty good auto wb but this still gets a boost with a touch up in post. My local conditions are vis 5-15m but mostly under 8m and the filters work ok here but wont get the same benefit at 25m as they would in clear tropical waters.
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