I've been using GoPro 2-6, IntrepidaDNA and now Paralenz... I would like to share the reasons why I wouldn't go back to GoPro:
1) I hate flooded cameras.... already the step GoPro-Intrepida was a big thumb-up with it's aluminium body+oring vs. plastic case with silicone gasket. The only good memory of the now deceased GoPro(s) is a box full of plastic accessories that my kids can use on their EbayCams.
2) A magenta/pink filter is like having tinted sunglasses... they cut out a bit of light and with GoPro the area in shadow is totally black, while with Paralenz I can see what is there. Below 20m, with Paralenz, is enough to touch the button 3 times quick and it switch between DCC and WB... cannot be easier if you pass form no-light and light in the same dive, or during the day while spearfishing at various depths during the same trip.
3) Autostart! As in the last 15 years I have started to prefer freediving and spearfishing to the taste of compressed air... the Autostart function is a heaven-sent blessing! With 3+ hours of battery time, I can simply switch the camera on, put the selector ring on Video-mode and start diving... no more dives lost. With GoPro, and it's inadequate battery time for my purposes, I was forced to start-stop at every dive to avoid recording surface-time and this, together with my red-fish memory, leads to forgotten cam status... and with mask-mount it is a guarantee of lost dive-footage and plenty of surface-time-footage.
4) Gloves... in winter, with thick gloves, there is no equal... especially with Autostart where I need not to touch anything.
Some question to who has more experience than me about GP7:
I've found out that image stabilisation without a background is pretty hopeless.... does GoPro7/8 image stabilisation perform as well underwater as it does on land? It would be nice to understand if the comments above are comparing apple-with-apple or apple-with-lemon. I mount the cam on the mask and there is no image stabilisation that can solve the problem... so not an issue for me anyway.
Personally, fishing in average-low viz and average-****** weather, I appreciate the fact that with Paralenz I can actually see anyway the fish, while with GoPro most of the clips are useless, or at least one can only guess where the fish is... at least for what I am filming... other people, in different conditions, may have different results from their cams.
4K at 60 fps??? My Apple desktop has already showed me the finger when I tried to work with 4K 30fps... seriously I think that it is a luxury problem if you have a computer powerful enough to work with 4K without melting the CPUs.... otherwise the 4K is just one more useless selling point: like to buy a car that can drive 280 Km/h and use it on regular roads with 110 km/h limits in queue with the others on a Fiat Panda.
I was speaking about settings with a professional (videomaker in diving and spearfishing) and, for social-media sharing purposes, he suggested me to work with:
- 1080p 30 fps, standard videos
- 1080p 60/100 fps, if I fancy slow motion effect
- 2700K 30 fps, if I want to zoom in on some details
I have followed his suggestions and I'm very happy with the results... any comments on pros-cons of different settings?
Cheers!