go pro advice

[Susandt]

looking to get a go pro for next cruise. any advice?

[Cuervosar]

I would say go with it. They are amazing little cameras, but do your homework before you grab one. They are great for action, nearly indestructible, but they are also not point & shoots, and absolutely not SLR's with multiple lens options.

 

However, if you want a camera to clamp to a balcony railing to get great time lapse photos -- Bingo.

 

Amazing underwater snorkeling snaps? -- Absolutely.

 

Great for goofy selfies? Yep

 

They come with all kinds of accessories to mount them to yourself or just about anything else. Really good for creative types, but beware because you will end up shooting hours and hours of video that then needs to be edited down.

 

The new 5 looks obscenely good, and the dedicated LCD back is probably amazing. I have a 3 and love it. Problem is, it is more creative than I will ever be.

[xlxo]

Thoughts...

• which model?
  
• will the lack of a viewfinder be an issue? You need to connect to a phone or tablet to see what's being recorded.
  
• will the lack of optical zoom be an issue?
  
• will the lack of image stabilization be an issue?
  
• check the battery life if you plan to do a lot of videos
  
• how you plan to use or mount the gopro?
  

[wmjivey]

Just was at Costco they now carry the Hero silver 4 for under $300 what a steal!!

 

John

[peety3]

Are you ready for gigabytes and gigabytes of footage? Are you ready to spend more time editing your footage than you spent recording it? Is your computer ready to handle that editing? If you didn't say yes to all three, you should question your intentions before clicking the Buy button.

[Susandt]

Said no to all 3 of those question. I have a canon slur but looking for a camera to snorkel, parasail and do other adventures, want photos not videos

[condorfan]

Are you ready for gigabytes and gigabytes of footage? Are you ready to spend more time editing your footage than you spent recording it? Is your computer ready to handle that editing? If you didn't say yes to all three, you should question your intentions before clicking the Buy button.

 

this is good info i did not do my homework :( used my silver 4 for the first time this last cruise, still editing lol, but on the other hand great for snorkeling, diving, so easy to handle. still glad i got one

[Susandt]

Are u editing photos or video. Glad it was easy to use

[shootr]

Are you ready for gigabytes and gigabytes of footage? Are you ready to spend more time editing your footage than you spent recording it? Is your computer ready to handle that editing? If you didn't say yes to all three, you should question your intentions before clicking the Buy button.

 

This is really accurate advice that is often overlooked.

 

That said, as a once-in-a-while videographer, I have developed shortcuts that made editing to a finished product fairly enjoyable.

 

I picked an editing program only after trying several free trials and settling on the one that seemed easiest to use and worked with my middle-spec laptop.

 

Next I learned to preview all my footage on said computer (where the footage can play smoothly) with a notebook at hand. Then keeping an eye on the timestamp of each clip, I list what parts of each video I want to try and use. This separates a lot of chaff from the little bits of wheat.

 

Then it's just a matter of importing the clips I want into the editor, tweaking to my taste, and rendering a finished product.

 

Yes editing is arduous if you have a lot of footage, but the GoPro's get footage unattainable most any other way, is small enough to not impact the enjoyment of the activity I'm engaged in at the time, and the lens perspective on stills make a nice contrast to "traditional" photo's.

 

If you have the $$$ to get one, I recommend getting one and having fun with it.

[condorfan]

Are u editing photos or video. Glad it was easy to use[/QU

all video

[peety3]

Said no to all 3 of those question. I have a canon slur but looking for a camera to snorkel, parasail and do other adventures, want photos not videos

Oh, sneaking in more requirements after the project proposal is released? Then you get a fourth question (that applies to photo and/or video):

 

Are you comfortable with EVERY SINGLE SHOT being ultra-wide? If you want zoom, get an underwater camera.