Small (But Good) Video Camera Recommendation?

[Laurie S.]

We're going to be in Fiji in September for a week following a repositioning cruise and I would like to do some video, in addition to my usual underwater macro photography. I have a Canon video camera and Ikelite case, but it's too much to carry along with my G-11 and case. Is the Go Pro a good video camera? I've only seen a couple videos recently and it didn't seem too bad. The stills were not good, but my G-11 handles those. I would appreciate any recommendations!

 

[Scubanoobi]

IMO you can't go wrong with a gopro for video.

 

[Laurie S.]

What's the best model these days? I'm not looking for fancy accessories, just good basic video to work with.

 

[EL Pistoffo]

I've done a few videos with my GoPro and they are pretty darn good. You cant really get a more compact system than GoPro. It doesn't have a lot bells and whistles but for general wide angle UW video at it's price it's hard to beat.

If your interested in a complete GoPro setup ready to go I'm selling my Hero 3 Black Edition with lots of extras: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/cl...pro-hero-3-black-srp-rig-many-accesories.html

You can see some of the videos I've made with it here: https://vimeo.com/channels/elpistoffo

 

[jimmynemo2]

I'll say the Intova HD2 I have and absolutely love! I like it over the go-pro even. The gopro doesnt come with a screen, and the intova does, for less money. I've got 250 dives or so on my HD2, and constantly have guys with a go-pro seeing it, and the video's (not starting every video pointing at your own dumb face to see if it's on or not is nice), then they get all sad when they hear what it costs (around 200).

So yeah, for entry level, easy to use, check those out in comparison to the Go-pro (Which I also have, but admittedly, my gopro was the hero2, so I'm not 100% comparing apples to apples here)

 

[TONY CHANEY]

I've done a few videos with my GoPro and they are pretty darn good. You cant really get a more compact system than GoPro. It doesn't have a lot bells and whistles but for general wide angle UW video at it's price it's hard to beat.

Oh, it really is easy to beat based on price and features. I use an Intova HD Sport Pro and have great results and the staff is always willing to assist in fixing any problems that might come up. OBTW, over two years and only has one problem which was taken care of without cost and turn around time was great. So you do not need a flat lens, a LED screen and the battery last longer. Also you might want to check out the problems that uses of GoPro have had without fast assistance. I'll make it simple: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/gopro-video/456204-gopro-dive-housing-flooding-poll OTOH the goPro camera does take great video.

 

[jimmynemo2]

Yeah I didn't bring up service issues, because I could never be sure my experience was the normal, but Intova once replaced my camera- as a PREVENTATIVE measure when I had a small issue with it that didn't stop it from working. My Go-pro is currently dead- physically wont power on, despite never leaking or getting wet, and GoPro declined to replace it because I didn't have the original receipt. (also didn't have my original receipt on my Intova) I guess that points out I really should be better about receipts, but still...

shot version- Intova acts like a dive company- service first, long term commitment. Gopro acts like an electronics company- we don't make enough to care.

all that, and it's 150 less than the good gopro.

Obviously, YMMV

 

[tomfcrist]

I use the gopro hero3 black. Not hard to use, and the video quality is excellent. If you go to YouTube you can see some of my videos...crist51258 is my channel on there.
Good luck

 

[Kharon]

Take a look at this video: https://vimeo.com/87183631 If it meets your visual quality requirements then you might consider the Tachyon Micro HD: Tachyon Micro HD - The World's Toughest HD Helmet Camera The video was shot without light and it was attached to my mask. It is tiny, runs about 4 hours on 2 AAA cells and will fit about 4 hours of video on a 16 GB micro SD card. I found that having a camera that will turn on when I hit about 15 feet even if I forget to turn it on and that will "see" everything that I do on a dive without any additional task loading to be wonderful. There are a couple of idiosyncracies. If you want to know more PM me. Disclaimer - I have absolutely no connection to the company whatsoever.

 

[TONY CHANEY]

Kharon, it looks very impressive.