Which GoPro or other device to get?

[kat.hayes]

I want to get a GoPro or some other device that will shoot in HD, is easy to operate and is rated to about 100 ft. I might also use it when mountain biking and snow boarding.

1.) It seems like Amazon has a bunch of different models. Is the surf edition the best for scuba and snorkeling?
2.) Is there some other similarly priced device that I should also look at?

Thanks in advance.

 

[770link770]

They're all equivalent when it comes to the camera and case housing. I'd recommend the outdoor edition (that's what I got) because it includes the head strap and the vented helmet strap. The head strap is great when used with a homemade chin strap or placed underneath a hood. The vented helmet strap also makes for an ideal forward facing wrist mount that I use when spearfishing with a pole spear. That or if you have time I have a feeling that GoPro is eventually going to launch a dive package that comes stock with their underwater dive lense attached.

Whichever way you go you're going to need a new lense solution to fix the underwater blur problem. Luckily for you GoPro just launched their housing which is by far the cheapest method, but does not allow for the addition of a red filter... yet. At only $50 which includes a whole new housing I'd pick one up in a heartbeat. There are also the SRP blurfix which allows for a filter change on the surface but not underwater. This is what I bought a couple months ago and have no complaints at all other than the price-tag and the fact that you don't get an extra housing. There is also the Backscatter casing which is a little more expensive but allows you to change filters underwater on the fly. Very neat but I have a feeling GoPro is going to release something very similar soon that will allow you to do that with their housing.

 

[dfx]

2.) Is there some other similarly priced device that I should also look at?

Take a look at the Contour cameras. They have similar or identical specs, very different form factor, great performance and possibly a smaller price tag (partly due to the fact that they don't come with a useless underwater housing included).

 

[JamesK]

You have many options actually.

Go Pro makes a nice camera and has by far the largest market share. A flat lens is a must with these. The GoPro housing is the least expensive at $49 for a full replacement housing. Backscatter is building a flip up red filter for GoPro to sell, but I am not sure when that will be on the market. If you are looking to spend less, Mako makes a replacement lens that you can install yourself.

Other options on housings include the Backscatter, SRP, and Eye Of Mine.
Backscatter Custom GoPro Underwater Housing with Glass Lens and Removable Filter Mount
BlurFix
Eye Of Mine Homepage
If you want to go REALLY deep, Sartek makes a housing that can do it.
Sartek Industries Product Details


All have their pro's and con's. I own all of them, aside from the Sartek. My personal favorite is the BackScatter due to its ability to change filters underwater.

Another option you can look in to is the Intova Sport HD. It has a lot of the features that Go Pro left off. LCD screen, flat lens, zoom, and user adjustable white balance. This takes good pictures and video, but does not have some of the same options on video like the GoPro. It does not allow for adjustable Fields of View, nor does it shoot in 60 frames per second. It is however at a very affordable price point, coming in at just under $200.
Sport HD | Intova
Shameless plug. A video I shot is at the bottom of this link.

I own 2 Go Pro's and an Intova. I like all of them for different reasons.

Another option is mentioned above. The Contour. I have not used one underwater, but have used them for sparingly for motorsports, and they work well.
Contour | Products | Contour Roam

Yet another option is from Sartek. They put out a camera very similar to the Intova.
Sartek Industries Product Details


Hope this helps in some way.

 

[kat.hayes]

1.) How well do these cameras work when strapped to your head when you are horizontal in the water? Does it work out well with recording whatever you are looking at?


2.) When you say that GoPro just released their housing, doesn't it already come with the enclosure/housing that the camera is placed into that protects it?


3.) Why do I want a red filter? Why would I want to change any filters underwater?


4.) dfx, what do you mean by "that they don't come with a useless underwater housing included" What is the useless underwater housing? Doesn't it need the housing to protect it from the water and pressure?

Thanks everyone for the responses!!!

 

[dfx]

4.) dfx, what do you mean by "that they don't come with a useless underwater housing included" What is the useless underwater housing? Doesn't it need the housing to protect it from the water and pressure?

The GoPro comes with a waterproof housing. You can't buy one without. But this waterproof housing produces blurry images when used under water, which makes it useless for our purposes. You need to purchase either an extra housing which fixes the blur or some other extra addon to fix it. There are however some combo packages from certain vendors, such as the GoPro packages from Mako, in which they give you a "fixed" housing instead of the stock one for no additional cost. I seem to recall that this housing then produces blurry images on land though.

Contour cameras on the other hand don't come with any waterproof housing (the Roam model is waterproof on its own, but only to 1 meter depth). If you want one, you have to buy it extra. But the ones they offer are inexpensive and give you blur-free images above and under water with no hassle. They also don't open themselves under water, unlike some GoPro housings seem to do

 

[JamesK]

1.) How well do these cameras work when strapped to your head when you are horizontal in the water? Does it work out well with recording whatever you are looking at?

As long as you aim them properly, they work just fine.

2.) When you say that GoPro just released their housing, doesn't it already come with the enclosure/housing that the camera is placed into that protects it?

It does come with a waterproof housing, but not one that is able to focus underwater. The domed lens housing that comes with a GoPro does not allow the camera to focus underwater. It needs a flat lens to allow a goof focal point. Some flat lens housings allow vignetting of the picture and video though. That is it cuts off the corners of the picture and you can see the housing.

3.) Why do I want a red filter? Why would I want to change any filters underwater?

At depth the water filters out light. This means when you take pictures, everything appears to have a blue/green tint to it. You can fix this three ways. With a lot of lights, with editing software afterwards, or with a red filter. The filter adds the red hue back to the picture giving you a true color picture.

4.) dfx, what do you mean by "that they don't come with a useless underwater housing included" What is the useless underwater housing? Doesn't it need the housing to protect it from the water and pressure?

DFX already answered that question. I will add on though that the flat lens housings I have used do not distort video above water IMO.

 

[kat.hayes]

I already have a headstrap for a GoPro, though I think it was only around $25 so that is not a big deal in deciding whether to go with a GoPro or something else.

1. Why not just get the Contour instead of a GoPro? What features will I be missing out on by going with Contour?
2. Is the video quality between the two generally about the same?

Thanks for all the responses.

 

[JamesK]

The quality I got above water with the Contour was comparable to my GoPro. I can not answer about underwater video though. Looking at the specs on the Contour it shoots at 30fps just like the Intova. The GoPro has the option of doing 60fps in certain modes. I also do not know if it has burst mode for photos. Although I really don't like the way those turn out with the GoPro personally.


One thing about shooting with a headmount. It looks everywhere you do. So if you have jerky head movements, you will have jerky video.

 

[770link770]

Be careful if you go with the Contour. My brother has one and loves it. It records good video above and underwater, but depending on which model you get the case may or may not be rated deep enough for what you do. My brother has one of the older Contour 1080HD, the case for it and the 720HD are only rated down to 10M. The cases for the newer models I believe are rated down to 60M.

I've tried out both cameras and prefer my GoPro for a couple reason. It's easy to tell when it's on and off. The contour isn't that way and my brother lost a lot of good footage on our last freediving outing because of the camera not being on. It's hard to tell because the contour cases turn the camera on using a magnet instead of a manual switch so the switch inside the case you usually push forward is always in the off position and will actually turn your camera off if you put it in there while it's on. You also get quite a few different features on the GoPro that the contours don't come with. I however do like the streamlineness of the Contour a lot better than the GoPros, but I got over that fast.

The GoPro's also give you more options for expansion such as the LCD backpack, battery backpack, soon to be wifi backpack, etc.