GoPro vs TG4 (or 6)

[Nik in Spain]

I have foolishly bought a GoPro 7 Black a few years ago thinking this would be great for scuba. Having replaced the lights once already to get a bit more illumination, the videos are almost enough for personal entertainment, little more (I confess that I can't edit..I am useless at most technological things and learning at my age/state of mind isn't too easy). A FB friend has shown me some incredible shots with a TG 4 and just one single narrow angle light in microscopic mode, where he shines the light directly on the object from a close distance, leaving everything around in black. The effect is fantastic. My question : should I invest in a flipframe with macro (plus two colour filters thrown into the pack) for around € 200....go for a secondhand TG 4 with SeaFrogs housing for € 325..or hit my head on a bottle and go for a brandnew TG 6 with housing for € 675 ? My FB friend says he refers the TG 4 , btw...and he has got the TG 6 and a few more TGs.. All of this would be to get into macro photgraphy on a very very amateur scale..again - just for my own amusement. I have two kids, so could possibly get one of them to go filming with the GoPro whilst I do macro shots with the TG..if this is the route to go. Or I could be sensible and get the Flip, so that I can use the GoPro for filming and for macro photos, without burdening the kids with my hobby. Your opinion/advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[al248005]

I have a TG 4 with an Ikelite housing and love it. I have a GoPro 8 paired with it but IMO the video on the TG 4 is much better because you can manually set the WB

 

[Nik in Spain]

Thank you very much, al248005..not in my wildest dreams would I have thought that a TG can actually produce decent videos..so I could just use the TG for both, microscopic photos and videos, that is a great option. Out of interest - can you set White Balance once and forget about it for most of your dives ? Would you need to change between photo and video mode ?

 

[Sevenrider860]

I have a TG-6 and GoPro 10. I think the video quality of the TG-6 video is much better than the GoPro. I use the GoPro for wide-angle, expansive view video or when I don't feel like carrying the larger camera rig (Housing, Flash and video light). For Macro video (and photos), the GoPro can't touch the TG-6 in my opinion.

 

[arew+4]

I have a TG-5, I love it, takes great pictures, I added a good strobe last year bought a smallish Video light this year to start shooting some video. While I was at it I bought a cold shoe mount for my old go pro 4. I intend to run the go pro in time lapse while switching between photo and video on the TG. I'll find out how it works out on July

 

[Nik in Spain]

I have a TG-6 and GoPro 10. I think the video quality of the TG-6 video is much better than the GoPro. I use the GoPro for wide-angle, expansive view video or when I don't feel like carrying the larger camera rig (Housing, Flash and video light). For Macro video (and photos), the GoPro can't touch the TG-6 in my opinion.

Thank you very much, Sevenrider 860. I understand that the TG is an absolute beast for macro/microscope photography..I am glad to hear that it also serves other purposes !

 

[Nik in Spain]

I have a TG-5, I love it, takes great pictures, I added a good strobe last year bought a smallish Video light this year to start shooting some video. While I was at it I bought a cold shoe mount for my old go pro 4. I intend to run the go pro in time lapse while switching between photo and video on the TG. I'll find out how it works out on July

Thank you , arew+4 ...is it complicated to switch between video and photo modes on the TG ? I can see myself with 5mm gloves...

 

[al248005]

Thank you very much, al248005..not in my wildest dreams would I have thought that a TG can actually produce decent videos..so I could just use the TG for both, microscopic photos and videos, that is a great option. Out of interest - can you set White Balance once and forget about it for most of your dives ? Would you need to change between photo and video mode ?

No you keep the same settings from your pics to your video. Whatever mode your shooting pictures in, there's a button you push to record video so m your not switching modes per say. Once your done recording you push the button again and it goes back to your picture mode.

 

[arew+4]

5mm gloves can make anything complicated but switching modes on the TG is much easier than on the go pro.

 

[tursiops]

I have a TG-4 and my wife has a TG-6.
No question, get the TG-6. MUCH more capable, especially for macro and if using a strobe.

I also have a Sea Frogs TG-6 housing for sale. For Sale - Sea Frogs Housing for TG-6; used one trip