Need info on GoPro resolution settings...

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That's exactly it you and a bunch of others jumped on the op with some suggestions that are at least questionable
Taking into account that his footage is much better than all you bunch I could not resist giving the op some decent feedback
In the process I might have hurtled a few souls but at least incorrect information doesn't get spread out and a person that is trying to improve is not wasting time with weird suggestions
I particularly like one of the comments "if you shoot at 60p and then slow it down is less jerky and is not noticeable"
This is totally crazy it took 10 seconds to a person who hasn't been in the water ever to work out that one of those footages was a cheat
And for your info I have a pretty good idea of what I talk about I don't jump the gun without considering what am about to say
 
Sorry to the OP for going a little OT but my earlier posts were more general mode use in relation to the thread title then any specific user, just passing on some info I have learned from many dives with GoPro cameras. Some will agree some wont, there are no rules set in stone in my eyes and I regularly try different approaches to things to see if I can get a better result. Im far from using all the traditional rules of underwater video even though I understand most of them but theory doesnt always turn out as you expect in practice. There are times you just need to take a dive or 2 and play around with all the settings then figure out what works best for you when. I am posting what has worked for me and having access to a few GoPro cameras I have done lots of side by side video tests in all the modes so I have a reasonable idea of what works and what doesn't for me.

If your struggling you may want to follow my advice or better still if you have the time go out and try all modes, its a bit tricky as you have a trip coming up. The first thing I did with my first gopro before my first away trip was to do a few test dives trying out all the options hoping to have things sorted so I dont waste any dives fiddling with the camera.

Marty, I agree with you. This was edited in FCP X and I was mostly playing around learning the tool and was not all that impressed with the stabilization either, the old Motion did a heck of a lot better IMO. I'm switching to Media Composer 6 now and find the tracking to be extremely good I'll see how it does.

The shots where the stabilization is most evident had less to do with the conditions and more to do with the shot itself. For the tiny scorpion fish I had to hold the tray away from my body and by a single handle basically shooting blind as I could not see the monitor. And the first lobster was tight corners again extending my arms. I'm never pleased with any of my underwater footage because I know how much it's lacking yet people who have never been underwater marvel at it.

One thing I'm tinkering with is adding a little more weight to my SRP tray and I wonder how much weight your SOLAs add to the equation and if you feel like it makes the rig top heavy? I don't even know why I ask that since in all reality, if I'm going to invest into some SOLA lights I'd probably go with a DSLR and forgo shooting the GoPro altogether.

Thanks for your input!

I am not saying you have terrible footage but I just haven't seen many good examples of software motion stabilization of underwater video. I think the GoPro is a great little camera allowing more people to get into underwater video which before was much more expensive to get into. Im always the harshest critic of my own videos even though some others seem to not see as many flaws as I do at times lol.

The best examples I have seen of this software stabilization is on land walking a basic direction and the software here can do a job almost to steady cam level at times, it will use the horizon and consistent shapes of a path or road to aid its orientation, underwater there just arent as many good reference points for it to use. If you pan the camera at all it will struggle, underwater with no horizon or other such consistant reference points it will always be a battle. Best results probably using short clips with no camera panning involved may work best underwater but my basic tests turned out not much better then your example so I just try focus on improving my diving technique and a steady hand.

With the SRP tray, the gopro doesn't have much air in the housing so its negative in the water, the tray is very light too but adds to the negative buoyancy. For best stabilization your best to try and get the full setup just slighty negative but very close to neutral. This pretty much helps it float in the water and you just need to guide it along. I have used this at times with just a couple of padded foam tubes around the handles or tray frame and worked well. Here is an earlier version I tried along with a third handle for single handed use showing it in action, I did find I didnt use the third handle much anyway so traditional 2 handle setup is still best and you can see the foam here on the tray base, it works pretty much the same on the handles.

[video=youtube;DG9KrASLX6w]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DG9KrASLX6w[/video]

Having more cameras and lights will add to the weight but doesn't make it much easier to keep still, it may take away some micro movements but overall wont help you out too much with a very negative setup, its still not too heavy and I have used 4 cams and lights with no floats many times with decent results but not as good as those where I balance the setup better in the water. Even with a tray though you need practice and using it stretched out one handed in a strong current or surge will never give the best results.
 
I bounce between two canon setups -- GoPro Hero2 HD as well as a Canon Rebel T2i. I enjoy the GoPro mainly for its simplicity. I don't enjoy spending the time cleaning and lubing o-rings on the Canon set.


On that GoPro, I'm going with the 1080p @ 30fps, wide FOV configuration. As for the argument about stability, I use a tray rather than holding the camera in hand, wrist or forehead. This is my rig:

IMG_0154.jpg
 
The short version of all of this is that for stable footage you need to be stable yourself

A good tray with two rubberized handles that absorb vibrations gives the GoPro but more generally any compact video more stability and allows you to swim in a more natural posture with the camera

For what concerns stabilization you should NEVER need stabilization for wide angle shots so for the specific of GoPro that does not do macro the stabilization feature is not really an option
 
I am not saying you have terrible footage but I just haven't seen many good examples of software motion stabilization of underwater video. I think the GoPro is a great little camera allowing more people to get into underwater video which before was much more expensive to get into. Im always the harshest critic of my own videos even though some others seem to not see as many flaws as I do at times lol.

With the SRP tray, the gopro doesn't have much air in the housing so its negative in the water, the tray is very light too but adds to the negative buoyancy. For best stabilization your best to try and get the full setup just slighty negative but very close to neutral. This pretty much helps it float in the water and you just need to guide it along. I have used this at times with just a couple of padded foam tubes around the handles or tray frame and worked well. Here is an earlier version I tried along with a third handle for single handed use showing it in action, I did find I didnt use the third handle much anyway so traditional 2 handle setup is still best and you can see the foam here on the tray base, it works pretty much the same on the handles.

Having more cameras and lights will add to the weight but doesn't make it much easier to keep still, it may take away some micro movements but overall wont help you out too much with a very negative setup, its still not too heavy and I have used 4 cams and lights with no floats many times with decent results but not as good as those where I balance the setup better in the water. Even with a tray though you need practice and using it stretched out one handed in a strong current or surge will never give the best results.

No worries Marty, the video was actually a test to prove a point to myself. I can't actually post most of my videos because they don't belong to me.
I find it interesting that you prefer a neutral or slightly positive rig. Having shot with larger and slightly negatively buoyant rigs that added tons of shot stability in the water, I figured that weight was the one element missing (besides lights that is) to make the SRP Tray/GoPro complete. I will have to fiddle with that which is another excuse to get int the water :)
 
Wow, this thread got hot in a hurry! I think I was one of the ones who suggested you could slow down video shot at 60fps, am I bad?
While I agree there is no substitue for bouyancy control and a stable platform to shoot from, I look at my videos as an art form, and anything that produces a pleasing result is fair game. Is slowing the footage "cheating"? then so is colour correction and even music (no music underwater). All thoses breaching whales on National Geographic are fooling the general public.
Also take into consideration the intended audience, is the intent of the video to document something as close to reality as possible, or is it "wanna see my underwater videos?"
"Can't please everyone, so you might as well please yourself"- Rick Nelson

Currently I am shooting 720/60p as result of this thread, but I 'll try some other settings, becase I'm always open to suggestion and trying something new.
 
I am on of those who got the thread 'animated' but just because I don't think the suggestions were really helping the op
The footage of jamar is sharp and steady most of times and he doesn't even have a tray he is on the good track
Suggestions was to get a tray and keep shooting without changing a thing

The whole 720p60 stream instead comes from people that dive in difficult conditions or use gopro on poles an then fight back the shakiness

Documentaries will slow down footage to show a specific behaviour but doesn't apply to a much of ordinary fish swimming around
There is no problem slowing down few bits of your footage buy systematically slowing down everything is wrong because it looks weird
A special effect is fine slowing down everything to fight lack of skill is just an excuse not to improve
 

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