Tips and tricks for HERO3?

[Gombessa]

My dives can be on the longer side (2-3 hours) in cold water, which seems to cut things a bit close on the standby battery time. I figure turning off between captures should also help keep the unit from warming up too much, and if I'm not messing with settings during the dive, are there any disadvantages to using one-button mode?

 

[toozler]

My dives can be on the longer side (2-3 hours) in cold water, which seems to cut things a bit close on the standby battery time. I figure turning off between captures should also help keep the unit from warming up too much, and if I'm not messing with settings during the dive, are there any disadvantages to using one-button mode?

Based on my single experience with turning them on/off and switching between video & pictures modes during dives, the battery didn't last both tanks (about 50 minutes average each dive). I did not film a lot, maybe 15-20 minutes per dive. On another dive I kept it on (but not filming) the whole time and still had 1/3 to 2/3 to spare after capturing about the same total video duration. Maybe the "booting" process demands more energy? Could be the water temp difference? Time between charging the battery and using? I could be wrong.

I don't know how (or have the time and patience) to test this more scientifically - maybe capture a whole battery worth of video continuously and compare the battery life with capturing the same total amount of video in intervals, shutting the camera off in between? If the battery dies before you filmed the same total duration, here is our answer.

 

[Gombessa]

Based on my single experience with turning them on/off and switching between video & pictures modes during dives, the battery didn't last both tanks (about 50 minutes average each dive). I did not film a lot, maybe 15-20 minutes per dive. On another dive I kept it on (but not filming) the whole time and still had 1/3 to 2/3 to spare after capturing about the same total video duration. Maybe the "booting" process demands more energy? Could be the water temp difference? Time between charging the battery and using? I could be wrong.

I don't know how (or have the time and patience) to test this more scientifically - maybe capture a whole battery worth of video continuously and compare the battery life with capturing the same total amount of video in intervals, shutting the camera off in between? If the battery dies before you filmed the same total duration, here is our answer.

I also take about 10-20 minutes of raw footage per dive, which is why I want to make sure the camera isn't dead when I need to grab a few precious minutes of video.

Agreed, I'll end up testing everything for myself with in-water conditions, but it'll take a few months with the (in)frequency of my diving. I just figure there are enough people out there using GoPros for long enough where some rules of thumb have developed.

Edit: I just realized, this should be easy to test without actually diving. I could just dunk the thing in a tub of ice water on each setting and see if I can grab 30 minutes of on and off footage.

 

[Gombessa]

So I've run a couple of days of "underwater" tests, by sticking the gopro in a pot of ice water. Temperatures varied in the exact range of my typical dive locations (48-54 degrees F).

Yesterday, I tested leaving the H3BE on the entire time, while capturing 30-second to 3-minute clips every so often. No auto-shut-off. The camera went from 3 bars to 1 bar in just over an hour, but stayed at 1 bar until 2 hours, then went to 0 bars, and died at 2 hours 20 minutes. 19 minutes of video captured at 1440p 30fps protune mode. Very clearly, the camera drains the batteries at some significant fraction of full power even when it's standing by idly.

Tonight, I'm testing one-button mode, which begins recording as soon as you turn the camera on, and you stop it by turning the camera off. So you use the power button exclusively instead of the shutter button. I can't tell how much total video I've taken so far because it's still submerged, but it's been 2 hours 10 minutes, and the camera has just dropped from 3 bars to 2. So, I'll keep turning it on and off until it dies or I need to go to bed, but I think it's pretty clear that for the type of shooting I do, the hands down winner is to shut down between shots.

 

[Peter_C]

Nice All Clad pot! Is it a copper core?

 

[Gombessa]

Nice All Clad pot! Is it a copper core?

Now that you mention it, if they gave me the Shenzhen Special...I'd probably never know!

 

[Peter_C]

Sure you would, as it all your pots would look like crap after a few uses. Then again running the copper core thru the dishwasher gives them an interesting patina *shrugs* All but my non stick frying pan go into the dishwasher.

 

[Gombessa]

OK, I stopped the test because I was getting bored and the camera wasn't near dying. Here are the results:
GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition.
46-54 degrees F
0.8ft depth
1440p 30fps protune mode

Camera on entire time, shooting 30s-4min chunks: camera auto-shutdown: 2 hours, 19 minutes. Total video captured: 19 minutes.

Camera one-button mode (off between shots), shooting 30s-9min chunks: camera shutdown: N/A (went down to 1-bar, which is about half battery life, at 3 hours 1 minute). Total video captured: 39 minutes.

Again, for me the results are pretty clear cut. If you want preserve battery life and you're shooting a fairly small number of short clips, turning the camera off between filming is the way to go. I imagine this test is wholly irrelevant if you're shooting for the entire dive, or if you shoot several hundred 5-second clips per dive.

 

[Ben_ca]

...or you could have your buddies buy one too and swap to the backup when the primary dies

 

[toozler]

OK, I stopped the test because I was getting bored and the camera wasn't near dying. Here are the results:
GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition.
46-54 degrees F
0.8ft depth
1440p 30fps protune mode

Camera on entire time, shooting 30s-4min chunks: camera auto-shutdown: 2 hours, 19 minutes. Total video captured: 19 minutes.

Camera one-button mode (off between shots), shooting 30s-9min chunks: camera shutdown: N/A (went down to 1-bar, which is about half battery life, at 3 hours 1 minute). Total video captured: 39 minutes.

Again, for me the results are pretty clear cut. If you want preserve battery life and you're shooting a fairly small number of short clips, turning the camera off between filming is the way to go. I imagine this test is wholly irrelevant if you're shooting for the entire dive, or if you shoot several hundred 5-second clips per dive.

Thanks for running the test and sticking your hand in cold water for us! It seems the other variables that I pointed out did actually play a role on my dive. One button mode it is then!