GoPro

[Hoosier Four]

Loving all the suggestions, etc in this thread! I just bought a gopro hero 3+ black the other day and plan on bringing it with me in less than a month on my cruise. I have a couple of accessories being shipped to me now ( anti fog, grenade grip/ handle, the jaw flex clamp, and extra batteries.) I was wondering if (3) 32 GB cards will be enough for 7 day cruise? I don't really want to bring my laptop to transfer all the video to every night. I just have no idea if I will have enough cards... Also, I see a lot of people with the gopro pole mounts. Do you guys think that is a necessity? I need to practice over the next 3 weeks to become comfortable with the camera and its settings, so hopefully I can get some decent videos!

[Tommy3putts]

I love my GoPro!!!

 

I think you will want to get a scoping pole do some sort. Gopole for example. These extend and can get very unique shots. I got an iStabilizer b/c I can use iphone or gopro. I use it the most.

 

As for cards it depends on what you're going to shoot with your Gopro. If you are going to do time lapses or do a lot of 1080p 60fps, I would get one or two more. Just in case. For my 11 night cruise this summer I have 2 64s and 2 32s and I'm not sure if that's enough.

[Hoosier Four]

I love my GoPro!!!

 

I think you will want to get a scoping pole do some sort. Gopole for example. These extend and can get very unique shots. I got an iStabilizer b/c I can use iphone or gopro. I use it the most.

 

As for cards it depends on what you're going to shoot with your Gopro. If you are going to do time lapses or do a lot of 1080p 60fps, I would get one or two more. Just in case. For my 11 night cruise this summer I have 2 64s and 2 32s and I'm not sure if that's enough.

 

Thanks! Ill look into that istabilizer. I will prob. get at least one more card to play it safe. I would HATE to run out with a day or two left in the cruise!

[shootr]

Loving all the suggestions, etc in this thread! I just bought a gopro hero 3+ black the other day and plan on bringing it with me in less than a month on my cruise. I have a couple of accessories being shipped to me now ( anti fog, grenade grip/ handle, the jaw flex clamp, and extra batteries.) I was wondering if (3) 32 GB cards will be enough for 7 day cruise? I don't really want to bring my laptop to transfer all the video to every night. I just have no idea if I will have enough cards... Also, I see a lot of people with the gopro pole mounts. Do you guys think that is a necessity? I need to practice over the next 3 weeks to become comfortable with the camera and its settings, so hopefully I can get some decent videos!

 

Card Storage - It depends on how you intend to shoot. Some of the incredible videos have hours and hours of different scenes that the final 3 minute video is made from. On my 7 day cruise, if I just shot stuff around the ship, sightseeing, snorkeling, etc - I bet 3 32GB cards would suffice, as that should be over 6 hours of recording at 1080/60, and over 9 hours at 1080/30. (I wound up doing a few time lapse' so I used 7 total)

 

I agree a pole is good to have. You can take ground level shots, high overhead shots, way over the railing stuff - that super wide angle lens exaggerates the perspective, so just a couple feet of extension makes a big difference in framing a shot.

 

And yes, practice a lot. Get used to trusting your aim and try not to keep looking at the camera checking if it's level - I keep doing it and it ruins the shot! See what you like - low by the shoes or high overhead - and get anybody else used to it so by cruise time they'll mostly ignore you and let you just film without any self-consciousness :) . Practice walking and holding it steady, take note of what position is most stable and most comfortable. Use it in different light so you know what it's limitations are - the darker it is the grainier it gets.

 

And have fun!

[FireStation46]

Get more SD cards. 32GB is the max capacity I believe. Best to get some extra batteries and the stand alone charger. Batteries don't last too long

[Hoosier Four]

Thanks for all the advice everyone!. I just picked up another 32GB card tonight for a total of 4 for the trip.

[acwmom]

Given that my DH and I were reading about how to use the 3+ the day before we set sail, I think we did pretty well.

 

We didn't film much, but here are a couple of clips. It is nice that the camera is its own wifi, so we were able to control, and watch, videos on our IPad in our cabin.

 

The first is from our helmet dive in Cozumel, the second is a time lapse from Key West, as we left port.

 

 

[shootr]

1) So jealous of the helmet dive! Ours was canceled because of weather but that looked like a lot of fun.

 

2) Love the sailboat as you were pulling away - great weather it looked like too!

 

Thanks for sharing, love seeing what people are doing with their cameras.

[acwmom]

1) So jealous of the helmet dive! Ours was canceled because of weather but that looked like a lot of fun.

 

It was definitely one of, if not the best, shore excursions we've ever done. Will definitely look for it in other ports! I think I had about 25 minutes total. I used the wrist housing, which seemed to work well

 

2) Love the sailboat as you were pulling away - great weather it looked like too!

 

Perfect weather! We liked watching the flag go down. A huge benefit of the center aft, directly above the bar:)

 

Thanks for sharing, love seeing what people are doing with their cameras.

 

Now just waiting for our next vacation-Disney this fall!

[Tommy3putts]

We leave for our June 23 cruise two weeks from today!!!! Itching to use the GoPro!

[MarTex]

Anyone have luck getting the Steadicam curve for your GoPro? I've waited for months, twice, only for them (Tiffen) to tell me that they have cancelled the order because of production issues. Are there any other Steadicams that may be worth considering? Cruise is getting close. Yikes!

[shootr]

I tried one type of $70 steadicam and it was a major pain to transport, balance and use easily.

 

I have been taking my tripod/monopod mini-ball mount adapter and mount the camera to it.

 

I loosen the adjuster so the camera can flop around freely.

 

Hold the whole thing upside down and film that way. You can use a setting in the camera to tell it you have the camera upside down and it will flip the recording right side up for you. I'm too lazy and just film it upside down, then flip it upright in post production.

 

I still have to film carefully - no steadicam made for a lightweight like a GoPro is going to smooth out jostling and jerking - only a powered gyro-stabilized gimbal can do that (in my opinion, and you know what they say about those :D )

 

I just shot this as quick comparison to see if it shows any difference - I'll let you be the judge:

 

[YOUTUBE]HEawpIIj95k[/YOUTUBE]

 

Be sure to click the "gear" at bottom right to switch to HD. It was getting dark so not sure how helpful this is...

Edited June 29, 2014 by shootr

[shootr]

Even though it isn't a cruise video, I'd still appreciate feedback on a video I shot and edited today at a local driving range. Not so much the actual footage - I lined up all shots with no viewfinding, just guessing - but more "can you see the story". Do the cuts make sense, what is pleasing and what is distracting, etc.

 

Thanks.

 

[YOUTUBE]0es6g0bx_4A[/YOUTUBE]

 

Side note: My son NAILED to GoPro and knocked it off the platform. Camera is fine, zero damage - but the recording cut off literally 15 seconds before he did it. I tested the card this afternoon and it is perfect, no bad sectors, but for some stupid reason I formatted it in my computer and not the camera - and had always read that can cause problems - and today I'm sure that is what cost me the best shot of the day.

 

FORMAT YOUR CARDS IN THE CAMERA - ALWAYS!!!

 

PS - I have no idea why I was stiff in my backswing - but I'll work on it :-)

Edited June 29, 2014 by shootr

[Tommy3putts]

Martex. Took 3 weeks to get mine. I took it with us on our cruise burnout used it yet. In Kusadasi today.

[MarTex]

I tried one type of $70 steadicam and it was a major pain to transport, balance and use easily.

 

I have been taking my tripod/monopod mini-ball mount adapter and mount the camera to it.

 

I loosen the adjuster so the camera can flop around freely.

 

Hold the whole thing upside down and film that way.

 

Thanks for your response and taking the time to record the examples. I like your tripod/monopod idea. Genius! I broke down last night and ordered the Steadicam Smoothee from B&H photo. I'll see how that works.

[MarTex]

Martex. Took 3 weeks to get mine. I took it with us on our cruise burnout used it yet. In Kusadasi today.

 

Don't know what the issues were. Kusadasi? Going to Ephesus? Buying a carpet? ( We did) I enjoyed Turkey. Hope you're going to Istanbul. Lots to do and people were very friendly. One of my favorite cities.

[PaulMedik]

GoPro cases are TOUGH; I found a GoPro3+Black in the Gauley River and the video on the camera was from January 2013. It works perfect and the camera itself still looks new. Case has some yellowing and minor scratches, but that's it.

 

The area where the camera was lost completely froze in winter 2012-13 and again this past winter and is very rapid with white water releases from the Summersville Dam. The camera didn't travel any from where it was ripped from the helmet of the owner. It recorded it's descent to the bottom of the river and then filled the card with video of the bottom of the river.

 

Finding the owner will likely take a while, but I think I can narrow the search down to a GoPro employee or insider since the camera was being used 10 months before it was released for sale to the general public (Oct 2013). The person rafting with the owner had a GoPro mounted on their helmet and one on an elevated mount on the back of the raft.

 

Anyhow, I just thought I would mention that if we lose our GoPros in the relatively calm Caribbean they will likely last a while since nothing is much rougher than the Gauley River in WV other than a deep sea loss which wouldn't likely be recovered anyhow. :cool:

 

BTW, I didn't bother trying to hack into the WiFi to control the camera. I flashed the firmware and installed the latest version so I can use the camera with my iPhone. I had planned to purchase a second GoPro 3+Black for basketball season and assuming I fail to find the owner I now own two. :cool:

[shootr]

Well, I broke down and finally picked up a 2-axis stabilization gimbal to smooth out my hand-held shots.

 

 

I made an Instructable detailing how I made an adapter to use a handle or pole instead a quadcopter (it's intended use):

 

http://www.instructables.com/id/GoPro-2-Axis-Gimbal-Hand-and-Pole-Mount/

 

It's pretty cool - a little bulky for compact carrying on a cruise but I might still do it as a lot of filming is at dawn and dusk and hand shake gets really noticeable.

 

Only $65.00 shipped - so far I think its' worth it.

[Maligator]

I stumbled across one of these 3-axis gimbal stabilizers last night. Get behind me, Satan! On second thought, that's where my wallet is...

 

[YOUTUBE]qOuMNiSc8Qw[/YOUTUBE]

[MarTex]

I stumbled across one of these 3-axis gimbal stabilizers last night. Get behind me, Satan! On second thought, that's where my wallet is...

 

qOuMNiSc8Qw

 

Matt, This looks like what the doctor ordered. I wonder if it works as well as they say it does. I checked into it and the company is from Hong Kong. I also looked at some review sites. Reviews are 50/50. Either good or horror stories. I'm hesitant to order. - Allan

[Maligator]

Matt, This looks like what the doctor ordered. I wonder if it works as well as they say it does. I checked into it and the company is from Hong Kong. I also looked at some review sites. Reviews are 50/50. Either good or horror stories. I'm hesitant to order. - Allan

 

Maybe this will help your decision. It's another brand, that looks a bit more solid. Both Adorama and B&H have it for pre-order at $620.

 

[YOUTUBE]TLb-vIlPc38[/YOUTUBE]

[MarTex]

Maybe this will help your decision. It's another brand, that looks a bit more solid. Both Adorama and B&H have it for pre-order at $620.

 

I'm going to look at this right now. Guess it would be asking too much for it to be water proof.

BTW- I see you are from the Houston area. I am originally from Beaumont. Don't hold that against me.

[Maligator]

I'm going to look at this right now. Guess it would be asking too much for it to be water proof.

BTW- I see you are from the Houston area. I am originally from Beaumont. Don't hold that against me.

 

How can I? Half my wife's family is from PN-G. :)

[shootr]

Wow, maybe after I hit the lottery! 😊

[ezspirit72]

I just received my camera a few days ago... I'm a month away from my cruise. I would like to take time lapse on various stages of my Alaska Cruise.... Through experience... what settings would you recommend? Planning on mounting the camera somewhere on the bacony...