GoPro Tips and Tricks

[hookedon4wding]

Hi all, well, I've had my GoPro HD since Christmas and have been absolutely loving it for taking HD footage of our 4wding trips.

I've noticed a few people recently have been enquiring about them or have bought them so I thought it'd be good to start a thread on using these things.

I'll kick off...

By far the best mount for 4wding is the suction cup mount. It mounts to any flat surface (which means most vehicle panels) and is VERY strong. Therefore, the best kit to get is the motorsports kit.

Here's a few accessories I've found very useful.

1. LCD BackPac: adds a view finder to the back of the camera and comes with a range of new back covers to fit the slightly wider body. Works really well and makes lining up the shots and taking photos really easy.

2. Skeleton Case: this is a non waterproof case that has cutouts in the side to allow you to plug the power and video out cords into the camera. Great for shooting from inside the cab (through the windscreen) as you don't need to worry about the battery running down.

3. Tripod mount: Great, cheap accessory which allows you to fit the camera to any tripod. I've used mine with some of the Gorilla Pod style mini flexible tripods with good results. You can then mount them on branches and uneven surfaces.

4. Antifog inserts: These are tiny little inserts that fit into the case beside the camera body. They work well at stopping any fog buildup due to differences in temp which can be an issue in the bush or near water.

The camera shoots in a few different modes (video, photo, timelapse) as well as a few different resolutions and frame rates. I use the 720p resolution option at 25 frames per second for 99% of my videos so they're easily uploaded to sites like Vimeo etc without taking up too much space. If you want to burn Blue Rays etc, then it also shoots at 1080p (full HD).

One cool trick that I saw the other day is the rotating egg timer base for taking 360 degree panning timelapse. There's a good thread on the GoPro Users Forum explaining this with a few example videos. I reckon this would be great for using at the summit of tracks in the High Country etc as the clouds come over.

I bought one of these the other day which I'll stick a quick release base on.

If anyone else has any tips, tricks and sample videos, lets share them here.

If you're interested, there's some videos on my blog (link in signature) which are all from the GoPro.

Cheers, Sam.

[Redback]

They are great aren't they, had mine for nearly a year now, I did make a mistake when setting it up on one trip, accidently set it to still photos, it took over 6000 still shots of the drive though the tracks up at Newnes Plateau back to camp, basically taking a photo evry second

Baz.

[hookedon4wding]

They are great aren't they, had mine for nearly a year now, I did make a mistake when setting it up on one trip, accidently set it to still photos, it took over 6000 still shots of the drive though the tracks up at Newnes Plateau back to camp, basically taking a photo evry second

Baz.

Haha, that's a good trick! At least you could make them into a time lapse movie and sort of end up with a video 

[mystq]

Might have to get one for next years cape trip

[seqfisho]

How large a card can they take and what sort of battery life do you get out of them?

The footage you have seems very stable, it this the mount or does the camera have electronic stabilisation?

[Red Dog 4x4]

Thay are awsom kits i have two of them now and have been getting some good shots with them, only thing I did do was got an ally tent pole and flated out one end and put a mount on it, good for getting to those tight spots for the shot....

I have a youtube account i have been slowly putting vids up there, http://www.youtube.com/user/reddogoffroad?feature=mhee

I have mounts all under the car, I can't wait to go four wheel driving and get some really good videos.

I will try to get a pick of all the bits I have, I ended up using a little juffy type box to keep everything in the one spot.

[Red Dog 4x4]

How large a card can they take and what sort of battery life do you get out of them?

The footage you have seems very stable, it this the mount or does the camera have electronic stabilisation?

32gig is the bigest thay take but the battery will die before the card is full most time.

EDIT-
Storage

           •Memory: SD card (SDHC), up to 32GB capacity (not included)
           •Average recording times (using 32GB SD card):
                  ?1080p (30 fps): 4h 21m
                  ?960p (30 fps): 5h 26m
                  ?720p (60 fps): 4h 21
                  ?720p (30 fps): 8h 09m
                  ?WVGA (60 fps): 8h 09m

[hookedon4wding]

No stabilisation in the camera, its just a very sturdy mount.

For hand held use (especially when walking along a track) they aren't as stable but there is a small camera stabiliser you can get if you do a lot of moving hand held stuff.

I think they take up to 64GB card which is heaps. Not too sure on battery life. Haven't measured it accurately but I got most of a day of 4wding out of it before needing to recharge. You can also get a battery backpac which extends battery life a lot.

Edit, maybe it is actually 32gig maximum. That's a LOT of filming at 720p though.

[Red Dog 4x4]

The batterys are ment to last upto 2.5 hours but depends on what frame rate thay are set at

[dno]

How do you reckon mounting to a quick fist would go ? This thought is something that has intrested me for a while.
Is there any shops, retailers selling them for reasonable price's ?

[Red Dog 4x4]

Just get the rollbar mount, alot easier 

http://www.superiorengineering.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=1005_1007&products_id=9231

[dno]

Was thinking the mount was more like standard tripod, camera mount with the single screw.
Thanks.

[Red Dog 4x4]

I found a good site in the USA for all diffrent types of mounts = http://www.eyeofmine.com/gopro/order-gopro-hero.html

The possibilities with these are endless.......

[hookedon4wding]

I found a good site in the USA for all diffrent types of mounts = http://www.eyeofmine.com/gopro/order-gopro-hero.html

The possibilities with these are endless.......

Yep, they've got some awesome stuff!

[Trackaprado]

Couple of good tips at http://www.reflexfilmsaustralia.com.au/Reflex_Films_Australia/REFLEX_FILM_SCHOOL.html.

[Red Dog 4x4]

Ok so here is what I've got,

2x Gopro Motorsport kits
1x Rollbar mount
1x twin USB ciggarette lighter charger
1x Front helmet mount
2x extra bags of mounts

I also made up a couple of tethers as well good idea if used out side the vehicle.

[camdyson]

And another tip: don't stick it on top of your helmet if you're doing aero's.....(go to 1:20 if you're impatient )

http://www.nrk.no/sport/veko/1.7694281

Cheers,

Cam

[Diksta]

i have had one since xmas last yr, i love the possibilities of them , while i like to use my for video footage, i can see there are a lot good things can be done with them, i haven't used my mine much but there are a couple of links to a few that i have done.

i did have a issue with mine, and going on what was said above i am guessing it was because the card was full, and i did not check how much of the card was used, silly me, but i had a heap of trouble getting it going i had it charging thru the computer for over 24hrs and couldn't get it going, is there anyway to tell the battery life in them. it all seems ok now that i have downloaded and formated the card.

but i hope to going on the cape trip next yr and hope to get some good footage of the crossings from the bull bar perspective.

http://youtu.be/-9Xjq_5ZkGs

http://youtu.be/2aftDXoMTcs

http://youtu.be/NAghObGVCko

cheers

Diksta

[Dion]

What's the best place to source one from?

[Diksta]

What's the best place to source one from?

I got mine from eBay but from the USA with the dollar being like it is it was a lot cheaper

[Red Dog 4x4]

I got mine from Superior Engineering, Thay are local to me so easy just to pick it up.


 http://www.superiorengineering.com.au/store.php?cPath=1005_1006

One other thing I found out is a stubby cooler is a grate way to protect the lenses from being scratched.

[Redback]

No stabilisation in the camera, its just a very sturdy mount.

For hand held use (especially when walking along a track) they aren't as stable but there is a small camera stabiliser you can get if you do a lot of moving hand held stuff.

I think they take up to 64GB card which is heaps. Not too sure on battery life. Haven't measured it accurately but I got most of a day of 4wding out of it before needing to recharge. You can also get a battery backpac which extends battery life a lot.

Edit, maybe it is actually 32gig maximum. That's a LOT of filming at 720p though.

For walking I bought the motorcycle chest strap, works realy well, I have a vid of my walking to Manning River falls, I'll see if I can dig it out.

Baz.

[Redback]

What's the best place to source one from?

Got ours from this mob
http://adventurecamshq-px.rtrk.com.au/l1/?utm_source=ReachLocal&utm_medium=PPC&utm_campaign=RL/helmet-cameras/

But with the dollar the way it is, GoPro.com would probably be good value.

Anyway here is the vid of me walking to the Manning River falls, with the MotoX chest strap.


Baz.

[Dion]

Got ours from this mob
http://adventurecamshq-px.rtrk.com.au/l1/?utm_source=ReachLocal&utm_medium=PPC&utm_campaign=RL/helmet-cameras/

But with the dollar the way it is, GoPro.com would probably be good value.

Hmm.  The motorsport kit is $365 incl post at the link you put, and its $299US from gopro.com. 

Add on shipping etc and for the $50 diff its probably worthwhile getting from Oz for warranty etc etc.

[hookedon4wding]

Hmm.  The motorsport kit is $365 incl post at the link you put, and its $299US from gopro.com. 

Add on shipping etc and for the $50 diff its probably worthwhile getting from Oz for warranty etc etc.

Depends if you're going to buy accessories as well (LCD BackPac, extra mounts, Battery PackPac etc). If you are then the savings on the gear will be a lot more than the extra postage as they'll bundle the postage up together.

New footage taken with my GoPro here if anyone is interested.

Cheers, Sam.