Crazy - 1080p cam + 180' housing for $270?

[hvulin]

this is what I found but it would be too expensive for them to ship to me... I'll wait for something closer by...

GoPro Hero camera-underwater focus fix

 

[KiiY]

Just got back from a trip to Guam where I used my GoPro HD on dives at the Blue Hole and Barracuda Rock, plus some snorkeling in Tumon Bay. I added a homemade flat port in front of the GoPro housing's dome to correct the underwater focus problem.

Did a quick edit of the footage and uploaded it to Vimeo: Guam 2010 diving and snorkeling - GoPro HD test on Vimeo

Overall I'm pretty happy with the footage from the GoPro HD. At first I was thinking it might replace my HDV camcorder and Ikelite housing since the GoPro HD is so small and light and therefore easy to take on airplane trips. Plus the thought of its 1080p mode over HDV's 1080i was really appealing. But I may just use the two cameras in tandem since the GoPro's codec seems to struggle on scenes with heavy motion and offers no manual controls.

 

[Matt S.]

Great video, thanks for sharing it and the details of your case mod. I'll need to make or buy one myself before my Roatan trip later this year.

What kind of a tool did you use for cutting the plastic, a jig saw? I only have a giant table saw and a Dremel tool, neither of which are good for making those kinds of cuts.

 

[KiiY]

Hi, Matt.

You're too kind! Actually, I don't think the video is very interesting at all, except as a test of the GoPro's image quality underwater with a modified housing. I just got back yesterday and haven't gone through all the footage. Basically I just slapped a few scenes together that seemed okay.

About the acrylic, I was lucky to find an acrylic factory not too far away and had them do the cutting and drilling of the hole since I don't have any precision tools at home. Cost for the 2 acrylic pieces and cutting was $5. Sorry I can't provide any advice for doing the work yourself.

I also bought the acrylic cement for $4.50 and the aquarium sealant for $4. (Prices are approximate based on the yen-dollar exchange rate)

It's definitely a fun camera to have and provides good image quality within certain limitations. Next time I may try it in 720p mode which shoots at 60 frames per second. That might handle motion and compression a bit better.

 

[supersand]

I went the expensive route and bought the housing with the flat port glued in place from eye of mine. I hopefully should have it for next weekend. I imagine it should yield similar results to the diy flat port mods that people have done.

Now that I'm planning on taking out the vid camera this weekend it's most definitely guaranteed to be a bad vis dive.

-Erik

 

[DCDivenut]

I just got mine from Eye of Mine... and now I am looking at mounting options. My first thought was to put it on top of my light head, but it is not deep enough... I still might play with that though... zip ties here I come!!!... but I don't take my light on every dive so...

I was also thinking of taking a soft goodman handle I had lying around and mounting it on that but I am coming up with the same issue of the plate not being deep enough... I know that I could probably easily rig something but I am living in a condo in the city and have no tools or access to anything like that.

How have you guys been carrying yours? I got the headband for kicks and giggle but I am pretty sure that not only will it look ridiculous ( and that is a consideration ) but I am also worried about comfort over the length of a dive, and more importantly the fact that I would basically have to start recording at the beginning of a dive and leave it running, since I don;t want to be futzing around pressing shutter buttons I can't see...

 

[StreetDoctor]

Has anyone had any problems with the blue sensor? I picked up a brand new one from REI over the weekend and there's a problem with the color...

Check it out:

The Rouse Simmons Shipwreck on Vimeo

 

[KiiY]

I just got mine from Eye of Mine... and now I am looking at mounting options. My first thought was to put it on top of my light head, but it is not deep enough... I still might play with that though... zip ties here I come!!!... but I don't take my light on every dive so...

I was also thinking of taking a soft goodman handle I had lying around and mounting it on that but I am coming up with the same issue of the plate not being deep enough... I know that I could probably easily rig something but I am living in a condo in the city and have no tools or access to anything like that.

Congratulations. I'm pretty happy with my GoPro HD and self-modified housing. Definitely a fun little video camera.

I've only used it on one dive plus a bit of snorkeling so far, but I ended up using one of the sticky mounts to attach it to the top of the Ikelite housing for my Sony HC1 and let it ride piggy back as my "B camera". At first the plan was to replace the HDV camcorder because of airline weight restrictions these days, but I may just use both now.

If I didn't put it on the Ikelite housing, two ideas I had were:

1. Use screws or one of the sticky mounts to attach it to a tray and handle set up -- allowing a better grip and the possibility of attaching lights.

2. Figure out some way to attach a pistol style grip to the bottom since those tend to be the easiest for pointing quickly with reasonable accuracy.

Let us know how you do with the GoPro. I'll be diving on Oahu's North Shore next week and will get to use the GoPro again.

 

[DCDivenut]

Congratulations. I'm pretty happy with my GoPro HD and self-modified housing. Definitely a fun little video camera.

I've only used it on one dive plus a bit of snorkeling so far, but I ended up using one of the sticky mounts to attach it to the top of the Ikelite housing for my Sony HC1 and let it ride piggy back as my "B camera". At first the plan was to replace the HDV camcorder because of airline weight restrictions these days, but I may just use both now.

If I didn't put it on the Ikelite housing, two ideas I had were:

1. Use screws or one of the sticky mounts to attach it to a tray and handle set up -- allowing a better grip and the possibility of attaching lights.

2. Figure out some way to attach a pistol style grip to the bottom since those tend to be the easiest for pointing quickly with reasonable accuracy.

Let us know how you do with the GoPro. I'll be diving on Oahu's North Shore next week and will get to use the GoPro again.

I like the pistol grip idea.. I have resisted getting into underwater photo and video despite being a photo geek because I like diving with a very minimal setup and like having hands free. I am thinking that I can the attach a clip to the grip so I can clip it off to a d ring when not in use, on ascent line etc.

I like your piggyback idea though, and could see this being very cool if you were shooting stills and wanted video as an "extra".

I am doing a live aboard in the Red Sea in a couple of weeks so hopefully I will have some good things to report back.

 

[formula1mb@aol.com]

Does anybody know if there's going to be a factory solution in the near future? I know earlier in the thread some people mentioned GoPro was working on a factory solution but haven't heard anything new----I would think if the aftermarket can respond so quickly, GoPro should be able to get something out soon too.

Personally I'm very interested and holding out for now to see if there's anything official. I just hate the idea of buying the camera and than having to spend more for an aftermarket part to fix a problem which could be easily fixed from the factory.