Note to self: Press the button on the video camera. Check the light.

[SolarStorm]

I have some great shots of camera barrel. Anyone interested? It was green.

See I didnt press the gopro button at the start of the dive, but I did press it just before I put it in the camera barrel.

Whats the dumbest thing you have done with your camera. (and yes I still count a go pro as a camera) I wear the go pro and carry another camera for still shots.

 

[Seymour Fisch]

Been there, done that. Well not quite as bad... as a new diver, I went with a Z-gear BCD mount for my GoPro, with the plan that I'd just start the camera and ignore it throughout the dive. On my first dive, I forgot to press the button until I was descending. I couldn't see the light or display and didn't hear the beeps very well. So, I pressed again. And again. And again. And before I knew it, I had no idea which was on or off or what mode I was in. After the dive (Stuart Cove's shark dive in the Bahamas), it turned out I had somehow switched into burst-photo mode, and I had random bursts of photos of nothing in particular. Fortunately, for the second dive (the shark feed), I remembered to start the camera recording before I entered the water...

I've been meaning to write up a trip report and gear review, but haven't had a chance. (BTW, for a trip report to a common location, is Scubaboard etiquette to start a new thread, or add on to someone else's thread for the same location and dive op?)

 

[TONY CHANEY]

Let me count the ways. 1) I got a used Motor Marine camera off Ebay. I did not have it looked at and I was new to cameras. A cuttle fish was interacting with us. The camera flooded and that was the eng od the pictures and the camera. 2) I got a video housing but could not use my camera with the external controls. I just set the camera to record and put it into the housing to record whatever it got. I came upon a Paddlefish and followed it for a long time. I got back and wanted to show off the video to friends. I never realized that it had an automatic battery saver and shut off prior to me seeing the fish.

 

[tajkd]

When I first started using the gopro, I turned the video off (on) when I left the water. I had a short video of my entry and an hour long video of myself getting out, taking off my gear, getting in my car... very entertaining.

 

[Donnah]

1. Didn't know to extend the strobe arm until the second day after I dove with the camera.
2. I took my camera into the Bear's Den in Roatan and banged it on a rock. When it didn't take a picture, I whacked it a few times. Camera flooded.
3. I did the famous "185 Over the Wall" dive in Andros. Plan was to get a photo of the wall. Preset the camera so I wouldn't have to think about settings. Sat on the ledge trying to take a photo, over and over again. Nothing happened. Didn't realize that the camera was rated for 160 ft.
4. Camera pro handed me his camera so I could see how the automatic focus worked. I didn't realize how heavy it was and immediately crashed to the bottom.

 

[James R]

Allowed it to sit in a community rinse tank....this is where cameras go to crash into each other and flood. Good times.

 

[mikeb21072]

I flooded my first gopro in 30' SW, nothing like a $400 disposable camera. I bought another one and on my last dive trip I got 45 minutes footage of the inside of my dive bag. That is why I always take extra batteries on the boat.
i bet all of us that dive with cameras have done a few stupid things while diving that we hope no one else noticed, or at least had the decency not to call us out for being a total idiot while still on the boat.

 

[Foxfish]

Lot's to think about when using the camera:

1. What mode will you shoot in? Manual, Av, Tv, Auto, Video?
2. Do you need to adjust white balance?
3. What ISO setting will you use?
4. Are you using natural lighting or flash?
5. Is the camera in flash mode?
6. Are the strobes on?
7. Are the strobes orientated correctly?
8. Is strobe intensity set manually or automatically?
9. If manually, has it been set?
10. Is the camera focus automatic or manual?
11. If manual focus has it been set?
12. Are you using stacked lenses? Are they needed or to be removed?
13. Is the focus light needed? Is it on or off?
14. What shutter speed is to be used?
15. Did you check the lighting histogram?
16. What aperture setting is to be used?
17. Do you need to zoom in or out?
18. Are you shooting RAW, JPEG or both?

And that is after you've decided on the photo subject, composition, the orientation of your focus and the angle at which you'll approach the subject avoiding any damage to reef or marine life and how close or far you need to be from the subject.

Take a photo. How does it look? Is the composition correct? Is the shutter speed adequate? Is the lighting correct? What adjustments need to be made?

Take more photos from different angles and distances.

Ever wondered why diving with underwater photographers is so painfully slow...

 

[krukster86]

When I dive with the GoPro, I record "shotgun" style, meaning I only record a few seconds of something interesting and then put it in standby until the next "cool thing". Well turns out my old Hero2's buttons are rather finicky now from being mashed so much that when I turned it off one time, it was actually still recording since the button wasn't depressed all the way. I recorded 15 minutes of the camera swirling around and got awesome footage of my fins. When I saw some beautiful angelfish grazing, I brought my camera up and thought I hit record, but ended up turning it off. Check your lights and check them often!

 

[James R]

When I saw some beautiful angelfish grazing, I brought my camera up and thought I hit record, but ended up turning it off. Check your lights and check them often!

Also check to be sure you are pressing the right button, right?

Don't feel alone...my gf often presses the front button, changing the modes or turning it off. I bought her the 3+ black recently and fortunately for both of us it's much easier to see the little screen than the old 2 in the special dive housing! At least now she can put it back in video record mode on her own...