GoPro Hero 2 Dive unit

[Bulldoglover]

Kjs very similar..did you post photos of it on scubaboard?. I copied the store bought one and used Lexan in lieu of aluminum. Mine was very cheap to make out of PVC. What did you use to hold the grips?

 

[Marty Cerven]

6 x GP2(?) = 299 x 6 = 1794
2 x sola = $$$$
this is a 5K set up at least!

Lucky I have a friend that rents out action cams and he lent me a few more HD2's for this trip plus some more gear I never even got around to trying out. I have 2 HD1's and 2 HD2's so its still not far off that I guess when you look at it lol.

I should have taken a photo in the hotel room as we got in at midnight, I spent 2 hours getting everything sorted for the boat at 7.30am. I still forgot one tray mount on the first dive day and was half asleep first dive still I think.

 

[KJSmith84]

Kjs very similar..did you post photos of it on scubaboard?. I copied the store bought one and used Lexan in lieu of aluminum. Mine was very cheap to make out of PVC. What did you use to hold the grips?

yeah i have posted it a few times- the grips are jump rope handles from walmart- even have lead weights in them.

 

[toozler]

That is awesome. Im totally going to make something like that for my dec in Thailand.

I wondered about a steadycam underwater. would that work. That way it might be useful for
a dslr on the beach.
Also, steadycams have gyro/gymbal units right at your hand to counteract movement, but
might be counter useful underwater w currents etc
View attachment 136064 I quickly Photoshop'd this to explain my crazy ramblings

There would some other factors to consider underwater given the hydrodynamic characteristics of the different fluids, air and water.

I would say one would be the difference in the cameras "buoyancy" in water vs air (given that both are fluids, but the camera+housing, is "less dense" in water than it would be in air because then it has a greater volume of a lower density fluid: air). That would be easy to adjust by adding/removing weight while in water.

Another factor is that streams of water would have a greater effect on the stabilizer arm. Out of the water, you could flap your arms around the steady-cam that it would have no effect, that is, the air you are displacing does not affect the arm. Most probably when under water, the streams and eddys you form could possibly move.

Let us know how it works if you give it a try!

 

[Bulldoglover]

I know mine works and it was cheap! I just need to get a sola light

 

[Marty Cerven]

The steady cams struggle in light winds using light cameras so underwater I cant see it ever working properly underwater. A small surge or current has much more effect on you then a gale force wind outside imagine the effect on a small camera amd steadicam setup. Gravity wont be as big a help and you would need lots of weight to fight the force of the water, so unfortunatly this wont ever be an option underwater.

For uw stabilization youd need something fully enclosed in a bubble of sorts to eliminate the force of water on the camera, this would allow itself to use gravity and avoid any water flow effecting its balance. This isnt practical though so a 2 handed tray is still the best method for underwater camera use.

 

[doonkin]

Yeah, guess the steadycam approach wouldnt work - thats why there is many variations of the tray
- because it simply works.
I just really loved the idea of being able to plant it monopod style AND going 1 handed. Maybe no gyro in it-handle locked on - but with that fold bend kinda car suspension shock style.

Its good to re-think stuff even if you hit a brick wall almost all the time.

I will just save myself a headache and gets me a SRP tray.

 

[toozler]

Yeah, guess the steadycam approach wouldnt work - thats why there is many variations of the tray
- because it simply works.
I just really loved the idea of being able to plant it monopod style AND going 1 handed. Maybe no gyro in it-handle locked on - but with that fold bend kinda car suspension shock style.

Its good to re-think stuff even if you hit a brick wall almost all the time.

I will just save myself a headache and gets me a SRP tray.

Here is something you might find interesting - at least I do, but I'm the ship business anyway.

FLIP - Research Vessel - Ship Technology

Now imagine mounting the GoPro on the top a PVC pipe with the right amount of air and weight, you would get a very stable way to take images in the surface. Bringing the above example to scale, the camera would suffer less effect of the surface ripples, but the wave action underneath it would still be considerable.

I actually tried with a piece of pipe I had laying around, but the thickness of the pipe made it too heavy for the its diameter, so it ends up sinking. But if anyone is up for testing different pipe diameters and lenghts, that would make for an interesting project. The camera+housing weight 167g, if that helps.